Old school analog system

My first "good" stereo system was a NAD 3020 integrated amplifier, Dual 522 turntable with a Stanton 681EEE cartridge, a Teac cassette deck I bought in Japan, and Infinity Qe speakers. Only listen to the radio in the car.
Edit; the old Dual tables had spring loaded anti skate; you could play records at a 90 degree angle or even upside down, which was quite a hoot back in the day, especially after some "refreshments."

Interesting topic, thanks for bringing it up. Of course this is nostalgia for us old folks, but it's also relevant for younger people starting out on a budget. Because they might not be aware of how good some of the old stuff can sound, compared to similarly priced new gear. There's no doubt technology has marched forward relentlessly, but this doesn't always translate to better sound quality.

My 'old school' system consists of Acoustic Research AR-11 speakers (the last variation on the AR3a theme with better tweeter); Luxman M-4000 power amp and C-1010 preamp (the 50th Anniversary pieces from 1975 designed by Tim de Paravacini); Micro BL-91G turntable with gunmetal plateau, Fidelity Research FR-64fx tonearm with an assortiment of MC cartridges from the same era (with FR-7f as most frequent resident), Fidelity Research XG-5 step up transformer and finally Nakamichi TriTracer 700 mkII. All 70's, early 80's gear, although I did replace the standard cables with modern ones (although decidedly in the budget range). I hate to say it, but much progress has been made there, despite all the snake oil that has given that market a bad name.

This system still sounds remarkable after 40+ years. Sure, not as detailed or refined as my modern main system, but not the yawning chasm in quality you might expect. It makes music convincingly and is just plain fun.

My analog system consists of a Soundcraftsmen MA5002, 250w/ch (big vu meters,completely rebuilt, 58lbs) amp, Soundcraftsmen DX4000 (completely rebuilt) pre amp. I use the phono input for my AR ES1 turntable (totally rebuilt) with Shure V15 Type V-MR cart and Magnepan Unitrac I tonearm. The wiring from the cartridge, through the arm and then to the RCA sockets, has been replaced with Cardas 33 ga. .999999% purity multi-strand litz design.This wire runs from the “slide on” cartridge clips through the tone arm and into the wood base then into protective sheathing approximately 3‘ to male RCA plugs continuous with no breaks or cuts soldered or otherwise!!! The power supply has been separated into it's own enclosure.  The tone arm mounting board has been replaced with a custom 1/4” thick plate aluminum with beveled edges to match the angle of the platter edge. The mounting board is highly polished and lacquer coated.
The second turntable is a highly modified Thorens 160 Super with a custom cover from Vinyl Nirvana.  A custom cherry plinth by a Amish woodworker and Rega RB301 arm with Groovetracer counterweight, and a Goldring 1042 MM cartridge.  I run the Thorens to an Exposure VII preamp with an Exposure VI power supply and then to a input in the DX4000.  The speakers are Epicure 3.0 truncated pyramids.So from top to bottom the system is vintage.

Interesting topic, thanks for bringing it up. Of course this is nostalgia for us old folks, but it's also relevant for younger people starting out on a budget. Because they might not be aware of how good some of the old stuff can sound, compared to similarly priced new gear. There's no doubt technology has marched forward relentlessly, but this doesn't always translate to better sound quality.

No kidding.

My first real system was a Technics SL-1700 with Stanton 681EEE, Kenwood integrated and JBL L26 speakers. Pioneer RT something or other 10.5" open reel deck. Patch cords, lamp cord, and factory undetachable power cords, of course. Well this was 1976. All we had. Pretty sure the only other comparable system on the whole WSU campus belonged to my roommate Doug.

The Kenwood and JBLs kept going until 1990. By then the foam surrounds were disintegrating, and the Kenwood required a wooden peg to keep the power switch on. All my records had long since been dubbed to open reel, my precious turntable stored away in a box for years as I had made one of the bigger blunders of my audio life, switching to CD without even bothering to compare. Well cut me some slack. Crazy as it sounds today we were at the time told CD was "perfect sound forever!"

Like I said the Technics was boxed away. By 1991 though I had a good job, house, wife, and set about upgrading the disintegrating speakers an all. Eventually these upgrades were well along when it dawned on me hey, I still have that turntable. Wonder what it sounds like?

Dug it out, hooked it up. Which by then seemed a waste of time, flimsy patch cords and all. What the... how'd the stylus get bent???!?! Oh well, why they make needle nose... put on one of my remaining few records and.... what the....!!

At this time I had a California Audio Labs CD player, Linaeum Model 10 speakers, and the Kenwood serving as pre-amp for a McCormack DNA1. Pretty sure that's what it was. Or if not then the Dynaco ST400 I had built back in high school. Anyway, as far as source goes it was the CAL we were used to.

Wife comes home, right away says something about how good it sounds. No clue, hadn't even seen the turntable yet. Strategically blocking her view I asked a few more questions. Just to be sure. Because we both had a hard time believing how much better than the CAL that old record player sounded.

The Kenwood, Pioneer and JBLs are long gone. The Technics I still have, still with the bent cantilever Stanton. Still plays just fine. Oh, and a Pioneer TX-9100 tuner I can never quite bring myself to sell, it just LOOKS SO GOOD! lol!

Glad to see us old audiophiles still look at the old days with fondness. I owned the AR11s, Pioneer, JBL, and yes the Stanton 681EEE with the ball and brush on the end. Fun times. I also owned the AR turntable only it had an infinity black widow tone arm on it   Good combo.