If your were to assemble a vintage system ?
I'd start right here.... magnificent sound then .. 30 years ago, and magnificent still. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-of-Acoustat-Model-Spectra-1100-Electrostatic-Speakers/174192845960?has... or https://www.ebay.com/itm/ACOUSTAT-MK-141-B-Speakers-PAIR/353404753349?hash=item52489095c5:g:2~AAAOSw... the first takes wall warts for power to the interface so be sure they are included. After that I'd go for big power, the more the better. They have a love affair with MOSFET amps .. very high synergy so that if possible... if not high power anything and revisit later. You should still have $300 or $400 left at this point for a table and some variety of pre for the cartridge. You will have a system you can build with later. |
For a good sounding inexpensive system a good starting point would be the NAD 3020 integrated. Not a lot of power by it's specs but could drive most speakers of the era quite well. The Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble system (2 woofers and 2 satellites), if attention is paid to set up, is also quite good. They have the advantage of not having foam surrounds so may not need much in the way of refurbishment. For a turntable, the AR is a good choice, as are many of the Duals of the era (e.g., the 505-2). Shure cartridges (like the M91ED or V15 Type III) and the Stanton 681 series are decent and good quality aftermarket styli are available. There were many good FM tuners in the '70's and '80's. A Sansui TU717 would fill the bill nicely but, given the decline of broadcast radio, for that particular function you might want to break down and get an inexpensive streaming system (something like a Bluesound Node 2i). |
