Ok,
I don't know if it is the place to post this and if it has been posted but here it goes.
So for the last 3 years it seems to mee that the price of vintage gear is going crazy.... especially vintage receivers of the 70's.
10 years ago or something I got a lot of gear for free... people threw it out (in my direction...)
I got a 2265b marantz for free, a 1550 for free. a model 1050, a pioneer sx450
then I bought a sanyo DCX4000 for 20€ with a bad channel (was actually a bad contact), my dad used to have one when I was young so I wanted it.
I also bought 2 model 1070 amplifiers, one with the rack handles. around 80€ a piece.
Got a pioneer sm83 for free and a sansui 1000x wich looks really cute.
So I always liked the vintage silver face look on these. People called me crazy and old fashioned when I was younger...
I was always hoping to get me a marantz 170DC or a 300DC just the looks....
So a few years ago the price was ok and you could get them for not to high prices. I didn't had the money or time back then so I waited.
Recently I was looking at some second hand prices for this stuff....and wtf
The prices of this vintage gear are going crazy you could say.
If I look at my collection I'm one happy guy at one point. On the other hand getting a nice 170DC or 300DC is not for tommorow I guess...
Why is this? and how far will this be going?
I mean i've seen prices for the model 2265B as high as 1000€
Even the simple sansui 1000x is going for around 500€
What is going on? people used to throw away this gear some years ago.
I don't know if it is the place to post this and if it has been posted but here it goes.
So for the last 3 years it seems to mee that the price of vintage gear is going crazy.... especially vintage receivers of the 70's.
10 years ago or something I got a lot of gear for free... people threw it out (in my direction...)
I got a 2265b marantz for free, a 1550 for free. a model 1050, a pioneer sx450
then I bought a sanyo DCX4000 for 20€ with a bad channel (was actually a bad contact), my dad used to have one when I was young so I wanted it.
I also bought 2 model 1070 amplifiers, one with the rack handles. around 80€ a piece.
Got a pioneer sm83 for free and a sansui 1000x wich looks really cute.
So I always liked the vintage silver face look on these. People called me crazy and old fashioned when I was younger...
I was always hoping to get me a marantz 170DC or a 300DC just the looks....
So a few years ago the price was ok and you could get them for not to high prices. I didn't had the money or time back then so I waited.
Recently I was looking at some second hand prices for this stuff....and wtf
The prices of this vintage gear are going crazy you could say.
If I look at my collection I'm one happy guy at one point. On the other hand getting a nice 170DC or 300DC is not for tommorow I guess...
Why is this? and how far will this be going?
I mean i've seen prices for the model 2265B as high as 1000€
Even the simple sansui 1000x is going for around 500€
What is going on? people used to throw away this gear some years ago.
It gets rare and unique enough that it starts to appeal to collectors, this is what happened with tube gear about 3 decades ago.
Somewhat rational people reeling from the prices of high end audio gear start figuring out that most of the technical questions pertaining to amplifier design were answered decades ago, and vintage gear provides a cost effective path to good performance. (for a time)
Finally it is rare and old enough to be collectible - and there are always people who "collect" (hoard) the good vintage stuff. (There are collectors for almost everything you can imagine) Once that starts it can get very expensive.
Somewhat rational people reeling from the prices of high end audio gear start figuring out that most of the technical questions pertaining to amplifier design were answered decades ago, and vintage gear provides a cost effective path to good performance. (for a time)
Finally it is rare and old enough to be collectible - and there are always people who "collect" (hoard) the good vintage stuff. (There are collectors for almost everything you can imagine) Once that starts it can get very expensive.
Some people are getting annoyed with the inflated power ratings of newer amplifiers.
Some don't like the sound of class D, although it is getting better,
but IM distortion is still not quite there.yet.
Some equate weight to dollar value.
Us older people just want to hear the same good systems that we had in the '70s.
COVID 19, more people are staying home and want a good system.
Some don't like the sound of class D, although it is getting better,
but IM distortion is still not quite there.yet.
Some equate weight to dollar value.
Us older people just want to hear the same good systems that we had in the '70s.
COVID 19, more people are staying home and want a good system.
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The 60s-70s Silverface gear is very hip right now, as much for its cosmetics and anything else. In the opinion of fans, the era was the pinnacle of good looks. To be honest, by the 80s-90s almost all consumer audio gear had become ugly, boring black boxes. We're stuck with it to this day.
The old Silverface gear had the wild stylish folly of 1950s Detroit automobiles.
The old Silverface gear had the wild stylish folly of 1950s Detroit automobiles.
Guilty as charged.
I recently traded some non-working stuff from the early 90s (Pioneer and not that good) for working Toshiba tuner and $200! I started out looking to buy a tuner and ended up unloading junk and getting paid for it.
Everything is going up. My house is worth an unspeakable amount of money. I bought it in 1999 and it's doubled in value. And I'm taking bids on a 32 year old car that hasn't even been started for ten years. It's up to $14,000 and they're still bidding it up! I tried to unload it ten years ago (was licensed and running) and I couldn't get 2 grand for it so I parked it. My father paid 12 grand for it in 1990. It's nuts!
Recently I was visiting a very young couple that has a "classic"/"vintage" silver face amplifier of which they were very proud. Now they wanted their smart phones connected to their amplifier as that seems the only possible source to them.
Of course I said they needed a RCA/cinch stereo to 3.5 mm connector cable for that (or a BT/wireless to analog device). They looked at me as if I was crazy. They said I did not understand technical stuff (!) and that they would connect their smart phones to the "phones" connector at the front side. Why I did not understand this simple word was beyond them ... "phones" as in "smart phones".....
I tried to make clear that headphones were meant in the seventies/eighties AND that the "phones" connector is an OUTPUT but alas... I was considered someone without any basic understanding of simple matters.
*With regards to most seventies stuff... very nice and sturdy metal work but outdated technology best recycled. Many new(er) devices outperform these with ease. I scrapped many of these and used the knobs and other chassis parts for new DIY designs. Nostalgia is nice but it does not sound that good. Prices indeed went up but I prefer the looks combined with todays technology and possibilities.
Of course I said they needed a RCA/cinch stereo to 3.5 mm connector cable for that (or a BT/wireless to analog device). They looked at me as if I was crazy. They said I did not understand technical stuff (!) and that they would connect their smart phones to the "phones" connector at the front side. Why I did not understand this simple word was beyond them
... "phones" as in "smart phones".....I tried to make clear that headphones were meant in the seventies/eighties AND that the "phones" connector is an OUTPUT but alas... I was considered someone without any basic understanding of simple matters.
*With regards to most seventies stuff... very nice and sturdy metal work but outdated technology best recycled. Many new(er) devices outperform these with ease. I scrapped many of these and used the knobs and other chassis parts for new DIY designs. Nostalgia is nice but it does not sound that good. Prices indeed went up but I prefer the looks combined with todays technology and possibilities.
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One of my neighbors was amazed at my sound system. I told them "See, hi-fi isn't dead." They said "what's hi-fi?" I said "You don't know what hi-fi is?"
They really didn't know. When I was young, everyone knew.
Someone claimed that they had the "best speaker ever made." I was dubious and made them show me. It was a Bluetooth speaker the size of a Pringles package. You could hold it in one hand. It did sound surprisingly good, but it wasn't the best speaker ever made. They were mighty proud though.
They really didn't know. When I was young, everyone knew.
Someone claimed that they had the "best speaker ever made." I was dubious and made them show me. It was a Bluetooth speaker the size of a Pringles package. You could hold it in one hand. It did sound surprisingly good, but it wasn't the best speaker ever made. They were mighty proud though.