Does vintage stereo sound better /and why.?

The 80's and 90's get a bad rap in HiFi. However, there is some excellent gear that was made in that era. The biggest issue is that "consumer audio" started to become a huge market. I think the high end market effectively didn't change, but there was a lot of lower end equipment that was sold to people that would not have been purchasing any kind of stereo system at all. So, the lion's share of the market was basic equipment made for the mass market, but there was still good gear built in that era. There was plenty of junk built in the 70's; it's just all in a landfill now.

It feels like this video has a lot more to do with a particular bias against a certain time period in HiFi than any actual facts. It's pretty clear there is a deep lack of understanding of power delivery and capacitance. The 80's and 90's brought us speaker systems like everything from Vandersteen and the Inifinity IRS series. Avante Garde was founded in 1991. B&W continued building on their 800 series speakers. The Pioneer A-series started in the 80's. Sansui continued their G-series and AU-series in the 80's.

The hate for that era of HiFi is about as logical as claiming you can't get a good sounding HiFi system today for under $10k. Sure, some people will claim that, but we all know it's nonsense.

I have been searching for A french sound system my friends daddy had in the 80s to 90s but I cant see it on the internet, and I don't remember the system name, it sounded great those days😅😅

I have a slightly different take than you. While I think the 80's still had some wonderful sounding equipment what happened in the US is that there was a transition away from smaller high end audio shops to large box retailers like Circuit City and Best Buy. There, the consumer, is overwhelmed by 100 different stereo's and the manufacturer's had to start spending a lot more money on how something looked, so they added digital lighting all throughout to capture the consumer's eyes. There was a transition away from tubes which gave a nice warm and rich sound to transisters. Speakers were still pretty good because they continued to use paper cones. But I think what brought the sound quality down was the shopping experience transition away from small audiophile shops run by local owners to large big box retailers.

Is it true that the radio catches old waves broadcasting

Nice video Thank you 🙏👍🇸🇪

I apologize, but when I started to make this comment I had something to say that frankly, I can't remember what it was

It sounds good enough for me and looks way better

Cool video essay! Personally though, I feel that modern equipment on a whole does sound better. Recently I traded my Pioneer sa-606 for a marantz pm6006 and later a pair of recapped celestion dl8 series 2 for monitor audio bronze bx2s. As a result, my music suddenly sounded a lot more vivid with every step. I tend to believe that technological progress plays a large role in this. Even if producers wanted to produce audio equipment as cheap as possible, which they also wanted back in the day, technological progress would make it cheaper to make good equipment and stuff would get better over the years. And yeah, maybe the buttons of an old pioneer feel cooler but so does having a remote.

If we are talking about record players however, vintage does seem to be better. These players are not produced on a scale anymore as they were back when. Additionally, innovation stifled when nobody bought record players anymore. So if you can bear the maintenance go for a vintage record player. It will rock your world!

best old amplifier under £500 ?

Planned obsolescence. Many here in the comments, myself included, are happily using gear that’s thirty, forty, fifty plus years old and it all still works fine and sounds great. However, many of today’s buyers of contemporary top audio gear will be looking to ‘upgrade’ in eighteen months time to some new kid on the block because the YouTubists and five-star reviewers are whispering to them in their sleep. Hence there’s little point manufacturers adding a small fortune to the sale price by building a battleship, certainly not for ‘high street’ hifi.

Some of the most boring speakers I've heard are the most expensive ones. They are flat and not very musical, but they use stats to convince you that they are better. I think it's better to change the amp, if you want something new.

Also, the difference between a Linear Transformer Supply versus a shitty Switching Power Supply. A typical 40 pound receiver would have a 30 pound transformer!

These receiver are beautifully made, and they had a beefy power supply, bigger transfomers, bigger capacitor, better tuner, which if you want to have all these characteristics, you have to buy very high quality separate to obtain the same level quality.

So is the “careful you could eff up your speakers if they’re underpowered” thing even real?

I am listening to this video on a Marantz 2275...connected to a pair of Cerwin Vega VS series large floor speakers.

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Vintage 1970 Sansui 4000 here... Best $200 I have ever spent in regards to audio, along with my Zu Dirty Weekends @ $1000. Not looking back. And the FM tuner! No static at all!

That receiver in 2023 dollars would cost $3112.06 today, as it retailed for $395. My Zu speakers would have cost $154.52 if purchased in 1970 dollars. The sound out of these two pieces of gear continue to impress me, the Sansui does something that modern gear cannot do, at least the modern gear I have owned. The modern gear is and was lifeless, flat and boring, at least what I owned. Not even enjoyable after comparing to this old Sansui.

I put a pair of modern KLH Model 5 speakers on the Sansui, these speakers dip to 3 ohm, they handled them without breaking a sweat. No clipping. And no, I do not play the gear that loud, just a test. In fact, the Sansui and the Zu's sound fantastic at low volume, which is my preferred listening level.

And power? The Sansui has plenty, more than I will ever use, even with the KLH Model 5's I once owned. And the dynamics, simply incredible on this old Sansui, along with the incredibly huge soundstage.

I just subscribed to your channel and watched your video for the first time. Excellent and very informative. Thank you.

i get what he says about dynamic range but the way he explains it is technically wrong

My denon 4311,4308 and even my 3805 they weigh around 45 to 38 lbs. The sound is great and the ability to EQ each speaker and have 7 channel capability. I have heard old marantz and pioneer receivers and dont hear a major difference I run infinity speakers and polk audio older speakers amd its hard to beat. I paid 100 for my 4311ci new it cost 2300 my 4308 paid 250 new was 3300.

Vintage é bom para os técnicos.

I love my record players to include both my 64 cabinet and 70's octogonal magnavox cabinet. Both sound out of this world

This was an eyes opening video for me.
Your explainations how the preferences for some technical spects destroyed the better 70s sound according to advertising needs, I heard of for the first time.----
Now I understand why the standard hifi gear of my parents from 1970, with bowl formed speakers, sized maximally like a soccer ball, sounded that good .
Thank you very much.🙏👍🤗

My TT is 44 years old and I'm so pleased. Pioneer PL-300, with five headshells for five different carts. I'm only into vintage stuff, including cassette decks (one of them, a SONY, from 1977).

I own a Pioneer SX-5990 I use in a home office system driving TeKton Lore speakers spectacularly well , I tried a Accuphase 280 integrate with the high efficiency Lore speakers however when I tried the Pioneer SX 5990 it lit them up ,.I sold the Accuphase .

My Pioneer 780 still serving me well after decades

I couldn't have said it better, high specifications and measurements in most cases do not equal musical sound. Colour is like a dirty word these days, but what is life without colour? I have yet to hear a live band sounding like the clinical overly sharp and highly detailed sterile sound of modern "hifi".

I've heard many "experts" talk about audio for years now, and this is by far the most truth I've heard in 12 minutes and 43 seconds.

I have an old 35 watt marantz that sounds way better that a 90’s Kenwood with 110 watts.

Today’s HiFi doesn’t even have metal feet anymore, plastic and plastic looking front, thinner metal overall. Devices up to 2000$. Every 500$ vintage Hi-Fi device looks like so much more quality.

I think you are referring to an amps ability to deliver current. Wattage = volts x amps, thus 100V X 1A = 100Watts and 1V X 100A = 100Watts. I think the problem in the 80s was similar to today with budget amps. Basically they can't handle 4 ohm loads, so when speakers dip down to 3-4 ohms at certain frequencies, the power supply can't handle 2X (or more) the power (watts). If you are listening at 20 watts on 8ohm speakers, a 4ohm dip will draw 40 watts (typically the dynamic parts). So what I am getting at is that a 20W amp that can handle 4 ohms (maybe even lower) will not current limit because it can deliver the extra power at lower impedance. An 80 watt amp that can only handle 8ohms will have to current limit on dynamic passages which dip much lower and demands double (or more) current. Basically a 4ohm bass slam will play much louder, because twice the wattage (power) is driving it.

The amount of watts varies depending on the speakers effeciency or inefficencey. If you stick with Brands such as Vintage Nakmichi, Harman Kardon youre less likely to be worried about Power ratings.. its the quality not quanity that matters.the amp should be able to play reasonably loud without being pushed hard Thats benn my experience I also like Lux & nad rotel most others I avoid unless I found for cheap or free!

Excellent points

Mixing vintage amps with modern speakers can have interesting results. Q Acoustics 3020i speakers and a Pioneer A-9 sounds amazing. The 3020is are an upgrade from my Bose 601 series I despite being mid level bookshelf speakers and it has pretty good sub bass for being only 5 inch woofers. My Pioneer A-9 amplifier is going nowhere. It may get new capacitors in the future. I’m debating whether to get Q acoustics concept 500s, Morel Octave LE floor standers, or another speaker in the future.

I just picked up a Technics SA-5070 receiver this week off a guy locally. When I auditioned this unit at his place, he connected it to a large pair of floor standing speakers (Technics not sure what model) I was very impressed with the warm sound as well as the ease at which it could drive them. The receiver is in surperb condition and just needs some cleaning of the pots. Note this receiver is rated for 15 watts per channel. Amps in this vintage of receiver are just made well.

Same with speakers, pick up some Jamo Concert 8's and bask in the detailed dynamic sound (Only great speaker they made, cept C11's).

Those Bang&Olofson S75 speakers I see are kick ass. They need a specific sort of amp or reciever though to make them shine. HECO soft dome Tweeters. Two sorts of Philips mids (Soft dome and conventional) I had them with SEAS woofers instead of the Philips ones. They are at my old place of work now. I am using a 1977 Marantz model 1070 with my PC and 1978 Philips 22AH487 speakers. I've got a lot more.

You speak well and you speak a lot of sense. Thank you.

I worked my ars off when I was 15 and bought an Akai receiver (AA-1115), and a technics SL-D2 turntable.
They still work and sound pretty good. However, I upgraded to a Technics SA-700 receiver and some refurbished JBL 4312G speakers; that sounds good

To me 1980s to 1990s is what gear I love

🤗👍😎💚💚💚

Hello, love the channel. Leak 3200 tuner amp. How do you rate it please?

I appreciate and agree with a lot of what you say (and I mean in your other vids too) but I wouldn't agree it all kinda ended after the 70s, hi-fi (the real deal not mass market rubbish) was big business throughout the 80s and well into the 90s and there's a metric ton of amazing stuff from then when manufacturers were really beginning to dial in what they'd learned in the 70s. I'm sitting here with an 80s/90s Rega/Rotel/Audiolab/Mission system and there's nothing I'd change about it and it's defo not strangled or anything else. If I come into some money... I'd just upgrade with similar vintage 80s/90s gear.

Hi all. Here's my thought regarding quality... if you buy GOOD stereo equipment and if it is properly maintained, as it becomes old the worst that can be said is that it's good old stuff. If you buy new "junk" audio equipment even if it is properly maintained it will ALWAYS be junk. There are a few standouts products from the late 1980's . Also when I listen to a system if it sounds a little "boring" that can be an indicator that the distortion within the complete system is lower. Remember how poor (and apparently loud) clock radios were (save for a very few). Why? The human ear interprets distortion as loudness.

Take care all, and hello and goodbye from the Great White North.

i enjoy your video's but do you ever just listen to the music without analysing.

I still have my superbly built Sansui Seven receiver that I bought overseas in 1974 while in the US Navy. Had it totally recapped & overhauled/tuned/biased about 10 years back and it's sounding tremendous along with my AR 2ax speakers that I also bought thru military exchange audio club & had them dropped shipped to the states. Vintage/'70s audio is WAY better than today's cheap disposable garbage.

When they started making hi fi units out of black plastic that’s when quality of stereos declined

Nothing looks nicer in a loung room then a pioneer or kenwood silver faced unit with five decks all lit up in the evening with the needles of the vu meters flickering left to right.

Vintage is designed to sound good and last for a long time. Current is designed to make a good profit, not unless they are made by reputable US designers. I own a lot of vintages and all of the out-of-spec parts are upgradedd. I own Mostly tubes like Pilot. McIntosh, Quads, Leaks, like customs by Tom Tutay, Testament by the guy who makes amps for the band Heart, Rogue Audio, Cary, Fairchind, and Logan Labs. The non-tubes I have are mostly US like Professional Systems Engineering, Haflers, Crown, Marantz, Carvers, Belles, Bryston, etc. My Japanese amps are vintages too like Pioneer and Rotel Michi Series. I don't have Japanese speakers. All of them are vintage US made like Polk audio SDAs, Altec Model19, JBL Century, Quad EL57 and Klipsch. Nothing beats the vintages esp when upgraded. Most upgrades are fitted with Blackgates. I have a Apt Holman preamp with full opamp and Blackgate capacitors upgrade ang sounds amazing! No BS! I have proof that I own what I have just mentioned.