All my gear is Vintage.

It is fun finding a vintage component and fixing it to sound as it did when new..LOL :)
 
I like working on the vintage stuff. Most of the stuff out there needs a little something when buying from a regular Joe. Pots need cleaning, capacitors need replacing. Finding replacement hardware can be the biggest headache and sometimes it is possible to find superior components to the originals. Speakers are fun because they can challenge my woodworking skills. There is plenty of helpful people and ideas in these forums who are willing to help out. Plus, there is always the option to customize / experiment / hopefully enhance ones gear. The payoff can be quite gratifying when the heavenly sounds come out.
 
rlock said:
I like working on the vintage stuff. Most of the stuff out there needs a little something when buying from a regular Joe. Pots need cleaning, capacitors need replacing. Finding replacement hardware can be the biggest headache and sometimes it is possible to find superior components to the originals. Speakers are fun because they can challenge my woodworking skills. There is plenty of helpful people and ideas in these forums who are willing to help out. Plus, there is always the option to customize / experiment / hopefully enhance ones gear. The payoff can be quite gratifying when the heavenly sounds come out.
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I know this thread is old, but I'm with you. I also enjoy working on the older gear. There is something satisfying about giving new life to an old piece of gear. My current project is a mid 60's Fisher tube amp that my wife (yes, you read wife) found for me. I think because she has a "vested interest", she's as excited to hear it as I am to restore it.

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With the amount of retired people in Hi Fi could a company like a Heath Kit style company make a retro kit and sell enough to make it worth it. It might not be your main system but a small office or den with a tube amp and preamp might be a source of pride if you built it your self. The kit could come with a magnifying glass and we would be golden. Could be sold in a choice of parts quality level A 6,000 dollars level B 4,000 dollars Level C 2,000 dollars all the same just better parts. It would be vintage without the Ebay and the rust the rip offs. Good sounding gear not Soulution level but good sounding with Million dollars worth of pride built in. Would the business model work.
 
Garth said:
With the amount of retired people in Hi Fi could a company like a Heath Kit style company make a retro kit and sell enough to make it worth it. It might not be your main system but a small office or den with a tube amp and preamp might be a source of pride if you built it your self. The kit could come with a magnifying glass and we would be golden. Could be sold in a choice of parts quality level A 6,000 dollars level B 4,000 dollars Level C 2,000 dollars all the same just better parts. It would be vintage without the Ebay and the rust the rip offs. Good sounding gear not Soulution level but good sounding with Million dollars worth of pride built in. Would the business model work.
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Our first stereo growing up was a Heath Kit tube amp, preamp and tuner that my father built. He even built the speakers. I loved the warm, rich inaccurate sound of that system. It would be great if kits like those were still around.

My 1964 Eicho Tuner was a kit.
 
I thought some might like to see the completed K-1000 project. The original kit builder did a less than stellar job, so all solder joints needed to be reflowed. Since that needed to be done, and given the age of components, replacing everything except 3 power resistors that measured within spec just made sense to me. The left channel wasn't working, and I found a wiring mistake on the hidden side of the turret board (my guess is that the left channel never worked) It has a number of hours on it now, and it appears pretty stable with all voltages within spec.


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Mike said:
Very nice work cc43fan! How is it sounding?


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It sounds really nice. It's still on my workbench, and driving a pair of older Wharfedale bookshelfs. This amp weighs in at 70 lbs, and I really don't want to lug it around anymore than I need to. lol When the weather improves, I'll make a plan to drive it over to Audio Classics in Binghamton, NY and have their tech staff measure it's performance, and make any adjustments needed.
 
Nice amp. The only vintage gear I have is my Lenco L-75 but it's been modded (big plinth, air bearing linear tracking arm, rewired) so that doesn't really count. The rest of my gear is just old from the late 70's to early 80's. The cables are relatively new.
 
Picked up a luxman DX103 cd player. I guess 1983 qualifies as vintage. Unit is virtually brand new. Came with box, original packing and remote. Japan market model so using a converter. I have a couple bad cds that my marantz 5005 and my rotel tribute will get hung up on but this one advances past the spot and keeps playing.
 

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