advertisement


'Vintage' amplifiers / receivers and eBay prices

H

Hcanning

pfm Member
Hi all,

I've been into hifi since I was yay high *holds hand a few inches from floor* and as a child I went through many an old amp or set of speakers from a car-boot sale. I have been after some vintage kit for a while, and I recently managed to pick up a pair of B&O (hope that's not a dirty word around here) Beovox 3800s, courtesy of a kind gent via Freecycle. The intention is to refurb them a bit and generally enjoy their sound.

Upon getting them home and plugging them in, I was hugely impressed by their sound. Much more detailed, neutral, smooth, and dynamic than I was expecting! They were expensive back in 1973 and this shows. I'm very happy with them and I've ordered some replacement electrolytics for their crossovers and will do this, as well as a bit of a cabinet spruce-up at the weekend.

Anyway, I'd like to get hold of a nice vintage amp or receiver to go with them. eBay is absolutely littered with them, but the prices all seem rather eye-watering. Is it really worth paying £200+ for a supposed "good quality" Pioneer receiver or Trio amp or something, which wasn't just "budget" back in its day? I could just continue using my old Marantz SR4200 AV receiver, or spend £200 on something from Richer Sounds, but the thought of a nice metal/wood unit with lovely tactile knobs and warmly-lit VU meters sounds far more interesting!

I'm always on the lookout at car boot sales but I can never find anything nowadays :(

I'd be curious to hear other people's buying habits, from those who haven't just kept held of these units since new :).
 
I have a B and O receiver....would go well with the speakers....I think its a Beomaster 2400. They are wood and metal but B and O don't do VU meters on there amps usually.
If you are interested I can do some pictures...
 
B&O not a dirty word with me, but I must confess I haven't any of their kit, save for a turntable platter which I turned into a clock face. With it's little raised ridges, and with an old '10 incher' on top, makes a fitting time piece for the listening room! Oh, and I have one of those wee tone arms that I'm going to use as a brush (for tracking records, not the house!)

As regards your desire for an old amplifier/receiver, why not. It may not be able to compete with modern offerings on sound grounds, but many look the business! But there are dangers. Old components. I've had problems with power supply capacitors and even the transformers. And a loverly Rogers amplifier (and tuner) I bought from lads from Brighton showed signs of rust on nearly every component, including the interstage transformers! Here there is an analogy with classic cars, loverly to look at, even drive, but a lot of work keeping them on the road!

My best advice is to listen before you buy. And don't let your heart rule your head. Be patient. A 'woody, but a goody' will come along soon enough! I've been looking for an affordable Jelco tone arm for some time, it's on it's way as we speak! Yea!

HTH
 
My gripe is that these days any hi-fi over 5 years old is a 'classic' or 'vintage' and commands a premium price. Mucky old Solavox speakers or some such are being punted for well over £100. I'm sure that a lot of it (on Ebay and Gumtree) is not selling, but still there is a mindset that says there are 'plenty of bods who'll pay a fortune for this stuff' - old Sharp music centres and the like.
 
Here in the US, I prefer buying local from Craigslist. Vintage audio is posted daily for sale. Most of it is old crap, but there some gems as well (Pioneer SX, Marantz, Sansui, Kenwood, etc.).

This forum is a great place to get feedback before purchase, and there are several good online resources (e.g., http://classicreceivers.com).
 
I have recently sold some Rogers Studio 1 speakers via Ebay for what I consider to be a fair price, exactly what I paid for them 12 months ago from a forum member. Plenty are being advertised well over this, they hang around for a while, then get relisted a few weeks later.
Items go for this premium price often when purchased by buyers in the far east, I am about to ship some Spendor stands to a guy in Hong Kong who has just bought some Export Monitors for £5/600 + shipping of circa £200. Well over the odds, but sure he see's it as a good deal.
 
With something of that age I would buy a separate amp, not a receiver as it's a lot simpler to troubleshoot. It's a shame as the receivers are better value and look nicer.
 
I'd limit your search to ones you can pick up in person where the sale is collection only. That greatly reduces the number of competing bidders. I got a very nice Yamaha CR-620 receiver for about £25 IIRC using this method.
 
Ebay is convenient,like convenience food you pay a premium!

Patience and effort and you can usually find what you want at a price that's palatible.

Works for me
 
I have a Beosystem 4500 (minus TT) with some RL2000s that is on permanent loan to my mom. It was a beautiful setup when I bought it used in the early 2000s but now they seem to be dirt cheap. Probably not the era or look you're after but a Beomaster 4500 is pretty reasonable these days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top