For audiophiles, there’s no denying the allure of antique audio equipment. Part of it has to do with rarity, the excitement of tracking for a Marantz Vintage Receivers from the 1970s, heritage speakers by Klipsch or JBL, or a vintage Thorens turntable.
Part of it has to do with fidelity, that the old thing sounds better. And some of it has to do with charm and character. Vintage stereo devices simply have that unique something that contemporary equipment lacks.
“The early 1970s muscle vehicle may not be as dependable or perform as well as a contemporary one, but there is simply something interesting and exciting about the 50-year-old model.” Like with antique vehicles, vintage audio relies a heck-of-a-lot on restoration.
Garry’s firm, Hudson Valley HiFi, is located in Cornwall, New York, on the Hudson River’s western bank.. “Unlike most audio equipment companies out there, the most frequent equipment we sell is two-channel stereo,” he added.
For historic restoration, Garry explains that they concentrate mainly on the 1960s vacuum tube gear and 1970s solid-state. To gain a bit more insight, we asked Garry to reveal the most popular receivers and amplifiers that customers come to his store for. The answers, in all his own quotes, are below.
Fisher 500c Stereo Receiver
“The Fisher 500c was a fantastic Vintage Receivers manufactured in New York in the early 1960s. It was one of the first FM stereo tuners to employ multiplex, which is still used today. It used a version of the 6L6 power tube 7591 which produced 32wpc powering most efficient speakers at that time. The 500c cost a little over $400 new, which at the time was a big piece of cash. Fisher tube gear is expensive and hard to come by nowadays, but they are still available.
I strongly advise avoiding playing these units without appropriate repair, because wall voltage is quite a bit greater than when they were new and thus raises the voltages in the amp. There are numerous modifications we perform to Fisher gear to make them safer and operate a bit cooler on contemporary wall current.
Marantz 2270 Stereo Receiver
“If any marketing team wants to witness a great campaign from the mid-1970s, they may look out the excellent advertisements for the Marantz 2270. Ads featured a tale of a fire in an apartment building in which a cherished 2270 fell through the floor but survived just needing a new power cable because the old had melted.
Thanks to their marketing, Marantz sold a tonne of 2270 Vintage Receiver and it became an icon. Even 45 years later, the metal faceplate with exquisite dashed knobs, three sets of four buttons below a blue illuminated clock, has great charm. The sound of the receiver is so pleasant even Marantz’s contemporary two-channel amps are voiced comparable to the 2270.”
Pioneer SX-1250 Stereo Receiver
Mac tube amps, produced in Binghamton, New York from scratch, have risen in value dramatically over the last decade. The Pioneer SX-1250 is neither the biggest or the most powerful, but it is huge, heavy, and powerful.
My opinion is the large receivers of Pioneer’s SX-x50 series were the best-designed receivers from that period. Huge toroidal power transformer with huge filtering capacitors produced a well-designed power source to feed the beast.
The silver faceplate and dial with stunning lighting, wrapped in wood, making it one among my aesthetic favourites. It takes a lot of work to repair them, but once done, they are a delight to play.”
McIntosh MC240 Vacuum Tube Amplifier
The quality of McIntosh products is often mentioned when mentioning well-known hi-fi makers. Mac tube amps, produced in Binghamton, New York from scratch, have risen in value dramatically over the last decade. Mac tube amps, produced in Binghamton, New York from scratch, have risen in value dramatically over the last ten years.
The McIntosh MC240 is a 6L6 push-pull power amp producing 40wpc, hand-wired point to point design, and has a highly robust power supply. The iron is extremely heavy on this amp which any valve amp builder will tell you the quality of an amp can be judged by the weight of its transformers. We see several Mac tube amps but the MC240 is probably the most frequent coming in for restoration.”
Dynaco ST70 Stereo Tube Amplifier
“Today, the major attraction of the Dynaco ST70 is that [it’s typically] very cheaply priced. In order to fix the amp, just remove the driver board and replace it with one of the many modern boards available.
Changing the board changes the circuit architecture and allows you to use different driver tubes than the hard to find 7199 triode/pentode. The ST70 is easy to work on since it is a kit, and it has push-pull EL34 power tubes, so you can tube roll it to change its sonic characteristics.”
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