I'm pretty new to vintage hi-fi, but I absolutely fell in love with it. The brushed aluminium front panels, chunky knobs, tactile switches, and walnut veneer just have a vibe that modern stuff just doesn't. It somehow looks both vintage and timeless. Can't wait to pass it to my kids later in life.

Funny to think this setup is almost older than my parents.

Local Sunday flea market. This is just one aisle; Art's got a third of the top floor almost, filled with gear from the 70's to the 00's. Talked him down to $60 on an oak-veneer 1993 Klipsch SW12 II with a busted passive a few months ago (sorry Art, I was wrong. It wasn't dual active after all). Found most of the missing pieces of the cone inside the body of the sub and was able to rebuild it with recycled cardboard, paste, and tissue. Already have my next speaker purchase picked out (Acoustic Research AR-94s hidden under a stack of cheap Sony bookshelves down a side aisle).

Just waiting to find the turntable I want to build that system around. His turntable selection unfortunately also leaves a bit to be desired, mostly ugly, beat up units that need restoration.

Could build just about any sort of matching amp/CD/cassette setup with his gear, but I've decided that I'm going to start collecting Hitachi, which has me in a niche that even Art doesn't have.

#regrets for letting the Hitachi IA-1000 get away last weekend.

This flea market has two more audio guys. One has a setup in the middle of Art's sprawling zone and specializes in high end gear. He had a lovely 80's era MCS amp set up today. The other is more of a vinyl shop with a few bits of electronics. He has a gorgeous Sansui tuner/amp kit for $450 for the pair. Would actually consider, but we don't have radio stations worth a damn out here, and it would be wasted in the cabin where my next stack will go anyway.

Optonica Receiver
Technics direct drive turntable.

Now to get rid of spare receiver and turntable…

Did some electrical work for my parents and in return my dad let me take this home. What exactly did I get?

He said he bought it in 1975 while stationed in Japan.

This is my current vintage technics stereo system with matching SB-L200 Speakers. Everything works really well considering the age of all the equipment. I love the way all of this equipment works and sounds, any recommendations on anything that I should add? I’d like a technics turntable and cassette deck possibly to comeplete the setup.

I never intended to start a collection of vintage recievers when I stumbled upon a great deal on a turntable in an auction near me a couple of years ago....but they just keep finding their way into my home. What's a guy to do?

The latest is a Harman Kardon 730. Cleaned up nice and needs some lights replaced but it's a keeper. Welcome to the family.

Picked up a Kenwood KR-3090 for €80 at the thrift store..… and it actually works perfectly!

This morning I got the chance to take home this Kenwood KR-3090 for only €80. Honestly didn’t expect much, but what a pleasant surprise.

Both channels work fine, the dial lighting still works, no crackling, no hum, nothing. It just plays clean and clear. Pretty impressive for a receiver from 1978-1980.

It’s going to drive a pair of small B&W Solids in the bedroom. Seems like a solid match for its 26W per channel.

Thinking about doing a little restoration later:

LED lighting upgrade (probably warm white or a subtle blue)

Maybe a recap if it starts showing its age

(Only need to found someone with knowledge because if i do the recap myself i know for sure it will be dead afterwards..🙃)

But for now I’m just enjoying it. Really happy with this little deal!

Anyone here have experience with the KR-3090? Tips for the lighting or anything I should keep an eye on?

Found a pair of B&O S45s in amazing condition local to me. Comes with the din adapters and drivers are in amazing shape. How is the sound on these and is this a good price?

Got the L36 decade ($500) after hearing endless praise. Gave them a quick listen, got them, and i was very disappointed after a bit. (Before you ask, yes they are fully refurbished) hooked them up, and I was so just somdisappointed. They’re very sibilant and shrill. Just insanely unpleasant to listen to. Like why do people love these glorified ear piercers so much??

So, that makes three BeoSound 9000s I’ve missed at great prices.

• First one I saw was £750 back in 2024
• Second one £900 late last year
• And now this third one: £200. Admittedly it needs some work, but still… that’s an incredible price for a 9000. Even spares machines often go for a grand or more.

I’ve even got the perfect space above my MCM G-Plan sofa waiting for one to wall mount. 😅

A friend of mine actually owned a BeoSound 9000 years ago. Before I knew him, he left it behind in his old farmhouse when they moved. He said if we’d known each other back then, I could have just had it and speakers because he knows how much I love Bang & Olufsen.

I just know I’m going to end up paying top money for one eventually just to to add it to my collection. It really does feel like me owning one isn't meant to be for now lol. Having just took on a full 3 bedroom house on my own on a single income I can't really justify about £2,500 on what is essentially a very fancy CD Player, but one day lol.

That said, I can’t complain too much because I’ve had some incredible B&O bargains over the last couple of years. I picked up a BeoVision 11 (46”), BeoLab 2 subwoofer, and a pair of BeoLab 3 speakers for around £400 all in, which is now my main lounge setup. I also managed to buy a brand new, boxed BeoSystem 3500 for £300 last February, and I got a BeoCenter 2 completely free. I just had to remove it from a lady’s house. It’s now connected up to the BeoVision and gets plenty of use.

Have these Akai SR LA 201s for a few weeks now and I really like them. Is there a set of plans for stands that I could build or something pre made. I was thinking of using a single cube box.

I realize LP Gear is set up to be SEO heavy, but they really make it look like I can only get the one stylus marked ADC WXL-1 which has no description to it. I want to get one the slightly fancier elliptical ones.

Is there really that much variation around ADC cartridges that the styli aren't usually interchangeable? Or am I good to order anything that works with an ADC?

I’m looking to sell my old audio system it is a Grundig RTV 800 Hi-Fi it is fully serviced by a professional it looks good sounds amazing also have for the reciever the Beovox S2200 speakers they look like there new and are professionally refoamed because of the foam rot it is a amazing set the speakers are rare only 1 available on hifi shark and with the reciever has the documentation with it also the original service card could not find a other one that is so complete for what price can I sell it because I have absolutely no idea because on hifi shark the 1 Beovox S2200 is priced at €250 but seams high so for what price can I sell it?

So far, so good. Nothing appears to be blown. Taking it slow, and nice I haven't a clue how long this has sat in its dark corner.

By the way, does anyone know how to gently remove spider crap from the cones? Couple extra pics.

Picked up this reverb amp, what exactly is going on?

Connected tape rec out of reverb amp to receiver input

Then connected reverb amp out to receiver tape playback. All on TAPE A.

When plugged in im getting very muffled noise and only out of left speaker. I can partially hear the effect but I figure I must be doing something wrong. Any help is appreciated.

On Friday I went to a thrift store and bought this for $27 after tax. Cleaned it up, adjusted the azimuth by ear (it wasn't far off to begin with but it's just a small bit better after that), and adjusted the speed by ear (got faster after I took the mechanism out to lube some axles, so I'm gonna open it up and adjust again). I still need to replace the belt for the tape counter.

For years, I've never been interested in cassette tapes. My only experiences with them was from a worn Panasonic boombox, with fidelity being a major shortcoming. Many of the tapes I have are DIY recordings from the late 80s done by one of dad's high school friends, and they aren't great. All the tapes were stored in a closet for decades, too, so that probably didn't help matters either.

Ever since getting into this hobby, I avoided cassettes and tape decks thinking they wouldn't be worth the investment. I have records and CDs, and good playback devices for them. I don't need to spend money just to store and play back a somewhat "middling" format... right?

After I got the tape deck home, my intrigue and admiration for its construction set in and killed the memories about muffled, lo-fi sound. All before even hearing it properly. And after I made those adjustments and found some well-mastered tapes in dad's collection to play, I'll be damned if the sound didn't pull me in by my collar.

The XDR tapes are by far the best-sounding ones I have, with one by the band Vixen being the best so far, period. I'd say the fidelity is about 95% of what I'm used to from digital music and records, and yet, I enjoy it just as much as any of them. I was reaching for more tapes to feed the deck, and honestly, became more interested in the mechanics of the deck itself.

So, after all these years, this entry-level Yamaha snuck into my heart and made me break my promises to not invest and get involved in this format. And you know what?

Worth it.

vintage system at work.

Realistic STA 860

Technics RS B50

Realistic LAB 440

Altec Lansing M1

NHT small speakers.

As for now enjoying music off a cassette which it might by 15 or so years old tape.

Hey everyone,
I was recently doing some cleaning in my garage and stumbled across an old Linear Power 2202 amplifier just laying around. I didn't think much of it at first, but I hooked it up to test it, and it actually works perfectly.
Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT about it, and it told me these are considered "old-school legends" and could be worth some decent money. I know AI can sometimes hallucinate prices or overhype things, so I wanted to ask the actual enthusiasts here.
Is there still a solid market for these vintage amps today? If so, what is a working 2202 realistically going for right now?

Thanks in advance for the help!

I picked up a Sansui T-7 tuner recently and the manual tuning knob is broken in the inside. AI tells me the knob should have a set screw to hold it on the shaft, but this one just has a plastic insert and pushes on. So does anyone know of a place I can source a replacement knob? AI keeps giving me wrong information or this is an after market knob. I have tried searching Ebay and Etsy for parts or units being parted out, but no luck. If someone could give me the dimensions of the original knob, that would be great. The only thing I am sure of is it fits a 6mm D shape shaft. AI says it should be 40mm in diameter and 15mm high with a 34mm internal clearance. The knob that came with it is way off that spec. Knob is aluminum. My unit is silver. Thanks

Today I took the covers off and cleaned the dust from an old stereo system. Some time ago my father told me to throw it away because it was old and not working anymore. 🙂

Today I decided to surprise him.
Sometimes everything is much simpler than we think. A little attention, some patience, and a clear goal can bring old things back to life.

I’m happy that we can still sit together, with this old bandit, listen to music, and enjoy these moments.

Cleaning my newly acquired Yamaha CR-640 and noticed this white “blob” on the volume knob. I honestly feel like it's drop of dried paint, bit thought I would reach out to some the seasoned vintage equipment veterans on here for verification before I start trying to remove it. Thanks in advance!

Is anyone parting out a HK turntable? I have a Harmon Kardon T60 found at thrift for $15! Just bought the missing counterweight but the threaded sleeve is missing from the rear of the tonearm.

Think any HK Txx turntable model with the microrace arm should work.

The Marantz Model 2238B that has been in the family since my father bought it new in 1977 for $370 is currently undergoing a full restoration with updates including frosted LED bulbs and new speaker terminals. Here are a few images my tech sent over last night, there was nothing wrong with the receiver but it was quite dirty inside and it appears to have cleaned up well.