Vintage Stereo Receivers

There are many great models on ebay, but will their performance match up to their spectacular reviews on audioreview.com? I have a Sansui 771, which is supposed to be a very good receiver, but the sound is not nearly as crisp as my Onkyo HT-R410 receiver no matter what the source. Does this mean the Sansui needs to be reconditioned? Will ebay models need to be reconditioned?

Thanks,
-Jonathan.

i don't know a lot about this topic, the oldest equiptment i've worked with was still made in the early ninties, but what i notice is how the new digital connectors on recievers do wonders, makes it sound louder and cleaner. even if u have those old tube recievers, your signal isn't going to be as good as a digital connection, but what do i know, i'm a car stereo guy . You could still get a pretty good modern reciever. i saw some of the onkyo and denon recievers with less then .0* or .00* THD.

A lot of older amps from the 70s-80s were built much better than current cheap HT gear. Perhaps you didn't but a very good amp if it doesn't sound good to you. Ebay has a lot of good audio gear, but there's also mediocre stuff too.

I'd suggest trying to find a Sony VX-5 but they're probably hard to find, and it's just from personal experience.

Nothing wrong with analog inputs if the amps and sources are good.

I have a PM 665 built by HK in the 80s.

It is rated for 170 wRMS into 4 ohms, it's a stereo amp.

The entire preamp section has died, the switches and controls are all scratchy and most of the circuitry is dead.

The power amp is still fit as a fiddle.

And it completely rocks. I have yet to hear a modern-day amp come close to the power, punch and fidelity this amp can deliver. The NADs come close, but they sound different, adding a slight 'british' overtone. And they don't have the kind of brute aggression this amp has.

THD percentages mean nothing. It's totally about the sound. I use the power amp for 'Direct in' monitoring as well as with my CD player. All I need is a good preamp and I'm set.

It has been suggested on the Audiokarma forums that I might have a leaky capacitor. Anyone know how much it will cost to fix?

I got a Pioneer from the 70s and a Technic from the 80s, both have been running since they were bought and not a single problem. Remember that all different models and manufacturers will have different types of output, so they will cause different types of effects on the sound. Some are good for classical, others for house.
The best would be a perfectly non-altering amp, but thats not really possible, but the ones that do go close are way out of the common person's price range.