Vintage Audio Hi-Fi Equipment/Setup Thread

[JCU]

I don't if they are much better, but Toshiba actually built it for RCA.

Out here we had two large RCA plants (becoming Thompson in '88 or so) and our family was RCA through and through at least for televisions and maybe smaller electronics like your photo. Once Thompson took over, Pioneer and Sony assumed the role. Thirteen years later it moved operations to Mexico and while I haven't the slightest idea if the move is what compromised quality, anything with the RCA name didn't have the quality or stature, IMO, of its old, true self.

[gamevet]

Yeah, Union labor tended to be pretty expensive and it showed in the pricing. A 13” (American made) color television was over $150 in the 80’s and even more in the 70’s. Most families could only afford one TV. Once cheaper Japanese electronics started showing up, American countries were forced to outsource their labor to foreign countries.

[JCU]

Thompson was able to move the plant (which made 27" tubes) to Mexico where it could pay workers less than 1/3 of what the average worker earned here. Financially it was difficult to pass up such a move and considering many RCA branded televisions (not sure about other electronics) ended up assembled in Mexico, it was inevitable. Even if the plant didn't move, picture tubes went the way of the dodo. Would a 35 year old plant be retrofitted for technology well beyond old picture tube televisions?

[gamevet]

Jar factory?

[JCU]

Cigars

[Baloo]

After many tries and failures, I gave up on native playback for Blu-Rays through Kodi on my Linux desktop. I had all decryption working then one layer for BD+ discs stopped working. At this point I basically gave up and decided to go buy a player. One of the local used media stores around here randomly had an Oppo 103 Media Player sitting in the case. I had always heard these were the best media players money can buy, and boy were they right! I got mine for $250 since after asking if they had wiggle room on the device, turns out I was the first person to ever inquire about it.


This thing plays SACD, DVD-Audio, Blu-Rays (not 4K UHD), DVDs, and has HDMU In, USB in, and can connect to the network for media play over UPNP servers (like my router which has one), and has dedicated still-working Netflix, Youtube, TIDAL, and Vudu apps. I dont have Tidal and Netflix, but Youtube and Vudu apps seem exactly the same as their Android TV counterparts, and this device was made 10 years ago. Media playback over the network or on USB I admittedly find flaky. But as a disc player, this thing sounds freaking amazing. I finally have a device that outputs both digital optical audi out, as well as analog audio out so I can play the sole SACD and DVD-Audio music CDs in full resolution while still getting all of the surround sound formats to my old Technics digital sound processor DAC. Frankly, its hard to say whether there is a difference between analog audio from the Oppo DAC analog outputs or through coaxial digital audio output, but the Oppo as a whole has given me a newfound appreciation for music in the CD format, whether it be redbook, SACD or DVD-Audio. Likewise, I cant say that I certainly can tell the difference between DVD-A/SACD and their Redbook counterparts (both discs I have contain both), but the sound floor of the Oppo as a whole is fantastic, even better than the PC with dedicated sound card that I built.

Video-wise, Blu-Rays look quite undersaturated, a lot of gray on the default setting, but the picture is sharp. But with the amount of features to tweak the picture, I just ticked up the saturation and things looked fine. Supposedly the Oppo-103 can upscale Blu Rays to 4k (but my TV only goes to 1080p), while DVDs are upscaled as well. Some DVDs upscaled look amazing. Most of the DVDs I own are anime titles not easily streamed, I tried out a few out. Cowboy Bebop the Complete Series, released a few years ago, looked amazing, while Kiki's Delivery Service from 2003 looked admittedly pretty bad. I know early DVDs pressed were nothing to write home about, so not sure if I can chalk it up to the Oppo.

Overall, this is one of the best media players Ive owned. If you see one and youre an audiophile, its worth a purchase. The video could use a little tweaking, but that clearly isnt the focus. For an all in one player with home theater, 5.1 analog out, there are few other better options. I only wish that it had the ability to player Laserdiscs as well!

[Tasuke]

PIONEER ELITE/REFERENCE PD-91 CD PLAYER (1988)

[Segadream]

I hit the drumpster jackprot yesterday,
My neighbor decided to let his wife clean out their
garage....
Long story short I walked away with a nice set of Classic Bose
White cube system speaks (6 plus the acuistimass woof)
Along with a two receivers and the surround speakers from
a Panasonic surround set with woofer...
I have heard good things about Bose,
Are they worth the time to see is the question....
I know I'll have to pair it with a decent receiver/amp
to get anything worth judging...
But I also have about five of them to hook up to...
I'm going to the flea market first, but today after
I'm going to run a rag across these and take pictures.
Might not post them till next time...
Shits got real.....had to get a friggin job.....🤬

[Baloo]

Send some pictures along.

[Baloo]

So after getting tired of using unstable crap like ARC, HDMI-CEC and 5 different remotes to process surround sound on my very vintage setup posted earlier in this thread (and due to complaints of difficulty of operating the tv from my parents and in-laws) I decided to try and find the most economical all in one home theater surround sound receiver for my setup.

Since I only have a 1080p Panasonic 37" TV from 2013, and only room enough for a 5.0 channel setup (my front speakers are big enough for good bass and my subwoofer broke) and I still use a lot of older devices on my setup, II knew I didn't need something with 4K, DTS:X, Dolby Atmos or any other new features, so I hit the eBay used market to see how much Watts Per Channel I could get for my buck. I wanted something with the following:

1. Ability to process SACD/DSD
2. A phono input for a turntable
3. HDMI inputs that support 1080p
4. Great sound for both music and surround sound.

I wanted something new enough that satisfied my needs but was cheap relative to the extremely expensive market. I ended up with the Denon AVR-4308CI. At $400 it was advertised as working entirely and had all of the hookups and remotes, including the Audyssey AutoEQ microphone and a Demon RC-1068 Universal Remote. At 140WPC rating for 7.1 channels and both analog, phono inputs, DSD processing, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master processing, and Dolby Pro Logic II processing, I knew it would support all of the things I use my TV for.

I tested the Denon using my three points of reference:

1. My Oppo 103D Blu-Ray Player which also plays SACD and DVD-Audio discs and exports DSD directly over HDMI. I used the SACD The Carpenters Singles: 1969-1981 as my reference disc as I think it sounds sonically the best.

2. My Apple TV 4K playing the movie The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

3. My Nintendo Wii outputting a video game in Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound, in this case Mario Kart: Double Dash.

I must say, my new setup sounds miles better than my old one! The Carpenters disc sounded as clear as my last setup using the Oppo analog out, and I picked up even more sounds in the songs than I did previously. Pristine and crystal clear.

On the Surround Sound LPCM side, The Man from U.N.C.L.E sounded very good in the car chase scenes, though like all movies the dialogue was a little quiet compared to the action. But the bass on even subtle moves like opening safes and other action hits made it feel like I was in the movie theater again, way better than my prior setup where my Oppo did all of the surround sound decoding.

And I never heard a video game sound as good as when I played Mario Kart Double Dash in Dolby Pro Logic II Game Mode on my Denon. What an upgrade from the old Dolby Pro Logic my really old amps supported. Since neither the Oppo nor the amps supported Pro Logic II, I didn't realize I was missing out on matrixed surround sound that frankly sounds just as good as Dolby Digital discrete 5.1 channels ever did.

The only downside is that the Demon has a massive amount of settings, and one button press or setting can confuse and make things not work properly if you don't know what you're doing. I had to turn on Setup Lock so my family didn't accidentally press something to not make picture or sound show up. But the Universal Remote is a great touch to simplifying the amount of remotes too, and there is a Quick Start feature that saves all video and audio processing

And for as much of a hater of HDMI as I used to be, I will say that HDMI makes setup of receivers so much more simple than the dozens of RCA inputs I had to use in the past from my Oppo to my Multichannel Preamp to my Amps.

Overall, if you're in the market for an upgrade in sound, don't hesitate to look at the mid-2000s audio market, as you can save quite a bit of money and get better power ratings than modern receivers rated the same which cost $1200+. In 2007, this Demon was state of the art and cost $2500, which adjusted for inflation is quite, quite expensive. These receivers are not considered vintage by collectors, but new movie lovers arent interested in them because they cannot pass through 4K broadcasts. Even though my Denon only supports HDMI 1.3a, I find that everything I want to watch works fine and looks great on my TV. If I want a 4K broadcast or disc playing in the future, I'll have to search for the Oppo UDP-203 model, which has HDMI input for 4K devices and has two HDMI outputs to send the signal to both a receiver and television at the same time. But without a current TV that can support it and the HDR 10+/Dolby Vision battles still raging, I'm biding my time to buy a new TV for as long as possible.

[gamevet]

You're probably going to need a Pre-Amp for your turntable.

When my 1993 Pro-Logic II receiver went out; I picked up a 5.1 to replace it. It did not have an input dedicated for Phono, so I had to use one of the auxiliary ports. Turns out that the phono input on my old receiver, had a built-in pre-amp.

[Baloo]

Don't need a pre-amp as the Denon I bought has a dedicated phono input with built-in preamp. Though I know a lot of receivers made after the late-90s ditched phono preamps until after the vinyl revolution reoccurred.