Choosing a '70s Receiver

Pioneer SA-500 with remote controlled volume. Matching Pioneer TX-500.

 

Nicely modded! Who did the work?

 

Thanks, I did.

 

What should some of these properly cost today if new (yes, assume BlueTooth capability)?

Eg, a Marantz 2270 was $600. A Pioneer SX838 $500. My SX737 was $400.

 

Hard to say, but consider this:

My still available to buy new 2011 Yamaha R-S700 BL receiver is selling for $500 (I got it as a refurb for $325) and is far better built and sounds better than my 1981 Realistic STA 2080 which sold for exactly the same $500 in 1981.

 

Most of the new gears are quite unappealing in both look and build ...

 

Is this an optical illusion? I am seeing output jacks on the side of the receiver ...

 

But is this comparison fair or valid? Realistic is a RadioShack brand that was subcontracted out to be built by one of the Japanese audio makers, possibly Sanyo. The parts and the build quality were not as good as most of the major Japanese brands ...

 

Actually Realistic gear was built by several Japanese manufacturers including Pioneer, Foster, and Kenwood. I've never heard of any made by Sanyo. Not that that would be an issue as Sanyo was an excellent manufacturer that gets tagged as "cheap" because their US offerings were always of the inexpensive variety. I installed hundred of Sanyo video cameras and monitors in the 80's and they were the best available - We switched to Sony for a short time with disastrous results.

 

Interesting that you single out Sansui - I had a Marantz 2238B for several years after getting back into spinning records, and bought it based on its alleged 'warm' sound. To me, it was a very neutral sounding amp that leaned to the bright side, although not in a harsh way at all.

I enjoyed the 2238, but picked up a Sansui 771 for a song, and in terms of tonal warmth it blew the Marantz away, although it might be a tiny bit less detailed. I had to keep my Advents on Decrease with the 2238, but have adjusted them to Neutral with the Sansui. The 771 has become my every day unit.

Experiencing that bit of warmth has whetted my appetite to try tubes with my modest system. I'm leaning towards picking up the Budgie pre.

 

Nope. The G9000DB (and the essentially similar G9000; the DB means it had Dolby decoding for FM), put out a massive 160 watts per channel, and as such needed huge heat sinks to keep the unit cool. So Sansui put the inputs and the outputs on the sides because the back of the 60 lb. unit looked like this:


As you can see, no place for any connections other than switched and unswitched outlets (lower right side in the image above.) These things were monster receivers, and Sansui pulled out all the stops. I believe that the retail price in the '70s was somewhere around $1,000.

 

$1000 in the 70's is well over $3000 today ...

I have heard about many receivers and tuners back in the 70's had Dolby decoders as some FM stations had dolby broadcast. My Revox tuner has a Dolby decoder ...

 

I listen to my Sansui G-4700 at least 3 times a week, and my Sansui QRX-9000 4-channel receiver at least that often; I find both to be more engaging (if less "accurate") than the Denon HT receiver I have in the living room. However, I do use a Pro-Ject Tube Box S pre for my turntable that is hooked up to the Denon, and that adds a little tube warmth to the sound of records in that room.

 

Nice tuner! I have a QRX-9001 quad receiver that has built-in Dolby for both FM and it can be used for tape recording as well. I don't have an RTR tape deck, so I haven't tried it out.

 

That's exactly what I'm hoping to achieve with the Budgie, which I've heard nothing but good things about. Many forum members swear by it. The Pro-Ject sounds like a wonderful unit, but is just more than I want to spend.

 

The biggest problem with the RTR deck is the tapes are way too expensive these days. I have 3 RTR decks, an outboard Dolby B/C encoder/decoder as well as 2 dbX encoder/decoder, which I hope to try on my dcek one of these days ...

 

I really like it. When I was buying my Pro-Ject turntable and first MC cartridge I had the money in my budget for it, but I had also heard good things about the Budgie. I decided that since I had it in my budget, I'd stick with the same brand as the turntable.

 

I know what you mean about the cost of the tapes. Because of that, I figure I'll never have a RTR deck. I have been tempted, though. I always wanted a TEAC 4-channel deck with Simul-Sync which allows for sound-on-sound and sound with sound recording, or so I've been led to believe. The other reason for wanting an RTR quad deck is that it is the only format in which you can get the original analog mixes of the Moody Blues Lps in quad other than 8-track. However, since I have the Moodies on SACD with their quad mixes, I don't feel the need to spend hundreds of dollars acquiring 6 albums (the tapes alone can go for over $100 apiece on eBay) and the potential $1,000 or so on a reconditioned RTR quad deck. It's just too much money for the relatively small return. Now, if I had a library of tapes in my position already, it would be a different story, I suppose.

 

I use both of these regularly;

 

It would definitely be worth your while to join audiokarma, search their archives, and also post your symptoms on the Marantz forum there. I spent a lot of time at AK when I was going through my vintage phase (which I have not completely gotten over). There is a wealth of knowledge there; some really experienced techs post regularly. You could so some trouble shooting and research on finding a good technician before just starting to drop money on repairs. Might save you quite a bit and have better results in the long run!

 

That is awesome! My biggest complaint with Vintage was always the absolute garbage they had for I/O connections (and of course the lack of remote control).

Very Luxmanesque!!!

 

I actually have a Restorer extraordinaire who is going to do a full restore on the 2245 I bought. Found him through AudioKarma. Great site too, especially if you are into vintage.

 

I grabbed a 2220B some years ago for basement bedroom duty and it's anything but warm, though I suppose it's possible that it may need innards work. It sits unplugged and listens attentively to an SX-737.

 

Same with me. They just pop back in though. But, yeah.

 

I'll take two!.. To go!