This joint needs some more vintage hifi

[mhardy6647]

The knobs and face-plate are reminiscent of this current item on fleabay. Merrill STA 24:

cnh

That amp kit was sold by numerous vendors - go to www.radioshackcatalogs.com in the mid to late 1960s and you'll see it - you'll also see how cheap it was! :-O

[organ]

Awesome! Keep them coming guys :-). I have a few pieces that I'll take pics of if I can still find them.

[boston1450]

some really cool stuff here

[hertz9753]

I woundn't call this hifi, but it was my first amp and I still own it.

[mrbigbluelight]

Weren't those Trio integrated amps sold at upscale retailers like Macys, Stix Baer & Fuller, etc ? There was a thread here a couple of years ago that I can't find (search function eludes me) that talked about that, if I remember correctly. Nice looking, good gear. Kenwood.

CNH, liked that Sansui pic; do you have a model number by any chance ?

[mrbigbluelight]

Our earliest "stereo" (early 60's) was a Sears fold-down turntable that had speakers that swung open. I tried to find a pic of that with no luck, but it "kind of" looked like this (pics off of Ebay):



Luckily it was the early 60's, we were only 10 or so, so we didn't know better . It must be said that a lot of vinyl got played .... well, carved ..... while we air-guitared, lip-synched, danced, and played the fools on that little boogar.

[cnh]

Our earliest "stereo" (early 60's) was a Sears fold-down turntable that had speakers that swung open. I tried to find a pic of that with no luck, but it "kind of" looked like this (pics off of Ebay):

Attachment 72352 Attachment 72353

Luckily it was the early 60's, we were only 10 or so, so we didn't know better . It must be said that a lot of vinyl got played .... well, carved ..... while we air-guitared, lip-synched, danced, and played the fools on that little boogar.

A friend of mine had something like that and one summer we ran a 50' extension cord from his house to a tent he just bought and we camped out in his backyard listening to Steppenwolf and Black Sabbath albums into the wee hours of the morning and probably giving the suburban neighbors fits! Good times. We finally did go camping at Goldsboro and Tobyhanna State Parks in Pa.

The SANSUI is a QS-1 (I assume the Q is for Quad.).

cnh

[mhardy6647]

The "TRIO" photos posted earlier are from the Japanese TRIO - known here in the US as "Kenwood". AFAIK, no Kenwood equipment was ever branded "TRIO" in the US. http://www.audio-heritage.jp/TRIO-KENWOOD/index.html
harman/kardon also once made a vacuum tube amplifier called "Trio", adding a bit to the confusion for us Amurricans.

[littlewoodboats]

Here is something from the early 70's. Still going strong.

[cnh]

Good catch, on Trio. I simply grabbed the best info pics I could off google images.

Getting back the Macys. I lived in NYC through the '80s when they still had a dedicated Hi-fi department that sold some reasonably good pieces. Although I do not remember Kenwood, I do remember them selling Epicure, NHT, and a number of other well-known speakers during that time. Eventually, Audio took a noise dive, disappeared.

Some very nice Yamaha pieces above, with the CA-1000 having Class A capability!

The lights on my CR-800 (all) finally blew out last week during one of the hottest days of the year, the amp and tuner are OK, though. I run some ADS L520s on that 50 watt Yamaha that are, almost, to die for!

cnh

[littlewoodboats]

Some very nice Yamaha pieces above, with the CA-1000 having Class A capability!

The lights on my CR-800 (all) finally blew out last week during one of the hottest days of the year, the amp and tuner are OK, though. I run some ADS L520s on that 50 watt Yamaha that are, almost, to die for!

cnh

With the exception of the red indicators on the tuner all of my bulbs are out. I am on the schedule to send both pieces in for a full overhaul\update once this house sale silliness is over and done with.

The CA-1000 does not receive much in the way of love due to the lack of meters. I will take Class A and four ohm stable over meters any day. My SDA-2A's seem to like it. Runs in my office all day every day and sounds better than most anything I have heard around here. (not saying much as I seem to be in the minority around here with a dedicated two channel system)

If you look in the Yamaha section over at AK someone has led replacements for all of the lights in a choice of colors.

[Polkersince85]

Here's a little contribution:

[mhardy6647]

Is that Michael Jackson in a dress? Look at that nose!

I'd love to have a CA-1000! For the record, I do have a CA-2010, but I've never even had the nerve to plug it in & see if it works. Farking beautiful piece of hardware it is, though...

[littlewoodboats]

I'd love to have a CA-1000! For the record, I do have a CA-2010, but I've never even had the nerve to plug it in & see if it works. Farking beautiful piece of hardware it is, though...

I bought both pieces at a garage sale for $50.00 in the original boxes with manuals. The CA-2010 is supposed to be a great piece. If you ever decide you want to sell the CA-2010 let me know. The 2010 was still four ohm stable where the receivers were not by that time. I smoked my old CR-840 testing my SDA's. (I felt bad about that as I had owned it since new)

[vstarkwell]

I'm loving this thread, so I'll add this in seeing as I have one.

[mhardy6647]

I am sure youse guyses have seen my CA-800, but, what the heck, here it is again...
This is the only 'good' photo I have handy of it, so you have to kind of look past the Korean-made Sherwood amp :-)



Note that the CA-800 was running in Class A when the photo was snapped.

[littlewoodboats]

My CA-1000 is stuck in Class A. The manual says to never switch back an forth while powered on. Going from A to B was not a problem. Switching from B to A with the power on would often arc and weld the switch in the A position. It is repairable with minimal fuss and expense. Original owners were good about that sort of thing but the second and third hand stuff often suffers from this issue.

I have listened to the modern AS-500 and I would not trade my old fossil for one.

[cnh]

We've seen this one on this site before, but it's still my favorite lower power HK. Sounds absolutely "fantastic' driving a pair of vintage Dynaco A25s. The HK 430 (Twin Power).

cnh

[mhardy6647]

I have a really homely hk430... but it was free :-)
It is a wonderful receiver as well as, IMNSHO, an unusually beautifully styled one.
The hk430 is, rather famously, regarded in certain circles as virtuallly the only solid state amplifier/receiver to complement the Klipsch "heritage" speaker systems (specifically, the rather rough-n-tumble Heresy). It was also, in its day, a very popular complement for the Polk Audio Monitor Series models 7 and 10. Great sounding tuner, too. What a package!

[mhardy6647]

Happy Fourth of July, all; shall we get a tad jiggy wit' it, then?

[BottomFeeder]

Wow! Vintage audio eye porn! This is, without question, one of my fave threads in a long time. Thanks so much for starting it - & for keeping it going!

My earliest audio memories are of a Dynaco amp paired with KLH model 6's. Great times spent with that combo.

[littlewoodboats]

My father had the JVC shown above. I was never allowed to touch it. and I never did

Other than places like Velleman is there any kit gear still out there? Building a good old school Solid State amp sounds like fun.

Great thread.

[mhardy6647]

are there any kit suppliers nowadays?
Probably more than ever before!

Here's a smattering...

www.bottlehead.com
www.s5electronics.com
www.dynakitparts.com
http://www.transcendentsound.com/Transcendent/Home.html
http://www.diyhifisupply.com/

The solid state stuff tends more towards board level kits (not complete kits with chassis, panels, an cabinet) but there are many of those, too.

[Keiko]

Yamaha CR-840 60W and Akai GX F66R cassette. Using these in my bedroom with a pair of TL2 Blackstones.

[lanchile]

I got this like in mint condition inside of a plastic bag in an attic of my friend. all is original and working.I took the bottom that has the legs to take pictures inside that is why it looks low to the floor.

[mhardy6647]

SX-727, is it? :-)
One of those in the basement... no photos handy, though...

[lanchile]

you are right mhardy6647 ! it is the Pioneer SX-727. too bad I do not have use for it.

[mhardy6647]

No real use for mine, either - I just like the looks of it.
Here's another one I had no use for... gave this to a guy on Audioasylum who enjoys restoring and collecting vintage HH Scott solid state receivers. It is beautifully made, and it has a very good tuner in it...

[leftwinger57]

I think the whole package was way too expensive for just plain common kids.Besides the quad reciever,4 speakers and uber expensive lps and the tt, moms just couldn't let you spend that kind of cash. I think the lps were gold colored.

[gdb]

No real use for mine, either - I just like the looks of it.
Here's another one I had no use for... gave this to a guy on Audioasylum who enjoys restoring and collecting vintage HH Scott solid state receivers. It is beautifully made, and it has a very good tuner in it...

My Dad had that Scott, all the dual ring, metal knobs split apart eventually. It really sounded great powering some old Dynacos !!!