putting together a vintage 2 ch rig

danger boy

I'm putting together a vintage 2 ch music only rig in my computer room. I've already got the amp, now i'm looking for a AM/FM tuner. Going the route of seperates here.

Any suggestions on a tuner? I'm staying away from the plastic black tuners of the 1980's. Looking at both analog and digital tuners from late 70's.

Ones that come to mind are Pioneer TX-8500II, Sansui TU-S9 or TU-717 , Kenwood KT-8300, Marantz, Yamaha T2.. something with 4 gangs and up.

Also in search of bookshelf speakers under $200. Vintage/used as well. I want to do this whole thing for under $500. the intergrated amp used up $125 of it already. :eek:

would love some thoughts from anyone, esp you hard core 2 ch. peeps. Oh yeah... i would like the tuner to be brushed metal to match somewhat the amp.

AL

Tour2ma

If you don't really need AM, consider a Dynaco FM-5. Wonderful old analog tuner from the 70's with brushed Aluminum face and black metal case.
http://home.indy.net/~gregdunn/dynaco/components/FM5/index.html

As for speakers, the term bookshelf is a tad non-descipt. Some bookshelves hold more weight than others. A couple come to mind that are well within your budget...
Small Advents
EPI 100's

TroyD

Dynaco A-25's....

BDT

VR3

Sansui T-9 - Tuner
Vintage Advent Walnuts - Bookshelfs

danger boy

Originally posted by TroyD
Dynaco A-25's....

BDT

Troy,

I have never heard these in person. but from what i've read online.. there are plenty of mixed reviews on these speakers. not sure why..but people either love em or hate em'. and most of what i read there wasn't much love for em.

Have you heard them? Do you own a pair?

danger boy

Originally posted by Vr3MxStyler2k3
Sansui T-9 - Tuner
Vintage Advent Walnuts - Bookshelfs

classic vintage Advents still have a pretty loyal following i hear. I seem them sometimes on Ebay. also found a pair recently of "baby Advents".. looked kool too.

organ

Those Dynaco speakers can be purchased for about $100 on ebay. So if you don't like them you can sell them again for the same price.

Maurice

VR3

Danger,
I just plugged my Sansui T9 tuner up...

With a little *tweaking* with the antenna, I wrapped the patch cables around each end of the antenna to get the best signal (it worked) --- but after that, that is some CRYSTAL clear reception. Well worth 40 some bucks. I suggest you pick up a unit. That dude probally still has one for sell.

Sansui T-9. Great tuner!

Jstas

I slapped together two 2-ch rigs for under 500 a piece. Both are using the same tube amp kit.

Rig 1 (for home)

Antique Electronics Supply K-502 stereo amplifier
Carver C-1 preamp
dbx cd player
Onkyo tuner
Behringer Parametric EQ
KLH 17's


Rig 2 (for work)

Antique Electronics Supply K-502 stereo amplifier
Onkyo preamp
Onkyo tuner
Minetek DVD/CD/MP3 player
BSR Equalizer
KLH 22's


Naturally, for vintage speakers, you can pick up a set of decent KLH speakers off of eBay or even some members here for a song. I got both the KLH 17's and the KLH 22's for 40 dollars or less. They are excellent speakers for thier age and I'd put them up against alot of other modern stuff.

As far as vintage gear, can't really help you there, I don't have anything I am willing to part with. Best thing to do is scourer eBay or keep your eye on various forums and sites like Audiogon.

But, IMO, you can't go wrong with a set of vintage Advent, AR or KLH speakers. Other vintage items that may be hard to find but worth teh effort are speakers from Electro-Voice, old Klipsh stuff and even some old Realistic/Radio Shack stuff will impress you.

The best tuners I have seen from the 70's have been the Sansui tuners. My dad has a Sansui reciever/tuner integrated that he got way back in 1972. It is still the best, most sensitive tuner I have seen yet. The Pioneer and Kenwood tuners are good pieces of equipment and if you can stand the late 70's to early 80's stuff the older Teac, Technics and Onkyo tuners can be had cheap and work well if you grab a newer Terk or other powered antenna with it.

TroyD

I had a pair of Dynaco A-25's briefly and gave the to George Grand. IMO, one of the best sounding smaller speakers I've heard, new or vintage.

BDT

danger boy

yeah a decent pair of those Dynaco A-25's went for $200 on Ebay earlier this week.. i wasn't looking to buy any speakers quite that fast.. and it seemed a little steep to me. but if they had been closer to $100 i prob would have jumped at em.

Sid, I've reading about the vintage Sansui tuners and receivers myself.. i've been reading good things about a few of theirs.

TroyD

There is a pair on Audiogon for 150, I believe.

BDT

George Grand

That Dynaco FM-5 advice is noteworthy. I had two of those and sold them both to the same guy. FM performance is excellent, and the FM-5 also sports a pair of line-level "AUX" inputs. The RCA output jacks are variable level, and controlled by a volume knob on the front. FM-5 can be a great pre/tuna if no vinyl is involved.

The Harman-Kardon Citation 11 and 12 pre/power combo was/is something I've always coveted. That power amp was only rated at 60wpc @ 8 ohms, but trust me, was a real brute. A zillion years ago in 1974, I used to sell them, but couldn't afford them.

Another sleeper power amp that doesn't get much press is the Hafler DH-120. Another 60wpc killer piece, that has the Hafler "DynaQuad" circuit aboard. All you have to do for GREAT surround sound is hook 4 speakers up to it. Couple that up with a DH-110 pre (or Citation 11) and you're cooking.

Far too many speakers to even begin to make a recommendation. The other day, I acquired a pair of ADS L-730 speakers. A BIG, 10", three-way, acoustic suspension job. Dome mids and tweets. The cabinets are rock freakin' solid. They sound as good or better than some of the legendary East Coast sounders I've been partial to forever, and have had laying around forever (well, ADS IS an East Coast company). I paid a lot less than $150 for them.

The Dynaco A-25 is a fantastic loudspeaker, that can unfortunately leave you wanting for that last octave of low-end.

There are so many great pair of speakers out there on the used market, and in thrift shops, yard sales, etc. it's not funny. Just depends on what your tastes are, and if you're willing to wait.

Pioneer TX-9500 or 9500II would do nicely tuna-wise. They fetch big bucks. Shame you didn't post sooner, cause I have one inside that's spoken for. It and the matching Pioneer SA-9500 integrated. Both flawless, both for $300. Sansui tuners from way back are okay. The receivers are not exactly exceptional in my estimation. I recently sold a AU-999/TU-999 combo. Some people call that combo tube-like. I didn't hear that part, and I owned it for quite awhile too.


George Grand (of the Jersey Grands)

TroyD

Well, if you are using the Amazings and AR9's for a reference, there aren't many speakers out there that wouldn't leave you wanting for that bottom octave, no?

BDT