vector research receiver ?

leftwinger57

I saw what I believe to be the totl Vector Research reciver at GoodWill yesterday. I never heard of this brand before but according to semi knowledgeable dudes over on AK they say it's an American maker from the 70/80s and their stuff was decent. I just read anothers' querie. What I need is a stand alone tuner or vintage receiver to go into my bdrm. to replace the current set-up of the Realistic SA-150 integrated and a Sony surround receiver that only the audio outs work and with it's tuner section being the worst ever w/ 0 control or pulling in power. The price for the VR was $50 and this thing really had some heft to it. At this particular GW there is no barganing and what's listed is the going price. Also I don't know how far they tested it and what if any is their return policy if any if something w/ tax is over $50. Sorry I did not record model # but by weight alone I do think this is the totl model. Is this worth anything, worth at least a check out if still on the shelves or a total pass due to price and or the product being beat out of the box? Oh yeah, coloring is dark grey and has a Sansui/NAD type of look with the face plate looking real good and the top has some minimal scratching.
i remember seeing an Onkyo tuner in the for sale section a ways back. If this still available and less than the VR receiver is that a better option for about half the cash.

George Grand

I don't think an "American maker".

None of their other products were worth anything, I don't see the totl receiver being much.

leftwinger57

Some said it was made in Chatsworth California and others think it was all imported stuff just sold under a U.S. banner. Reviews are all over the place w/ some liking the brand and still using theirs and others whose receviers died and are still upset over it. Now
I think $50 is way to much for something that may or may not last another few years. The one I looked at might be this model or the 9000.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/140196/vector-research-vrx-9500-receiver

11tsteve

I remember them, and I remember them being sold in the beginnings of big box stores when I was younger.

This from the linked web page....

"Damark Industries
Trading company based in Chatsworth, California, USA, and founded in 1967, later in Camarillo, California. Originally I believe the company was mostly occupied with distributing hi-fi and radio products (via mail order ?) but in the latter half of the 70's it started marketing products under their own Vector Research brand, these were noticeably better than most such branding exercises especially in the first few years, in particular the Kyocera sourced CD players and cassette recorders, video recorders sourced from NEC (by far the best OEM supplier of such at the time) and the receivers which were sourced from the Japanese and Taiwanese factories that at the same time were supplying Rotel and NAD with their USA models, these receiver models usually not sold in Europe, and these are the exact same units as provided by the aforementioned companies except for the front facia.

Noticeably VR was selling the receivers at lower prices than the competition and thus gained something of a reputation as a supplier of quality budget hi-fi, but the company was by no means tied to the low end, the most expensive receiver model from the company at the time retailed for around 1000 USD, the loudspeakers and record players from the company were disappointing however. The company was almost exclusively distributed in the southern part of the USA although for a time their products were sold as far away as Australia but notably the company did only own the trademark rights to VR in the US, the quality of their products also took a downturn in the latter half of the 80's in tune with the market and the last products I have been able to find stamped with the VR brand were an inexpensive sub/satellite combination from the early 90's. Getting accurate information on the company itself has not been without problems but it does appear to have gone out of business in 1992/3, however the Vector Research trademark was transferred to a company of the same name and a very similar address to the last one that Damark had at that time but no products manufactured under the VR name have been found that have been attributed to the latter company and last traces of it disappear from official documentation in 2004.

Be warned that there sprung up a number of companies called Damark after 1993, including a telemarketer based in Minnesota that is notorious for charging peoples credit cards without their consent, but there was also at the least a couple of companies that were called Vector Research at a similar time, including a a tiny relay manufacturer."

link: http://audiotools.com/dead_d.html#damark

mhardy6647

The Vector Research stuff was OK (and much of it was very attractive) - it was lower echelon, though, and it also came along at the tail end of the big 1970s hifi boom -- this may provide some upside for today's consumer, as the demand for those products will be commensurately lower than the big names from those days.

pitdogg2

there was nothing TOTL with Vector Research. Seen them had them...I'd take a Technics...

tonyb

Boat anchor.....

leftwinger57

I agree and went w/ something else. New post for a new/ old Nikko receiver. Thanks guys and it paid to get a bunch of opioions.

cnh

11tsteve wrote: »

I remember them, and I remember them being sold in the beginnings of big box stores when I was younger.

This from the linked web page....

"Damark Industries
Trading company based in Chatsworth, California, USA, and founded in 1967, later in Camarillo, California. Originally I believe the company was mostly occupied with distributing hi-fi and radio products (via mail order ?) but in the latter half of the 70's it started marketing products under their own Vector Research brand, these were noticeably better than most such branding exercises especially in the first few years, in particular the Kyocera sourced CD players and cassette recorders, video recorders sourced from NEC (by far the best OEM supplier of such at the time) and the receivers which were sourced from the Japanese and Taiwanese factories that at the same time were supplying Rotel and NAD with their USA models, these receiver models usually not sold in Europe, and these are the exact same units as provided by the aforementioned companies except for the front facia.

Noticeably VR was selling the receivers at lower prices than the competition and thus gained something of a reputation as a supplier of quality budget hi-fi, but the company was by no means tied to the low end, the most expensive receiver model from the company at the time retailed for around 1000 USD, the loudspeakers and record players from the company were disappointing however. The company was almost exclusively distributed in the southern part of the USA although for a time their products were sold as far away as Australia but notably the company did only own the trademark rights to VR in the US, the quality of their products also took a downturn in the latter half of the 80's in tune with the market and the last products I have been able to find stamped with the VR brand were an inexpensive sub/satellite combination from the early 90's. Getting accurate information on the company itself has not been without problems but it does appear to have gone out of business in 1992/3, however the Vector Research trademark was transferred to a company of the same name and a very similar address to the last one that Damark had at that time but no products manufactured under the VR name have been found that have been attributed to the latter company and last traces of it disappear from official documentation in 2004.

Be warned that there sprung up a number of companies called Damark after 1993, including a telemarketer based in Minnesota that is notorious for charging peoples credit cards without their consent, but there was also at the least a couple of companies that were called Vector Research at a similar time, including a a tiny relay manufacturer."

link: http://audiotools.com/dead_d.html#damark

If it's a REAL Vector Research then it was MOST certainly assembled in Taiwan with parts comparable to what you would find in Rotels and NADs of that period. Actually, pretty good. For a while VR was competition for NAD in the U.S. but that didn't last long.

I have a VR-5000 receiver in the fold I got for almost nothing. I almost didn't pick it up because I had no idea what it was a few year ago. But at 44 watts x 2 and about 25 lbs or more, guessing the weight there, but good heft for the power.

Clean sounding. Pushes EPI 120Cs LOUD and Clean. Decent tuner that pulls in stations well. Nice dark metal face. Certainly competes with most similar models of the late '70s, I believe (maybe very early '80s). If your model is Not in that pre early '80s period it's probably not at the apex of VR production.

I'm sure the Nikko you picked up is fine as well! But VR doesn't get the respect it deserves, albeit during a small window in time. They're actually well built and last and last!

cnh

czarodzi

Any company with a product line has to have a "top" and as someone pointed out Vector Research was offered at big box stores, I remember seeing them at department stores - not high end audio stores - in the 80's. Novelty, yes. Quality, meh.

PA_trumpetr

Maybe they were "low echelon," but I can tell you that my VR-2500 is still working perfectly after 42 years of regular use. I bought mine at Tech HiFi in 1980, so maybe I caught the sweet spot before they went "big box."

There was some discussion in here about the country of origin. I just checked my original box (yes, I still have it, along with the styrofoam, etc.), which says "Made in Japan."