Definitions - What constitutes Classic or Vintage Hi-Fi?

[Alex_UK]

Well, to me, all apply!

A) - why I own an early Rega Planar 3, an Aura amp, and Pioneer PD-S904 CD player - items I coveted at some point in the past, and why I have a hankering for some TDL speakers...

B) - If you don't do your research, very easy to get carried away with what seems to be fetching money at the moment - a lot of crap is "bigged up" by the seller - in a way, the 70's Sony amp I bought was a victim of this - I only really wanted it as a collectible piece (OK, for the big VU meters!) but it doesn't sound brilliant compared to a modern amp - also makes me laugh how you only ever see an ebay ad saying how fantastic the piece of kit sounds - in which case, why are you selling it?!

C) I agree - a classic should have something of "merit" but that can be a very loose term - it could be that it was the component that defined a generation and was good but is not particularly rare (say an SME 3009) or its merits might be that it is rare as hen's teeth, yet still not sound that good... Or it could be that it is a design classic, but fragile as hell - lots of comparisons to the classic car world, I think - no one would doubt that many Alfas and Lancias are classics, despite the fact that they rot at the first sign of H20 and fall to pieces if you actually use them!

[BTH K10A]

Sorry about that I am into antique Glass ware and Oil lamps.
Regards D S D L----- Neil

Don't be sorry, so am I

Andy

[Jac Hawk]

For me "Vintage" HiFi is stuff that was made before Transistor were commonly used, the gear to qualify as "Vintage" must have been well regarded in it's day or have qualities that can be improved on by moding today.

"Classic" HiFi is everything after the common useage of transistor, it must also have been well regarded in it's day, and be no longer in production.

Unfortunately the words Classic and Vintage are just that "words" so any dick of a seller on Ebay is gonna get an old dusty Amstrad out of the attic, and stick it up for sale as "Rare Classic" or "Vintage 70's" thinking that by using those words it's either going to give you a nostalgic feeling about the gear he's selling or make it sound better than it is. At the end of the day if it was crap then, it's still gonna be crap now.

The common thread that links the words "Vintage" and "Classic" is quality, be it sound or the manufacture of the item, in my mind to be vintage or classic, 1st it had to have been a quality item.