Cheap Vintage System

[skimminstones]

I fancy putting a simple system in the bedroom. It will only be for one input, a chromecast to stream from my NAS, or maybe a bluetooth receiver, i havent decided yet.

As i only want this to be a simple system im not overly concerned with it being audiophile etc... but i have always liked the looks of the vintage receivers from rotel, marantz, sony etc so figure it would be a good time to get one.

Im only interested in the receiver and a cheap pair of vintage speakers. Now ignoring speaker cable and interconnects etc... and bearing in mind its only going to be sitting on a chest of drawers, what 2 items would people go for? I dont want it to sound awful but this is one situation where the looks may well be more important than the sound.

Now the tricky bit, could i get something for £100-£150?

Any ebay recommendations?

[Ninanina]

Keith many years ago I had a Quad 303/33 setup and it was actually very good if that helps you at all. With a bit of searching you could probably get both for about £200 which is a bit above your budget but maybe worth a thought

[fatmarley]

My vote would be for Quad too but that's only because I have a 306. Some people find them overly smooth so that's something to consider. I've noticed vintage Sony and JVC get a lot of love on other forums, so may be worth a look too.

The Acoustic Research AR6, AR7 and AR18 are nice vintage speakers but unfortunately, they suffer from foam rot. If the Mission 760i Is vintage enough, then I'd take that over Acoustic research (more detailed) but I do like the sealed bass of old ARs.

[struth]

If you can come away from vintage then these are great

https://www.qacoustics.co.uk/bt3-active-bookshelf-speakers-with-bluetooth.html

[Pieoftheday]

My vote would be for Quad too but that's only because I have a 306. Some people find them overly smooth so that's something to consider. I've noticed vintage Sony and JVC get a lot of love on other forums, so may be worth a look too.

The Acoustic Research AR6, AR7 and AR18 are nice vintage speakers but unfortunately, they suffer from foam rot. If the Mission 760i Is vintage enough, then I'd take that over Acoustic research (more detailed) but I do like the sealed bass of old ARs.

Quad 306s are great, goodns are going up price wise

[paulf-2007]

I use a Sony STR6055 receiver in my main system and it's as good as anything else I've had, I was lucky to get mine for £69 but they are mostly around £200, but keep looking and something will come along at the right money. As already said £200 is more realistic

[Ninanina]

Quad 306s are great, goodns are going up price wise

I think a 306 + pre-amp might push Keith's budget a bit too far

[walpurgis]

I think a 306 + pre-amp might push Keith's budget a bit too far

A 306 works well with a passive pre-amp. So maybe not a budget buster.

[Ninanina]

A 306 works well with a passive pre-amp. So maybe not a budget buster.

True enough Geoff...didn't think of that ;)

[martian sunrise]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F 352249388519

These are ace.

[Ninanina]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F 352249388519

These are ace.

A complete bargain Richie

[Roy S]

I know you said vintage but these would be ideal

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?56027-FS-Wharfedale-Diamond-9-1-speakers-in-black-SMSL-Q5-Pro-digital-amp

and the amp's still available

[skimminstones]

Thanks for the replies guys, I really don't want to go up to £200 though. As I said this is just a bedroom system which will be used for background more than anything. As long as it doesn't completely suck is all I'm bothered about. I could just get a simple Bluetooth speaker but I figure why not get something that I like visually instead.

That rotel posted earlier was the sort of thing I'm interested in. There is a pioneer sx550 and a rotel rx 504 I was looking at on eBay earlier which I like to. No idea what they sound like our even if they will end up under budget but as mentioned in the OP this could be a situation where I end up buying for the looks rather than the sound

[Ninanina]

I take it that's a Class D/T amp Roy? I didn't think of that.. ;)

[walpurgis]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F 352249388519

These are ace.

Yes. Very good amp. Was my first decent Hi-Fi amp. Had a couple of them.

Don't forget the Denon PMA-350SE, another cracker. More or less qualifies for 'vintage'.

[walpurgis]

Thanks for the replies guys, I really don't want to go up to £200 though.

Guess that sort of rules out anything from MBL, DartZeel and Mark Levinson then? :D

[Ninanina]

Guess that sort of rules out anything from MBL, DartZeel and Mark Levinson then? :D


:rfl::rfl:

Actually one of the worst 'expensive' systems I ever heard were Mark Levinson monoblocks..... for what it's worth... :D

[Roy S]

I take it that's a Class D/T amp Roy?

Something like that :scratch: all I know is it makes my telly sound a lot better through a pair of JBL Control Ones

[Ninanina]

Something like that :scratch: all I know is it makes my telly sound a lot better through a pair of JBL Control Ones


:D :D

[gerlando]

Amplifier: Audiolab 8000a, ION Obelisk, Rotel RA930 AX, Aura Evolution, Naim Nait 3, Cyrus One, Albarry PP1, NAD 3120, Rega Brio.....

Loudspeakers: Mission 770, Royd Minstrel, Rega Ela, Snell J/K, Epos Es11, B&W DM4, Celestion Ditton...

[skimminstones]

Amplifier: Audiolab 8000a, ION Obelisk, Rotel RA930 AX, Aura Evolution, Naim Nait 3, Cyrus One, Albarry PP1, NAD 3120, Rega Brio.....

Loudspeakers: Mission 770, Royd Minstrel, Rega Ela, Snell J/K, Epos Es11, B&W DM4, Celestion Ditton...

im thinking all of those would be a fair bit over the £100-£150 i mentioned.

Besides i dont really want a plain black box, im thinking more along the lines of the silver faced pioneers, marantz, sony etc from the 70s. Something that looks good/interesting.

[jandl100]

A vintage receiver and a decent pair of vintage Brit speakers would sound great!

Something like this Trio maybe https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kenwood-Trio-KR3090-Stereo-FM-AM-Vintage-Receiver/253377185460?hash=item3afe7506b4:g:CMoAAOSwYxBaS6p Y

£50. Cor, lovely ...

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/CMoAAOSwYxBaS6pY/s-l1600.jpg

And maybe these £50 Wharfedale Dentons?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wharfedale-Denton-2-Audio-Speakers-Vintage-Retro-Collectors-Wood/263367587967?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.M BE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D49130%26meid%3D78c453d9b26d4e9 79a6504a3af6003a7%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D 6%26sd%3D253329038777&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/iP4AAOSw-xVaJsvf/s-l1600.jpg

[Macca]

Tasty looking Trio, but Dentons? That's left-field even for you. You want it to sound vintage as well as look vintage I guess?

[walpurgis]

Hmm. Trio, fine. Dentons pretty grim...............and fifty nicker? Take the '0' off the end and call it a fiver and I still wouldn't want them. Crude top, no bottom and thick mid. But other than that they're just fine. :)

[jandl100]

Well, OK - just trying to show the OP that not everyone here is like the hifi dealer you tell your budget limit to and he immediately starts offering you gear at 2 or 3 times or more the price. ;)

OK, not Dentons, then.

How about a pair of Celestion DL4 for £45 or so?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-Celestion-DL4-Series-2-Classic-1980s-British-Hi-Fi-Speakers/282815269373?hash=item41d91a89fd:g:JcAAAOSwJWFaYdy q

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/JcAAAOSwJWFaYdyq/s-l1600.jpg

Or maybe these Mordaunt Short will end up within budget ...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mordaunt-Short-M10-Bookshelf-Speakers-Black/122915686065?hash=item1c9e5886b1:g:n9IAAOSwFLBaU6C W

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/n9IAAOSwFLBaU6CW/s-l1600.jpg

Anyway, I think the point is that a pretty decent, suitable and nice looking system can easily be had without stretching the budget beyond recognition. :)

[Marco]

Indeed, as the AoS 'cheap as chips' systems, demonstrated at Scalford a few years back, ably proved! Remember those, and the impact they made? :eek:;)

Marco.

[Edward]

At one point I had some old stuff around and wanted to have a streaming system in a spare room. To make the connection I got one of these bluetooth receivers (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B79MWA4/) (paired with an ipad and streaming from my NAS/server). I already had a 3.5mm to RCA lead like this (https://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5mm-Stereo-Jack-Phono-Cable/dp/B002JV4LZS). Less than a tenner to make the jump from 70s vintage stuff to 21c digital streaming. Sounded b***** fantastic.

[VanDerGraaf]

There were a set of B&W DM2 speakers in the classifieds for £100....excellent and although a bit larger, could do bedroom duty....maybe too big for what you want though!

[skimminstones]

Yea that trio is more what im looking at. There seems to be plenty around of the 70s type of gear for 50-75 pound which would leave the rest for some speakers.

[Edward]

Keith, if a pair of vgc Kef Chorale III speakers of any interest feel free to PM me.

[nutteronthebus]

try http://www.lastminute-auction.com/uk/ I picked up a Roberts radio / cd player for £5.00

[TazSob]

Hi Keith,
I've some Kef Coda iiis and some mission 761s if they are of any interest to you. I'll take £40 for either pair, both are mint and I will put up some pictures of needed

[Macca]

Coda III! One of my all-time favourites. Lovely tone on them.

[skimminstones]

Thanks for the info and offers guys. Unfortunately my phono pre has just blown so i think im going to spend the money on upgrading that instead for now. Was only a cambridge 551 amp so ill see what i can get for upto £200 on a new phono instead.