Poll

At what point do you consider a piece of audio equipment to be vintage?

1950s and earlier
1 (1.1%)
1960s and earlier
9 (9.6%)
1970s and earlier
41 (43.6%)
1980s and earlier
34 (36.2%)
thick layer of dust is good enough for me
9 (9.6%)

Total Members Voted: 94

What Constitutes Vintage?

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JackD201

Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #40 on: 19 Mar 2013, 05:39 am »
Before Disco  :lol: :lol: :lol:

Eric Strasen

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #41 on: 19 Mar 2013, 10:17 pm »
I'm a brand spanky new member so maybe I should tread carefully, but here goes.
I regard vintage as anything from the 1930's upward that deserves to be saved. Zenith Stratospheres, some E. H. Scotts, most McMurdo-Silvers and most any Midwest come to mind. Output transformer design was not too hot in the 1930's and that limited frequency response for many radios of the era. Output transformers in the 1920's were horrible, which pretty much eliminates radios from that period.
Modern day tube audio beats the pants off those old radios, but it doesn't come in interesting-looking furniture.
I am not a complete Luddite. Just this a.m., I ordered a Van Alstine Transcendence 8+ preamp to go with a tube amp being custom built for me by a Canadian friend. This will replace Adcom gear which I bought in the 1980's when I was temporarily infected by the SS virus. Haven't listened to it much for at least the last 10 years.
« Last Edit: 20 Mar 2013, 07:22 pm by Eric Strasen »

SteveFord

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #42 on: 19 Mar 2013, 10:39 pm »
I think you'll fit in just fine.

thunderbrick

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #43 on: 19 Mar 2013, 10:57 pm »
Good looks never go out of style, do they?

My good looks don't, that's for sure!   :thumb:

SteveFord

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #44 on: 19 Mar 2013, 11:05 pm »
Thanks, I needed something to cheer me up!
How are those 20.1s treating you?
Oh wait, wrong circle.  Never mind.

SET Man

Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #45 on: 19 Mar 2013, 11:49 pm »
Hey!

   Wouldn't this depend on the age of the person you ask? As a 30's something crowd I voted for 1980's or older.  :D

Take care,
Buddy :thumb:

Eric Strasen

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #46 on: 20 Mar 2013, 10:07 am »
Well, at the ripe old age of 71, how about some adventure -- looking for something made in the 1930's you could listen to all day?
My 1937 vintage 16-tube Midwest S-16 console comes to mind, with four 6N6 output tubes, power and output transformers manufactured to a high standard (for the 1930's) by Midwest and a 12" electrodynamic speaker.
This sounds so good I grafted an RCA jack and toggle switch on the back panel so I could listen to an FM tuner or CD player through the S-16. Heresy to an old radio collector, but with the current wretched state of AM broadcasting it's either this or listening to the WWV time signal all day. 
« Last Edit: 20 Mar 2013, 07:07 pm by Eric Strasen »

geowak

Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #47 on: 20 Mar 2013, 01:04 pm »
Cerebral mumbling..

As I think about this more, this topic of Vintage, something came into my mind. Much has to do with technology and the product.
For example: A quality fine wine will be a vintage wine someday. More often than not, the older wines will be considered better than the current ones. But a quality computer will be vintage someday, and more often than not, the older computer will worse than the current ones. Also the ever changing technology will make a tech product vintage sooner, than say wine would become vintage...

Audio? Well some tube pieces and some analog equipment that is Vintage is considered superior. Many say here, it can sound better than the best available SS or digital gear. I know I would like to own a Shindo Garrard 301 turntable system....myself.

doug s.

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #48 on: 20 Mar 2013, 01:13 pm »
Hey!

   Wouldn't this depend on the age of the person you ask? As a 30's something crowd I voted for 1980's or older.  :D

Take care,
Buddy :thumb:
i dunno...  i have ~20 years on ya, and i also woted for '80's - as the 80's gear is now +/-30 years old.   :wink:

doug s.

Eric Strasen

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #49 on: 20 Mar 2013, 01:36 pm »
OK, how about this for a vintage standard...
If a particular piece of gear had four wheels and an internal combustion engine, would it qualify for "pioneer" plates in your state?

doug s.

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #50 on: 20 Mar 2013, 02:18 pm »
OK, how about this for a vintage standard...
If a particular piece of gear had four wheels and an internal combustion engine, would it qualify for "pioneer" plates in your state?
1993 qualifies where i live...

doug s.

SteveFord

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #51 on: 20 Mar 2013, 09:40 pm »
Is it 25 years for vintage plates? 

There's some food for thought as to what vintage components are better than the current ones.
I would say tuners, arguably tubes but I think that everything else has progressed. 

One thing that has gone backwards is FM radio itself.
I spoke with a gentleman recently who was the president of one of the major corporate monstrosities that gobbled up all of the local stations and gave them all cookie-cutter play lists to maximize profits.
It's just a cash cow to those guys, they could care less about what gets broadcast.  It could be a test tone as long as the advertisers cough up.
Ugh!

Eric Strasen

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #52 on: 20 Mar 2013, 09:55 pm »
Well put, Mr. Ford. In rural areas, especially, FM radio broadcasting is equally as bad as AM. I am fortunate enough to be within range of both Wyoming and Montana Public Radio translator stations.
Without NPR, FM broadcasting in Northern Wyoming is a vast wasteland.

SteveRB

Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #53 on: 20 Mar 2013, 10:56 pm »
Vintage Audio for me is pre-digital playback... there's no such thing as a vintage CD player.

doug s.

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #54 on: 20 Mar 2013, 11:01 pm »
Is it 25 years for vintage plates? 

There's some food for thought as to what vintage components are better than the current ones.
I would say tuners, arguably tubes but I think that everything else has progressed. 

One thing that has gone backwards is FM radio itself.
I spoke with a gentleman recently who was the president of one of the major corporate monstrosities that gobbled up all of the local stations and gave them all cookie-cutter play lists to maximize profits.
It's just a cash cow to those guys, they could care less about what gets broadcast.  It could be a test tone as long as the advertisers cough up.
Ugh!
re: wehicles, it is only 20 years in md.

re: fm, agreed - thank dog for public radio.  not yust npr, but other small non-profit stations.  i hope that the competition from internet radio will drive the commercial fm broadcast conglomerates to once again start broadcasting quality diwerse programming, in order to remain relevant.  otherwise commercial radio will lose listeners.  i have read that auto mfr's are already planning on not offering fm radio in new cars...

re: tuna, there are a small handful of quality fm tuna still being made today, but be prepared to shell out big dollars for them.  it makes purchasing a quality wintage tuna a wery reasonable alternative.  unless you purchase 50 of 'em... :lol:

re: other equipment, there are a few choice pieces of audio gear that still hold their own w/the modern goods, imo.  turntables, speakers, amps...  many folks have their pet faves...

doug s.

doug s.

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #55 on: 20 Mar 2013, 11:02 pm »
Vintage Audio for me is pre-digital playback... there's no such thing as a vintage CD player.

no such thing as a good one, that's for freaking sure!   :lol:

doug s.

Eric Strasen

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #56 on: 20 Mar 2013, 11:19 pm »
re: wehicles, it is only 20 years in md.

re: fm, agreed - thank dog for public radio.  not yust npr, but other small non-profit stations.  i hope that the competition from internet radio will drive the commercial fm broadcast conglomerates to once again start broadcasting quality diwerse programming, in order to remain relevant.  otherwise commercial radio will lose listeners.  i have read that auto mfr's are already planning on not offering fm radio in new cars...

re: tuna, there are a small handful of quality fm tuna still being made today, but be prepared to shell out big dollars for them.  it makes purchasing a quality wintage tuna a wery reasonable alternative.  unless you purchase 50 of 'em... :lol:

re: other equipment, there are a few choice pieces of audio gear that still hold their own w/the modern goods, imo.  turntables, speakers, amps...  many folks have their pet faves...

doug s.

I dont think broadcasters are interested in remaining relevant. I see FM as a race to the bottom, just like AM radio. Broadcasters want to make a buck, and they see their diminishing audience as knuckle-dragging yahoos and try their best to cater to them.
Eventually, FM broadcasting will disappear, a victim of satellite radio and the internet.
Sort of like the old Beta-VHS battle. VHS won, but then disappeared when DVD's hit the scene. And DVD's are on their way out now. 

underdawg

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #57 on: 20 Mar 2013, 11:23 pm »
imo pre 1970 is vintage, again just my opinion, if your comparing cars its 30 years but audio is different I think and should be because we are not trying to get registration or tax breaks here are we?

SteveFord

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #58 on: 20 Mar 2013, 11:32 pm »
College stations, NPR and a few jazz stations will hopefully keep FM going until I'm too old and toasted to care.
If I never hear Free Bird and Welcome To The Jungle again that will be fine with me.
I can see turntables holding their own and possibly amps, maybe preamps/phono stages but not speakers or at least not planar speakers.
What's available today is so much better than the ones of yore that there's no comparison.
Now I've managed to derail this thread on several different levels!

Eric Strasen

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Re: What Constitutes Vintage?
« Reply #59 on: 21 Mar 2013, 12:16 am »
Vinyl seems to be making a comeback of sorts. Do you suppose that is due to the popularity of club DJ's and their antics with turntables? Is Stanton still in the TT business because of the club scene? That's what most of their dealer advertising seems to be aimed at.
I guess it is up to us to educate the youngsters. We must demonstrate that one does not get good audio from a computer or Ipod, and the cab of a pickup truck is a lousy place to install 2 or 3 large in stereo equipment.