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Silver Faced Receiver


JohnA

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I want a quality 50 to 100 watt silver receiver to power my KG2s.  How can I find a fair market value for old '70s receivers, like a Yamaha CR-820/1020?  A Marantz, Kenwood or Sansui would be fine, also.  How much should I expect to pay to have it cleaned, caps replaced and realigned?  I have toyed with integrated amps and tuners, like I had in college, but the "clutter" would probably be too much for the space they will be in. 

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I can't comment on the servicing costs of vintage receivers John but I'm just wondering if you have a max-budget in mind as to what you'd like to spend. The only way that I know to determine value is to look at sold items on the bay or other sites. Didn't A-Gon have a book value tool on their site at one time? Nevertheless, good luck in your hunt.

 

Keith

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Boy do you have lots of options, although they really don't need a lot of power. Not as efficient as Heritage, but still, they are book shelves.

 

Haven't tried the upper end of Yamaha receivers but the two Yamaha speakers I tried with my various KG speaker were always too harsh and bright and not a good matchup.  Others here, however, like Yammie's with Klipsch.

 

The HK 730 series, if I recall correctly are beloved here for their matchup with with  Klipsch, and are pretty cool looking too.  IMO, almost anything SS from the 70's is going to be a bit muted, cause of the deterioration of the caps, so restoration is in order.  What it would actually cost I have no really solid ideas on pricing, and expect alignment of the tuner part to be needed at additional cost.

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I am sick of black electronics.

 

I wish I'd never sold my CA-800

 

The limit will have to be $550 + the cost of a decent tuner (my cabin is 45 miles from Chattanooga), say $700.  A Yamaha A-S501SL is $550 new.  It would be silly to spend more on a 40 year old receiver, even restored.  Nostalgia only goes so far.  There are lots of functional, cheap receivers new, but I want good sound that lasts, like the old receivers from the 70's. 

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2 hours ago, thebes said:

The HK 730 series, if I recall correctly are beloved here for their matchup with with  Klipsch, and are pretty cool looking too.

Yeah, love mine. Here is a lengthy write up comparing the 730 to other HK's of the 70s.

The 730 is 40 watts per channel. Few years ago you could get one for $150 on the bay. These days they're $200-250 or higher, and that's in original condition.

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16 hours ago, thebes said:

...................

 

Haven't tried the upper end of Yamaha receivers but the two Yamaha speakers [?] I tried with my various KG speaker were always too harsh and bright and not a good matchup.  Others here, however, like Yammie's with Klipsch.

 

The HK 730 series, if I recall correctly are beloved here for their matchup with with  Klipsch, and are pretty cool looking too.  IMO, almost anything SS from the 70's is going to be a bit muted, cause of the deterioration of the caps, so restoration is in order.  What it would actually cost I have no really solid ideas on pricing, and expect alignment of the tuner part to be needed at additional cost.

 

I suppose ii should investigate H-K.  By the time I got into college and had a summer job that allowed me to buy electronics, H-K was not popular or widely available in the Tennessee area.  In fact, I had barely heard of H-K receivers until I joined this forum.  My impression has always been they were Pioneer class. 

 

My old Yamaha CA-800 integrated amp was great with my La Scalas.  It was switchable to 8 watts Class A.  Even better, slightly.  I even pulled the jumpers and ran it as a preamp into Marantz monoblocks briefly, as I intended to run 5 of those in my HT.  My only negative comment would be that it had a soft flabby, round sound I attribute to a damping factor of 40.  the Marantz monoblocks cured that.  The late 70's Yamaha receivers did have different ratings and possibly different circuits, so maybe they don't sound good with Klipsch' odd impedance curves. 

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16 hours ago, thebes said:

The HK 730 series, if I recall correctly are beloved here for their matchup with with  Klipsch, and are pretty cool looking too.

+1 I also have a H/K 730 twin and thought it was a great match to Klipsch.  I've retired it to a bedroom system that rarely gets used, but I'll never get rid of it: it sounds great, pulls in FM like a champ, and is quite handsome, IMO.  i find it's looks are very subtle and refined. 

 

here's a great 730 complete restore:

http://www.amcanaudio.com/?p=788

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My vote would be for the Yamaha... I just never appreciated the HK's like some do around here but I admit they do pull in FM pretty good and have a nice sound (just not my flavor of sound I guess).  For restores I go to Paul (Paul79 here) at http://www.manymoonsaudio.com/index.html.   An HK might be closer to your budget.  I loved my Yamaha CR-2020 (still do) but the 2040 is really awesome (both rebuilt by Paul)!  I'm guessing you could be looking at 750 to 1,000+ by the time you are done.   If you are going to pay for a rebuild you might as well with start with the higher end.  

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Plenty to chose from the golden age of receivers.  Heck, I betcha if you put a WTB in the Garage section for a silver face you'd get a great response.  It wouldn't surprise me that some of the offerings  would have been restored along the line.

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There is a reason that the H/K 430 twin-powered stereo receiver was the WORLDWIDE highest volume sales leader in its class when it was originally in production, and it is NOT because it was the least expensive...it is because it performs so well...and has "ultra-wide-band" frequency response, along with having twin power supplies.  Plus it is pretty much bullet-proof! 

 

BTW, its diminutive rating of 25 watts per channel RMS is misleading, at best.  With its twin power supplies it performs more like many 100 WPC receivers made in its time. 

H/K 730 was rated at just 35 WPC, and the H/K 930 was rated at just 45 WPC.  So, IMHO, you don't really NEED more power than any of these provide, ESPECIALLY for KG2 speakers. 

HK-ad1.png

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Wow... just can't imagine.  I had a 930 ("DeWiked") and a 330b and they didn't come close to the clarity or realistic sound of my Yamaha's.  The tone and loudness controls of the Yamaha are a real strong point too.   Maybe I just need to hear some of those HK models in between.  Just splitting hairs too I guess... I'd be perfectly happy with any of these in a secondary system.  
The OP might prefer more silver face in his receiver than the HK provides.  I'm surprised no one has mentioned Pioneer or Marantz but those get expensive fast.

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Unfortunately for Yamaha, they weren't making any receivers to amount to anything when the "X30" H/K receivers were originally in production.  I bought a Yamaha 100 wpc integrated amp in 1986 (when it was on sale as a discontinued model for less than half its MSRP) which is currently powering my best friend's Cornwalls.  He also has one of my old H/K 430 receivers, which I hauled over to his place along with the Yamaha, but as soon as he heard the speakers thru the Yamaha, he said "That sounds good enough to me...besides I can additionally run the ceiling speakers out on the porches because the Yamaha has 100 watts per channel instead of just the 25 WPC of the H/K 430."   So, he has never even HEARD his Cornwalls thru the H/K...YET!   He was one of the R&D team heavily involved in the evolution of what ended up being called the Klipsch "Jubilee" speaker...among other projects at Klipsch R&D for over a decade.

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Another HK730 vote. I was told be Rivernuggets and Jimjimbo how nice it matched with Klipsch...and it does. I've had it on RB35 at work and LaScala here at home. It's back in t he office at work, I think I'll try some Heresy on it.

 

If you get the chance, Marantz 22xx, Sansui Gxxx, Pioneer SXxxx, Luxman R10x0 all do well too. I have had several Kenwood and didn't like them when I AB them to others. I had the Realistic STA 2300 and the STA 2080 that were worth the money.  

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Within the next few months my Dads Sansui 9090DB will be up for sale John. Just can't say when. My brothers and I haven't discussed it yet but they're not into the audio thing. I picked up a pair of DCM Timeframe 400's there the other day that I loaned him years ago and am going to wire up to my closeted Technics SA-DA8 which I bought back when the Brand was dropped. And it ain't black! If I was closer I would loan it out to you for a coupla years. It's sound with Chorus II is surprising.

 

These days I'm more interested in passing something along to someone that actually wants it and uses it, rather than the flipping hoarders that abound now. It's easier for me to just toss things in the trash usually. Like Acoustic Research AR-11's. They were pretty sitting on the curb.

 

SADA8_02.jpg

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