richieb Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Big "silver" receivers from the 1970's seem in vogue, particularly those from Pioneer, Kenwood and Sansui. I switched it up a little and brought in of one of Sony's "mega" receivers, an STR -V5. Damn, this thng is huge, and BIG. I mean it completely fills my cabinet side to side - 22" wide, weighs nearly 50 lbs. Good looking too, big tuning scale and three meter cluster all in soft green. This monster makes my HK 430 look like a table radio. Bought it mainly for FM background music on the weekends so not to fire the tubes for the marginal stations and sound from todays FM. The big Sony don't sound too bad either; better than the HK and she sure is purty, all silver and wood and softly lit. But she is a long, long way from my VTL EL-84's monos - although just as big as both of them together!! Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 I have a chance to pick-up a Sony STR-V5 fairly cheap, would it be worth buying? What kind of speakers did you drive with it? Went to buy it once and decided not to, but I know it is still available .... Does it have Balls or what? ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 ...the Tank years...never heard them (that I can remember) but they were big n heavy then... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted September 11, 2006 Author Share Posted September 11, 2006 I think I overpaid for mine, $175 but it is nearly perfect. It's worth buying is in the eye of the beholder. I just think they look cool. Balls? - 85WPC driving Belles is more than enough balls for me. Like I said, it's cool looking gear for background music. I can tell you this, equivalent Pioneers and Sansui's are much more in demand, and much more expensive. I was not going to pay $400-$700 for how I intended to use the unit. I would suspect build quality on the Sony is on par with the others. The Sony kind of flies in under the rader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Don't need to tell me about Sony, that's been my choice for quite a few years, although many will tell you they are "average at best"(snicker, snicker), have been leary of buying something that old, the original owner is selling it, maybe I should reconsider, it drives your Belles, but they're pretty efficent, higher than my H2's.........hmm I wonder..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago_Pete Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Lets not forget Marantz. My garage receiver, 2285B driving some Cornwalls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormin Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 If sound is what you are seeking then IMHO that Sony is a long long way from a nice Kenwood,Pioneer,Sansui or Marantz. Japanese made some nice recievers back in the day but sony sure wasn't among the best and no offense meant.And i would easily drop 500 on one of the nicer others before 200 on the Sony. Now you start talking Sony top of the line ES cd players and thats another story. Just my 2cents to all the receiver junkies out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 If sound is what you are seeking then IMHO that Sony is a long long way from a nice Kenwood,Pioneer,Sansui or Marantz. Japanese made some nice recievers back in the day but sony sure wasn't among the best and no offense meant.And i would easily drop 500 on one of the nicer others before 200 on the Sony. Now you start talking Sony top of the line ES cd players and thats another story. Just my 2cents to all the receiver junkies out there. Really, why do you say that? Sony can stay with any of those other recievers, have you ever owned a Sony? Please don't confuse Consumer Electronics found in Wal Mart, etc. with Sony tags as the same products sold to the audiophile. Sony makes a cheap throw away units too, just like all the rest do. I don't understand why Sony gets such a bad rap on this forum..........of the five brands you mentioned only Marantz is underrated....Marantz was a better product than people thought at the time. I have owned many Sony products, and will continue to buy Sony products, they work for me, but maybe I'll try Outlaw products, or maybe I'll try Marantz products, or maybe McIntosh, or maybe.................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormin Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Like i said OB i didn't mean to offend. Almost any receiver from the seventies will make anything made at walmart today sound like total trash. But when you are comparing a so so sony with some of the better receivers of the day and referring that it is on par with some of the best receivers of that day why yes there is no comparison. And yes OB i have listened to many Sony receivers. I had military family members that brought many back from over seas during their hay days. And if you read on you will find that i highly recommend some of sonys products without question. And of course this is all just IMHO and you know what they say about opinions[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I am not offended, just curious about why you feel that way. I also own a Sony ES CD player, I spent the extra money for ES and it has been worth it, and a Sony DVD player, both are fine products. I just feel Sony of the 70's get a real bad rap, that is uncalled for. The only units back then that were held in high esteem were Marantz, and McIntosh, and all the rest seemed to be fairly even. You won't go wrong with Pioneer, Sansui, I chose Sony, because everyone else had Pioneer, or Sansui, and I almost forgot, Kenwood. I have over the years owned Akai, Panasonic, Kenwood intergrated amp, sorry I ever sold the Kenwood, and Sony's. they have all been good, no trouble with them, just wanted more Power...........You know the story................Just curious that's all........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 This was my first receiver, bought new in Germany in 1978. I sure wish I still had it! 125wpc and had an excellent phono stage in it. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I have a chance to pick-up a Sony STR-V5 fairly cheap, would it be worth buying? What kind of speakers did you drive with it? Went to buy it once and decided not to, but I know it is still available .... Does it have Balls or what? ... I had an STR-V something back in the day. Was my first receiver with digital tuning. I thought it was pretty ballsy. Don't know how it compares to these other pieces of big iron though. For a garage receiver or second room, economy is sometimes an issue. I'd get it if it works ok. M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I own one of those behemoths, a Pioneer SX-1280, 185 wpc, that I bought new sometime in the early/mid 70s. I have gone to tube gear so it is not used regularly now. It is in mint condition without a nick, scratch or dent. It is a very attractive reciever with the massive cooling fins, silver front plate and walnut cabinet. The Pioneer is a backbreaker to move and I am amazed that it has survived three moves with nary a scratch. Go to "Tarheels LaScallas" post a couple of pages back and look on the right speaker for a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 That gear that Mike and tarheel have(had) are solid, fine quality looking units, the sansui with 125 per is a workhorse, and tar's pioneer, at 185 per, balls with capital letters, nice, no, great units guys................a little different than what you get today, the only drawback is they are 2 channel.........but, GREAT 2 channel.........I can only imagine that Pioneer with a 5.1, DTS options.......Nice equipment Gentlemen.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I had sony reciever my first at 16 years old and it broke down after about 2 years paid to have it fixed broke again soon after.Bought big ole Yammy reciever still going and now use the little HK430 everyday best reciever i ever bought so far.I cant imagine how good the HK430 was when new im sure its not as good now after 30 years.Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dp1954 Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Until about 3 years ago I was running a pair of cornwalls and a pair of Chorus I's with a 1978 pioneer sx1280(185wpc). Then I went to tubes and hadn't listened to the pioneer in a couple years. About 3 months ago I purchased a dual 701 turntable and during the process of setting it up I was having problems getting it to work properly on my scott 222c. Suspecting that I might have a bad phono section on the scott I hooked up the turntable and the pioneer to a pair of lascalas. Turned out that it was not the phono section on the scott, but the cartridge had not been properly installed. I was really impressed with the sound quality of the pioneer and the lascalas. Very tight sound with a very impressive bass response. Not quite as good as tubes, but very good nonetheless. If I had no tubes, I'd be very satisfied with the pioneer. It weighs around 75 lbs with a 26 lb torroidal transformer. They certainly don't make them like this tank any more. dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whell Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Receivers from the '70's from the likes of Pioneer, Marantz and Sansui were very well built, well designed and in some case actually "over-engineered". As can be seen from these posts, much of this gear is still out there and in use today, which is a far cry from some of the recent crop of gear that seems to have a planned obsolecense cycle. How many '90's receivers do you think will still be playing into the next decade? I suspect not as many, as a percentage, than the 70's receivers that are still playing today. One does not purchase one of these units because they want the ultimate in souond reproduction, although many of them can sound very good. However, the price to performance ratio for those of us on a budget can really make some of these units very attractive. For those who can do some light to moderate electronics work to keep the units in spec, they can be an exceptional value and deliver great sound for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregB Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 One of the best-sounding pieces of kit I ever owned was a 120WPC tube receiver from Harmon-Kardon. You could fry eggs on it, and I could barely lift it, but dang it sounded great. I sold it and got Harmon Kardon solid state separates. BIG downgrade! - GregB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capo72 Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 My aunt manages a huge storage facility, and she ends up with alot of delinquent units. She always saves speakers and stereo equipment for me. This past weekend I went to visit her and came home with alot of stuff. I have not sorted through it all yet, but this thread made me want to mention 3 Pioneer silver face / woodgrain units I got for free. The most promising looking set up is a Pioneer SA-7800 integrated amp, and aTX-7800 tuner. I also got a SX-650 receiver. They are heavy-duty and look pretty cool. I have not had time to hook anything up yet, maybe tonight. It may all be junk, and that's why it was put in storage. Maybe I can post some pics tomarrow. I will probably start a thread showing all the free stuff I scored. There were lots of cheap black box receivers, cd players, and cassette decks. The coolest score was a pair of JBL c38 speakers. Jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 This was my first receiver, bought new in Germany in 1978. I sure wish I still had it! 125wpc and had an excellent phono stage in it. Mike You keep a picture of your first receiver? Wow, I thought I was wierd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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