1970's Receiver Wars

[martindforsythe]

Ok guys and girls,

I was a kid in the 70's and loved the big bad receivers I could never afford. I'm all grown up now, and have been purchasing and restoring vintage audio equipment that I come across. I want to know what your favorite "Monster Receiver" was from the 70's, and why it was so great. Kenwood, Pioneer, Marantz, Yamaha, Sansui, etc. I'm making my list and checking it twice. Tell us a story about it, and why you loved it so much (even if you didn't own it) One lucky person will get a gift from me that will take them back in time. Delorean not included.

 

[Hiten]

Don't know about the receiver war but I find Concept 16.5, Sony STR V7, Marantz 22XX, Pioneer 1250 and Yamaha 1040 interesting. Never heard them though.
Regards

 

[ukjeyaraj]

I have not heard 70s or 80s receivers.

But in recent years, I want to listen/buy Pioneer SX-750 or SX-850. These models are available in ebay.com, but could not get one in India

 

[denom]

Well quite a few, all of which I have fond memories of!
A good friend of my dad had them - he loved playing with them & other stuff
Out of all of the receivers he had at some point of time or the other, I remember being very fond of a Pioneer SX1980, Marantz 2275 & a Yamaha with 3 VU Meters (Forget the model no) Never really knew then about what these beauties were all about as did not have the knowledge I have now back then...

He had an assortment of gears / LP collection(mostly Jazz, R&B, Soul) & almost every weekend had a party @ his place.

He got all his hi-fi gears through his relatives working in canada/us/gulf.

Sad part is that when he past away, all his prized possessions were literally given away/sold for next to nothing by his bro & sis in law. What a pity as came to know of his passing away much later & am so sad about not getting any thing from his collection

Martin, am most keen to hear about your collection & the stories behind them. Please put up some pics of them as well.

 

[krell]

hi, i dont have a chance to listen the receivers, but had the integrated amps from the same era,i loved them,deep bass and crystal clear higs.Had
Sansui AU 717(2nos fully restored),sansui AU D11,X501,pioneer sa9800 and pioneer sa7800.All those driving my YAMAHA NS1000M speakers.
i like the vintage stuff.:licklips:

 

[reubensm]

I have never had a chance to either see or listen to these monster receivers. In the late 1970s, the silver pannel Sony equipment with huge VU meters were very popular here. A lot of my Dad's friends had these typical Sony racks and used to belt out Boney M and ABBA hits of that point in time.

 

[ukjeyaraj]

I have never had a chance to either see or listen to these monster receivers. In the late 1970s, the silver pannel Sony equipment with huge VU meters were very popular here. A lot of my Dad's friends had these typical Sony racks and used to belt out Boney M and ABBA hits of that point in time.

I am currently using one such Sony Integrated Amp -> Sony TA-F5A. Bought this amp few years before from our hemantwaghe.

 

[Saket]

I believe the silver faced Pioneer integrated amps were quite sought after in the 70s. I have one of those; a 1974 Pioneer SX-434 which I love listening to any moment. The sound is so natural, and has a tendency of being loud & yet very clear even with average sound boxes. I love its rich mid & warm sound. About the tuner part, its the best FM receiver I have at my home, its that sensitive & clear. Great stereo separation too.

I would love to know if anybody in this forum has the actual Pioneer monster, the SX-1980. I fail to imagine what a 40 kg amp articulating 270W RMS per channel would do to the listener!

No wonder, the audio gear of the 70s are the things that an audiophile would die for!

Regards,
Saket.