Retro Stereo Lovers?

I wanted to share and see if any of you all are into this too... my father used to have an amazing stereo in the 70's.. and in the last year I have been recreating it and having a blast.

The heart of it is a 38 pound old school Marantz 2285b receiver (sold between 1975-1980) 8) :
Legendary Audio Classics: Marantz Model 2285b Receiver

I just can't get over how good this receiver sounds to me. It's like I have new speakers now and the bass is unreal. I just love the style and the lights too. It makes me really happy just to turn it on. I grabbed mine for $300 from some old man on Craigslist. SCORE!

For a record player I have an old Bang & Olufsen Beogram RX2 (sold somewhere around 1986-1992) that I have had since high school:
Minidisc Community Forums > Bang & Olufsen: Beogram RX 2 Pictorial

It lay dormant for many years until this year with the Marantz and my girlfriend's shared passion for records. Now it is getting a work out. This was the last radial turntable B&O ever made and it is a great one. The sound through the Marantz is awe inspiring. The needles are worth their weight in gold on eBay. I hope to score another one someday. An old friend recently gave me her records - all 1930-40's blues records from the south. I am loving life.


And lastly in my retro stereo, the component that has everyone thinking I am nuts, currently being shipped, is a 1975 Akai CR-81D 8-Track Player/Recorder:
Science and Society Picture Library - Search

This Akai is considered to be one of the best 8-Track players ever made with an AC motor, huge belt drive and a great head with excellent frequency range. This deck weighs over 20 pounds. I can't wait to get it. I recently bought 83 8-track tapes for $20. Some are still sealed.

Thus concludes my retro stereo for now. You don't have to be rich to have excellent audio components, just be savvy on the Internet.

I love this old stuff, it is from the day when we built stuff like tanks.

Any other retro stereo people out there?

 

Sweet! You've got a nice high quality, retro stereo system in the works there.

Do you remember Denon components, Matt? That was another very high end label, like Marantz. I remember their receivers alone sold for a couple grand.

I attempted to sell my rack system on eBay about 5 years ago. I purchased it with my FIRST credit card at a Circuit City in 1986--all Kenwood components. The entire circumference of the turntable had cut into it, 3 different levels of tiny sqares. These worked in conjunction with a red strobe light and allowed you to fine-tune the speed of the turntable to get it spot-on. While the disk rotated, you'd turn a dial which would regulate the frequency of the strobe, and you knew you had it when the squares "stood still" to your eyes. I thought it was the coolest thing.

Anyways, I tried to sell it on eBay in 2007. It was a no reserve auction, with a starting bid of 99 cents, and not only did it not get a bid, but it didn't garner a single watcher in the 7 day auction.

About a year later my wife and I gave it to good will and wrote it off on our taxes.

I guess my timing was off! Maybe I should have waited another 5 years, or 25 years. :-/

 

I used to love Denon stuff back then - especially their tape decks. Yeah - they would probably get something now I would think, but you never know with eBay.

Anyway, thanks Larry! I am digging it.

 

I still have a Kenwood stereo system that I also purchased with my first CC in 1989. It is a five piece system with an amp, receiver, dual tape deck, cd player and a surround system. It also has the 3'-4' dual speakers that gives off a great bass. Great system, so much so, that I've had it for a little over 20 yrs and still going strong. Remember that in most cases, trends tend to repeat themselves every 20 or so yrs.


Luna

 

My dad had that receiver (I think he probably still does). He also had huge Akai cassete deck. Really cool stuff with lots of big knobs, meters, and lights.

 

Aye. And we are old.

Sweet! Tell him to hold on to it, it's worth a bit a money!

Ha - I have been getting that myself. My girlfriend was trying to talk on the phone OUTSIDE and was having trouble.

 

I had an AKAI cassette deck!!! My cousin had a Marantz receiver hooked up to two "fatboy" 12" Cerwin Vegas & Teac turntable......that was the life. You got some primo stuff there!! Enjoy Life!!!

 

Just got my AKAI CR-81D 8-TRACK.
This things is solid metal. It is made so well I can't get over it. And my tapes sound amazingly well except for a few that I need to replace the pads on. I can see that the pads are the things that appear to have deteriorated on these tapes. But my god, I love this. I just got the crazy look from my girlfriend and was told to turn it down.

Check out the pics...