birchoak
Hi-Fi Nut
Feel free to amend/append this list!
1) You can enjoy it all day long, in any weather, at any time. Unlike skiing (just a random example--I have nothing against skiing), the actual amount of time you get to use hi-fi gear is virtually unlimited in comparison, especially if you have headphones.
2) Variety is the spice of life, and there is so much incredible music out there to play on your gear, both known and unknown. Classical, jazz, blues, hip hop, classic rock, alternative rock, electronic, folk, country, rap, heavy metal--Sinatra! Dylan! Nancy Sinatra! Fred Dylan! (I made that one up).
3) The outright physical beauty of so much vintage hi-fi, e.g. that aqua Marantz lighting, glowing out under its walnut case. Big VU meters that dance to the music. Oversized receivers bristling with heat fins, dials, and knobs. Thick, engraved face plates with real glass. Solid aluminum knobs. Beautiful displays, all so different and in so many colors.
4) Bringing it back to life, because sometimes it can be done with a handful of parts costing less than dinner out, or with a can of cleaning spray, a new fuse, a soldering iron, or by installing the PRE/MAIN jumpers.
5) Cost effective if you can educate yourself. There is good equipment on Craigslist if you are willing to brave the general public, especially speakers. With advice from the great people here at AK you can assemble a very nice system for a fraction of a new one from Crutchfield, Best Buy, etc. Many modest, low-watt amps and receivers sound much better and more powerful than their indicated ratings and can be had for reasonable prices.
6) There is a strong community here at AK to support/encourage/enable? you in this pursuit, whether you don't understand Yamaha's variable loudness or need to recap a Marantz 2230.
7) Every time you buy a vintage piece, you are inheriting a time capsule, a snaphot of the state of the art in 19xx, and saving something from the trash heap. No one will ever build another Kenwood 600, a Sansui Eight, or a Technics SL-10, but we can keep them alive with a bit of ingenuity & determination.
8) You may learn something about electronics along the way. When I started this hobby, time ago, I had absolutely no idea what a capacitor was, nor AC vs. DC, nor how to solder. I still have a long way to go, but I learned enough to repair a cold solder joint in a dishwasher and replace a capacitor in our fridge, saving our family lots of money. I make mistakes, lots, but those hours spent over PCBs gave me back a lot more than surfing the net or trying to understand the plot of Lost.
9) The hunt. This might not be a cool thing for some, but searching for gear speaks to the hunter/gatherer in me (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). I might not even buy something, but I do enjoy looking, and while that big auction site has its drawbacks, it does have millions of intriguing things on it, 24/7.
10) Cleaning stuff up. When you do get that new tt, amp, pair of speakers, etc., half the fun is opening it up and seeing how it was built, the condition it's in. I sort of look forward to dust and cat hair because I enjoy cleaning and polishing things. There is nothing like popping a filthy aluminum face plate in a sudsy bath and seeing it clean and shiny again, in minutes, or hearing a volume pot go from horribly scratchy to completely silent. You have the power to transform something filthy and unusable to something beautiful and operable, sometimes within the span of hours.
1) You can enjoy it all day long, in any weather, at any time. Unlike skiing (just a random example--I have nothing against skiing), the actual amount of time you get to use hi-fi gear is virtually unlimited in comparison, especially if you have headphones.
2) Variety is the spice of life, and there is so much incredible music out there to play on your gear, both known and unknown. Classical, jazz, blues, hip hop, classic rock, alternative rock, electronic, folk, country, rap, heavy metal--Sinatra! Dylan! Nancy Sinatra! Fred Dylan! (I made that one up).
3) The outright physical beauty of so much vintage hi-fi, e.g. that aqua Marantz lighting, glowing out under its walnut case. Big VU meters that dance to the music. Oversized receivers bristling with heat fins, dials, and knobs. Thick, engraved face plates with real glass. Solid aluminum knobs. Beautiful displays, all so different and in so many colors.
4) Bringing it back to life, because sometimes it can be done with a handful of parts costing less than dinner out, or with a can of cleaning spray, a new fuse, a soldering iron, or by installing the PRE/MAIN jumpers.
5) Cost effective if you can educate yourself. There is good equipment on Craigslist if you are willing to brave the general public, especially speakers. With advice from the great people here at AK you can assemble a very nice system for a fraction of a new one from Crutchfield, Best Buy, etc. Many modest, low-watt amps and receivers sound much better and more powerful than their indicated ratings and can be had for reasonable prices.
6) There is a strong community here at AK to support/encourage/enable? you in this pursuit, whether you don't understand Yamaha's variable loudness or need to recap a Marantz 2230.
7) Every time you buy a vintage piece, you are inheriting a time capsule, a snaphot of the state of the art in 19xx, and saving something from the trash heap. No one will ever build another Kenwood 600, a Sansui Eight, or a Technics SL-10, but we can keep them alive with a bit of ingenuity & determination.
8) You may learn something about electronics along the way. When I started this hobby, time ago, I had absolutely no idea what a capacitor was, nor AC vs. DC, nor how to solder. I still have a long way to go, but I learned enough to repair a cold solder joint in a dishwasher and replace a capacitor in our fridge, saving our family lots of money. I make mistakes, lots, but those hours spent over PCBs gave me back a lot more than surfing the net or trying to understand the plot of Lost.
9) The hunt. This might not be a cool thing for some, but searching for gear speaks to the hunter/gatherer in me (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). I might not even buy something, but I do enjoy looking, and while that big auction site has its drawbacks, it does have millions of intriguing things on it, 24/7.
10) Cleaning stuff up. When you do get that new tt, amp, pair of speakers, etc., half the fun is opening it up and seeing how it was built, the condition it's in. I sort of look forward to dust and cat hair because I enjoy cleaning and polishing things. There is nothing like popping a filthy aluminum face plate in a sudsy bath and seeing it clean and shiny again, in minutes, or hearing a volume pot go from horribly scratchy to completely silent. You have the power to transform something filthy and unusable to something beautiful and operable, sometimes within the span of hours.
