24. Kenwood KA-9100 DC Stereo Integrated Amplifier From 1977

This was Kenwood's top of the line integrated amp in 1977. It put out 90 watts per channel with a total harmonic distortion of .03%. Very nice! Two inputs for phono are a nice touch. Lots of headroom. Very desirable. These rascals go for $300 to $500 on ebay, which is where this one is headed. 

23. Yet Another Pioneer PL-71 Falls Into My Hands!

I paid $100 for it. It has no dust cover or cartridge or stylus. Still, not bad considering the condition it's in.

22. Kenwood KA-6100 Integrated Amplifier and KT-6500 Tuner From 1978

First the integrated amp. The KA-6100 features 50 watts per channel and a THD of .03%. Twin power meters and dual power supplies. A nice amp! I used it for a few months and sold it. This is a great example of a quality amp that isn't super popular, so it's available for under $50.

The KT-6500 Tuner is as good a tuner as I've ever used. It is wonderful. Pulls stations in so clearly! I actually didn't even hook up the antenna for a week after I picked it up. I'm not kidding. It's a great tuner.

21. Technics SA-5270 Receiver From 1977

This line of Technics (Panasonic) receivers are just plain beautiful! I swear the light just glows on these. I've had a couple of them and they feature a good tuner section and above average looks, great fit and finish. The series includes: 5770, 5570, 5470, 5370, 5270, 5170 and 5070. The 5270 was on the lower end. It featured 35 watts per channel and a total harmonic distortion of .3%. It retailed for about $280 back in 1977, which in today's dollars is roughly $1000! You can get one for under $50.00 easily.

20. Pioneer SX-1280 Monster Receiver from 1978

I am in a great mood! I recently picked up this badass and hooked it up in my main rack. It replaces my Elite Receiver. I cleaned all the potentiometers and removed the years of cigarette smoke residue off of it. Dear God does it sing! A minimum of 185 watts per channel and a maximum total harmonic distortion of .03%. Back in 1978 this freak of Japan cost $900 and in 1979 it was raised to $950. What does that translate to in 2010 dollars? about $3000. They don't make them like this anymore. It weighs in at under 70 pounds.  Very loud and very clean. This is not only the best piece of equipment I now own, but the best I've ever owned. Not for value, but for performance.

19. My Desktop!

18. Pioneer CS-911A Speakers from 1975?

Not sure of the year on these or the cost, sorry.
Okey dokey then!
These monsters weighed in at 50 pounds each.
They could handle 150 watts.
These 8 ohm, 4-way badboys featured six speakers in each cabinet.
I wonder if they were trying to challenge Sansui to see who could jam the most drivers in a cab!
Anyhow, we have here a 15 inch woofer, 2 four inch mids, 1 three inch tweeter and 2 two inch super tweeters in each cab!
Mid range and high range adjustments help turn up or down the brightness till it's just right for that Led Zeppelin revival that you know you're going to fall into the next time Grey Goose is on sale.

I had this pair for about a year before I traded them to a buddy for I don't remember what.
I do remember that they could take one hell of a pounding!
Rock on!

17. The Marantz 2220 Stereophonic Receiver From 1973!

This 37 year old beauty still works great! Nice warm sound that is great for a bedroom or an office. It not only sounds good, it looks good too. The dial and meter light are a GORGEOUS shade of blue.
This picture does not do it justice.
It features a modest 20 watts per channel.
Total harmonic distortion of 0.9%.
It weighs in at about 26 pounds.
Back in 1973 it retailed for about 300 bucks, which in today's dollars is about $1400.

16. The Woofer with Masonite Ring of The Original Advent Large Loudspeaker

Here's a picture of what an original Advent Large woofer looks like. As you can sort of see, the foam surround is reversed from what you're used to and is curved inward, not outward. Clearly visible is the masonite ring to which the surround is attached. A one of a kind.

15. The "Fried Egg" Tweeter of The Original Advent Large Loudspeaker.

This is an odd thing. When you first see it, it looks like someone stuck a little grill in some melted wax. That and it sort of resembles a fried egg. Although this thing doesn't look as though it could possibly sound good, it does! Seen here in the original orange, I have seen it also in green.

14. The Original Advent Large Loudspeaker with Walnut Veneer

Identical to the speakers you see in the picture for the post number 13, except for the different color fabric which was NOT from the factory, but a home made attempt to replace the worn out cloth. That and the wood trim around the front of the speakers. I've had two pair of this style of Advent large. They of course feature the same 10 inch woofer with the masonite ring and same fried egg tweeter on a masonite plate off set from an aluminum plate.

I rather like the black cloth!

13. The Original Advent Large Loudspeaker by Henry Kloss

I've been waiting to do this one as it's going to be in four parts. Posts 13, 14, 15 and 16 will cover the original Advent Large.

I have had more of these than any other type of electronica/audio equipment so far. God, I do like these speakers. You can NEVER EVER go wrong with a pair of original Advent Large. I've had 7 pairs of these during my life. At the moment, I have none.

38 pounds, 100 watts, 8 ohms. So what's so special about them?

They sound great! I think it's like a right of passage for every audiophile to get his or her hands on a pair at some point and time. Deep bass and ultra smooth highs! They are a joy to listen to. Designed by Henry Kloss, they had a 10 inch woofer in a 12 inch frame. What?  You see, the first generation of these used a masonite ring to adapt the 10 inch woofer to a 12 inch woofer basket. The tweeters in the first generation were the amazing "fried egg" dome-cone tweeters on masonite plates that were off set on aluminum plates. All this changed as they were revised into many variations over the course of more than  two decades.

God bless Henry Kloss (pronounced "Close")

This is a picture of my last pair. I re-foamed the surrounds and sold them for $100.00

12. Yamaha NS-10T Natural Sound Monitors/Speakers

6 ohm 2 way speakers. They sound nice. Very clean with no color at all. They are unforgiving. You don't want to use these with a reel to reel or cassette. Every imperfection in the source is revealed with these.

Nice little speakers that are a WHOLE LOT cheaper than the pro series NS-10M Yamahas.
NS-10M's can go for $400 to nearly $1000. You can pick up a pair of NS-10T's for $75 to $100.

I don't know what the MSRP is for either model of those two 1980's gems.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add that they were made in the U.S.A.

11. Pioneer SA-6500 II Integrated Amplifier and TX-6500 II Tuner

30 watts per Channel. Not powerful by any stretch, but a good sound. I opened it up and cleaned the pots. After that it was nice and smooth. The tuner was really nice. Even without an antenna hooked up it was pulling in stations nice and clear. I used it for about a month last year before moving it on to it's new owners. If you get a chance to pick either of these up, do it. You should get both for under $100 together or just the Amp for $50 to $75.

10. Pioneer PL-A45D Turntable 1973 With Box and Manual Like NEW!

I have an absolutely GORGEOUS PL-A45D! I bought it from a guy for 50 bucks. It had been used a little bit. I mean a little bit. I swear, this 37 year old turntable looks new. I am using it in my Pioneer Elite rack and I love it! Since Pioneer didn't make a turntable for their Elite line, no harm in using this one in the rack.
 It is a stunner! Here's a picture:

9. Pioneer SX-3700 Fluoroscan Receiver from 1980

Now this is an interesting receiver that is languishing in my closet. BEAUTIFUL blue digital tuning and meters! Total harmonic distortion was a wonderful .02%. Back in 1980/1981 this 45 watts per channel rascal cost $375, which is about $1000 in 2010 dollars. Here's a picture of my dusty back up:

8. Pioneer SX-434 Receiver From 1974

This was the bottom of the barrel for Pioneer's receiver line in 1974. This thing cost $189.00 back then, which is about $834 now. It had an underpowered 7 watts per channel. I bought it cheap and sold it cheap.
Here's a picture:

7. Pioneer SX-737 Receiver From 1974

I sold this receiver to a friend a while back. It put out 35 watts per channel with .5% total harmonic distortion. Back in 1974 this thing cost $400. In today's dollars that's about $1768.00! Nice receiver but the pots are hard to get to for cleaning. here's a pic:

6. Pioneer CT-F9191 Cassette Deck From 1974

I had two of these. I sold one on ebay for $100 and the other is in my vintage rack. In 1975 it retailed for $450.00. When you adjust $450 for inflation, the 2010 price would be $1,823.51. This is a great deck!
It still  holds up. Fantastic quality! Here's a picture of the one I sold:

5. Pioneer Elite VSX-49TX Receiver From 2002 Sold For $700

I paid $200 for it and sold it for $700 last week. This monster weighed in at 70 pounds. OH MY GOD this thing is beautiful! I HATED to sell it. You should have seen the remote. This thing was $4,200 new. It is by far and away the coolest piece of equipment I have ever come across. Lots of copper everywhere on it. Just beautiful. This one dinky picture does not do it justice at all.

4. Pioneer PL-71 Turntable From 1974

I paid $120 for it and sold it for $299 last week. This turntable is gorgeous! I really love the looks, but unfortunately it is manual and I am accustomed to automatic. I have been spoiled by My Pioneer PL-530. The PL-71 looks much nicer, but I prefer the ease of the PL-530. My ears can't tell the difference either. Back in 1974 it retailed for $300, which is about $1330.00 in 2010 dollars!

(Update, I now regret selling this as I now prefer manual tables. I should have kept it!)

3. Pioneer PL-530 Turntable From 1976

This was my first really good turntable and it's still my main one. It retailed for $250 in1976, which is around $960 in today's dollars. Direct drive and fully automatic. Unlike other direct drive turntables, this one is VERY quiet. High quality for sure. I love this turntable! I use it most days.

2. I Have a Fairchild Channel F Video Game System From 1976

The Fairchild was released in 1976 and featured a screaming fast 1.79 Mhz CPU.
Yes, that's right, I said 1.79 megahertz.
Come on, it was 1976!!!!
The guy who helped design the CPU quit Fairchild and started his own company, he called it Intel.
No, I'm not kidding.
I even have the box it came in and a one page instruction sheet!

1. Pioneer SX-780 Receiver From 1978

The SX-780 from Pioneer is my favorite receiver. There's just something about it that I love.
It has a wonderful warm sound with low distortion and lots of headroom. It was available from 1978 to 1980 for about $325 according to Silverpioneer. If you adjust $325 dollars for inflation that translates to about $1000 now.

45 watts per channel? Really? No way! It feels like MUCH more. I have been through my share of Vintage Marantz and Yamahas and I have never found a better receiver than the SX-780. It's not like "they don't build them like this anymore". THEY NEVER DID! This was it. The SX-780, 1080, 1280 and 1980 are among the best receivers EVER built. The SX-1980 IS the greatest by a landslide.

I recommend the SX-780 to anyone. I pushed 4 HPM-100's with NO problem at all. Great sound.

Pictured is my SX-780 that I use with my Apple G5, a PL-530, a CT-F9191 and a pair of HPM-100's.