Vintage or Almost Vintage

Clint e. started another thread which has raised an interesting question, I see now others have posted as I am moving those threads to hear to start a seperate debate and not crap on Clint e.s thread.

Sorry fo the inconvenience, my fault.

Jim

I find I don't know how to move posts so I am supplying a copy.

At what point does a piece change from Vintage to almost Vintage?

To me the "Golden Age" of electronics was from the late 50's (the beginning of multiplexing FM in the early 60's helped to boost stereo to the general public) through the early 80's, the receiver wars being among some of the most exciting. I believe the 'hippies' helped to boost finer audio also, never met a hippie that didn't have a nice bong and a nicer stereo.

But is this era Vintage or almost Vintage? Or when did the seperation occur?


Jim

Good question. For me, I know it when I see it.

It seems that during the late-80's the cosmetics of most gear started to change significantly, and looked much more similar to current day equipment than that which is only a few years older. Sadly, it seems that it was also around this time that we saw a significant increase in the quantity of plastic used in consumer grade equipment.

As far as speakers go, the transition seemed more gradual and was probably driven by the needs of multi-channel home theaters more than anything else. It seems that large floor standing speakers were the norm, even in early dolby pro logic-based theaters. Typically I think of these as traditional 3-way speakers with 10, 12 or 15" woofers. However with the advent of 5.1 digital audio soundtracks subwoofers became more prevalent and the size of "typical" speakers shrunk considerably. Today it seems that "bookshelf" speakers are the norm, even in many 2-ch audio systems. Personally I still think that even "modern" home theaters need at least bookshelf speakers that tend toward larger models (at least one 8" or two 6 1/2" drivers. in order to crossover the subwoofer low enough that it doesn't draw attention to itself.

There are obviously exceptions to these general observations, but I think that is the way the trends went from my perspective.

Rob

I think that vintage is relative to the observer. To a youngster it may be their earliest awakening to audio, say maybe the 80s. For me, it's the pre-stereo era of mono, large floor standing speakers and tube amps. I remember when a neighbor who always had the latest got a stereo system, and how fascinating that was. In the 60s, a group I knew listened "critically" on Crown amps and Electro-Voice speakers. Another friend in the 70s was an audio salesman and had all McIntosh, including loudspeakers. That was a real "ear opener". Another friend was devoted to Bozak Concert Grands and Marantz amplification. I installed a Lafayette 12" coaxial into an old TV cabinet powered by my record player and listened in mono. I finally got the bug in 1972 and got a Philips GA-212 turntable with a Shure V15 cartridge, AR receiver and wretched Bose 501 speakers. I was reading British Hi-Fi News and ordered KEF B110s and T27s from Badger Sound Services and started experimenting with DIY and it's been that way ever since. I now have 70s era Avant and Dahlquist DQ-10s loudspeakers and my everyday Hafler DH-110, Phase Linear 400 with a Thorens TD125LB and SME 3012 tonearm. That's "vintage" to me.

Heck, I call vintage 20-25 years old, but I have folk calling 15 year old stuff vintage.

How's it work for cars? Where's the connotation (and issued plates) for vintage?

And how does antique work into this?

depends on the State, but i think 25 yrs is typical. up here in WA its 25.

I was surprised to find that 1974 or 75 (can't remember exactly) autos can get special plates here. Legally, something needs to be 100 years old to be antique.