I love the look and feel of vintage products. In my opinion the 80’s marked a drastic decline in the quality of consumer products; in the United States at least. Pre-80’s made items had a tangible “heft” to them that said quality and longevity. Since then, most of the items we buy have a throw-away feel. Modern products talk to you from the shelves they reside on at your favorite store and basically tell you that, “Hey, look at me! I’m pretty cool. I’m the latest and greatest, but let’s be honest…I have a limited life-span and even if you treat me like gold, you’ll soon add me to the nearest landfill.”
There are, of course, exceptions. Apple’s products have a noticeably tangible difference and convey the hope that they’ll last a bit longer than their counterpart electronics. My brother has had the same ipod for nearly 8 years and it’s still going strong, cracked screen and all. There is also, it seems, a real increase in hand crafted items (or at least having the appearance of being hand crafted) that recall a time when items were bought to be cherished for a long time and even handed down to the next generation. The world of Etsy and the new wooden toys like those available from Melissa & Doug are a couple of examples. But, for me, if I can find a vintage item to replace a modern one, I’m all for it.
My latest return to the days of old has been in exploring vintage receivers. I’ve had a turntable for a long time and have been collecting vinyl for years now. I was tired of the sub-par, tinny sound that newer receivers gave the music coming from my turntable. The sounds lacked a “fullness” that vinyl is built for. So, through a series of typical Aaron style purchases totaling about $45 and trading, I acquired a Marantz 2238B Receiver. I believe the receiver was built from 1977-79 and certainly has that “heft” and quality feel (click here for a great ad that Marantz put out highlighting their quality) that I referred to.
When I traded for the receiver, it was noticeably dirty inside and out and when I plugged it in and adjusted the volume there was a ton of static coming from the speakers and it would only engage both channels at one volume level. Most of the display bulbs were also burned out. So, after a bit of research, I took the deck apart and began to clean it. A good vacuum job (the inside was covered with all manner of debris, hair, and dust), a bunch of q-tips and denatured alcohol, and a can of electronics cleaner and I had it pretty well cleaned up. The volume control sounded much better and after turning the knob from quiet to loud repeatedly for about a minute the volume worked much better and there was only slight static noticeable from time to time. After using the receiver for about a week, the static is almost completely gone. Finally, I ordered the replacement bulbs for the display on ebay and installed those when they came in. The only thing I haven’t done yet is give the wood case a light sand and new coat of stain and poly.
So after about $75 of trade material, cleaning material, and replacement bulbs and 2 hours of cleaning, the receiver is looking beautiful again and sounding even better. The chrome faceplate and wood panel case (an optional item on these receivers that I was lucky to have on the receiver when I traded for it) are incredible looking. The rich, full sound that albums have while playing through the receiver is unbeatable and my ipod even sounds incredible. It certainly blows away the “state-of -the-art” Sony receiver I own. Sure, it doesn’t support HDMI and 7.1 surround sound. But, for music, there is no comparison. So if you’re a stickler for really great sounding music (whatever the genre) try out one of these vintage beauties.