Have you ever wondered what was good to buy as far as vintage audio equipment was concerned? It can be confusing. After all, there is a ton of it out there, mostly used, and it can be hard to find equipment that you can rely on and trust. However, there are a few things to look for, and remembering a few basic things can really help you select the proper gear and avoid getting ripped off on gear that isn’t very good, or in very good condition.
Remember that there are three major things to look for as far as audio equipment, and those are range, power, and distortion. Vintage audio gear is famous for its dynamic range, quality power, and lack of distortion. In fact, many people believe that the worst distortion occurs in digital form on a CD. This is because vinyl and mediums like it hide the flaws in a round about way covering them with richness and fullness of tone instead of raw digital edgy chaos.
Vintage speakers are great. Especially if your looking for high efficiency speakers, full range speakers, or Alnico speakers. Make sure you confirm that the speakers in working condition, because they are usually very difficult to repair. If your buying vintage I would not worry about cabinet blemishes as they shouldn't impact sound.
Many say that turntables provide the best representation of music. Good turntables and records will truly give back more than you spend on them if you appreciate great sound. You should snatch these up if you find them in good condition.
If you can get your hands on them, reel to reel players and tape are amazing. Brands to look for are Teac, Pioneer and Sony. They might be cumbersome, large, and hard to move, but they will make up for it when you listen to the high quality tape they utilize.
Also, remember to check on what kind of damage the vintage unit has before casting your bid. Remember that the unit in question is probably 30+ years old, so forget about the manufacturer having what you need to fix it up! You can acquire some things like lights and knobs from online dealers, but you can expect to pay a pretty penny sometimes over $10 for a single knob! Also remember that things like a beat up case are hard to fix you can, however, replace hardwood cases pretty easily, as if you care to spend the money you can have one custom built.
And always remember to check prices. Don’t get taken advantage of by paying more than the item is worth! Vintage gear is not rare enough to break the bank on, unless you just come across something super rare. So, exercise good judgment, and don’t dump money into something that is not worth it.
The age of electronics dawned with the invention of the vacuum tube. Vacuum tubes are also known as electron tubes or thermionic valves. The word ‘thermionic’ means flow of electrons from an electrode when heated. The word ‘valve’ is used in its normal meaning but unlike hydraulic valves, the device regulates the flow of electrons. Vacuum tubes constituted almost every electronic gadget produced in the 20th century till it was replaced by the transistor.
The simplest vacuum tube is the Diode in which two electrodes has been sealed within an evacuated glass tube. The electrode called the filament or the cathode emits electrons when heated by the passage of electric current. The electrons form a cloud called the space charge and move to the other electrode called the plate or anode being attracted by its positive potential with respect to the cathode. This results in a flow of electric current in the circuit from anode to cathode. Because the flow of electrons from cathode to anode inside the tube can not be reversed, the diode tube can act as a rectifier to convert a.c. to d.c. or as a demodulator of r.f. signals.
With the addition of another electrode between the anode and the cathode, the vacuum tube becomes a Triode. This third electrode is called the control grid and is in the form a fine mesh. The triode is a voltage-controlled device. By applying a voltage to the grid the electron flow from the cathode to the anode can be regulated. The relationship between the grid voltage and the anode current is a function called the transconductance (unit is mho). This function accounts for the use of the triode valve as an amplifier.
A fourth electrode, the screen grid takes care of oscillations due to anode-to-grid capacitance and the electron tube is named a Tetrode. More electrodes are required for special uses other than amplification. Tubes containing eight electrodes, an Octode have been manufactured. For the purpose of frequency conversion, the heptode or the pentagrid converter is suitable. There are multi-functional vacuum tubes such as triode-hexode, double diode-triode, etc.
During the middle of the 20th century, vacuum tubes became so commonplace that these were used in many DIY projects for building amplifiers and radios.
Some of the scientists contributing to the invention of the vacuum tube are Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, John Ambrose Fleming, Lee de Forest, Hull and Williams.
Vacuum tubes are making a comeback among High-Fidelity audio enthusiasts because of their ability to deliver superior sound quality and being less susceptible to power surges and transient overloads than solid-state devices.