The fascination of vintage hi-fi: a look back

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For many Rotel fans, the Rotel RHA 10 preamp is one of the best the Japanese have ever made. These devices are rarely used

The fascination of vintage hi-fi: a look back

Is “top class” always “top class”? Not that easy to answer. By definition, a spike is the end of something. Whether with class or without it doesn’t matter, at some point it’s over. Even top wines that have been kept under ideal storage conditions will one day change their state of aggregation. Also the tip of the iceberg. Which leads me to my buddy Werner. Referring to his favorite hobby, the fascination of vintage hi-fi, he claims: “What used to be good can’t be bad today.”



The Denon PMA 1520 is something like the solid upper class in the field of vintage integrated amplifiers (Photo: A. Weber)

So does top hi-fi always remain top hi-fi? Let’s take a look at Werner. In 1989 he bought a DENONIntegrated amplifier PMA-1520 as well as a CD player DCD-1520 and built quite complex self-constructed bass reflex boxes with Isophon chassis. Nice devices. And when I visited Werner for the first time a few years ago, I was also happy to see a PMA and a DCD again. “Great, you have a PMA,” I remarked enthusiastically and discovered a proud grin on his face. For me, it was a journey into the past – the fascination of vintage hi-fi. 


When there were still “my” brands like Akai, Kenwood, Sansui, and many others. Werner’s 1520 was ahead of its time, already had a digital-to-analog converter on board and the DCD was a “reference class” at “Audio” in 1988. He had skilfully made the speaker housing, only the piano lacquer had failed, but he wasn’t the only one back then … When asked, whether he had never thought of buying something new, the sentence quoted above fell. In fact, the components still worked quite well at the time, but the speakers’ pronounced high-frequency emphasis was unmistakable even then. His business, I thought to myself. When I visited him again years later, he still had the plant. His “top class” argument continued to be unassailable law. 


One of the best CD players of its time: the Denon DCD 1520

So I ask myself: does a device that was top in 1989 still play at the top today? Or is the peak somewhere further down in the vintage hi-fi era? Colleague Jürgen Schröder, who is rumored to have owned Monty Python’s legendary nose tape recorder once told me this when it comes to loudspeakers: “Loudspeakers from the old days can sound just as good as new designs, but they’re a lot easier to make today.” Amazing. But he also expressed it very diplomatically, I think. Loudspeakers don’t stay new but are – see above – for example from 1989. Signs of aging are possibly hardened surroundings, capacitors that have lost their capacity, or long-forgotten modifications (which we will read about later). This is also part of the fascination with vintage hi-fi.

But what about amplifiers? These are also subject to natural wear and tear. Scratchy volume pots with synchronization errors and dropouts, input selection switches that switch a channel on or off as you wish, the same applies to the speaker selection, and so on. The more equipment, the more quirks are possible. Capacitors and electrolytic capacitors also require attention at some point, but much later. The same applies to cold solder joints, which interestingly always occur at hot spots. Nicotine and dust are – especially with CD players – the biggest enemy (laser densely slimed).

This is also part of the fascination of vintage hi-fi: If you invest the necessary dedication and a good amount of money in your hobby, you can significantly increase the life of an amplifier, provided that suitable spare parts are available. A hi-fi enthusiast from Hamburg once told me that he had the wearing parts of his really beautiful and rare Rotel amplifier combination RHA-10 and RHB-10 replaced at regular intervals.

Those who love their Rotel RHA 10 change the pots every two years

With the preamplifier, for example, the potentiometers were thrown out every two years. A very consistent attitude, but rather unusual. The classic vintage fan usually leaves his beloved items as they are. Also the noise patina. It only gets worse when he pumps half a can of “Contact 60” into the potentiometer. You’ve seen it all, eBay makes it possible. Back to Werner.

I wanted to know how he got his system and tears of emotion welled up in his eyes. So I found out that the amplifier was already the second of the same model. As a hobby DJ, he had sent the first one into the eternal hunting grounds during the warranty period, along with the two tweeter domes of the speakers and some components of the crossovers. In the absence of spare parts available, there were “better” chassis, which of course also applied to the crossover. This at least explained the clearly exaggerated high-frequency range. Werner reported on wild parties, friends who no longer exist, employers, he had, and much more. We listened to music from the old days and his DJ talent was unmistakable. It turned out to be a nice evening.

Despite all logic, a vintage hi-fi system is also a permanent connection from the past to the present and back. The acquisition costs for the equipment were toiled away by delivering newspapers, on construction sites and in tree nurseries, through hard-fought confirmation classes, through appointments with relatives to eat cakes, and in the worst case by forgoing consumption of a moped or a new bicycle. Then the first amp and cabinets and the first turntable, the smell of solvents wafting from the styrofoam and plastic wraps – glorious. I would have bought this as a room spray. “Technics room spray with the scent of the A series!” Screw it, I would still use it today!

It’s clear, you don’t just throw something like that away and if you do, one day the time will come when you’ll buy it used as a vintage hi-fi. His first doesn’t just forget “man” like that. But even if it hurts, the old system is no longer the same. Neither do we. For example, I have long since developed from hard rock to jazz and to be honest, I find some of the music from back then stupid today. Which doesn’t mean that an evening with “stupid” music and vintage hi-fi can’t be a wonderful evening.

And when you consider all of this, you also know how wisely Jürgen Schröder put it when he spoke about loudspeaker designs from the past. This only applies if the old ones are brand new. Incidentally, Werner’s system is now in the party basement, and new components are playing in the living room. DENON of course. And then as now, the best evenings take place in the basement. Fascinating Vintage HiFi!


A battle of materials: the interior of the Rotel RHB 10 stereo power amplifier


and from the outside.

There’s a lot of power in it: Like the preamp of the series, the power amp RHB 10 is one of the best in Rotel’s history 




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