I think to obtain classic and or collectable status an object needs to have some aesthetic appeal and perhaps historic relevance rather than just be of an age or with defunct functionality.
Old solid state generic metal HiFi boxes seem to me unlikely to achieve that but, as @Richard.Dane shows, the tactility and mechanical aesthetic appeal of tape, R2R and maybe some turntables hit the spot.
Nostalgia plays a part but that is a pretty individual thing. My father was a sales rep for Olivetti, and my childhood was surrounded by typewriters. I have one in my office now fixed to the wall. It doesn’t work and it isn’t in any way valuable to anyone else (unlike certain very stylish Olivetti models), but it means a lot to me.
Sorry for the waffle, it is the anniversary of his death soon!
Thanks Richard, for me these Aiwas are the best looking high performing decks ever. Having owned the 660 I was amazed at how good it sounded through my Olive system. There’s no doubt that vintage HiFi still sounds good if looked after and even at current prices some brands are still affordable. I’m not sure about the luxury brands though. I’m all for bang for buck as opposed to owning the very best. But that’s just me .
I bought my strobo 301 for £105 and my Radford STA15 for £100 30 odd years ago. At the time they were just regarded as old and not very desirable. With both you can now just add a zero to the price!
My CB NAP160 was even better value as it was free! But these too are climbing in value.
The vintage stuff I tend to look at is in sub £1k range. Tends to be Japanese although I still look at the 80s 90s stuff like Audiolab and Cyrus. The other stuff on here and R2Rs I’ve never paid much attention to. What sort of prices are we talking for what is considered proper vintage HiFi?
Just bought myself a late model Cyrus 2 for peanuts. Looks in good condition but will probably need a service. Loved mine from years ago. Very underrated amp.
As Richard pointed, some items are very collectable and very expensive today. Comes to my mind the Marantz model 9 from the 60’s ( 30/40k today), EMT 927 turntable, Micro Seiki 8000, Day Sequerra FM tuner ( > 10k), Mark Levinson Lt 2 pre from the 70’s, the original Koetsu Rosewood signature cartridge….
Back in the late 80’s I had an Aiwa unit in my Lancia Delta. I can’t remember the model but similar in design and with a foldout control panel. I remember it was quite expensive at the time…. Now, I so wish I kept it, along with a bunch of other 70’s & 80’s hifi that I carelessly let go
I mean no offence but I think this is what contributes to why hifi gear doesn’t get considered valuable. There is always somebody unwilling to accept why somebody is willing to pay over the market value for a thing that they themselves would never.
I am exposed to the art world in my line of work. I would never spend the kind of money that I see being spent on art. Even if I could afford it, because art doesn’t move me in the same way hifi does. However I never criticise what somebody else is willing to pay for it. Many buy art as an investment but there are plenty who absolutely obsess over a piece of art that means nothing to me but I still admire their passion.
I was absolutely convinced my next purchase was going to be the Lancia Delta Evo Integrale. I’d found a gorgeous example. I’ve lusted over that car since I was a kid and I thought not only would I love to own it but I could justify it to myself as it’s likely a future classic and will only appreciate in value. .. then I got the idea of the NAC S1 and that was that.
Personally, I hope there is no upsurge in used prices. I buy used kit mainly, none of my Naim equipment was bought new for example.
All collecting is governed by fashion and demand versus supply, and there is not enough demand for used kit. Even when prices go up it does not mean it will stay that way. Potentially, when people get bored with Reel to Reel, prices will fall. A lot of Hifi/Audiophile people want new and upgrade frequently.
I had the same in my old Fiat Spider, with a flip down front panel. Unfortunately while I was living with my girlfriend at the time in South Kensington in London and had the car parked outside, some toe rag took a knife to the soft top and removed it from the car - the whole point of the flip down front panel was to hide that it was a stereo, but I guess this thief knew their ICE!
Unfortunately mine wasn’t an Integrale. It is actually a good example for this thread, I do remember when Integrales were actually quite affordable and very tempting! Today though, a well preserved unmolested one is worth serious money!!
Yes indeed Richard, unfortunately they do know. A very good friend of mine had a Subaru Impreza which he had to park on the street. Of course it was like a magnet and was broken into a number of times.
Around the same time my wife was on night duty and parked our lovely mkII Golf GTI 16v at the hospital, with a good solid chain wrapped around the steering wheel. They still stole it and when we got it back the bolt cutters were still on the back seat. Apologies for wandering of the topic
Stop it guys, the least thing we need is for prices of classic gear to soar in value to the point where we are priced out of the market and the only thing people use it for is as an investment. This would mean the supply of NAC52 et all drying up then its just mothballed rather than used for what its intended for, as is the case with 1990 supercars, as well as a few other of those items mentioned here…..
I wish I could afford the old Porsche 911 (964) is sold for £16k around 15 years ago but as that same car would now be a £70 to £80k prospect I just can’t do it….
Coincidentally, today I bought an Audio Research Reference Anniversary preamp, it was not a cheap purchase but a manageable one because its less than 40% of the original price and I can easily justify getting value from every last penny spent as I intend to use it at every opportunity, rather than worrying about a “adding a few miles” before its time to move it on and realise a profit……
The reason for the increase in value of 1990s and now early 2000s hypercars is that the kids who grew up with them as posters on a bedroom wall are the guys who now find themselves with large amounts of disposable income with which they can now indulge their childhood fantasies, in that respect we’re probably simillar but there aren’t so many of us to push the prices ever higher…..
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Memories….
