Receivers and amps: Good, but tough to fix
The sound quality of receivers and amplifiers has not improved appreciably in decades, so a 40-year-old model might sound as good as a new one. However, Carson cautions, “With these, it’s harder to pinpoint specific problems, and if there are any, they’ll require a technician to repair.”
It’s best to connect a receiver or amp to a set of speakers to check it out before you buy, but unless the seller has some speakers on hand or you’re the type who keeps a spare pair in your trunk for just such an occasion, that isn’t a particularly practical option. Gordon Sauck, owner of vintage-audio dealer Innovative Audio in Surrey, British Columbia, offers a simpler solution for testing receivers (which are amps that have a preamp and a radio tuner built in): “Almost all receivers have a headphone jack, so bring some headphones and plug them in to see how well all the basic functions work.”
Connect some sort of audio source to one of the receiver’s inputs; it could be an MP3 player, a portable CD player, or an older smartphone with a headphone jack. Play some music and then try all the controls to see if they work. “Turn the balance control left to right, and make sure one channel’s not louder than the other when the knob is centered,” Carson suggests. “Then turn all the controls and work the switches. If you hear scratchy sounds, it’s probably oxidation of the internal contacts. You can use DeoxIT spray to fix this yourself, or you can pay a repair shop to do it.”
All receivers have analog-audio inputs that you can connect to sources such as a CD player or music streamer. Check the back of the receiver for damage to the various jacks and terminals, and try the radio tuner to see if it works. An unfolded paper clip will suffice as a temporary antenna.
When asked how he evaluates used receivers and amps, Randy Messman, a veteran audiophile posting on YouTube as cheapaudioman, suggested a simple litmus test: “I hate to say it, but if it’s heavy, it’s probably good.” That is, it’s built with robust parts that will likely extend the device’s life. He also recommends buying only receivers and amps that have binding post speaker-cable connectors, which is good advice because clip-type connectors tend to break easily and are rarely found on high-quality models.
Home-theater receivers with surround-sound and video inputs are likely to be newer and have more years of life left, and they probably have more features, such as digital-audio inputs, which may wring better sound from CD players and music streamers. However, Sauck cautions against buying them used because the HDMI connections often become faulty or outdated. Messman agrees, but he adds that people can connect AV sources to such units using the optical digital-audio input, which is compatible with most modern digital-audio sources and can still deliver surround sound.
Speakers: Easy to fix, but not necessarily good
Speakers offer more opportunities for bargains. “A lot of them are large, and people want to get rid of them because they take up a lot of space,” Carson explains.
According to both Carson and Sauck, the biggest problem with buying old speakers is that the surrounds — the flexible rings, often made from foam, that connect speaker cones or domes to their frames — have often degraded to the point where the speaker won’t work anymore. Anyone with patience and steady hands can replace the surrounds using relatively inexpensive kits, and finding a speaker repair shop usually isn’t difficult, at least not in major metro areas.
Carson and Sauck both recommend removing a speaker’s grille (the fabric covering on the front of most speakers) and visually inspecting the surrounds for decay, as well as any other potential damage. It’s best to connect the speakers to an amplifier and listen to them, but when that’s not possible, Sauck offers a simpler test: “Bring a 9-volt battery and a short speaker cable. Connect the battery momentarily to the speaker, and if you hear a thump, you know the speaker is working to some degree.”
“A lot of old speakers have sat in a shed for years,” Messman points out. “If particleboard or MDF [medium-density fiberboard] ever gets wet, it’s ruined. So stick your nose in the speaker’s bass port and sniff. If it’s musty-smelling, don’t buy it.”
Unfortunately, old speakers often can’t compete with new models. Scientific research didn’t influence speaker design much until the early 1990s, and industry standards weren’t fully codified until 2015. Speakers made before about 1995 may have a sonic charm that appeals to certain audio enthusiasts, but more modern speakers that use the standard “tweeter-over-woofer” design (as seen in the top picks in our bookshelf speaker guide) will probably please your ears more.
Turntables, CD players, and cassette decks: Proceed with caution
Used source devices — such as turntables, CD players, and tape decks — typically present even more complications than used amps and receivers do.
When it comes to turntables, simpler is safer. “A manual, belt-drive turntable is mechanically simple and can probably be resurrected if it breaks,” Messman says. “But stay away from any automatic turntable more than 20 years old. The problem is that they have a lot of moving parts. They can break, and the manufacturers don’t make the parts anymore, so most repair shops don’t want to work on them.”
For the most part, the experts I consulted recommended against buying CD players from the 1980s and 1990s. “The technology advanced so quickly that entry-level players from 2000 to now are usually better,” Carson explains. He recommends buying a used DVD or Blu-ray player with analog audio outputs, which you can connect to any stereo system, and playing CDs on that. (Most newer Blu-ray players lack analog outputs.)
All of the experts prescribe caution when buying a cassette or reel-to-reel tape deck because of their mechanical complexity and the difficulty of repairing them. “I don’t advise buying used tape decks unless they’ve been professionally serviced,” Carson says. “Out of 20 I find, maybe one is functional.” So if the tape bug bites, consider an inexpensive new portable cassette player instead.
Can you get it fixed?
A used audio component that seemed to work fine in your neighbor’s garage might not function for long. Some of the parts can degrade over time, which can reduce the device’s performance or shut it down entirely. Getting it fixed may be costly and frustrating.
“I pulled a Pioneer receiver out of the dump a while back,” Messman told us. “It worked for a while but developed some problems. Even though I live in a metro area of almost 8 million people, I could find only one full-time repairperson who would work on it. They wanted $600 just to get into it, and the price would likely go up depending on what else they found.”
Sauck’s store in British Columbia includes a large repair department, but the popularity of vintage audio gear and the scarcity of audio-repair shops means his customers face a long wait. “It depends on the time of year, but in general it will be six to 12 weeks before we can give you an estimate.”
Replacement parts for used audio devices may not be available. Steve Guttenberg, who appears on YouTube as the Audiophiliac, recommends that anyone contemplating buying a piece of old audio gear contact the company that made it and see if the company offers parts and service. “Chances are, they won’t respond, and if they don’t, there’s your answer.”
Messman was equally skeptical about the availability of parts, but he notes, “It’s like fixing a classic car. You might be able to get parts off a nonworking unit.”
Used-gear dealers may offer a warranty. Many have tested the devices they sell and possibly have even restored them to some degree. But the prices on the gear will likely be much higher than you would encounter at a garage sale, on Craigslist or eBay, or on used-audio sites such as Audiogon.
Get it or forget it?
Based on my experience and what I heard from experts, it seems the only reasonably safe strategy for buying used audio gear is to buy from an established dealer that offers a warranty. If that proves too pricey for you, Sauck suggests that keeping your cost down may be the best insurance: “If you find a receiver at a garage sale for $25 or $50 and it works, buy it. If it’s over about $100, think more carefully about it.”
Messman has an even simpler suggestion: “If it powers up and the lights come on, just put it in your equipment rack and don’t connect anything to it. You’ll get the vintage look without the hassles.”
This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.