"Robert Morein" wrote in message
...

"Michael" wrote in message
t...

What's the view here on older vintage (1970's/80's) stereo receivers
(Kenwood, Marantz, etc.) vs. the new receivers you can buy in stores
today?

Are the older ones better? I can't tell from specs alone - except the
older ones do seem to have more power available (Kenwood kr-9600) and
better FM.

Thanks!

Receivers up until about 1983 had protective circuitry that causes drastic
clipping when played at more than low volumes with CD material. When the
CD
came out, amplifiers were improved to meet the need, with much lower
distortion and much higher dynamic range.


The first reciever I bought was an HK730 from Harman Kardon, 40 wpc and I
used it with a CD player when the first ones came out. Never had a problem
with clipping, distortion was low, and I can't recall seeing anything with
more than about 2 dB of headroom, on rare occassion 3 dB.

The Golden Age of receivers appears to have been from about 1983 to 1990.

Based on what criteria?