The oldest piece of HT hardware you own is...
 

My Sony Betamax. I kid you not. I still have it, working fine.

An old turntable - probably 1970s vintage.

RD

That I own is a DVD player that I bought in summer of 2000. :)

I have a TV from 1977, works fine.

I´m looking for the very first model of remote-controlled TV set. It was very peculiar, cuz the remote controlled a small motor that actually ROTATED the channel selector. It was very spooky.

Technics CD player circa 1984. Still works and sounds great.

I sold my SONY Beta on eBay for $250. I got rid of all my old stuff that way. Rather have the cash than equipment I rarely use. My oldest piece would be my LD player I bought used. Everything else is within 2 years old. Of course that means it's also outdated but I can live with that.

I've replaced everything this year. Toshiba 16:9 HDTV, progressive scan DVD player, Sanyo VCR, Kenwood DD/DTS receiver. I do have a Dolby Surround receiver stashed in a closet that I should have sold on eBay years ago.

Hmmmm probably my Laserdisc player...

My front speakers, that I got with a stereo system, are 15+ years old. I've got them hooked up to my new Outlaw 1050 and they work great unless I really push the system.

I've got an RCA CED (Capacitance Electronic Disc...not Laserdisc) videodisc player from the early eighties, and a ton of discs as well. It hasn't been used since...well the eighties, but last time I turned it on it still worked.

My turntable from 1972...still sounds awesome to this day.

I have a Dynaco PAT-4 PreAmp which was made in 1967. I bought it at Goowill for $3 a few months back:)

http://home.indy.net/~gregdunn/dynac...AT4/myPAT4.jpg

And a Dynaco 410 amp made in 1975

http://home.indy.net/~gregdunn/dynac...T410/ST410.jpg


I use these together to power and control the LFE channel(2 12" subs) in my home theater and they work great.

I am going to make a nice stereo speaker system out of them sometime, but as of now I don't have any speakers that would like the 300 watts of power the amp puts out.

The oldest piece of my equipment that's actually hooked up to my system and in use is an RCA CED SelectaVision VideoDisc player, model SGT-250, one of the 2 first stereo models. This thing is built like a tank!

Two Kenwood Integrated amps from the mid-late 70's. Things are built like a tank. These things would easily cost into the 1000's if you tried to manufacture them today. I'm not sure if any of you know what wire wrapping is... but all the interior connections are wire wrapped. This is a VERY labor intensive way to run a wire. One runs the SVS sub and the other runs the front L/R channels of my setup.

http://www.mindspring.com/~jine/rack.jpg

About those amps ...
 

Are they "tube" amps that true audiophiles drool over? Do they really sound warmer even with CDs? Just wondering. I've never heard one and have only read about 'em, and I always wondered if it was the playback medium (ie, a really good turntable instead of a CD player) and not the amp that created the warm sound. Thanks.

Until a couple years ago I still had a Technics integrated amp from the '70s that looked like that top Kenwood.

I still have L/R front speakers that are 18 years old. Altec Model 6's with tangerine horns. They don't make 'em like that anymore. I've replaced the bass in both (speaker stores druel over Model 6's). I love 'em, though I will replace them eventually.

Sylvania VCR made 12.3.1985 according to the tag on the back.

Hmm, my two oldest pieces originate from the mid-seventies. One is an old Pioneer receiver which still works flawlessly powering my bass shakers. The other is a Marantz record player that still sounds great when it is infrequently used.

J

Probably my Marantz 4400 quad receiver with oscilloscope from the mid '70s. Still sounds great with old AR9 towers.

At least that the oldest stuff I regularly use. I still have turntables, cartridges, and tape decks older than that like a Garrard Zero 100 from 1971.

My TV (27") from the 80's.

Woohoo nobody has beaten my 1967 Pat-4 pre amp that I use daily:)

Wadda I win?

Jin E,

Those are some nice looking amps. I love the look of the older stuff. Nothing beats the shear power and clarity of the older amps from Yamaha, Kenwood, Dynaco, Sansui, etc.

About a year ago I sold my Accuphase E-202 integrated amp and I miss it alot:(

Wow - other people with CEDs and Betamaxes!

We've got a CED (not sure of the status), a Betamax SL HF-300 which will get repaired if it dies before I'm through with it, 'cos I have a ton of stuff on beta that needs to get moved to another medium (hurry up with those DVD-burning improvements, Apple!!)

Dad wins the oldest item though....he's got a tube amp from the 50s.. it doesn't seem to have a brand name but it weighs a lot, is about 8 x 10 x 12, and is gold with black knobs. It goes with the Garrard turntable that has a setting for 78rpm because he's got a pile of those downstairs.

In contrast, we recently got a new TV for the "media dungeon": a ProScan PS27810 which will have the CED, the Betamax and the Atari 2600 attached to it (as well as the new toys).

Does a reel to reel count? :)

Another CED here
 

We've got a collection of CED players and a ton of movies, too. One of them is hooked up, but rarely sees any operation.

As friends of ours cleaned out their attics over the years, we ended up with all their players and discs.

My parents still have an 8-track player hooked up and operational (with the help of a matchbook of course).