Build A Vintage Stereo | Components & Things Every Stereo Buyer Should Know

In this series we’ll be building, assembling and restoring a 1960s/1970s era component stereo system. Before we begin, let’s review what the basic components of a typical component stereo are, and some important things to consider if you’re planning on putting together your own vintage system.

Much of this info will also help if you’re putting together a modern system. Modern components often have video or surround processing you won’t find in antique equipment, but the principles are the same. And believe it or not, much of the most esoteric, expensive audio equipment made today is designed for basic two-channel stereo using vacuum tubes in lieu of transistors. That’s just like the old stuff and, in fact, you’d be hard-pressed to hear any improvements in a modern system compared to a comparable antique one.

If you saw the first video in this series, you’ll recall that I first fell in love with high-fidelity stereo sound listening to my father’s stereo in the early 70s. Let’s use the components in his stereo as an example.

I told you my dad had a pair of Nova Pro headphones. Those ‘phones plugged into a Realistic SA-700 solid state, integrated amplifier. Solid state means it used more modern transistors and diodes instead of tubes. Integrated amplifier means it includes an amplifier and preamplifier in one chassis.

Preamplifiers are commonly referred to as preamps for short and are sometimes called control amplifiers because they serve as the main controller for the system. The record player, tape decks, radio tuner and other “source” components all plug into the preamp and it allows you to select which one you want to listen to. A preamp also gives you volume control. Without it, the amplifier would always play at full blast. Many preamps also include bass and treble tone controls to help shape the sound of the music.

Another common feature of a preamp is a phono stage which allows you to plug in a record player. A high fidelity record player is called a turntable and it should only be plugged into a phono input. If you plug it into a regular CD, tape or tuner input, it’s not gonna work. That’s because the signal coming from the turntable’s needle and cartridge are not only tiny, but also a little weird. It’s weird because the low frequencies have been reduced, and the high frequencies have been increased. Almost all records have been made to play this way since the mid-fifties because it’s the only way to squeeze high-fidelity sound into the microscopic vinyl grooves.

Commonly referred to as the RIAA curve, this type of pre-emphasis equalization is somewhat similar to Dolby noise-reduction which is used in tape players to reduce background hiss. Tape players have built-in circuitry to equalize the signal correctly for playback though, while turntables generally do not. So, in addition to boosting the tiny signal from the turntable cartridge, a preamp’s phono stage also properly re-equalizes the RIAA curve.

In addition to a preamplifier, an integrated amplifier, like my dad’s, includes an amplifier. An amplifier, or amp for short, takes the volume adjusted, tone-equalized signal from the preamp and amplifies it to power the speakers.

An amplifier’s output power is measured in watts and sometimes the model number will hint at how many watts it’s rated for. My dad’s SA-700 could deliver 70 total watts of low-distortion power. I say total watts, because it could actually only produce 35 watts per channel. That means it could deliver 35 watts to the left speaker and 35 to the right for a total of 70. Before the mid 70s, some amps were rated by their total power, while others were rated by watts-per-channel. By the mid-70s, rating amps by watts-per-channel thankfully started to become standard.

Amplifier output wattage is an important consideration, because more watts allows the system to play at higher volumes with less distortion. In a small room, 35 watts per channel is usually plenty to power most speakers to room-filling sound without distortion.

In a larger room, or for party-level volumes, though, many speakers will need 50, 80 or 100 watts or more per channel to play without distortion. So, how big your room is and how loudly you want your system to play are big factors to consider when choosing amplifier wattage. Another important consideration is speaker sensitivity which I’ll tell you about a bit later.

So an integrated amp is a component that integrates a preamp and amp in one chassis. But what happens if a radio tuner is added to integrated amp? Well, it becomes what’s known as a receiver.

Here’s the Marantz receiver I convinced my dad to buy in the early 80’s. Not the actual one (I regrettably sold that in college) but the same model. As you can see, it has a preamp, radio tuner and an amp, all in one component.

The video continues to discuss amplifier power, biamplification, monoblocks, speaker power handling, frequency response, impedance and sensitivity.

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