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Appreciation post: Finally got my uncle’s old JVC receiver to work after a month of trying
My uncle gave me this vintage JVC receiver from like 1985, said it was broken but maybe I could fix it. I spent a month on and off testing capacitors with a multimeter, watching old repair videos, and swapping out a couple of blown fuses. Finally yesterday I hooked it up to some old speakers I had in the garage and it actually powered on and played music. The tuner dial was off by like 10 MHz but that’s just a calibration thing I can deal with. It’s not a high end brand or anything, but it sounds warm and it’s got that satisfying click when you turn the knobs. Has anyone else salvaged old gear that someone else just gave up on?
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susanb3419d ago
Gotta disagree a bit here. Vintage gear is cool and all, but that JVC stuff from the mid 80s was mostly mid-range at best. You probably spent more on fuses and time than what it's worth, and the caps are probably nearing the end of their life anyway. That warm sound you're talking about is more likely just distortion from old electronics, not actual quality. Things like the tuner being off by 10 MHz are a pain to recalibrate without the right tools. You might be better off grabbing a $50 modern receiver from a pawn shop that actually works right out of the box.
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linda_dixon4919d ago
@susanb34 People always chase the old stuff and ignore what's already working.
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janah8319d ago
Fair point about the tuner being a pain, but you're mixing up two different things. The "warm sound" people talk about isn't just distortion from old caps. It's how the analog circuits handle the signal before it hits the speakers. Those old receivers use a class AB amplifier design that naturally adds some even-order harmonics, which our ears actually like. A modern $50 pawn shop receiver is gonna be class D or some cheap chip amp that sounds flat and thin by comparison. Sure, you might have to recap it eventually, but that JVC from the mid 80s still beats most budget stuff today for the money.
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