To be truthful I’m not really interested in high-end audio. I might have expected in that past that I would be, but the diminishing returns gained with high-end stuff don’t really attract me. The other problem is the lack of credibility - it’s just way too hard to find the truth up there in the dizzy heights of high-end. Although, to be fair, credibility is not something that the audio-industry is strong on as a whole (as shown by the industry’s rediscovery of valves, vinyl and high-efficiency loudspeakers).

So, leaving the music aside (which one should never do), my audio interests are always aroused when "vintage audio" is mentioned. I don’t really know what vintage audio is to most people - but for me is usually has to be before 1970, but after 1945. Some people might call that the Golden Age. Golden or not, there was some good stuff done back then.

It seems easy to attach a degree of "romance" to vintage audio gear - to hear it through rose-coloured ears, if you follow my meaning. An example of this was at the recent "analogue" revival Club Meeting. Danny had brought along his Radford STA25 amplifier. Just the mention of this amplifier is likely to turn many a head. But we could have had any other modern amplifier there that evening - after-all, analogue doesn’t mean valves necessarily, and it doesn’t mean old either. But to a vintage audio enthusiast like me, there is more thrill hearing music through this classic vintage amp than through a modern amplifier of any type. That’s where the romance and rose-coloured-ears come into play. Even before the music starts, I’ve decided that this is going to be great, just because it’s a Radford with a heritage. Call it down right bias if you like. It doesn’t matter, because the result is that I enjoy the music better. And that’s regardless of whether the Radford really is a good amplifier or not - the heritage-factor alone has improved the sound. That to me is vintage audio.

At a more nuts-and-bolts level, vintage audio is also about "original condition". This means a minimalist approach to modifications. It’s a fact of life that vintage gear will need servicing, and so most often it cannot run properly with 40-year-old factory-fitted components. But modifications in design are not something I include as a part of vintage audio (although some others would include it). When it comes to modifications that are destructive or irreversible - like drilling a hold in a chassis - well "das ist verboten!".

I have the feeling that vintage audio is a growing sub-culture, as I am not the only one interested in it. There are other MAC’ers that do it too. On a wider scale though, the biggest proof of existence is perhaps the Internet auction site, ebay. This web site has a special category for the sale of vintage audio gear. In the not too distant past, vintage audio might have meant "audio-on-budget". Unfortunately, this is no longer true. If there is one thing ebay has taught me, it is that a lot of Americans have a lot of money. Let’s put together a nice vintage system from some components recently sold on ebay:

Leak Troughline Tuner	US$280
Marantz Model 7 Pre-Amp	US$2,699
Marantz Model 2 Power Amps	US$8,100
Tannoy Monitor Red corner system	US$4,500
SME 12" pickup arm	US$405
Ortofon SPU pickup	US$250
Garrard 301 Turntable	US$410
Total:	US$16,644, or about A$33,000!