Wayne Parham Messages: 18791 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
There is some vintage equipment that is restored and/or moded because of its high sound quality. But most times, you know it if you got it. Equipment like that was considered high-end when it was new.
And there are other vintage items that are restored just because they're antiques. Not so much for sound quality as for aesthetics. Old tube radios come to mind.
But to be honest, most sound gear from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s wasn't all that great. For that matter, most stuff made since then isn't all that great either. Audiophiles often refer to the average quality gear as being "midfi" or "home theater in a box."
I wouldn't probably spend time restoring midfi gear from a few decades ago. I definitely would restore a nice reel-to-reel tape deck or turntable, or a nice amplifier or something. I might restore a cassette deck, but probably not one from Radio Shack. Then again, now that the Shack is gone, I might restore a "Realistic" brand device just for nostalgia.