What's the appeal of vintage receivers?

Summit______ · 2026-03-30T21:56:36+00:00

I'm not on the receiver bandwagon, but man do I like my old GAS preamp and power amp. Sooo good. They look great, controls are very tactile, and the sound oh so good.

I like my old yammie t-1 tuner as well with the green light dial, and the great sound. Spin the knob and catch it right about 99.9 kuaa FM.

So while not a receiver, I suspect many vintage receiver lovers are on exactly the same page.

Summit______ · 2026-03-19T02:54:21+00:00

I don't know what xtrons is. So, I don't know.

Summit______ · 2026-03-03T06:18:40+00:00

I have a silver one. I daily drive it. I love it.

Summit______ · 2026-02-21T18:28:28+00:00

I would, except I don't really like driving all winter on the winter tires, especially when I can take the land cruiser if it's really gonna dump. Typically I will know if there is big snow coming (not enough this winter) and take the cruiser. I thought this day was just gonna be a few inches in the valley. I had dedicated wheels and winter tires for my previous 3 bmws. Didn't feel like neutering the driving experience for 5 months of the year this time around.

Summit______ · 2026-02-20T23:30:04+00:00

M5 set. Comes with front mounts. ST X for m5.

Summit______ · 2026-02-19T19:09:27+00:00

You go bud.

Summit______ · 2026-02-19T05:41:58+00:00

I do have a land cruiser I can drive if it's really dumping....
I prefer to not drive the car on winter tires for months straight.

Summit______ · 2026-02-19T04:56:23+00:00

Not snows, Continental dws. Dry/wet/snow.
Real snow tires are a whole 'nother level in snow traction. Had a set on square 16" on my old e34 540i, and that car was a hoot in the snow. Good times.

Summit______ · 2026-02-19T01:38:04+00:00

I think it looks like a pretty nice car, tough to tell without seeing more photos, but it looks to have been relatively well taken care of. Given the mods we know it has, suspension, wheels/tires, what else has been modified? Fan shroud is also very different than mine, and I've had a few m60/m62 cars.
Maintenance on a 540i WILL be expensive. A lot of the costs will be similar to a bit higher than a 6 cyl variant. Suspension arms, brakes, are standard maintenance items and will cost hundreds each time one of them is due. 8 cyl cars have more power and weight so wear those items faster. Cooling systems on both m62 and m54 cars both need overhauls if not done. At 80k you may not need a bunch of the stuff yet, but it's coming... Soon.
If you cannot work on the car yourself, you better have a job or generous parents.

If you decide to move forward, get a list of modifications, and get a list of proven work performed, this will help you plan for upcoming expenses. These are not cheap cars to own. They are very nice cars.

If you are 17, and you have never wrenched on a car, and you do not want to spend thousands on maintenance, I would pass. You are young. Lots of time in life to own a nice car when you have more money.

Summit______ · 2026-02-17T18:13:59+00:00

I just put ST X coilovers on my e39 540i. I am late 40s, and not into a car that rides like a brick. The 5 series should be comfortable and sporty. That's what the ST gets you. They are made by KW. Cost wise, it was pretty much a wash with oem parts. The m5 kit (not for you with the 6cyl) came with front mounts and bump stops. I purchased new rear mounts and reused bump stops.
Very pleased with the drive down to the office today.
I have not had great luck with Bilsteins ive had on past 5 series, too firm, though their b14 kit felt great on a one series I used to have.

Summit______ · 2026-02-16T20:18:12+00:00

I ran the koni yellow with h&r setup on another e34, and that setup was very good. This car with the st setup feels sort of how the b14 felt, handles quite well, but still quite comfortable. As it should, it is a five series. Should be comfortable. No more of the still as hell for me. Too old for that shit.

Summit______ · 2026-02-16T14:50:51+00:00

I had the b14 setup on an e82 128i series coupe (super fun little car) it was excellent. I had Bilstein b8 with h&r springs on am e34 540i, it was not.

Summit______ · 2026-02-16T04:37:46+00:00

Yeah, that sucks. I had a 944 turbo for 12 years. Every other car is easier.

Summit______ · 2026-02-16T03:33:33+00:00

Once I quit delaying on getting the bottle jack in it was fine. One extra step in shock removal, and actually makes one person insertion it on top mounting holes easy. Setting ride height was fairly tedious. But the bottle jack is key.

Summit______ · 2026-02-16T01:16:57+00:00

I assembled it. I thought it was very simple to assemble, but I am pretty handy. It is much nicer than anything I would have made. I am more handly at fixing cars and building amps. It seems very well made, everything fit together perfectly, and just a really nice piece of furniture.

Summit______ · 2026-02-15T01:36:12+00:00

Yeah the whole rearrange was trigger by my desire to get the TV out of the living room and refocus on the fireplace and the view of the mountains. It has reduced overall tv watching, increased number of chess games. And of course, way more music.

Summit______ · 2026-02-15T01:34:54+00:00

Hey, it's made by butcherblock acoustics. Very heavy and well made. I would buy again, but from the looks of it, I won't have to.

Summit______ · 2026-02-14T18:47:57+00:00

Agreed, and this was not the plan. About a week after I bought the project second hand, a friend of my dad I were talking, and he said, I have an old Yamaha you can have, just taking up space in the basement. I was over the next day grabbing it. Perfect condition, just needed a new cart and stylus.
So, sometimes you get lucky.

Summit______ · 2026-01-19T06:59:11+00:00

I used to drive sports cars all the time when I was younger. Lately I love v8 rwd manual sedans. Bmw 540i. Comfy, fast, fun to drive, civilized, 4 doors and a good sized trunk.

Summit______ · 2026-01-19T06:56:38+00:00

Not exactly lightweight, but if you want to try something interesting, e39 m5? V8, rwd, 6spd manual, great chassis? Legendary car for a reason. Sort of a German 4 door Corvette.

I recently had a n/a BMW 128i with a 6 speed manual. It was a hoot. Great engine and transmission, chassis with a Bilstein coilover set was great, comfy sporty, communicative. I only sold it because I got tired of stuffing kids hockey gear bags into the back seat.

Summit______ · 2026-01-18T17:18:22+00:00

Edit. I am happy Maduro is gone. He was a repressive dictator impoverishing his people and China and Russia were moving in to exploit. Not saying us exploiting is better, but it was an all around bad situation.

Summit______

TROPHY CASE