The frontier between ''vintage'' and ''junk'' ?

Once person's vintage may be another's junk, and vice-versa

Not really, not in absolute terms. A vintage product i.e., one worthy of mention, is one that has something innovative or exceptional or rare, or...
TTs with outstanding and copious engineering, speaker drivers with powerful magnets, electronics with excellent design...
And then, there is stuff that had low intrinsic value even then...

People have misused the term 'vintage' for years.Look up the definition to see what it means.

Tpreaves, I don't think anyones has confused "vintage" with Asian boats either.

When it comes to stereo equipment, I guess vintage refers to a specific age. Whether or not it matters to you and me depends on the sound.

Sonicbeauty, I agree with your implied position.

Scanning posts on Vintage Asylum I'm amazed and amused by many of the products discussed. Lots of amps, receivers, speakers, etc. were not considered all that good when they were new so why get excited over them today?

It seems many folks use the vintage label strictly based on age, not quality or any other enduring qualities. Even age is arbitrary as some consider 5-10 year old equipment to be vintage.

So maybe it is like the evolution of antiques. I remember when an item must be 100+ years old to become an antique. That was adjusted to mean pre-WW 2. Now I see items from the '70s called antiques. So I guess vintage audio is just staying in step with the times.