OT -- Any audiophiles here?

[Pisgah]

My livelihood depends on being able to make high-quality voice recordings, and I love music, so over the last few years I have put together a heckuva home sound system. As another of my interests is thrift-store shopping, most of my stuff has come from Goodwill and Salvation Army, at very low cost. One example -- the heart of my system is a beefy Yamaha receiver of mid-1970s vintage that I got absolutely new-in-the-box two years ago for $25 at a Humane Society store. It would have cost me $300 when I was in college, and that's a long time ago!

I scored big again today at a Goodwill 20 miles away -- an almost-pristine pair of AR-2ax speakers, which sold for $130 apiece in 1975 and were regarded, with good reason, as being very near top-of-the-line. My cost today? A grand total of $20.

For some reason, spending that $20 cheered me up considerably after sending a check to Uncle Sam earlier in the day. At least SOME of my money was well-spent today.

Excuse me, I must go now. Waylon Jennings is finishing up his set, and I think Ry Cooder is up next...

[Tycer]

I've got a Yamaha A1000 on the basement stereo running a pair of Smaller Advents. The Silver Faced Pioneer SX-780 runs a set of Minimus 7s with the crossover/capacitor upgrades. I used to have a Teac Reel to Reel and traded it in on a Nakamichi RX-505 Cassette Deck. My turntable was a Denon DL-60 with DL-303 cartridge. I've got a couple of sets of older KLH and a Model 88 radio and a Tivoli Model 1.

But I'm no audiophile. All my tapes are gone, as are my vinyl, heck, even my CDs are few. Everything comes off my computer now, run through a wireless feed into the stereos.

[El Chivo]

to a point - I'm on a microphone buying binge, to try some alternatives. I'm going to learn to use one of the new-fangled digital recorders.

I'm trying to think of what to do with my Marantz cassette recorder - that was my pride and joy years ago but I can't think of a use for it anymore. Super quality though.

I was as happy as you a couple of years ago, in the photography realm. Non-digital cameras and lenses are just as much of a steal as audio stuff. I got a whole kit of Mamiya C220 lenses for about $75 each, they used to be ten times that. I have them all in a backpack and when I have time, take them out for scenic shots, and I always have the exact lens I need.

[soon 2 retire]

I've got a Pioneer SX-1250 that I bought in the mid 70s and a Marantz turntable just sitting gathering dust in the basement. I've got to get some new speakers because my RTR towers died. I'll get a CD player and whatever is needed to connect my iPOD to that mess.

Bob in NE Indiana

[Tycer]

I've got a Pioneer SX-1250 that I bought in the mid 70s and a Marantz turntable just sitting gathering dust in the basement. I've got to get some new speakers because my RTR towers died. I'll get a CD player and whatever is needed to connect my iPOD to that mess.

Bob in NE Indiana

The SX-1250 was one of the nicest receiver ever built. I drool.

From:
http://www.silverpioneer.netfirms.com/sx-1250.htm

The SX-1250 was introduced in 1976 as Pioneer's top-of-the-line receiver. It reflected Pioneers new styling of matching silver tuning dial with white background signal strength and stereo signal meters. It was Pioneer's most powerful and feature-laden receiver that year, capable of pumping out 160 watts per channel. It was beautifully finished in walnut veneers and solid walnut trim. It had a list price of $900.00 and tipped the scales at 65 pounds.
The SX-1250's beauty was more than skin-deep. As Pioneer's best receiver, the engineers lavished a major design engineering budget in designing it. With the covers off, you can see the careful and logical layout of the receiver's hefty toroidal transformer and four massive capacitors, flanked by the component circuit boards. Pioneer designed large wrap-around heatsinks to dissipate the SX-1250's full-tilt operating temperature.

The SX-1250 was the largest receiver Pioneer had ever built up to that time. The view with the cover off shows why: the engineers needed every square inch they could get to package the components. The receiver measured 22.0 inches wide, 18.75 inches deep, and 7.50 inches high.

The quality, power and good looks of this receiver not only made it a popular choice for buyers in 1976 and 1977 when it was offered, it is one of the most sought-after Pioneer receivers today.

[Chas.]

I have 4 Altec-Lansing A5 Voice-Of-The-Theater's downstairs, run by a 400w Dynaco. Does that make me an audiophile or someone who just likes LOUD?

[DennisD]

1250, WOW!!

I bought my SX-850, CT-F700 cassette, BSR EQ-3000 equalizer with built in pink noise generator and mic, Pioneer turntable (don't remember the model) and 2 CS-630X speakers in 1977 or so. The receiver is still going strong; no longer use the cassette deck; sold the turntable in one of my stupid moments back when I started using CD's (now have a Sony CDP-CX355, 300 CD changer); and had to re-align the voice coils and replace the foam surrounds on the woofers in the speakers but they still are working great. Later bought and use a pair of DBX Springfield V speakers so I'm reducing the load to approximately 4 ohm by driving 2 speaker systems per channel but the receiver has never hiccuped and that's giving me around 80 watts/channel. The DBX speakers don't have good cabinets (pretty thin particle board with vinyl cover) but the drivers are good. This system has given me lots and lots of hours of listening, most times at volumes bad for my ears and it is still going strong.

Surround sound...PFFFF

[alnitak]

Yeah, I still have all of my expensive equipment from the 70's and 80's -- two Nakamichi tape decks, RX-505 and an older 700, Yamaha CT-800 tuner, Carver M-1.5t amp (twelve hundred watts rms!), Carver C-1 pre-amp, Denon DP-51F turntable with a Signet TK10ML cartridge (that was a replacement; I forget what the original cartridge was), Canton CT-2000 speakers (were about $2k apiece when new), JBL L100 studio monitors, and a few other odds and ends. I lost my Macintosh tube amp, matching pre-amp, Nakamichi tape deck, and original tuner (forget the model) when I had a pipe burst one winter and flooded the rec room. Used the $4500 in insurance money and added another $6-8k to get better replacement components.

Nowadays, don't use it much with all the digital format music and players, and the a/v system for the HD TV. But, every now and then I crank it up. Sure brings back some memories ... and great sound! I may need to start searching the thrift stores based on your example. Good stuff!

[madman4570]

Got a 1990s older Harman Kardon component setup(bought new) with 2 "BIG" Klipsh speakers.
When I set them out on the deck and crank up the Helicopter beach section from Apocalypse Now soundtrack.(very rarely)
"Usually some of the neighbors come running outside and start looking up at the sky!

[MrV]

You guys are hooked up
I have a Dynaco QSA 300 Watt Amp along with a Dynaco SE-10 Equalizer that I built in the 70's from a kit. Marantz Supersope 6 Channel Mixer, 2 Sony PS-T2 Turntables, Sony CDP-CX400 CD Jukebox holds 400 CD's. Two sets of KLH speakers with power sub woffers (family room living room) and a pair of Bose weather proof speakers on the patio. 1965 Wurlitzer
jukebox 3000 45 records and 500 Albums. Along with having my computer tied into the house stereo system and I have 6,000 songs on my computer. I love my music

[bdhold]

Nikko power amp from the 80s with a Philips turntable and Ortofon fine line cartridge - these things are cheap as dirt right now - equivalent cartridges that cost $400 in the 80s are $90 now.
A big collection of vinyl, especially from former communist countries, where they played faithful to the composer rather than their egos.

[octagon]

I have two 70 watt stereo Dynaco tube amps, with matching tube preamp and F.M. unit. I got these for
a song back in college when I traded a 70 dollar guitar repair with a guy who did not know the cool factor of these units.
A large collection of L.P.'s sounds like heaven on those tube amps. I need some new speakers...

[Old No7]

Well, you wouldn't put straight audio through this speaker system... Nope, this baby needed the classic Hammond Organ sound for input...

Leslie 145 Angle view.JPG

There's nothing like the sound of a Hammond running through a good 'ol Leslie rotating speaker system -- tube amps and tone bars -- CLASSIC rock organ at its finest!

Leslie Interior view.JPG

This baby ROCKED!!!

Sniff... Wish I still had it................................

Old No7

[AJMD429]

I had a two-turntable, two 'DBX' unit, two high-end cassette-deck system with dedicated graphic equalizer and separate pre-amp, in the pre-compact-disk era, although I couldn't afford the Klipsch speakers I really wanted. My friend and I would get together and record our jazz and other 'quiet' albums onto tapes, after we'd carefully played them only a few times 'to smooth the rough edges' on the albums with our high-tech split-diamond stylus turntable heads. If there was too much 'hiss' for the DBX to eliminate, we'd mix in (thus the 'two turntables') environmental sounds or recordings of storms, birds, ocean, or whatever.

I still have a couple of those tapes...

Of course, before long, we went to the local stereo-store, and heard two albums (Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon, Stravinsky Firebird, and Bill Connors/Jan Garbarek Of Mist and Melting - three of the best recordings of all time IMHO) on the Klipsch speakers, via a CD player. . . and then I began the process of slowly replacing over 400 carefully-preserved record albums with compact disks. Some albums (i.e. McKendree Spring's "Spring Suite") are still so obscure they've never been replaced, but the digital 'recording studio' software now available has enabled even those to be played on turntable, sucked in as 'files', and 'de-scratched' electronically. Kind of fun. . .

Like many OTHER things, however, in terms of 'audio' - THESE KIDS THESE DAYS ARE SPOILED ROTTEN....they don't have to DO anything to get pristine sound.

Even from their car stereos.

Or Ipods.

Or Cellphones.

It's "not fair".

Maybe Obama will pass some law to make it fair...

[Peter M. Eick]

I went all adcom back in the day and then Magneplaner speakers. The Maggies want horsepower so I went individual amps for each side so I am running 3000 watts a side with 1000 watt subwoffer.

There is nothing like the sound of Magneplaner's when you feed them a good clean signal!

[66GTO]

The first two purchases I made after I graduated from college in 1970 were a Minolta 35mm SLR camera and a good stereo system built around a McIntosh amplifier. I still have the McIntosh amplifier, an Akai reel to reel tape deck, and a Kenwood tuner I bought in 1970. They are in my closet , but this thread makes me want to get them back out and hook them up to my Polk Audio speakers!

Unfortunately my 35 year collection of vinyl LP's and the Minolta SLR were destroyed in a flood

[draperjojo]

I'm currently running 2100 watts through a 12 channel board into an 18" Mackie sub woofer, 2 Peavey 500 watt mains and 2 300 watt monitors. My ITunes sound really good...lol

[gak]

Lifelong wannabe. Very decent upper middle-of-line Denon (5 yrs) and much older now vintage EPIs. Very nice, "neutral" sound with no coloring. I like jazz, among other things, and still can't get a pair of KEFs (Eng)--tall skinny types--out of my mind from a "show us what your best-but 'still reasonable'- sound like" store visit with a friend 20 years ago. Still some of nicest, most precise speakers I've ever heard. "Only" $1750 ea. at the time - and that may have been on sale . Like guns, my eyes (ears?) are bigger than my wallet.

[alnitak]

AJ, I also have a DBX unit. Boy was I excited when it first came out!

Peter, I bought the Cantons over the Magnaplanes, but it was a close decision. I thought the MPs had the crispest highs I had heard, and a sense of "dimension" to the sound. But the Cantons looked better.

[Chas.]

I still have the McIntosh amplifier, an Akai reel to reel tape deck, and a Kenwood tuner I bought in 1970.

Boy, back in the 70's I would have sold my soul for a Mac. But, alas, nobody wanted the soul of a dumba$$ and I never got one. Now my priorities prohibit, so I've got a poor-man's mac - a Dynaco.

Dig that thing out and enjoy it.