audiophile anyone? (reading, interest, how to, great)
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I too also like those older stereos. I think it's a combo of the blue or green backlit dial, brushed silver face and knobs, wood grain bodies and the sound.
I only have one classic stereo to my name at this time....it's a Kenwood KR3130 built in 1971. I picked it up for free along with a pair of Sansui SX-30 speakers. While not a barn burner by any means, it has a distinct sound you just do not get with today's stereos.
Growing up my dad did own a Pioneer SX780 receiver. When his dad died we inherited his Zenith AM/FM/phono console stereo from 1961. It's a tube type stereo and still works great.
I do want to ask if you are familiar with the old Capehart table top stereos....my dad had one waaaaaayyyy back in the early 80's (before he had the SX-780). It looked a lot like my KR3130 but it had a built in 8 track on the front, on the right side of the stereo face (as opposed to the left like so many other ones had) I remember it had a blue back lit dial and a red "stereo" lamp on it.
Also the door on the 8 track was black, but the face and knobs of the stereo were brushed silver and the body was wood grain. I've been trying to years to find out what model stereo this was. Even though from what I've gathered it was not the top of the line brand, it forever fascinated me at an early age and is what got me started in the love for vintage stereo equipment.
I too also like those older stereos. I think it's a combo of the blue or green backlit dial, brushed silver face and knobs, wood grain bodies and the sound.
I only have one classic stereo to my name at this time....it's a Kenwood KR3130 built in 1971. I picked it up for free along with a pair of Sansui SX-30 speakers. While not a barn burner by any means, it has a distinct sound you just do not get with today's stereos.
Growing up my dad did own a Pioneer SX780 receiver. When his dad died we inherited his Zenith AM/FM/phono console stereo from 1961. It's a tube type stereo and still works great.
I do want to ask if you are familiar with the old Capehart table top stereos....my dad had one waaaaaayyyy back in the early 80's (before he had the SX-780). It looked a lot like my KR3130 but it had a built in 8 track on the front, on the right side of the stereo face (as opposed to the left like so many other ones had) I remember it had a blue back lit dial and a red "stereo" lamp on it.
Also the door on the 8 track was black, but the face and knobs of the stereo were brushed silver and the body was wood grain. I've been trying to years to find out what model stereo this was. Even though from what I've gathered it was not the top of the line brand, it forever fascinated me at an early age and is what got me started in the love for vintage stereo equipment.
I'll try and find a pic to scan to help you out.
yeah ive had some of those old capehart all-in-ones from the 70s. thats how i started collecting vintage gear, collecting the all in one deals like the panasonics with the green round dials, the electrophonics that were built like mini tapetop consoles. the lloyds and soundesigns. haha that stuff takes me back man.
I have a 1959 Motorola console stereo, 17 tube, would love to have it restored, I'm sure the components weren't meant to last 50 plus years. Don't know where I can have this done...
my hobby is collecting and restoring old school stereo gear, (pre 1980).
ive had thousands of receivers amps and speakers over the years and my collection currently has 300 stereo receivers, 4oo speakers, 20 reel to reel decks and other various things. anyone else here have a intrest in vintage stereo gear? maybe i can help?
I am a little more on the loudspeaker end of things, as we built most of our own amps (actually some of the speakers too).
I will post pictures once I get a little further along. I moved to a new house that has a recording studio in it, and am trying to get set up (just for a listening room).
What go me interested in audio again is because my parents have passed away, and we are cleaning out their house, and my dad was an old-school audio fan. A good portion of the equipment is well before the 80's (some go back to the 40's)
Let's see: Technics, Onkyo, Dynaco, H.H. Scott, Aiwa, Kenwood are most of the electronics.
Klipschorns (5 of them!) (Trust me, spouses HATE these things)
Infinity, JBL, Speakerlab Super 7's, etc
What I found the most of were vintage tubes (most NIB), about 140 of them...
I can send a list to anyone what would be interested in them, as I will never use them. There are 6 Genelex KT-66's and 2 KT-88's, as well as a bunch of other audio tubes. Plus some high-powered RF tubes.
(As an aside, I found a pair of Western Electric 713C drivers in a box in the basement collecting dust, each with their corresponding horns. My mom was going to just throw them out, so I put them on Ebay for $100 each... I almost **** my pants when the auction closed, and a film studio in CA bought them for $7K )
There is a big reel-to-reel deck in the house somewhere... just haven't found it yet.
Anyway, as I uncover more stuff, I may need some help on these things.
You have the exact same thoughts I do.... The room is 26 x 36, and all the walls are covered with carpeting. There is a glassed-in soundbooth, so all the electrical equipment can go there (they left the racks, and XLR jacks are all over the place). Haven't figured out the rest of the house yet, but there are stereo 1/4" jacks everywhere in all the other rooms (including bathrooms). Obviously the guy was really into it.
I would like to do the 5.1 setup. I have 3 of the khorns already (plus about 20 or so others, such as Celestion, AR, Bose etc. But those can be used for end tables ;-)
(I built two khorns from plans that Bell Labs created by reverse-engineering one that they purchased back around 1945 or so.... those things are a LOT of work to make, but the advantage by making them yourself is that you don't have to make them to generate a profit, so you can put in the best drivers available, and use the best materials available).
The only thing I haven't figured out is how to efficiently support the low end frequency response.. The khorns only go down to about 35Hz.
I need reasonable size, so a VLF bass horn is not really in the picture.
I too also like those older stereos. I think it's a combo of the blue or green backlit dial, brushed silver face and knobs, wood grain bodies and the sound.
I only have one classic stereo to my name at this time....it's a Kenwood KR3130 built in 1971. I picked it up for free along with a pair of Sansui SX-30 speakers. While not a barn burner by any means, it has a distinct sound you just do not get with today's stereos.
Growing up my dad did own a Pioneer SX780 receiver. When his dad died we inherited his Zenith AM/FM/phono console stereo from 1961. It's a tube type stereo and still works great.
I do want to ask if you are familiar with the old Capehart table top stereos....my dad had one waaaaaayyyy back in the early 80's (before he had the SX-780). It looked a lot like my KR3130 but it had a built in 8 track on the front, on the right side of the stereo face (as opposed to the left like so many other ones had) I remember it had a blue back lit dial and a red "stereo" lamp on it.
Also the door on the 8 track was black, but the face and knobs of the stereo were brushed silver and the body was wood grain. I've been trying to years to find out what model stereo this was. Even though from what I've gathered it was not the top of the line brand, it forever fascinated me at an early age and is what got me started in the love for vintage stereo equipment.
I'll try and find a pic to scan to help you out.
Ah, yes, you hit a chord in my brain. I started out as an audiophile way back in college when a room mate infected me with audiophileitus.
So, I now have three systems going along with 500-600 lp's. In my living room I have a pair of Quad ESL 57 speakers with a REL subwoofer, Pathos Classic II integrated amp. with Meridian CD player and Meridian FM tuner and a Notingham Anolog turntable. My studio has a pair of Spendor S 100 speakers actively crossed over to VTL amps and an Audible Illusions pre-amp with a Rega P25 turntable. (Don't get me started on Audio)
You have the exact same thoughts I do.... The room is 26 x 36, and all the walls are covered with carpeting. There is a glassed-in soundbooth, so all the electrical equipment can go there (they left the racks, and XLR jacks are all over the place). Haven't figured out the rest of the house yet, but there are stereo 1/4" jacks everywhere in all the other rooms (including bathrooms). Obviously the guy was really into it.
I would like to do the 5.1 setup. I have 3 of the khorns already (plus about 20 or so others, such as Celestion, AR, Bose etc. But those can be used for end tables ;-)
(I built two khorns from plans that Bell Labs created by reverse-engineering one that they purchased back around 1945 or so.... those things are a LOT of work to make, but the advantage by making them yourself is that you don't have to make them to generate a profit, so you can put in the best drivers available, and use the best materials available).
The only thing I haven't figured out is how to efficiently support the low end frequency response.. The khorns only go down to about 35Hz.
I need reasonable size, so a VLF bass horn is not really in the picture.
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