NGC - there's just something nice about analog stuff ... Pioneer entry level

[ohiorider]

I posted pics a few years ago of my small Pioneer entry-level component system I purchased in 1980.  It was truly bottom-end ..... my buddies kidded me about the 'pottery wheel' belt drive turntable.  I used the amp in conjunction with a tv and speakers until 1995, when it failed.  Several years later (2013) I found an individual who was willing to find and install a power supply for the amp, and also rebuild the Eclipse speakers (that I inherited) that had dry rotted around the support rubber.

I truly enjoy playing old vinyl.  And one that exercises this little system is a Chicago album (Chicago 16.)  Lesser albums make it sound like what it was .... cheap.  But an album like Chicago 16 has this little component system rocking!

Kind of a neat feeling to know that I'm still enjoying a stereo I purchased when I was 37 years old, and I'm now the flip flop of that ......73!

Analog rocks!

Bob

[HardAspie]

I get it! My current audio system is a 1980s GE detachable speaker portable - an early boombox: AM / FM Cassette. It does not have a lot of power' being designed to operate off batteries. It cannot actually boom much. Its cassette deck has no Dolby and so there is some tape hiss. But dang. It was designed to reproduce music, not movie sound tracks with their explosions and deep faux bass. It just sounds, well, sweet. It has real limitations. It probably would impress few, but it makes music sound like music.

[ohiorider]

I get it! My current audio system is a 1980s GE detachable speaker portable - an early boombox: AM / FM Cassette. It does not have a lot of power' being designed to operate off batteries. It cannot actually boom much. Its cassette deck has no Dolby and so there is some tape hiss. But dang. It was designed to reproduce music, not movie sound tracks with their explosions and deep faux bass. It just sounds, well, sweet. It has real limitations. It probably would impress few, but it makes music sound like music.

I get it ..... and you get it!

Bob

[HardAspie]

  We get it! High five! 

[oldbike54]

 Analog is tha bomb 

 Dusty

[HardAspie]

 
We may be in the minority, but we are right.

[HardAspie]

Ohhh! Vinyl and cartridges. Stratospheric territory now.

[HardAspie]

I have a fond place in my heart for each: cassette and 8 Track. I loved my Akai Dolby open reel deck.

[ohiorider]

Don't have the open reel or 8 Track, but I do have the cassette player that matches the other component pieces.  All it needs is new drive belts, I think.  Unfortunately, I only have one cassette that I can play back.  Maybe I can find some blanks and record some of the vinyl albums over to tape, just for grins!

Bob

[HardAspie]

My open reel is long gone. But I can record and play cassettes.
Sometimes you can find used pre recorded cassettes is thrift stores. I have a few. The GE makes them sound so nice.

[kirkemon]

I'm looking for a new system.
For many I had a Bang and Olufsen 5500 system including the Beovision. When it worked it was nice, but it had reliability issues, so when I went to HD I dumped it. In hindsight, I should have kept the turntable.

I'm thinking about the Harman Kardon AVR 1610

[HardAspie]

If I had the bucks and space, I have neither, I would love:
Receiver: Pioneer SX 1250
Turntable: Sony PS 8750
Cartridge: Dunno: possibly an Ortofon
Tape: Pioneer CT 1250
Other processing: SAE 5000 Impulse Noise Reducer
Speakers: Klipschorn

Ha! That will be the day.
Happy with my GE "Thingie".

[rob-mg]

I posted pics a few years ago of my small Pioneer entry-level component system I purchased in 1980.  It was truly bottom-end ..... my buddies kidded me about the 'pottery wheel' belt drive turntable.

The cool kids had Empire turntables, and the really cool kids had Quad amps and Quad electrostatic speakers. The people who weren't cool enough to know about Quad speakers, or couldn't afford them, or thought that they were too weird looking, went with Tannoy (especially if they wanted a lot of bass and had plenty of room), and a subset, into a more neutral sound, went with B&W.

As far as I know, nobody dissed Pioneer - widely regarded as solid gear at a good price. It certainly wasn't seen as junk.

[fossil]

This is a nice thread!

Back in those glorious days I sold and repaired HiFi components. My favourite brand was Pioneer. They offered well-made, not too expensive stuff that sounded nice. The power supply of the amps and receivers had the same fault for decades: some regulating transistors did dissolder themselves. The amps then would bag like a pistol (not too good for the speakers). Properly resoldered they then worked for years.

I still use my old Pioneer SA 8500 II, the loudspeakers are S1010 (and need refoaming). My turntable is a Dual 1229, and I have several nice cartridges. I love that stuff!

Especially the small Pioneer receivers and amps were better sounding than some expensive equipment.

If I need new speakers, I will choose the Klipsch Heresy III - another very old design.

[v65tt]

so old meets new here then..

nice analogue turn table connected to sonos connect and onto sonos speakers...!  trust me to be different

[Toystoretom]

I love this stuff too. I have a Pioneer SX 1250 that I use with a Technics 1200 turntable that has a Stanton "Disco Duty" cartridge. I pump that into a set of Magneplanar (Maggies). A little Emmylou Harris, or Little Feat, or possibly Savoy Brown and you can just melt away.

The SX 1250 makes about 200 watts a channel and I think you can weld with it, but that's not what it is for. Even turned down so low it is almost off it has a punch and presence that you can't believe at such a low volume. It has a few ponies in reserve.

The Maggies are a combination of weird and awesome. You need 200 watts to drive those.

The Technics 1200 had LED stobe lights before LED's were invented and a  microprocessor before those were invented, what's up with that??? The turntable platter IS the motor (no belts or gears) and it just makes everything else look silly. I do believe it is the only real turntable still being produced today.

You guys should visit AudioKarma:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php

[Toystoretom]

But.... If I ever hit the lottery... I wouldn't say no to a couple of McIntosh tube amps   

[Zoom Zoom]

8 tracks never got their due.  they were superior to the cassettes that replaced them

Only on a convenience level. Otherwise not at all. As the tape wound its way to the middle, it was a declining radius, which meant it had to rub on itself as it wound smaller and then pull out the middle at a slight angle in order to make its way to the pick up head again. That was not doing the sound quality any good. I still have many 8 track tapes, as well as a tape deck that I can plug into my receiver and play them. Truthfully though, the 8 tracks never sounded as good as cassette tapes. Especially if you recorded your own and had a good blank to start with. I preferred the high end Memorex tapes that you could purchase at the time.

My current turntable is a Pro-Ject 5.1 SE. Three legs make it very easy to level, A longer carbon fiber tone arm with a counter weight and an anti skid weight with a decent cartridge at the end. A five pound platter and you have a nice turntable that keeps any resonance down. I do enjoy listening to vinyl.

A really nice source for vinyl, along with other stuff is here: http://store.acousticsounds.com/ . I have been buying from them for some time now and they are a great source for music of all kinds. 180 and 200 gran vinyl are easy to find there. They also opened up their own shop a few years ago and have repressed some music. Nothing better than a piece of virgin vinyl on a turntable.

John Henry     

[Don Ivey]

I'm streaming from Tidal to my iphone6, then through a Chord Mojo into Sennheiser HD-600 headphones.  The sound will blow you away.  But, I need to get a turntable to play all the vinyl I've accumulated over forty years.  Any suggestions? 

[fossil]

Well, there are interestic solutions. Of course the Technics SL 1200 G (yes, they make a new version!). Thorens is still in production: http://www.thorens.com/home.html . And the same company that produced the Dual - turntables in the past make them still today (regrettably only in German: http://www.alfredfehrenbacher.de/1.html ). However I don´t know whether the Dual - tables are available overseas (for us Germans the USA are overseas...).

[Guzzistajohn]

I'm running a NAD amp I bought in the '80's with a set of Klipsch Herasy speakers. My music is all in ITUNES (over 7000 songs) but I have a V-Dak digital to analog converter between the PC and the amp. It's no Macintosh, but I do like the convenience of the song selection. Sounds pretty good : )

[Zoom Zoom]

I'm streaming from Tidal to my iphone6, then through a Chord Mojo into Sennheiser HD-600 headphones.  The sound will blow you away.  But, I need to get a turntable to play all the vinyl I've accumulated over forty years.  Any suggestions?

Follow the link I put in the post above yours. They have turntables from reasonable to over 40K. There is even a model that has a USB interface that you can take your vinyl and convert it into mp3's.

John Henry

[pikipiki]

Still had a Rega Plana 2 until 12 months ago. Vinyl being quite I fashion my daughter borrowed it. Rega turntables are still made almost the same as they have always been. Seem to hold most of their value you cant go far wrong with one new or second hand. Only issue with Vynil - styluses (styli?) are not cheap if need to replace one.

[Two Checks]

Old skool rules.
Fisher RS-2015 receiver and Kenwood KT-5500 tuner w/JVC JA-S55 amp.

Both bikes have points, too.

[fossil]

About the sound of analogue recordings: I still use a well-maintained ReVox A-77 open-reel recorder. And I make live - recordings of flute orchestras (yes, there are such orchestras). I use several Sennheiser microphones, for example the MD441. It sounds great! The interesting thing happens when I convert the recordings into digital signals (CD-mode, 44100 Hz, 16 bit). Boy does it lose in quality! Ant it is not a question of the converter appliance I use. It�s simply - it sounds harsh and unnatural.

[K250]

A Good quality component system sure is nice to have around!  No doubt about it. 

[HardAspie]

A Good quality component system sure is nice to have around!  No doubt about it.

I doubt that I will ever again have a wonderful system, but I still like analog.

[Chuck in Indiana]

It�s simply - it sounds harsh and unnatural.

This. It's the same between fuel injection and carbs. Yes, both will get it done, but there *is* a discernible difference with analog vs. digital. Color me analog. <shrug>

[BRIO]

Can't figure out how to rotate this but I just finished this pair.



Love tubes:



...and dials...



...tubes and dials...



...lotsa dials...

[HardAspie]

Not only analog, but valves! Bravo!
I am so glad that I do not by nature succumb to jealousy.