"Time"

While listening to the Chambers Brothers "Time" it occurred to me that I have abandoned my blog for the last three months ... shameful!!

Happy 2014 to everyone! I finished 2013 pursuing another passion / bucket list item, learning to play the guitar! After my first lesson I realized that 1969 was a long time ago and I remembered very little about a guitar, other than it sounds great in the hands of people that know what they are doing and it is best enjoyed through a solid vintage system ... funny how it all ties together, huh? So let's move forward and get busy with the task at hand!

Last blog I wrote that I would start reviewing music sources, I.E. turntables, receivers, amplifiers ... you get the gist! I had planned on starting with a review of the Sansui 881 I mentioned in the last blog, sweet receiver, however as serendipity would help itself, a current turntable that did not want to cooperate opened the door for a review of a 1982 Luxman PX 100 turntable. During the late 70's Luxman was a very prestigious brand offering direct competition with some of the finest audio gear of the day, McIntosh included.

I was playing an old album on my Clearaudio Emotion Red Turntable. Clearaudio is a well respected German high end manufacturer of turntables and cartridges. A fine Clearaudio turntable example can be seen in the movie "Tomb Raiders" with A. Jolie. That example costs about $150,000.00 ... yup, you see it right!! My Emotion, including tonearm and cartridge sold for about $1,800.00 as a package. If you separated the arm and cartridge from the motor and plinth, well, now we are looking at a cost close to $4,500.00. There is a reason I am focusing on current prices and will reference prices as I write ... remember, the idea is rediscovering what the Hi Fi industry was and what it is today!! Talking two channel systems, "no surround sound home theater I have no clue how many speakers I have or why I need that many" type set up. So back to what started this blog.

I was playing the Chambers Brothers and the Clearaudio Maestro cartridge, ($1250 by itself), which was part of the Emotion set up, kept sounding harsh, like there was an electrostatic overload ... some passages sounded horribly cold, (which is what I call electrostatic overload), and that frustrated me to no end! I was listening to the "recording, not the music", think about it, do you want to listen to equipment or the music? Frustrated to no end, I thought, what happens if I install the Clearaudio Maestro cartridge to my 1982, ($198.00), Luxman PX 100? Some Luxman tables in that period of time were built by legendary Japanese table company Micro Seiki ... to this day, if you find a MS for less that 2k, grab it!!! Well, the PX 100 was not built by MS, but was based on a few of their models and built by Luxman, which makes this an even more compeling argument for vintage equipment!!

The reference to $198.00 is because that is what I paid for the table in 1982. So I installed a cartridge worth 9 times what the table was worth new ... the results? Well, for baseball fans that recall the late, great Harry Carey ... "Holy Cow" the Luxman sounded like a table worth a couple of thousand dollars!! I played the Luxman through my reference system comprised of an NAD C375 BEE integrated amp, (Voted Class B 5 years in a row by Stereophile Magazine) and Von Schweikert VR2 speakers, (VR= Virtual reality). The highs were true, low end was accurate and the mid range ... well, playing Renaissance you would think Annie Haslam  was in the room ... I have heard Annie live twice, she seemed to be in the room. Truly amazing reproduction from a 31 year old "entry level" turntable. It blew away the Clearaudio so badly that "it" can be found on Craigslist for sale!!!

This is a sample of how good vintage systems are compared to today's "hi fidelity" systems. I have stated a few times that in order to accomplish sound reproduction comparable to systems built in the 70's, you will have to pay upwards of $10,000 in order to recreate the soundstage and holographic imaging that vintage systems recreate.

Vintage equipment, if cared for or refurbished by someone that knows what they are doing, can be so much better quality than anything you can buy today, regardless of price! There are many "out there" that will argue today's technology is better ... well, it is more "convenient". If you truly want to feel like the stage and performers are right in front of you ... analogue is the way to go!!!

Next I will be sharing my experience with a 1975 Technics SL 1500 after I added a current, (2012) Clearaudio Performer, ($475.00) cartdrige to it. By the way, I paid $65.00 plus shipping for the SL 1500 on EpRay!!!

Until next time, as the Doobie Brothers asked,

"Listen to the music"

Choosing your components (Part 1)

Now that the heart of your system has been chosen, it is time to have some fun and begin searching for your choice of music sources. Remember that we are building a vintage analogue system, MP3's need not apply Brother Brian. Before we start choosing music sources, let's discuss the folks selling music sources for your analogue equipment. It is critical to buy from the right folks! There are many good outlets for purchasing vintage equipment. CL's gives you a chance to meet the seller and inspect what you are buying, I highly recommend meeting face to face. EpRay offers outstanding values, but know who you are buying from! Make sure the seller is well recommended and has excellent reviews. Another source is Audiogon. It advertises very reputable folks offering excellent equipment for sale. Generally you will pay a bit more, but the equipment is usually pristine because true audiophiles trade there. The other two sites offer great value because a good percentage of the sellers have no idea what they are selling and if they do, they do not understand what it is worth. Again buyer beware, understand that it may cost you a bit to fix something that was not quite as described, but you may end up with a fantastic value! I have experienced this.

Recently I purchased a Sansui receiver from a local CL seller, gave him $40.00. He had the original box, manuals and sales receipt. It even included an addendum from Sansui which corrected misprinted specifications in the manual ... (God I miss that period of time)!! In 1975 he paid over $500.00 for this top of the line receiver, yes, the one I gave him $40.00 for!! I had my favorite Hi Fi repair shop bring it back to factory specifications for about $240.00. For a total of $280.00 I have a receiver that sounds phenomenal, (to be reviewed in the next few weeks), and I have seen selling for up to $450.00!! The point I am trying to make is that sometimes you can find a piece of equipment needing a little "rehab', if you buy cheap, you will be rewarded!! In these cases when you suspect rehabilitation may be needed, make sure to have a repair source ready and make sure you see what you are buying before you buy it! Now, how do you find repair sources? Is anyone in your town selling record albums? That can be your first step towards locating a good repair shop.

Retailers selling albums may have some equipment for sale as well, such as turntables, or they may know of someone that sells or refurbishes turntables. They will more than likely know of sources selling equipment. The bottom line here is simple, find out who sells vinyl albums in your area and you will probably find an entire network of local selling and repair sources! However I will caution you, not everyone who claims to know vintage equipment, knows vintage equipment! Research whatever equipment you may be interested in, Vinyl Engine is an outstanding source of information, use it, research it, you will be glad you did. Make sure you understand what can go wrong, this equipment has been around since 1960 something, lots of information on what can go wrong so, RESEARCH before you buy.

Now that we have touched up on selling and repair sources for our vintage music sources, do your home work! Next writing we will get into music sources, one at a time, and offer opinion on brands, models, accessories and all that good stuff.

 Until next time ... Enjoy the Music!!!!

Choosing the heart of your vintage system

Last time we talked about systems in general. In this edition I will be discussing vintage brands and the purchase of a vintage system. But which should be the first purchase? Should it be the heart of the system ... amplification? Short answer ... YES!! Amplification should be the first piece addressed in a new system.

In my last posting I stated that a receiver would  be the best option for the heart of your system because it affords a lot of flexibility. Generally vintage receivers were engineered to support multiple components and were generally "over engineered". Wife Acceptance Factor, (remember this), must be taken into consideration, you will be a happy man, just keep thinking WAF! It will be easy to sell her on a receiver, which by the way can look downright beautiful when it is on. Of course that is just the beginning of the search.

The right receiver might be more difficult to find than the rest of your system. Sansui, Kenwood, Pioneer, JVC and Yamaha will each have sound characteristics of their own. All are excellent brands and were among the best selling brands during the Golden Age of Hi Fidelity!! Other brands that are probably price prohibitive, (depending on your budget), would be McIntosh, Carver, and Marantz. Are you asking why different receivers ... is there really a difference? The simple answer is yes. It would be beneficial to listen to as many systems as possible so you can hear the differences. These days that is difficult to do as there are no bricks and mortar companies selling "real" stereo equipment. You can learn by researching sites such as Audio Karma, Audio Asylum and The Vinyl Engine. They have a wealth of information in their discussion boards. There you can learn more about the last few things I will talking about in this session.

When buying a receiver, get as much wattage, (power), as you can afford, power is a good thing!! You will not regret owning a receiver pumping 125 watts per channel. You may not need that much power, 10 watts may be fine for your listening area, but if 125 watts fits within your budget, it will allow you greater flexibility when choosing your speakers. Another benefit of higher powered receivers is the amount of terminals available. Some receivers provide you with two turntable terminals, tape dubbing, (meaning two tape deck connections and the ability to record from one to the other), plus one to three extra auxiliaries terminals where you can hook up almost any other source you want. I would reccomend reseraching the sites I mentioned as well as looking at your local ads such as CL's, and audition as many as you can, that is the best way to learn about the things I have shared in this session. And remember, the most important thig here is to "Enjoy the Music", till next time!

Building a vintage sytem

Have I influenced you into remembering how good analogue sounded ... or initiated you into trying to find out if the legend of vinyl can be true? If either answer is yes, mission accomplished!!!

I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about building your system.There are a few things to consider when building a system ... how big is your listening area? How big is your budget? What are you trying to accomplish? Those three questions and their answers are critical before we move forward. We must also remember that W.A.F. is critical here ... (uh, that means Wife Approval Factor)! If you are fortunate enough to have a wife like my Kelly, then the WAF disappears, she is as much as fan as I am.

Listening area is going to determine how much wattage, (power), you need from your electronics. It will also determine the speaker size that will fit your room. By the way, since I mentioned speaker size, relax! I am so tired of hearing people state that they think speaker size equates to sound quality ... not! Also I should mention I get so tired of hearing, "they were really loud ..." please understand, quantity will NEVER have anything to do with QUALITY! The loud statement probably meant "lots of distortion". But back to room size.

Most of us would be lucky to have a dedicated listening room. If you do not, no problem, we can make this work. A 10x10 room will be plenty for a solid vintage system. This system, to keep it simple, should be driven by a receiver. It includes a power amplifier, pre amplifier and radio tuner in one box. You can find receivers producing as little as 8 watts a channel and as much as 125 watts a channel. Either extreme will work in the described room size. Your budget will determine which end of the spectrum works best for you. We could talk about integrated amplifiers, power amps and pre amps ... the idea here is to keep it simple and enjoy a great sounding vintage system that rivals or outplays anything on the market today, so a receiver makes the most sense.

How many music sources do you want? Are you interested in a turntable, cassette deck, reel to reel, CD's, (the ANTI-ANALOGUE), this will determine what receiver you need based on the connections it provides. Most vintage receivers provide enough auxiliary terminals to meet whatever criteria you have in mind. Make sure you have a plan as to how many music sources you intend to use before buying a receiver. Next consideration will be speakers.

There are many great, well known brands of vintage speaker systems available at relatively low prices. Some brands will be JBL, (beware what model you buy, research before you pull the trigger), Polk Audio Monitor, (if you can, get original model 7 or 10, not the B, C or whatever designation was used), A/D/S, Infinity, EPI or Epicure, (same brand), Genesis, Snell ... you can further research speakers by visiting AudioKarma.org. Lots of information there about vintage systems in general. I would be wrong if I did not mention brands such as Acoustic Research, a great speaker, as well as ElectroVoice!! But let's move on to a sample of a vintage system ... mine!

I have built my vintage system based on a time frame, 1974 / 1982. It includes one of the finest integrated amps ever produced by Sansui (AU717) , a couple of turntables that are legendary, (SOTA, Luxman), a Teac reel to reel and a legendary Nakamichi RX-2 auto reverse cassette deck. Speakers are the original Polk Audio Monitor 10's. This system rivals my current NAD C375BEE, (integrated amp, rated class B by Audiophile magazine),  driven system which includes Von Schweikert VR2 speakers, Olive music server and ClearAudio Emotion table with Maestro cartridge.

For less than $600.00, if you research equipment properly, your listening room can boast a system that will rival anything in the contemporary 6k range. If you are not as old as I am, Google as much equipment as you can, it will pay off in the long run!! Next I will begin to talk about different vintage brands and how they compare, until then, "listen to the music!!"

Speaker Review

Welcome back everyone! This edition will be dedicated to reviewing a pair of A/D/S Monitor L780-2. These speakers were produced in the early to mid 80's and shared their "biology" with another very popular brand at the time, Braun ... yes, Braun which makes electric razors! Essentially A/D/S was created by a NASA employee who had worked for Braun, A.G in the consumer Hi Fi division. Braun sold most of it's assets to Gillette, (go figure, more razor blades!), and at that point he started A/D/S in Alabama, eventually moving to New England. He purchased components from existing Braun stock for A/D/S speakers. If you have an opportunity to look at a Braun and an A/D/S speakers side by side, you may not be able to tell the difference. By the time A/D/S made it big, Braun was out of the consumer Hi Fi business. I am sharing this story so you can see that take over and "branding" issues are not an evil of the 21st century, even with hi fidelity systems, this has been an issue for long time! But you know ... enough history, how about we move on to reviewing what I heard through my A/D/S L780-2's? By the way, for my good digital only friends, A/D/S stands for Analogue and Digital Systems ... trust me Brian, we had no clue what digital was in 1982!! Linn Sondek was the best table money could buy and CD's could not hold a candle to it reproducing music ... still can't!!! This rant leads us to the review of the A/D/S L780-2's.

Very typical of the day, these speakers measured only 21 inches high, by 12 inches wide, by 11.5 inches deep, and weighing approximately 30 pounds each. Power handling was about 125 watts maximum, minimum power is about 60 watts per channel. I hooked them up to a Sansui 881 Receiver rated at 63 watts per channel. I felt, even in 1981, that these speakers needed to be sitting on stands, so I made sure they sat on stands at 12 inches tall. The "source" for music was a Luxman PX 100 direct drive turntable in pristine condition, with a Signet TK1EA cartridge. Essentially, a kick ass table with an audiophile caliber cartdrige for 1982. I listened to "A Star is Born" by Dave Gruisin, (album title is "Discovered Again"), which was a Mobile Fidelity release. It provided, (and still does), superior sound reproduction, surpassing CD quality of that time. My results, according to my listening preferences, were mixed because of the speakers in question.

The A/D/S' produced a warm sound, which I expected since a Sansui was the driving amplifier. More on another blog about Sansui and "warm" sound. Anyway, the 780's were true to the denomination of "monitors". The sound was clear, tight, concised and just plain on the money, as it was recorded. These speakers were outstanding at producing a two dimensional presentation of the source being played. The "stage" presented was ok. I say the stage was ok because I am sure this was the first encounter with "digital sound" I experienced. The speakesr, as stated earlier, were tight, great presentation, superior sound reproduction ... essentially a wall of information being presented. It was the difference between color photography and black and white. Let's face it, black and white can create absolutely beautiful photograph's, but nothing beats color!! If you have never experienced time coherent, three dimensional speakers, by all means, any speaker in the A/D/S line is highly reccomended as they reproduce vinyl and analogue tapes beautifully. Shoot, they even do a nice job with the "Digital" thing!! That will do it for this edition of Outside Edges, Adventures in Analogue. Next review will be my vintage reference system, which is the reason for "The Outside Edges, Adventures in Analogue"

Proper vinyl care or "OutsideEdges"

Hello everyone! As promised, I should start this chapter by reviewing basic album care. Vinyl is very sensitive to static as well as smudges from finger contact, dirt and grime. If smudges do not detract from the sound being reproduced, oils, dirt and grime will. So you ask, "how do I avoid ruining my albums? ... think Outside edges!!! Your album inner sleeve opening should be pointing upwards inside the cover thus avoiding dust to creep into the sleeve which can get "baked" into the grooves of your vinyl. When you pull the sleeve completely out of the cover, the album should slide out of the sleeve and be guided by your thumb until your middle finger can be positioned in the middle of the album label. From there the album should be handled at all times by the outer edges!!!. Avoid contac with the grooves at all costs, your cartdrige stylus and your ears will thank you for it! At the beginning I mentioned static as part of vinyl sensitivities. There are a couple of methods to deal with static ... yes just like clothes in winter, it is going to happen. Before we deal with how to treat static you are probably asking, "why do I care about static in my albums?".

Recall that vinyl is associated with "snap, crackle, pop". The reason you love CD's, MP3's and whatever other digital media you choose is the clean background, noise free, ease of operation of the source, esentially convinience for no background noise. Please remember, vinyl will sound better and just as clean as any digital recording, provided it is cared for. Vinyl will have clicks and pops if not cared for properly. There are a wide range of products that will deal with static at a wide range of price points. My intent here is to keep costs low relative to vinyl care products as well as equipment!

A Discwasher D4 kit will handle most of your vinyl maintenance needs. It is reasonably priced and available at some on line retailers, search "Needle Doctor, Acoustic Sounds, Elusive Disc and Amazon", for a starting price of about $15.00. Yes there are anti static guns available, (over $200.00), as well as several wet / dry cleaning systems at various price points, from $500.00 up to thousands of dollars. I personally own a vacume driven wet cleaning system by VPI, (a turntable manufacturer), where I use a three step cleaning process. I state the availability and price ranges just so you can see that, as with everything in life and technology, you can spend as much or as little as you like and can get great results. Just remember, follow the manufacturesr instructions to the letter, do not deviate and you will have great results. Do remember, are you listening to music, or is it background noise? BIG difference.

If you want to listen to the music, this blog will make sense, if you want background noise, this is not for you. Please feel free to post any questions you may have, I am here to help you enjoy the beauty of analogue sounds at a very reasonable price! In my next chapter I will begin to review vintage equipment. First up will be a pair of A/D/S speakers. Untill then, "Can you hear the music?"

Welcome to "Outside Edges; Adventures in Analogue"

Greetings from the "Outside Edges", where analogue equipment and recordings rule! The intent behind this blog is not to bore you with too many specifications, there are millions of technical experts already blogging on those subjects. The Outer Edges is about sharing "analogue" knowledge with a new generation of listeners.

Over the next few weeks I will be publishing a few articles starting with album care and proper handling. This is the most crucial part of enjoying great sound, and it is also the most overlooked, or simply ignored part of the listening experience. I will get into the different ways of caring for your vinyl. Of course without the right equipment, analogue does not work! So there will be reviews of equipment to cover all your analogue needs.

I am working on listening impressions of several pieces of vintage hi fi equipment. I will share my listening impressions of speakers, turntables, amplifiers of all types and tape decks. There is a pletora of equipment available at very inexpensive prices, I will share how to match equipment to build "your" system and how to obtain it. We'll chat soon!!