This joint needs some more vintage hifi

msg

Might hafta take you up on that, Doc!

Haha, houses were definitely a lot cheaper around here back when I had ye ole paper root. Easily about 1/4 of what they are now, if not 1/5 or 1/6. It's funny to think back on the fantasy of using today's dollars on yesteryear's expenses.

la2vegas

msg

I happened across a couple of sites the other night after we were talking about old tape decks and cassette tapes.

http://vintagecassettes.com/index.htm
This site has information on brands, history, and photos of tapes along with small blurbs on them. I haven't explored this site much yet, but it's neat to see photos of the old tapes I used to use so proudly. That in itself was funny, because no one ever really saw them, except for friends or chicks I'd make mix tapes for. Make a chick a syrupy mix tape to show off your sensitivity, or some other playlist to show off whatever side of yourself you thought she'd go for. This worked for me zero times, by the way. So it's obviously a proven tactic.

I think I was a cassette elitist just because they looked cooler than others, and *must* have sounded better because they cost more. It certainly had nothing to do with my "gear". With my piddly jobs as a kid, I was only able to acquire these kinds of tapes due to intermittent association with the unscrupulous. You know. Guys like Ivan @pitdogg2

Then this site, where you can order cassettes (other places better deals for US based, I think; Ebay, etc.) Not so much for the ordering, but more just for viewing the brand pages where you can read up some on the history of the companies, etc. Here's an example for TDK.
https://www.cassettecomeback.com/collections/tdk-cassettes

mhardy6647

I like(d) TDK tapes although I used both TDK (SA, andsome AD Type I) and Maxell (UD/XLII, mostly) extensively (for cassette recording) BITD.

The tapes I made 40 plus years ago on a very modest Yamaha TC-511S still sound surprisingly good. Kinda hard to complain, you know?

For reel to reel, Maxell UD all the way, though
I do have a couple of reels of TDK Audua "L", and it's fine, too.

small%20maxell%20UD3590 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

mhardy6647

A 90 minute reel like the one above has 1800 feet of tape on it
That's a wee bit over a third of a mile of tape.
It's -- kinda bad -- if something happens, e.g., when fast winding an 1800 foot tape and it spills.

pitdogg2

My preferred was TDK SA tapes. I could never seem to record the Maxell UD/XLII correctly it seemed.
I did buy some TDK metal and Denon metal tapes once I got paid by Scott @msg for .... You know "nefarious" stuff I sold him.....

The Denon metal tapes were the very best tape I've ever recorded on. In fact last year I still seen 2 of the Denon metal tapes with some of the 50 or so tapes I had taken to work 25yrs ago. Some of those tapes I know for a fact are 40+ yrs old and still play( of course Fidelity I can't really can't say) on a small cassette player.

treitz3

Tom

dromunds

Sweet

tramp59

My '66 Fisher 440T.

treitz3

Tom

la2vegas

A couple of late 70's Yammies...

soundfreak1

maxward

Nice looking Yamahas and the Thorens is sweet, too.

soundfreak1

mhardy6647

https://youtu.be/_6aI_Q2a-pw

la2vegas

I already had the amplifier, but I picked up the tuner today for 40 dollars.

pitdogg2

You stole it for $40. Those are legit!

la2vegas

On a side note I see that there's another one somewhat local, although it ain't 40 bucks. No affiliation.
https://ventura.craigslist.org/ele/d/ventura-sansui-tu-717-am-fm-stereo-tuner/7497468998.html

pitdogg2

If it works as described, worth every penny. Too bad it doesn't have the handles.

mhardy6647

My only complaint about the TU-717 is that it sounds pretty mediocre. It's a good, "hot" radio, though.
I don't use mine. The old Sherwoods, the Kenwood KT-9900, and the Mac MR-67 are much nicer to listen to.

jbreezy5

la2vegas wrote: »

I already had the amplifier, but I picked up the tuner today for 40 dollars.

Cool integrated!

la2vegas

A guy local to me is dreaming of selling his vintage system so that he can put his son through medical school.

dromunds

I purchased that Spec gear when it came out and I was very disappointed.

mhardy6647

dromunds wrote: »

I purchased that Spec gear when it came out and I was very disappointed.

Yeah, but it has that cachet that makes it worth (relatively) Big Bucks.
... and it is cool looking.

Plus that guy needs the real Pioneer SPEC racks.
Speaking of things that fetch ridiculous amounts of money relative to their actual quality.

mhardy6647

I do use one of 'em in the hifi room upstairs -- the other one is full of junky hifi in the basement

jdjohn

Dreaming indeed...unrealistic expectations on value

mhardy6647

jdjohn wrote: »

Dreaming indeed...unrealistic expectations on value

COVID did bring a bubble in vintage hifi prices, though -- that's for sure.
I do love this stuff (as folks have doubtless noticed) -- but mostly for nostalgic reasons, albeit with some exceptions.
BUT I do think that many of the rabid, AK-style vintage (1970s-style) hifi nuts probably haven't heard really good audio reproduction. If they had, they wouldn't cling so tightly to... you know, Sansui 9090DB or JBL L-100s (e.g.), other than as museum pieces. Shelf queens.
The "statement" consumer hifi pieces of the mid to late-70s will never be repeated and do have a place as collectibles, irrespective of their performance in the light of modern capabilities. Sort of like 1960s muscle cars.

EDIT: In full disclosure -- yeah, I'd have a muscle car, too, if I had the space and the disposable cash Hifi is cheaper and more compact.

jdjohn

Anyone familiar with this series of reel tapes? "Treasure Tapes" of various genres, apparently promoted by Tuck recording tapes.


I came across these in my dad's collection, and finally decided to play a few tonight. I find them to be of good quality, and very enjoyable! The recordings are dynamic, low-noise, and have excellent stereo separation IMO.

Tony M

Sounds like a trip back in time and with high quality sound. Can't beat that.

I played some old Country Cds about a year ago.... ... and when the recordings are good quality, I can listen to it. Like Willie Nelson, he has a lot of fine recordings. But I even went further back on some Cds.

I can see my parents listening to their console and even dancing a little in the living room to that old country music. My dad played the guitar and could sing some too. Hee Haw was a weekly viewing for sure.

la2vegas

While enjoying a few days in Sin City I picked up a few items of the vintage variety. While scrolling through the Vegas Craigslist ads I stumbled upon an ad for some Infinity tower speakers, priced at a hundred dollars.

With no pictures and very limited information I nearly passed on contacting the seller. Boy am I glad I didn't do that. After getting the address I took a 15 minute drive away from the Vegas strip.

The seller was an elderly widow who was downsizing so she was selling some of her late husband's possessions. The speakers were indeed Infinitys, RS4B's to be exact.she wanted a hundred dollars so we sealed the deal on that.

I asked her if she was selling any other audio equipment. She stated that she had a few other items, but that she hadn't had the time to post separate listings. She pointed out what turned out to be a Sansui AU-717 and TU-719.

I asked her to give me a price for these two items and to my surprise she said that I could take them both for an additional hundred dollars.