This joint needs some more vintage hifi

boston1450 · July 2016

Just scored a MASSIVE almost broke my back integrated amplifier today

will report back later

oldrocker · July 2016

boston1450 wrote: »

Just scored a MASSIVE almost broke my back integrated amplifier today will report back later

Hmm, massive weight and back strain. Me needs to know whatcha got

boston1450 · July 2016

Sa-155

mhardy6647 · July 2016

irony... or is it sarcasm?

:-)

mhardy6647 · July 2016

I had one of the little, earlier R/S amps for a while; used it as a bench/test amp. It worked; that's about all I can say about it.

P2170002 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Well, actually, I can say another thing about it... the design of the one I had was all-discrete inside -- probably not a bad thing, and certainly something that could be tweaked a bit with better electrolytics, e.g. -- although the term polishing a t-u-r-d may come to mind...

P2170005 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

mhardy6647 · July 2016

1979

1994 (original SA-155 variant, branded "Optimus" instead of "RCA")

R/S sold the silver-fronted SA-150 for a long time, prior to the 155, but I don't know if it differed only cosmetically or if the guts were any different.

boston1450 · July 2016

Mark i have one of those SA-10's somewhere. Tough ole amplifiers

boston1450 · July 2016

la2vegas wrote: »

Had me envisioning something on a pallet. Kinda like Joey out in TX.

Few more years & i will need a pallet & jack

jdjohn · July 2016

I recently found these Infinity Column II floorstanders on CL for $75. Back in the mid 70s these went for over a grand for a pair. They have bottom-firing 10in subs in addition to the front woofers, and also rear-mounted tweeters on the back. The front tweeters are replacements - compression horn tweeters - but the rear ones are original piezos.

The Sansui 9090 drives them easily. These speakers are bass-heavy as you might expect with dual 10in woofers.

boston1450 · July 2016

That there is a sweet set up there. Gorgeous speaker

[Deleted User] · July 2016

Dang! I want that equipment rack.

boston1450 · August 2016

just put on some new knob caps on. They came out pretty good. Listened to it earlier with some Ben Tankard & some Clapton. Now i just gotta get someone to completely rehab the inner's & im sure it will sound much better than it already does

mhardy6647 · August 2016

Unless you're focused on a professional job (which, don't get me wrong, a 400 deserves), and if you feel like schlepping it way over to the other side of NH, I can do a rehab for you for the cost of parts -- I've done a couple of 400s; they're very easy (plenty of room under the hood). I am just... slow. Ask mrbiron :-/

undersidenoveau by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
This is what a 400 looks like below the deck when I have been dinking around with one.

mhardy6647 · August 2016

Yes.

boston1450 · August 2016

la2vegas wrote: »

Does anyone know if these are any good?

Those speaker look clean & with boxes to boot. Do tell us what you think. Awhile back i had some small KEF c15's (i think)& hooked them to a nad 3020 & they sounded ok for their size. Heck if you ship me that gorgeous receiver-it tell ya plastic Aiwa's are great

oldrocker · August 2016

I wondered what was peaking around the corner..

cnh · August 2016

la2vegas wrote: »

Does anyone know if these are any good?

I second that yes, and I have a pair running on a Realistic STA-2270 and an old '90s Sony CDP. Nice vintage system for next to nothing. I picked up a pair from a local guy who begged me to also take an old HK 330C with them for nothing; a whopping $15 for the KEFs. The HK is missing a knob, but worked fine after a DeOxit bath. (Some Karmas will be coming as I need to thin the herd in the next year or so and I HATE selling things).

And now, back to the way Hell should be!

Nightfall · August 2016

Crazy, the journey an audio signal takes before it's reproduced.

mhardy6647 · August 2016

Nightfall wrote: »

Crazy, the journey an audio signal takes before it's reproduced.

Not at my house. From the source, each channel passes through a source selector switch, and autoformer (attenuator), three triodes, a few resistors & capacitors, and a transformer (oh, and some wire) to get to the loudspeaker. OK, to the crossover first, and thence to the loudspeaker.

That other stuff was all just a way for hifi hardware makers to charge more money for their stuff ;-)

pumpkinman · August 2016

Sorry wrong thread

mhardy6647 · August 2016

aww :-( c'mon back! :-)

boston1450 · August 2016

Dynaco A25's Havent had a chance to listened to these yet. Gonna try them on The Fisher 400 which the owner said he used it in on Fisher & other gear with great results. If it doesnt fly i can use them elsewhere.

mhardy6647 · August 2016

Good loudspeakers. Not in the pantheon of great loudspeakers, but musical, well-behaved and very pleasant to listen to (EDIT, just my opinions, of course). Also happy with modest input power and a pretty well behaved load impedance-wise.

Every hifi nut ought to have a pair, if only for comparative/reference purposes, since zillions of them were made and many, many folks are familiar with/used to their sound.

boston1450 · August 2016

I spent a fair amount of time reading up on them & they seem to be well liked. So im looking forward to listening to them. I may try them on the cr1000 tomorrow & then just tuck em away till the Fisher is ready

boston1450 · August 2016

BTW the last owner says he did the crossovers & bypassed the adjustable knob on back. I will know more when i open them up

[Deleted User] · August 2016

They like tubes as well...

boston1450 wrote: »

I spent a fair amount of time reading up on them & they seem to be well liked. So im looking forward to listening to them. I may try them on the cr1000 tomorrow & then just tuck em away till the Fisher is ready

Nightfall · August 2016

My new linear tracking Yamaha PX-3 has been working flawlessly, love this thing!

mhardy6647 · August 2016

I bought my parents a pair of them in the late 1970s (used); they served my folks well for the rest of their lives and I kept them after my parents were both gone -- and I still have them (the Dynacos, that is -- I not goin' all Norman Bates on you all!).

cnh · August 2016

A25s? Yep! Have a pair. Pretty ratty looking but drivers are mint! I run mine with an HK 430, a superb combo. Probably even better with good tubes.

They may not be great speakers in the classic sense as Mr. M points out (and he should know, because he knows that he knows-ridiculously redundant, no?), but you can listen to these all day every day. And that, to me, is the most important thing! I find myself NOT listening to my BEST speakers most of the time but opting for the more laid back warmth of certain classics like this. But my ears are probably full of olive oil and yours may not be! lol And what do I know anyway, I'm mostly superfluous!

I think you'll find them to your taste, Randy. Although, from a lot of your posts, you seem to like the really Big Bad cabinets with room filling sound and thunderous bass.

mhardy6647 · August 2016

P1020753 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

He's really gonna need a pair of Altec Valencias... or bigger.

Even a pair of (gasp) Klipsch Cornwalls are pretty darned enjoyable driven by a Fisher vacuum tube receiver.

Rcornieoly by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

(my Valencias & Cornies are long gone, though)

I was a little hard on the A25s earlier, and I'm sorry about that -- I have always liked them and (as mentioned) I do have a pair (mine are in need of cosmetic refreshent, too). Heck, I have a pair of A35s, as well -- but they sorta don't count, since I found 'em at the dump in Harvard, MA. They're very nice loudspeakers, but more in the "Polk Monitor 7" neck of the woods... probably not most folks' be-all and end-all loudspeakers.

DSC_9644 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

Dynaco A-35.

This joint needs some more vintage hifi

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