Stereo Systems

[screamingman12 30]

So we already have a thread for portable music players, but what about those who consider themselves full or semi audiophiles, and will settle for nothing less than a large mound of professional equipment to play their vinyl/cassettes/CDs on? Well now such a thing exists!

Tuner/Receiver: Pioneer VSX-7300

Multi-CD Player: Technics SL-PD5

Cassette Player: Harman/Kardon TD292

Turntable: JVC QL-A200

Speakers: Sony SS-F5000P (2x) 

[Duke87 1,070]

Heh. My stereo is in the attic. Having ripped all my CDs onto my computer years ago, I no longer have a use for it.

It was a standard-issue semi-low end Phillips system from circa 2000... 3 CD changer, twin cassette deck, four speakers. Nothing too special.

What's more interesting is my parents' stereo which is still hooked up in the living room, purchased in 1985 (click for larger images):

Reciever: JVC RX-333

Cassete Deck: Sony TC-FX160

CD Player: JVC XL-VIII

Turntable: JVC AL-F353

One of the original speakers broke about five(?) years ago and so they were replaced. Both the orignals and the current pair were/are Bose, though I have no idea about the model number of either.

[Larks2242 251]

Woah i don't even own anything that plays tapes.

Why is it that Car stereo systems are the only thing that can really pick up Bass?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Just destructured my system after 30 years.

Stuff I still have and will use:

TEAC tuner/receiver/amp

Pioneer PLL200 Turntable

Lite-ON DVD-RW (cd player, etc)

JVC 32" NTSC TV receiver (only speakers I have left)

Stuff I had no room for:

2 Audiosphere AS18 (1980) floor speakers.  24" Woofer, two medium range and four tweeters, each.

SONY VCR

Six-stack CD Player, died of old age.

2 Cheap Radio Shack speakers that replaced the GE ones my daughter blew

I have several binders of DVD's and CD's, and six 2.5 cubic foot boxes of vinyl 33s.  Five of the case are in storage with a friend.  Will have to find some place to put them as they cover about 50 years of collecting.

Of course, I have my two computer speakers, and they are not bad, but ....

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Larks2242

Why is it that Car stereo systems are the only thing that can really pick up Bass?quote>

I suspect it is a consquence not of the sound system but of the car itself. In a car, the seats and the speakers are completely integrated physically with the body of the vehicle. In your house, chairs sit on the floor and speakers sit on shelves. You really feel the beat in a car whereas in your living room you're mostly just hearing it.

The fact that a car is a relatively closed and confined space probably also helps. You get better accoustics that way; the sound "surrounds" you much more easily.

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: Duke87

The fact that a car is a relatively closed and confined space probably also helps. You get better accoustics that way; the sound "surrounds" you much more easily.

quote>

But i'm sure there is a way they can reproduce that for a home system right?

[astronelson 339]

Originally posted by: Larks2242

Originally posted by: Duke87

The fact that a car is a relatively closed and confined space probably also helps. You get better accoustics that way; the sound "surrounds" you much more easily.

quote>

But i'm sure there is a way they can reproduce that for a home system right?quote>

I thought that was the entire point of "surround sound" speakers... to have the sound "surround" you.

Although building the speakers into the walls may have a similar effect. I don't know.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Larks2242

But i'm sure there is a way they can reproduce that for a home system right?quote>

Doubtful. Buildings are made of different materials than cars, have a completely different design to their framework than cars, are significantly larger than cars, and are significantly more in contact with the ground than cars. They thus will conduct sound very differently and there isn't much you can do about it.

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: astronelson

I thought that was the entire point of "surround sound" speakers... to have the sound "surround" you.

quote>

Surround sound is more for watching a movie and wanting a "movie theater" type feeling.

I wonder if Bose is working on it they always comeout with some neat stuff my grampa has a bose player and headphones he claims it makes sound better but i don't really notice it

[blade2k5 1,523]

Originally posted by: Larks2242

Originally posted by: astronelson

I thought that was the entire point of "surround sound" speakers... to have the sound "surround" you.

quote>

Surround sound is more for watching a movie and wanting a "movie theater" type feeling.

I wonder if Bose is working on it they always comeout with some neat stuff my grampa has a bose player and headphones he claims it makes sound better but i don't really notice it quote>

Bose does have a surround sound system available, it's been around for about 5-10 years now but will set you back a pretty penny.  I have heard how it sounds and there is nothing better, this coming a person who has a 90% hearing loss in one ear and can't experiaence surround in theaters, but put me in front of a Bose and it's a completely different story.  It's the only device I've found since the original Sony Walkmans that had the left/right volume controls that I've been able to hear in stereo, let alone surround.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

If you look at my post in this thread, above, you'll see what it takes to make your bones shake at home.  You need good cabinet speakers like my poor Audiosphere AS18's of fond memory.  To get real bass, you need real woofers like those 24-inchers or you need logarthmic horns similar to those used by Bose.

To get real "surround sound" you need a good acoustic room, properly tuned with drapes and reflecting surfaces that you can change as needed, then you need four big floor speaker systems like my old ones.  Remember, each cabinet had one big woofer (2/3 of the space), two mid-range, and four tweeter horns.  Whether you need some mid-range speakers up front is moot.

When my daughter was a teener, we were out one night and she threw a party.  She blew my downstairs speakers in the bar, but these were salvaged from an old GE stereo system and couldn't take the gaff.  Blew the cones out of them.  The AS 18's survived until the cops shut the party down.  The neighbours said you could hear it for blocks.  By the time we got home, all was quiet and cleaned up, but we caught them hauling a green bag out the door, so we inspected it.  After extracting a list of the "guests" from her, my daughter found what we would do about underage drinking, trying to hide it, and throwing a party under our noses.  She was grounded for the rest of the year, and the party was in the early summer.  Relations were strained for a while to say the least.

By the way, I bought the AS18's in 1980 and paid a good buck for them.  $1,000 for the pair, I think.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Ah the 80's

the  hight of the home sterio system.

Cabinet Speakers, kenwood recivers, turn tables, reel ro reel, Casettes, and inthe mid 80's the added CD player.

So what do kids listen to at partys?

when every one has thier own Ipod like device.

[Larks2242 251]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

So what do kids listen to at partys?

when every one has thier own Ipod like device.

quote>

I listen to Tupac, Eazy-E, Snoop, Dr Dre, Nate Dogg, Ice Cube DJ Quik alot of Bay Area stuff. But my favorite Artist is Spice 1.

I can't stand new singers now like 50 and Kayne and Solja boy who have basicly as Ice-T has said killed music.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

So what do kids listen to at partys?

when every one has thier own Ipod like device.quote>

Very often one person's iPod will go into a "Pod Dock" and have music blasted off of it. Otherwise a stereo system hooked up to a digital music library on someone's computer may be used.

Of course, having a "silent rave" is always an option. But then people can't talk to each other.

[Z77 3]

Ah Sound systems.... Lets see.... My grandparents have an old Radio from the 1930's. Im pretty sure its a GE but its quite interesting. It has 3 frequencies. AM, Police, and i think FM. But FM wasnt widely used back then. My grandmother said that it cost a good 100 bucks back then, Which is alot, But its a huge floor radio. Obviously the Police scanner part doesnt pick anything up anymore since its all digital, and the FM part only works for the higher frequencies..? But the AM part sounds the best ive ever heard AM sound in. And yes...Besides replacing a couple tubes throughout the years, Its still original, in excellent shape, and never been redone.

She also has...oh...id say over 2000 records in storage, including everything from Elvis, to The Who, to How to teach yourself Russian in only a week....with a total of 8 records to help you learn...(this was the 60's, 70's. You know how the world ended up with the USSR taking over the world and having us all learn Russian.....)

Then my girlfreind's parents have a old radio from the late 1970's thats a pioneer stereo system, complete with an cassette player, Turntable, AM/FM radio, and ....8-Track player. And yes..they have 8-tracks. They are the jankiest things i have ever layed my eyes and hands on and are confusing as all get out to use, but they are pretty darn cool to listen to.

Then you have my old high school band room storage closet. Everything from huge Reel-to-Reel players that still

worked btw, to records, to the enormous amount of recording equipment that records sound just as good as my current phone records sound. That was my favorite place to be

Me? Well i just have a simple stereo that i dont use for much of anything...

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

So what do kids listen to at partys?

when every one has thier own Ipod like device.quote>

Very often one person's iPod will go into a "Pod Dock" and have music blasted off of it. Otherwise a stereo system hooked up to a digital music library on someone's computer may be used.

Of course, having a "silent rave" is always an option. But then people can't talk to each other.

quote>

I dont think there are too many silent raves however...Besides. There arent really too many "parties" like there were in the 70's and such. Because Parents know what they did and so kids have to go drink and party elsewhere. And usually if there is a party there isnt really loud music like back when. Its simply plug your ipod up to a dock like Duke said. Which those aren't very loud...unless you have the proper equipment for doing so...But most kids dont....*coughcough* 

[Easy Bakes 253]

this is what we listened music on when i was a kid.

Grundig Consol stereo circa 1950. It had TUBES. but the sound was incredible. We may still have it some were.

Not this exact one  but this iv very similar to the one we had.Ill see if i can scare up some pictures of the one we had

it could even listen to short wave !

[Larks2242 251]

Wow that is huge, i really only barely remember tapes

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

You guys are making me feel nostalgic (or maybe just my age).  When I was a kid during WW II, we used to have blackouts.  One night, we were knocked up by the Air Raid warden who said there was a gap in our blind and he could see the tubes glowing in our old Rogers radio set.  So we tossed a blanket over the set, and all was well, since it also covered up the lighted dial which was about one square inch.  Tuning was by turning a knob that moved a co-axial disk which changed a coil to the frequency seen in the window.  This baby had big thyratron tubes in the power supply that was in a perforated bucket that would have held a gallon of water.  The set was about four feet high of which about a foot was the legs.  The chassis was so large, it took two people to move it out of the cabinet.  Date:  Sometime about 1942-3.

When we moved to another flat, the landlord had a big old floor radio that had slide rule tuning and several bands similar to the one mentioned above.  And so, radios got smaller, and smaller, but still used tubes until the first transistor radios came out.  But it didn't make much difference in the chassis.  They still fit in a 22-inch rack.  It wasn't until integrated circuits came out that things got much smaller, and even then the technology couldn't get very many components on a wafer because the materials and the machines just weren't up to it yet.

In 1980 I was on staff at the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo.  It was pretty much a grad student place, but our group were debugging a new operating system for our big faculty machine, so we worked 24 hours a day, sleeping on the fly.  This is conducive to accumulating money, and I had quite a few paychecks with almost no draws sitting in the bank.  I decided it was "get a stereo time" so I went over to the mall and got:

1 pair Audiosphere AS 18 speakers.  Big floor models with a 24" woofer, two mid-range and four tweeters, each.

1 very good tuner/amplifier whose model escapes me just now, it having bit the dust about 15 years ago.

1 Pioneer 7-inch reel-to-reel tape deck.  Must have weighed about 50 pounds.  Speeds 7½ and 15 i.p.s.

1 Pioneer PLL 200 phase lock loop turntable (which I still have, having had it refurbed by Pioneer a few years ago).

Now, after about 50 years of collecting, I have a large library of 33's.  Some were my late wife's, and the collection is eclectic.  Early jazz, Edith Piaf (right after the war), Leopold Stokowski and the New York Phil playing all kinds of stuff, Lenny Berstein, oh, just everybody up to about the end of the rock'n'roll era.  Life got a little rough in the late '90s and we sort of quit collecting.  By then we were on to CD's and DVD's anyway, so the vinyl acquisitions stopped except for a few rare ones.  I do have the first Carmen that Victoria de Los Angeles made, however, and it is a treasure.  And speaking of Carmen, I also have a DVD of a young Placido Domingo when he wasn't old and fat playing Don José opposite Julia Menigues-Johnson.  Wow!  Hot!!

Somewhere in there we added a dual-cassette recording system for our daughter who was figure skating seriously and wanted to cut her own music, given to her when she moved out, I think; a six-stacker CD player, now dead of old age; and a SONY VCR which didn't make this move as I no longer have any VC library.  I do have a newer TEAC tuner/amp that I am not sure I really need, and a Lite-on DVD-RW that handles any media except Blu-ray.  I haven't decided yet about Blu-ray.  Since my floor speakers didn't make this move, the only speakers I have are the ones in my JVC 32" TV receiver, so I am really not sure about the amp.  I may just put it on freecycle.org if I can't get a buyer for it, if I decide to get rid of it.

Anyway, that's my history with electronic entertainment units.

[Easy Bakes 253]

My sister has our old grundig,It still works except the turntable moter dont turn anymore.

Photos forthcoming.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Probably worth getting it fixed.  It is an antique, you know.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Probably worth getting it fixed.  It is an antique, you know.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: A Nonny Moose

Probably worth getting it fixed.  It is an antique, you know.

quote>

it was an antique when i played Grand Illusion on it in 1977

And bit of History for that album by Styx:

Released on 7/7/77, "The Grand Illusion" was Styx's 7th album release.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: A Nonny Moose

Probably worth getting it fixed.  It is an antique, you know.

quote>

it was an antique when i played Grand Illusion on it in 1977

And bit of History for that album by Styx:

Released on 7/7/77, "The Grand Illusion" was Styx's 7th album release.

[Zelgadis 638]

Until recently, my receiver unit was a 1974 Sylvania. It took quite awhile before I upgraded, mostly from getting more speakers than it was designed for, but honestly, there just isn't anything like the sound that is produced by an old vacuum tube receiver. It's awesome.

I now use an Onkyo.

ISF

[hyped_up_boy 15]

About the iPod docks: with the parties that I've been to the host usually has an auxiliary cable that hooks up to a receiver. Much better than an iPod dock and better sound quality (relatively speaking, as the iPod doesn't have very good sound quality to begin with).

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

Until recently, my receiver unit was a 1974 Sylvania. It took quite awhile before I upgraded, mostly from getting more speakers than it was designed for, but honestly, there just isn't anything like the sound that is produced by an old vacuum tube receiver. It's awesome.

I now use an Onkyo.

ISF

quote>

The thing to remember about thermionic valves (tubes) is that they are analog.  No losses.  The present digital junk has to try to fit an elephant into a breadbox.  Stuff falls though the cracks even at 44K sampling rates.  You may not hear it, but your body does.

[simfreak90 3]

I am using a Sony LBT-D560 tuner/cd player/tape deck all-in-one (free from my neighbors), would like a vintage Pioneer

My speakers are Sansui SP-X6 ca. 1980 (free from my aunt)

I also own a Bose Wave Music System (free from my grandmother)

JVC PC-R11JW receiver, I believe it was part of a boombox system ca. 1980-ish (from my mom)

2 old Califone portable record player from ca. 1970-ish (free from school)

about 12 records, but my mom owns about 75

Also an RCA 5.1 surround sound in the living room ($20 yard sale find)

EDIT: Just bought a Realistic CD-1500 from 1987 for $15 to replace the broken CD player in my receiver

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

At the moment I am running a CD on my system speakers.  The ones available to my current home stereo are not as good.  I may get another pair of these SONY speakers and use them instead of the ones on my home stereo.