It is only in the last few years, since our home stereo broke and could not be repaired, that I have really begun to listen to music, and hear music, and experience stereo from speakers (not headphones).
I am now over 50, and the reason for revealing my age is simply that I wish I had learned to listen to music on speakers many many years ago, my enjoyment would have been so much greater. It was only cassette tapes, but my parents did purchase a Hi-Fi rack system with mini refrigerator speakers in the 1980s and we had it for about four years, in which I simply played it loud.
I will say more later, and post some pictures.
I am now over 50, and the reason for revealing my age is simply that I wish I had learned to listen to music on speakers many many years ago, my enjoyment would have been so much greater. It was only cassette tapes, but my parents did purchase a Hi-Fi rack system with mini refrigerator speakers in the 1980s and we had it for about four years, in which I simply played it loud.
I will say more later, and post some pictures.
In my younger years, I enjoyed going to a neighbor's house and listening to various music on their "hifi".
So when I got my first decent paychecks (I was 21 then in 1974), I invested in a nice system for my bedroom at home.
-A Dual 1229 turntable w/Shure V15 cartridge
-A Panasonic SA-5800 receiver
-A pair of Advent Small speakers
-Panasonic cassette deck
-Sony reel to reel
-Koss Pro 4AA headphones
And immersed myself in lovely rich rock/oldies/country/R&B music!
I ain't been right since!
So when I got my first decent paychecks (I was 21 then in 1974), I invested in a nice system for my bedroom at home.
-A Dual 1229 turntable w/Shure V15 cartridge
-A Panasonic SA-5800 receiver
-A pair of Advent Small speakers
-Panasonic cassette deck
-Sony reel to reel
-Koss Pro 4AA headphones
And immersed myself in lovely rich rock/oldies/country/R&B music!
I ain't been right since!
When I bought my first system it was an all in one with a turntable - a Yorx system as I recall. I built my own speakers using Radio Shack 40-1011s 6.5 inch woofers and a tweeter. It sounded good to me.
But that is not the point. The point is, I could have enjoyed the system much more if I had realized how to place the speakers, even tune them, and to analyse music.
Where did you learn to really get into the music and not just have loud music like at a rock concert but to try to get into the recording studio experience with the band? That came much later for me.
But that is not the point. The point is, I could have enjoyed the system much more if I had realized how to place the speakers, even tune them, and to analyse music.
Where did you learn to really get into the music and not just have loud music like at a rock concert but to try to get into the recording studio experience with the band? That came much later for me.
P.S. When I was 21, I bought a stereo integrated valve amplifier and a pair of full range 12" drivers.
They're still in regular use in my 'man shed' today, some 🤐 years later!
It's when I'm in my man shed, sheltered from distractions, that I'm able to listen analytically to my music and allow the emotions that it engenders to run free.
They're still in regular use in my 'man shed' today, some 🤐 years later!
It's when I'm in my man shed, sheltered from distractions, that I'm able to listen analytically to my music and allow the emotions that it engenders to run free.
As I got older I got better (appreciating Hi Fi)
I was watching an RMAF video recently, and this Audiophile has thousands of dollars worth of great equipment in his house. His son, however is not impressed.
When our audiophile passes on, his child is going to put his equipment up for sale on eBay.
I will try to find the video link to post here. The discussion did revolve around Hi-Fi dealerships and the lack of information one could obtain from there on.
I grew up listening to first a transistor radio, then a tube radio I have some pictures of the Nordmende before it was restored. I had no concept of Hi Fi until I got my Technics Stereo headphones in 1981 or so.
We had a small Panasonic RX 5030 cassette stereo on which I used the headphones. There was also a speaker out to this system, and I was hoping my father would buy two external speakers. It was not to be. When the time came, we visited a Hi Fi dealer and auditioned two large rack systems, the Pioneer was too expensive, we settled for the Technics - it had everything - tuner, equalizer, double tape cassette deck, turntable and of course an amplifier. It was demonstrated and we listened to it with the speakers close together touching either side of the rack.
Temporary link to a picture: it was like this:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bf/4f/91/bf4f917bb25004f4fcc54667918d4a9b.jpg
Is there anything I could have done to go back in time and teach myself to listen to such a system - position the speakers away from the walls, add proper equalization for clarity, not bass, and most of all learn to listen to each and every instrument and the skill and professionalism of the artists involved, not just the emotional content.
Or did I have to wait until I got older, 45+ until I really understood, it has been noted that audiophiles are usually in the 50+ age group. It was not until my all in one Sony broke that I got into my search for a replacement and ultimately building my own speakers in earnest.
This is the thing: how did you know what to buy and where to get these? Where did you house your 12" drivers?
I was watching an RMAF video recently, and this Audiophile has thousands of dollars worth of great equipment in his house. His son, however is not impressed.
When our audiophile passes on, his child is going to put his equipment up for sale on eBay.
I will try to find the video link to post here. The discussion did revolve around Hi-Fi dealerships and the lack of information one could obtain from there on.
I grew up listening to first a transistor radio, then a tube radio I have some pictures of the Nordmende before it was restored. I had no concept of Hi Fi until I got my Technics Stereo headphones in 1981 or so.
We had a small Panasonic RX 5030 cassette stereo on which I used the headphones. There was also a speaker out to this system, and I was hoping my father would buy two external speakers. It was not to be. When the time came, we visited a Hi Fi dealer and auditioned two large rack systems, the Pioneer was too expensive, we settled for the Technics - it had everything - tuner, equalizer, double tape cassette deck, turntable and of course an amplifier. It was demonstrated and we listened to it with the speakers close together touching either side of the rack.
Temporary link to a picture: it was like this:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bf/4f/91/bf4f917bb25004f4fcc54667918d4a9b.jpg
Is there anything I could have done to go back in time and teach myself to listen to such a system - position the speakers away from the walls, add proper equalization for clarity, not bass, and most of all learn to listen to each and every instrument and the skill and professionalism of the artists involved, not just the emotional content.
Or did I have to wait until I got older, 45+ until I really understood, it has been noted that audiophiles are usually in the 50+ age group. It was not until my all in one Sony broke that I got into my search for a replacement and ultimately building my own speakers in earnest.
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Did your appreciation of Hi-Fi get better as the years went on? I mean, who 'taught' you Hi-Fi?
Young people are hardly analytical about their music.
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Joined 2009
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I was a Hi-Fi buff from a young age (maybe 6 or 7). My father had nice stereo gear, some of which he built. Better sound was always an attraction for me. But it doesn't always pass down from father to son.
What's there to teach, if you're just one of those kids? I was one of those kids. Curious about it - dont know where that comes from.
I was the kid that wondered why the German radios sounded better to my ears.
I was the kid that stood just inside the doorway of the local mall's Radio Shack, clicking the "stereo / mono" switch back and forth listening to the difference in how it sounded.
I was the kid that read "Popular Electronics" and badgered my dad to build the bookshelf speakers from the article I saw there - with the little Goodman's 4" woofers and CTS cone tweeters.
I was the kid that organized "group buys" for speakers amongst my teenage friends from McGee radio...
I was the kid that built a single channel SWTP "plastic tiger" amp to add onto a "subwoofer" filter circuit I read about in an early 70's "Popular Electronics" magazine.
I was the kid who was intrigued enough by "quadraphonic" systems that I eventually built 4 speakers, convinced a friend to sell me his Marantz Quadradial amp - and played with early analog switches to make active 4 channel effects from stereo.
I was the kid that flipped the belt spindle on my cassette deck to make the tape run a little bit faster (60/50) in the hopes of a better recording. That made all my recorded tapes incompatible...
I was the kid who'd ride his bicycle to the city (of Schenectady, NY) just to listen to audio in a couple shops there, one being "Lafayette".
I was the kid that - somehow - transistorized my father's vibrator based 12V to 110V AC inverter, so I could play my AC powered stereo from a 12V battery or in a car.
I was the 17 yr old that brought his stereo - AR turntable, records, amp, Koss "Red Devil" headphones - camping. I had it setup in a tent, wonder what I powered it all from?
I was the teen who's friend's father gave me a Marantz 7 tube preamp - because I seemed so interested in audio - long before I had the slightest clue what it was that I'd been given. Only got that clue long, long after its demise. From my ownership, anyway.
I guess it just has to be in you from the beginning, or acquired along your path. I have no idea how you'd teach this interest to someone who doesnt just have it within innately.
I was the kid that wondered why the German radios sounded better to my ears.
I was the kid that stood just inside the doorway of the local mall's Radio Shack, clicking the "stereo / mono" switch back and forth listening to the difference in how it sounded.
I was the kid that read "Popular Electronics" and badgered my dad to build the bookshelf speakers from the article I saw there - with the little Goodman's 4" woofers and CTS cone tweeters.
I was the kid that organized "group buys" for speakers amongst my teenage friends from McGee radio...
I was the kid that built a single channel SWTP "plastic tiger" amp to add onto a "subwoofer" filter circuit I read about in an early 70's "Popular Electronics" magazine.
I was the kid who was intrigued enough by "quadraphonic" systems that I eventually built 4 speakers, convinced a friend to sell me his Marantz Quadradial amp - and played with early analog switches to make active 4 channel effects from stereo.
I was the kid that flipped the belt spindle on my cassette deck to make the tape run a little bit faster (60/50) in the hopes of a better recording. That made all my recorded tapes incompatible...
I was the kid who'd ride his bicycle to the city (of Schenectady, NY) just to listen to audio in a couple shops there, one being "Lafayette".
I was the kid that - somehow - transistorized my father's vibrator based 12V to 110V AC inverter, so I could play my AC powered stereo from a 12V battery or in a car.
I was the 17 yr old that brought his stereo - AR turntable, records, amp, Koss "Red Devil" headphones - camping. I had it setup in a tent, wonder what I powered it all from?
I was the teen who's friend's father gave me a Marantz 7 tube preamp - because I seemed so interested in audio - long before I had the slightest clue what it was that I'd been given. Only got that clue long, long after its demise. From my ownership, anyway.
I guess it just has to be in you from the beginning, or acquired along your path. I have no idea how you'd teach this interest to someone who doesnt just have it within innately.
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I started getting into electronics at an early age, around 14, 15.
A neighbor, who was into HIFI, model trains, and the like, let me hone my interest in the same things.
He had Fisher amps, Ampex reel to reels, Electrovoice floor speakers, etc..
I remember the turntable - a Rek-o-kut Rondine, with a very expensive Ortofon cartridge.
At 15, I was building simple tube amps, reading and understanding schematic diagrams.
Hell, by then I knew the resistor color code by heart, and understood what "capture ratio" meant on FM tuners!
The neighbor gave me all his old piles of catalogs and audio magazines - I'd spend hours reading, dreaming, and plotting my evil audio ways.
As he "upgraded" his audio, he'd toss me his old stuff - I got that Rek-o-kut, Ampex, and an Eico Cortina amplifier, along with an old Bell mono amp, an RC88 Garrard changer.
In high school, I took up electronics, among other "shop" courses, and once I got my first job, I saved for some audio (mentioned above) and bought my first car - a 1972 Chevy Nova.
The car came in handy to lug home Advent speakers and stuff!
I got into stereo sales for a while in the 1970's, worked for 3 audio salons.
And nursed my electronic knowledge "the right way" by enrolling in local tech school - getting my degrees, and allowing me to shift into the service industry.
It all seemed to come naturally, from before high school into later life - I excelled in learning and soaking up all that I could.
Met interesting people along the way too.
Mainly because of the service business I got into.
Big people from Panasonic, Motorola, Magnavox, Sylvania.... the list is long.
There was no internet back then to peruse, shop, and google...
These "kids" today don't seem to have a clue as to what I learned - it's all vapid "through the monitor" learning.
And sorry to say but... it doesn't or will never come close to the "pre-internet" way I took.
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I think I have identified one possible sub-optimal decision in my past. If I had got my dad to either purchase external speakers or build them, I would have learned a lot about Hi Fi the way I am doing now.
That said you had a a lot of opportunities.
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Joined 2009
Paid Member
Interest in these things seem to be hard wired. However interest can be piqued early in life.
I am curious though: tube amps require 500+ voltages, weren't you apprehensive about approaching tube amp projects?
Well, I did and the sad part of the story is, like the Marantz model 7, I didnt realize at the time what they were. It never clicked in me to take them further, in an investigative way or, say, as part of my EE college education.
It was pretty easy to convince my dad, as he had a "shop smith" he had purchased for his father and had all the woodworking bits for it. Getting the 45 deg edges to line up was difficult and both drivers were naively mounted on the back of the baffle. They actually had store-bought black/brown woven grill cloth pasted onto the front, matching the dark walnut stain.
At the time I knew nothing of speaker placement, how to listen for instrument appearance in a soundstage, or balance in an overall frequency response. I was one of those turn the bass and treble controls all the way - with the loudness switch on too - listeners. I'd put the speakers wherever there happened to be space for them in a room. It wasnt until I was well into adulthood - college grad, first engineering job - that I began to favor speaker placement over other furnishings in a living room.
If that's what's meant by "teach" younger people how to listen, in my life it took a while to begin to care about these "finer points". Mind you I've always been a late bloomer; others my age were getting married / raising families (with their amps and guitars in the closet) while I was just discovering audio imagery from symmetric speaker placement. I once owned Polk SDA 1A's in the late 80's setup on opposite sides of the fireplace and I remember playing this Billy Cobham song and my friend going "no way!"
An opportunity is a chance to deepen your knowledge and experience through conscientious investigation. Take it. I'll never know how many of those in the context of audio I've carelessly let slip past. Unlike someone like (insert any name of 100 people) who thinks "Why does this amplifier sound better than that one; could it be the amount of negative feedback is different?" and then conscientiously applies themselves to find out. MJK was a grade school classmate of mine - he wasnt in on any of the group speaker driver buys I was doing as a teenager, as I recall. He since developed a nice MathCad speadsheet for designing speaker cabinets. Me, for all those ops put on my plate? No "JJ-1" preamp from here.
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No.
Back in my real early years (8 to 10) my grandfather taught me about electricity, how current flows, how switches control it, etc.
He had me wire up a light bulb, switch, and a power cord on a wooden board, and described how things worked.
And how to be cautious of lethal voltages.
The tube amps I made at my neighbor's workbench were simple ones.
AC-DC types - series string filaments - 50L6, 35Z5, etc..
I had no fears about electricity.
Not even years later, servicing TV sets with 30,000 volts lurking on their chassis.
Proper education matters.
Tube radio listening days..
50L6 - had to look it up, apparently that tube is being sold for 9.95.
Are tube amp circuits simpler? I am posting an image of the insides of the Nordmende (can't figure out which model yet) that I used to listen to as a child at my grandparents home. It later was transferred to our home, and I remember it had some buttons on the front that now seems to be a preset equalizer - presence / speech etc. It had bass and treble controls and could make the grille cloth vibrate with the bass turned up. We listened to our government radio station at that time (only one) , the English channel of course.
The build quality for a German tube radio, despite its age, seems a little basic on the inside, and there do not seem to be many components. I used to look through the back grille at the glowing orange tubes and smell the heat from them. It is now probably being restored by my cousin in the US.
This seems to be the model, but it did not have the horn things in the middle.
Fidelio 58 3D Ch= 5713x Radio Nordmende, Norddeutsche Mende-
50L6 - had to look it up, apparently that tube is being sold for 9.95.
Are tube amp circuits simpler? I am posting an image of the insides of the Nordmende (can't figure out which model yet) that I used to listen to as a child at my grandparents home. It later was transferred to our home, and I remember it had some buttons on the front that now seems to be a preset equalizer - presence / speech etc. It had bass and treble controls and could make the grille cloth vibrate with the bass turned up. We listened to our government radio station at that time (only one) , the English channel of course.
The build quality for a German tube radio, despite its age, seems a little basic on the inside, and there do not seem to be many components. I used to look through the back grille at the glowing orange tubes and smell the heat from them. It is now probably being restored by my cousin in the US.
This seems to be the model, but it did not have the horn things in the middle.
Fidelio 58 3D Ch= 5713x Radio Nordmende, Norddeutsche Mende-
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Those German radios were in fact, quite complex under the chassis.
If you've ever actually saw the "guts", you'd be amazed and confused.
A lot of the complexity was in the audio circuitry, ths the multiple "tone" controls.
I must have worked on and restored hundreds of them over the decades, so I know.
They also had complex tuning mechanisms designed for the multiple frequency bands.
One of the hardest to work on were the Saba sets.
Particularly the ones with motor-driven tuning and motor-driven volume controls.
Not many people can properly service those radios.
Yet, I did, of course for a handsome fee.
If you've ever actually saw the "guts", you'd be amazed and confused.
A lot of the complexity was in the audio circuitry, ths the multiple "tone" controls.
I must have worked on and restored hundreds of them over the decades, so I know.
They also had complex tuning mechanisms designed for the multiple frequency bands.
One of the hardest to work on were the Saba sets.
Particularly the ones with motor-driven tuning and motor-driven volume controls.
Not many people can properly service those radios.
Yet, I did, of course for a handsome fee.
My Mom piled knick nacks on the console stereo in the living room. You couldn't lift the lid to turn it on. So one night I pulled the tuner and amp out while she was not home. Put it in an old drawer for a cabinet and listened to Free Music with some speakers I also scavenged. It was over six months before she found out. I was twelve.
Building speakers helped teach me to listen and not just play them loud. Radio shack drivers and unusual containers for cabinets kept me going.
Painted houses before going to college and bought a good dorm system. One night we blew fuses and it stopped playing. Next day I bought a Dynaco SCA-80Q and built it in one night. No lie. My brother in-law, an avionics tech was dispatched to save me from my folly. He arrived just as I was fastening on the cover. "Did you smoke test it yet?" he asked. What is that ? Keep your hand on the plug when you switch it on so you can pull the plug when it starts smoking. I hit the switch and no smoke. Turned the volume up and sweet music started playing. I was hooked . Still have that amp, just refurbed it last year.
I sold HiFi stuff for about ten years and would teach my customers to be better listeners. They often were fast learners and that made up for my lousy salesmanship.
Building speakers helped teach me to listen and not just play them loud. Radio shack drivers and unusual containers for cabinets kept me going.
Painted houses before going to college and bought a good dorm system. One night we blew fuses and it stopped playing. Next day I bought a Dynaco SCA-80Q and built it in one night. No lie. My brother in-law, an avionics tech was dispatched to save me from my folly. He arrived just as I was fastening on the cover. "Did you smoke test it yet?" he asked. What is that ? Keep your hand on the plug when you switch it on so you can pull the plug when it starts smoking. I hit the switch and no smoke. Turned the volume up and sweet music started playing. I was hooked . Still have that amp, just refurbed it last year.
I sold HiFi stuff for about ten years and would teach my customers to be better listeners. They often were fast learners and that made up for my lousy salesmanship.