LOL...I find myself watching a lot of youtube videos made by younger people...like young adults who are about my kids' age!
I'm been thinking a lot about playing loud recently.
I had a 2A3 3.5W amp maybe 10 yrs ago and I didn't even push it that hard even though I am using mostly bookshelf speakers.
But these days, maybe because each Watt costs a lot less, especially when it comes to Class D, people are talking about 200W, 500W amplifier. This makes me wonder how loud are they listening to their music?
Am I a lesser audiophile (or maybe not even one) if I play my music at moderate level? Level which I need not have to shout if I were to talk to someone 2 or 3m away. Or must my music be at pub/club level so that it resembles Live performance in order to judge how good my gears are?
Must you run 12 second 1/4 miles whenever you drive to the grocer? I think a lot of it is ego driven; hving the "mightiest" stereo and all. Who drinks like they did when they were 21?
I narrowly avoided a bar fight when I advised one drunkard he might be better off to NOT stick his head right into the band's midrange PA horn - while it was playing that loudly.
One casualty of older age - sheer loudness doesnt get me off like it used to!
I narrowly avoided a bar fight when I advised one drunkard he might be better off to NOT stick his head right into the band's midrange PA horn - while it was playing that loudly.
One casualty of older age - sheer loudness doesnt get me off like it used to!
Mentality...
Being "ego driven" is a form of weakness.
Peer pressure, advertising, current trends, all amount to people doing dumb things.
Look at today - the younger crowd, glued to cellphones - a "current trend" of sorts.
Back in 1968, they hung out in record stores, hoping to bring home the latest groovy hit to play on their GE Wildcat portable record player.
So today, cellphone "apps" are "where it's at".
And the ironic thing is... "going virtual" is somehow touted with ideas of "bringing people together", when in reality it does the opposite.
Being "ego driven" is a form of weakness.
Peer pressure, advertising, current trends, all amount to people doing dumb things.
Look at today - the younger crowd, glued to cellphones - a "current trend" of sorts.
Back in 1968, they hung out in record stores, hoping to bring home the latest groovy hit to play on their GE Wildcat portable record player.
So today, cellphone "apps" are "where it's at".
And the ironic thing is... "going virtual" is somehow touted with ideas of "bringing people together", when in reality it does the opposite.
Yeah well it does if you're not a grumpy old man like we are. I can see it with my son who has been "going virtual" for years. He has friends all over the world and they all collaborate together on projects. He's not into audio much but did really like HPA I gave him for music and gaming use. But as an example of what he does one of his "going virtual" projects was hacking an Xbox kinect sensor to interpret human gestures to control a small robot. From countless stuff like this he has a network of people across the globe that he socializes with and exchanges ideas. It's all very cool.
Dynaco. Looks like a solid amplifier. 30 Watts is a nice power output range, I have a Sony ES 333 35 W per channel and it is powerful enough.
Is this it? The model below seems to have a new power board in it.
Dynaco SCA-80Q 4-Dimensional Amplifier Manual | HiFi Engine
This one is the original set up I think, with 4 boards - so you assembled the boards or did you solder all the components to the board yourself?
Dynaco SCA-80Q 4-dimensional amp with DynaquadTM circuitry Photo #447554 - Canuck Audio Mart
I put together an IC amp in 1995 or so and it displayed a loud low frequency hum - of course I was using a AC/DC adapter to get the power in. If I had kept it I could have troubleshooted it by now. I ended up cutting the boombox speakers and connecting them to external PC speakers with a subwoofer - it worked alright, I even put proper PC connectors in the back of the thing. Hope to restore it soon.
The boombox was a SONY CDS something will post the picture.
Is this it? The model below seems to have a new power board in it.
Dynaco SCA-80Q 4-Dimensional Amplifier Manual | HiFi Engine
This one is the original set up I think, with 4 boards - so you assembled the boards or did you solder all the components to the board yourself?
Dynaco SCA-80Q 4-dimensional amp with DynaquadTM circuitry Photo #447554 - Canuck Audio Mart
I put together an IC amp in 1995 or so and it displayed a loud low frequency hum - of course I was using a AC/DC adapter to get the power in. If I had kept it I could have troubleshooted it by now. I ended up cutting the boombox speakers and connecting them to external PC speakers with a subwoofer - it worked alright, I even put proper PC connectors in the back of the thing. Hope to restore it soon.
The boombox was a SONY CDS something will post the picture.
It’s amazing that you had a Hi-Fi rack system installed back in the 80s. It was fascinating for me to have a Hi-Fi system at that time. Can you please share some pictures?
Loudness and Watts
Interesting you should mention that: as a young man I would play it loud whenever I was able to and be told by my parents that it was too loud. Our excuse was "you can't hear all the sounds unless you play it loud", now we know that if it a good system you do not have to play it loud to hear all the sounds.
Now, by necessity, I have to listen at music levels of 70 dB 1 (as measured 1 meter from speaker) , and it is a really great experience. I have to be attentive when the wife or kids say something so there is no choice, but it works out well.
I am not sure you have read the article about the 2 Watt tube amp against the solid state: that just goes to say that power is not everything. In fact, in the area of Hi Fi, not politics, I believe power corrupts!
FIRST WATT
Interesting you should mention that: as a young man I would play it loud whenever I was able to and be told by my parents that it was too loud. Our excuse was "you can't hear all the sounds unless you play it loud", now we know that if it a good system you do not have to play it loud to hear all the sounds.
Now, by necessity, I have to listen at music levels of 70 dB 1 (as measured 1 meter from speaker) , and it is a really great experience. I have to be attentive when the wife or kids say something so there is no choice, but it works out well.
I am not sure you have read the article about the 2 Watt tube amp against the solid state: that just goes to say that power is not everything. In fact, in the area of Hi Fi, not politics, I believe power corrupts!
- Nelson Pass
FIRST WATT
I'll toss in a photo of my current system.
Not exactly a "rack system" but housed in an Ikea cabinet that matches the TV stand.
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That looks like a no nonsense, high quality stack, wiseold!
Care to give us a run down of its contents?
Could there be some 'Vintage Top of the Line' Technics in there by any chance?
Care to give us a run down of its contents?
Could there be some 'Vintage Top of the Line' Technics in there by any chance?
BasicHiFi The Dynaco amp was a perfect build for a novice as the four boards were stuffed and tested. So it was mostly assembly and wiring. Had to mount the output devices on the heat sink and wire that to the amp boards. You can find the manuals at updatemydynaco.com . I was five dollars short on the price and had to borrow five bucks from my sister to come up with the $137.
High quality, yes.
Top Of The Line.... no.
No need for TOTL for excellent performance and reliability.
If I threw a sheet over that stuff, you wouldn't be able to tell if it was McIntosh or Technics by listening.
Ok,.... the components, from top to bottom...
*Tube amp custom designed by me from a Magnavox 93 series chassis.
*Kenwood Linear Tracking turntable KD-66F w/Audio Technica cartridge. (also customized by me)
*Technics receiver SA-R277 - 60W/ch (and also customized by me)
*Technics RS-TR333 dual cassette deck w/auto reverse (and customized by me)
*Technics SL-PG100 CD player (minor customizing by me)
* Akai GS4000D reel-to-reel (recently overhauled by me)
* The speakers - Advent Maestro's with upgraded woofers.
What is missing from the photo is a custom (by me) multi-source or tape-to-tape recording/playback switchbox with an additional SRS sound enhancement system.
Pictured here, now sitting above the CD player...
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I thought so! Technics components are so recognisable, even in your slightly out of focus image!
I'm still using a couple of Technics turntables and a CD player myself, and more of their stuff languishes in the loft.
My son recently acquired a plain old Akai 4000D - not all 'youngsters' are a lost cause you know! 😛
To prove it, here are three of the photos he sent me. He had to replace the transistors on the playback board and has yet to tackle the wonky selector switch - although the deck is currently useable for his purposes with it wedged in the desired position!
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Got my start around the age of 4 with a visit to the Radio Shack store in Kenmore Square in Boston 1961. I still remember my dad buying his first (and only one of two) stereos that he has owned.
I was conscious of HIFI from a pretty early age and starting buying/building stereo hifi gear around the age of 16.
It's never stopped.. I'm still designing and building gear. (And fixing old Otari and Pioneer tape decks for fun.. LOL)
I was conscious of HIFI from a pretty early age and starting buying/building stereo hifi gear around the age of 16.
It's never stopped.. I'm still designing and building gear. (And fixing old Otari and Pioneer tape decks for fun.. LOL)
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Reely
I like your reel to real. My own experience with reel to reel was a unit my dad got when I was less than 4 years old - it kept unwinding all over the floor. There was one song that was my favourite called German something... I can't remember.
The next time I heard a reel to reel I made a not of its full, rich sound, and I remember that since.
Of course with an open reel you would have to get the original studio masters of Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon as well!
I like your reel to real. My own experience with reel to reel was a unit my dad got when I was less than 4 years old - it kept unwinding all over the floor. There was one song that was my favourite called German something... I can't remember.
The next time I heard a reel to reel I made a not of its full, rich sound, and I remember that since.
Of course with an open reel you would have to get the original studio masters of Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon as well!
That's a lot of stuff, Kevin, how loud do you get to listen? 70db, 80, 90 or 100??? 75 is nice if you don't want to isolate yourself from the rest of humanity.
A salesperson at Radio Shack sold me my 6 inch woofer that I still have, a Realistic 40-1011 and the tweeters with a huge blue capacitor on them. Then he suggested I build a power supply and use a car radio to power them. Those speakers were good, I put them in some cabinets and with the help of a speaker building book from the library (This was from my years in Vancouver, Canada) I was up and running. A Yorx stereo from a church sale, with a turntable (I later sold it locally, alas) completed the deal.
Unfortunately I was not able to pick details in the music that I do now.
Also, headphones of any type cause a temporary loss of hearing for me, so those are out, though in my teenage years I used to listen for 7 plus hours a day on those. The best experience with those was when I was falling asleep, and in an ethereal world of sound.
We have been very fortunate to have all these systems, some of which I wish were never sold.
I posted pictures of some of my systems here:
I post pictures of my current systems
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The truth is.....
I appreciate the quality behind Technics components.
And Panasonic in general.
And being in the service business for so long, I've been able to see that the brand most certainly "goes that extra mile" to produce well-crafted products.
I personally wouldn't own something that I felt was not going to be reliable or last.
Yes, there have been a few "blips" through the years in their products, as any manufacturer can attest to, but over all, I think they're an exceptional company.
The blips I speak of was CD and DVD players made though outsourcing to china.
But thankfully they corrected that problem, and certainly learned from it.
Matsushita is concerned about their reputation, and it shows.
Not many other brands seem to feel the same way.
I had a GX4000d once. I used it to record a band I was in, in a basement studio we had setup in a house I rented. I also had an Optimation AC source; basically a gigantic power amp with 12 (or so) 6CA7s. One time I connected the RTR's motors to this and drove it with a Korg MS-10 analog synth, sustaining a note @ 60 Hz.
I made a recording of the band and during playback as we were listening, I said "watch this". Hitting the next lower key on the synth, I dropped the pitch a whole step at a certain point in the song. A little portamento glided the pitch drop over a few beats.
Of course the songs' meter dropped too, but the effect was palpable. With bandmates unimpressed, I never setup that "variable frequency drive" on the deck again. I probably put the motor wires back as original and sold it through the Boston area The Want-Advertizer... Thus ended my relationship with the Akai GX4000d.
I made a recording of the band and during playback as we were listening, I said "watch this". Hitting the next lower key on the synth, I dropped the pitch a whole step at a certain point in the song. A little portamento glided the pitch drop over a few beats.
Of course the songs' meter dropped too, but the effect was palpable. With bandmates unimpressed, I never setup that "variable frequency drive" on the deck again. I probably put the motor wires back as original and sold it through the Boston area The Want-Advertizer... Thus ended my relationship with the Akai GX4000d.
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Those Akai GX4000D's were one of the most popular models ever sold.
Compact, reliable, easy to use.
They were used extensively in businesses, law enforcement, among other venues.
And at a reasonable selling price of $299.95 of course they were a big hit with consumers for home use.
Compact, reliable, easy to use.
They were used extensively in businesses, law enforcement, among other venues.
And at a reasonable selling price of $299.95 of course they were a big hit with consumers for home use.