Music: Your flavor of the month?

Discussion in 'Blazers OT Forum' started by Fez Hammersticks, Sep 30, 2009.

  1. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    I gave my son a pair of old Fisher heavy speakers that would have been great...I have a buddy who has incredible speakers..old Bose really heavy angled front with some box that might be a crossover control or something...they are probably 3ft tall ...I'm getting back my bungalow man cave now that my son has moved out and bought a house so I thought I'd start with a sound system. I had some 70s Kenwood speakers that were nice years back.
     
  2. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    This is mine
    Pioneer sx 450
    amp pioneer.png
     
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  3. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    Looks a lot like mine.

    Edit: Time to eat, haven't eaten all day.
     
  4. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    JBLs aren't nearly as efficient as the others I mentioned. Keep in mind, I'm listening to a pair of L36 Decades I lovingly restored to better than new condition as I type this and have another pair of restored 4301 B Control Monitors in my office system at work. Most are rated between 89 and 91 db efficiency. The others I mentioned are all rated between 97 and 104 db efficient - some of the most efficient speakers ever built. Of course, the JBLs will still get plenty loud. How much power you need to drive them depends on the size of your listening area and just how loud you like your music.

    Every 3 dB = 2x as loud. So, speakers that are 99 dB efficient will be 8x as loud as speakers that are rated at 90dB when driven with the same amount of power. I think my neighbors would agree that my JBLs with 120 watts behind them are plenty loud, but many vintage tube amps were only rated at 3 - 10 watts.

    BNM
     
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  5. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    That's not a tube receiver. It's a low power (15 watts per channel) solid state receiver from the late 1970s. That said, unless you are running it in a very small space (i.e. a bedroom) at low to moderate listening levels, you will still want some efficient speakers.

    BNM
     
  6. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    I just realized that....I watched a youtube video on refurbishing one of them. I don't need loud, I just want to upgrade my bungalow and have better sound than the crap I listen to now. I have a 5 watt all tube guitar amp that's really old that I blend with my Fender amp
     
  7. Lanny

    Lanny Original Season Ticket Holder "Mr. Big Shot"

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    It's actually 3.01029996 dB = 2X the power output, but who's counting. (the log of 2 is 0.301029996, a dB is 10X the log)
     
  8. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    Are you located in the Portland area? If so, I'd be happy to watch for a good deal on some vintage speakers on craigslist for you. If they need the crossovers recapped, I'd be happy to help out with that, too. It's kind of my specialty.

    BNM
     
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  9. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    Thank you! The shop in Eugene I'll have work on it has a guy who's got ton's of speakers and has repaired them and vintage equipment since the 60s.could need recapped and cleaned ..headphone jack is clean for FM radio...speaker connections are noisy..I appreciate the offer though! I'll be sure to ask your advice though on gear..I haven't kept up on audio stuff in decades really..I ran everything through a mixing board with a huge Crown power amp with mains and monitors for many years...overkill...
     
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2018
  10. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    The good news is the stuff that was good decades ago is still good if in proper serviced and working condition.

    BNM
     
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  11. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    These are a pair of great sounding classic 2-way speakers: https://eugene.craigslist.org/ele/d/klh-23-vintage-speakers/6755742652.html

    Make sure all the drivers are good and working. If so, they generally need two things - the crossover recapped. This is the easiest crossover I've ever recapped. It's a single 4uF capacitor and easy to get at:

    Before:

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    After:

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    And they probably need the cloth surrounds on the woofers resealed. You can buy the sealant on eBay for about $25. If you get them, let me know and I'll point you in the right direction.

    The seller says he's "looking to get $100". Point out that due to age they need recapped and the woofers resealed and offer him $60. Even if you get them for $80, it's a hell of a deal. Assuming the cabinets are in decent shape (real walnut veneer), they are a great sounding, great looking pair of vintage speakers.

    Here's mine stacked on top of a pair of Rectilinear III Highboys I bought the same day. Both pairs of speakers and the turntable are all from 1967, and all bought from the (different) original owners. The turntable is gone (wish I'd kept it), but I still have both sets of speakers.

    [​IMG]
     
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  12. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    My Black Friday self-Christmas present arrived today. I don't buy a lot of new albums due to the high cost. However, I have been treating myself to one or two new titles a month recently, and with a 20% off coupon plus free shipping coupon, I ordered five albums on my must have list. These were specific pressings of these albums selected specifically for best sound quality.

    Up first...

    LOVE OVER GOLD - DIRE STRAITS:

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    Last edited: Nov 28, 2018
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  13. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    Second up...

    DAFT PUNK - Random Access Memories:


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  14. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    NIRVANA - NEVERMIND:

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  15. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    T H E J O S H U A T R E E - U 2

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  16. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    Saved the best for last...

    CAT STEVENS
    - Tea for the Tillerman:

    [​IMG]

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    This is record 5 of 5 from my Acoustic Sounds Black Friday order that arrived yesterday. This is the one I was looking forward to the most, but didn't get to it last night. I have three other copies of this great album, but they are all from thrift stores/estate sales. To say this pressing blows them away is an enormous understatement. This may be the finest piece of vinyl I have ever heard. It's certainly neck and neck with the 50th Anniversary Sgt. Pepper's I got a month ago.

    BNM
     
    Last edited: Nov 28, 2018
  17. CupWizier

    CupWizier Well-Known Member

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    What's the typical cost of the special vinyl albums?
     
  18. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    This one had a list price of $50 when it came out. It went out of print and prices had risen into the $65 - $75 range on eBay for sealed copies. I had a 20% of coupon from Acoustic Sounds, with free shipping. I noticed they had it back in stock at the $50 list price. So, with my coupon, my cost was $40. Still the most I've ever spent on an album.

    The 50th Anniversary Sgt. Pepper's I mentioned typically goes for about $25, but I had a 20% off one item coupon from Barnes & Noble. So, my net cost was 20 bucks.

    Most are in the $25 - $35 range, but some are a little less (the Pallas Nirvana pressings are typically in the high teens/low 20s). 45rpm double album versions typically sell for $50 - $75. There are some really high end limited editions that start at $100 and go up from there. Too rich for my blood. If I had to pay that much for an album, I'd own like 3 records.

    I'm not a cheap skate, but want to maximize what I get for my money, so I can buy even more. So, I research which pressings are the best and then shop around and use coupon codes when available and take advantage of free shipping.

    BNM
     
  19. ripcityboy

    ripcityboy Well-Known Member

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    "Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is the best…"

    Frank Zappa -- 25 Years Gone
     
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  20. CupWizier

    CupWizier Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the info. It has been many years since i have been into albums. I once had a collection of well over 300 and then kids and dogs came along.

    Did you ever hear of the green felt pen trick that was suppose to enhance the sound of cd's? That was invented by a friend of mine that had a stereo shop in West Slope area. I could never tell the difference but he and others swore by it. He was also heavily into mods on cd players and speakers.
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2018

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