rickcr42
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Rest in peace my good friend.
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Post by rickcr42 on Jun 9, 2006 2:55:16 GMT
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Jun 9, 2006 12:13:59 GMT
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jun 9, 2006 22:40:02 GMT
Interesting article Rick. Transistors "do" have a place in electronics if you remember just how unreliable televisions were with valves you'd "thank god" for transistors everytime you turned your TV on. I remember our TV repairman when I was a child (how could I forget him he was never away from our TV!) he was called "Les" and was usually to be seen bending down at our TV with his arse cheeks bulging out of his trousers. I remember he was always taking away a "panel" for some repair or another which usually meant 4 or 5 days without TV As good as valves are in audio I really "thank god" every day that computers and televisions (and everything else) are solid state.. far more reliable, can you remember the last time your modern TV broke down?
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rickcr42
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Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Oct 14, 2006 13:38:14 GMT
have no idea how i ended up reading this old thread but since i have can;t let this pass without comment ;D Well until recently all TVs had tubes........ the picture tube Another difference between old and new ? Serviceability ! Modern sets are meant to be used then tossed in the trash when they fail and like with everything going to lead free that fail rate will be on the rise by an order of magnitude. Older sets (and most older consumer goods in general) were not only built like a brick shit house but were assembled in a manner totally friendly to repair. If a tube set all you needed to do was pull the tubes,run down to to your local variety store,Radio Shack,Lafayette (like Radio shack) or even local drug store where they would have a big ass tube tester,identify the offending tube and buy a new one right there on the spot ! Even early solid state sets were fully serviceable with one set in particular (Zenith i beleive-from memory and not as good as once was ;D ) having a front pull out section as part of the control panel with full access to all the circuits with each being a fully replaceable module ! Older audio equipement even came with the full wiring diagrams and full schematics and parts list,usually as a poster sized fold up section making it easy for your local repairman to trace the circuit and do the repairs correctly and if not there was always "Sam's Photofacts" with this information. What has changed ? Mass produced goods with a built in finite life span meant to be used,tossed to the trash and replaced.Warrantees that averaged five to ten years going to "fee based" service contracts which are in reality "replacement" contracts,the TV Repairman going the way of the blacksmith because this crap is not only not serviceable but designed intentionally that way. Progress ? HARDLY ! Overpriced crap more like it ! P.S.-had an old ass console RCA set given to me (full wood cabinet,25 inch screen) when I first got married after my own set shit the bed and it was already 10 years old at the time it was gifted to me.I used it for a couple of years before buying one of the early "Stereo" TV sets,a really nice,really expensive Toshiba. I gave the RCA to someone in need and they too used it for a time before passing it on again and to this day the RCA is still kicking out a nice picture and the "early american" wood finish still a thing of beauty even after 30+ years of all manner of statuary,family pictures,collectables (lava lamps-me ) being placed on top. The toshiba ? A faint memory and I personally have been through four TV sets since parting with the 1970's era "mono" TV that is still kicking ! We all know there is a serous market for used audio equipment with most of the valued componants being pre 1970's which more often than not still works as when new.Do any here really think any of the crap being made now will last long enough to be called "vintage audio/video" ? Built in obsolecence plus intentionally designed to be non-serviceable does not say yes to that in my mind
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xerxes
Been here a while!
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Post by xerxes on Oct 25, 2006 3:22:23 GMT
I'm with Mike on this one, I rememer the black & white television we had when I was a kid, it was forever "needing attention". In some cases, yes, take a look on Ebay UK and you'll see a healthy trade in used Cyrus gear going right back to the original Cyrus 1 amp, "the singing shoe box", of the early eighties, it was considered a bit of a giant killer in it's time and still sought after today. You can even send them back to Cyrus to be reconditioned. There's a healthy trade in Naim equipment dating back to the eighties too. I also still have a Sony stack system, with a tape deck, tuner, amp and automaitic turntable, kicking around the attic. It was my first Hi-Fi; I saved up for it and bought when I was about 16, 22 years ago now. It was a few years ago, but the last time I used it it all still worked with the exception of a couple of indicator lamps and a slightly crackly slide volume control, which were fashionable at the time.
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Sol
100+
loves motorcycles !
Chief Technical Numpty
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Post by Sol on Oct 25, 2006 6:55:43 GMT
In some cases, yes, take a look on Ebay UK and you'll see a healthy trade in used Cyrus gear going right back to the original Cyrus 1 amp, Don't I know it .. I recenlty finally chnaged from my Cyrus 2 and PSX and stuck it up on Ebay. 190 quid for something that sounds rather good - however, the slight voltage coming thorugh the cases when you touched both amp and power supply, the slightly dodgy inputs, nad the rather worn apprearance didn't put off potential bidders. I had 70 people watching! It would seem the Cyrus 2 is having a bit of a revival - it has built in phono, an dis popular amongst those young'uns who have recently found viynl again, but want a relatively cheap all in one amp. Personally I always loved the forwardness of that amp (percieved as detail and punch at the time) unitl I discovered relative warmth of Rocksan amps.
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rickcr42
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Rest in peace my good friend.
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Post by rickcr42 on Oct 25, 2006 13:03:42 GMT
Tape deck ? Tuner ? Turntable ? Hardly modern electronics.The Cyrus same thing. The schematic for that phono stage is kicking around the net somewhere.I know i have seen it. Mass produced Vintage SS is more related to vintage tube gear than anything new and I have a couple of Marantz recievers beating around the house (hand downs to my my sons systems) that are closer to separates internally than the modern all-in-one units.HUGE power supply sections,HUGE heat sinks for the output transistors,discrete audio circuitry,very complete switching/controls in the preamp section including full dubbing controls and very flexable multi-turnover tone controls plus the headphone output not bad at all.Build to last and easily serviced if something breaks Never had an older set that needed attention other than a good antenna but i do remeber how easily the antenna sets picked up interference.Police calls,fire calls,ham radio operators,even cars going past the house if that car had a noisy alternator something you accepted as part of the package but it was FREE unlike now where every household has either cable or satellite (me ) with there being no going back since the stations no longer put out a strong enough signal for a good picture even with the largest high gain antenna you can get your mitts on.I know because I have tried and failed. Presently my set is just over two years old so it is nearing mid-life going by past history.42 inch screen yet under $600 SCREAMS meant to be replaced not serviced so one more big ass hunk of garbage with no where to go in another 2 years or so at which time I will by another five year set.Maybe even a plasma this time so I can rant about how it always needs a plasma recharge to work ;D
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Post by southpaw on Oct 26, 2006 16:13:53 GMT
All this talk of good old hifi gear has got me interested. I've been trawling ebay for an old (well 70's or 80's) amp to get a 2nd system together. Sol - I was probably one of the 70 watchers on your amp Has anybody got any favourite (read recommendations) small amps from the days when hifi was built properly. I'd even try diying a small valve one if you've got any ideas Rick Geoff
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rickcr42
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Rest in peace my good friend.
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Post by rickcr42 on Oct 26, 2006 19:08:22 GMT
Depends on what you consider "small". I had a really nice H.H.Scott 299C integrated with PP EL84 output that got around 15 watts per that i am still kicking myself in the ass that I let it go.full function controls,lights to portray channel mode (left/right/stereo/mono), and smooooooooth yet dynamic and that was bone stock with no upgrades.Probably cost a bit of loot though As a DIY I would go in that direction-PP EL84/6BQ5/SV83 family.Do a search on "Dynaco ST35 Clone" where you will find extensive build info and actual kits/pcb offers. another "possible" would be Poinz's "Music Machine" www.6moons.com/audioreviews/audiotropic2/machine.htmlwww.6moons.com/audioreviews/audiotropic2/machine.htmlI have not built this but intent to at some point being a huge fan of the 6V6 sound.The beam pentode is triode strapped so it only gets 6-8 watts output but to be honest this is plenty of power for most systems.The advantage PP has over SET power is driving complex loads so for instance I presently use an SET 300B WE91 variant as my main power amp which at 8 watts is enough power for my 96dB SPL/1M sens speakers but because of the nature of the three way crossover think I would be better off with something PP in the 5-10 watt range.SET seems to mate best with simple and that means at most two way systems with simple XOs Moving to solid state the old Marantz receivers were built like a tank with sonics better than most comtemporaries though though not much of value in the below 50WPC area since back then as you moved up in wattage the entire quality level shifted as well i.e. low watts=low quality/less usability. I kicked my Marantz receiver upstairs to the kids and they use for for everything-multimedia computer,surround system,recording,headphone duty straight out of the jack and I highly doubt ANY modern receiver can touch it. BTW-that guy had a cap upgrade abd i did a small bit of psu modding Marant,LUX,some of the old Technics,Sansui or Pioneer integrateds in SS. Eico HFT-80 integrated (again PP EL84 ),and of the tube H.H.Scotts,Leak integrateds,Dyna ST35 in VT........ There are other options of course : Single ended tube,Class-A solid state,vintage tube and SS but the above two are in the "keep it simple stupid" arena and a safe bet
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Oct 26, 2006 19:16:44 GMT
On my way out the door soon to estimate a project (someone want to build a deck at the END of the summer season ) but if i get back in the door early I am considering starting a "vintage audio" sub forum header.Seems over due
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Post by southpaw on Oct 26, 2006 21:34:15 GMT
Hi Rick, The PP el84 sounds about right like the sort of valve amp I'd been aiming for but didn't know what to call it other than 'simple lowish power valve amp' I like the look of the Dynaco st35 ill have to read some more on it. In the meantime i'll keep tralling ebay for an old marantz receiver.
Geoff
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Oct 27, 2006 0:13:38 GMT
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rickcr42
Fully Modded
Rest in peace my good friend.
Posts: 4,514
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Post by rickcr42 on Oct 27, 2006 0:27:16 GMT
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