Tell us about your stereo!

[flipflop]

Do you find you still use your cassette deck, Mr. Shadow? I've got a Denon that's been collecting dust for probably close to 10 or 12 years now. I can't bring myself to get rid of it for some reason, though. It's kind of funny because I was a huge one for making mix tapes. I did it all the time and they were all I ever listened to in the car. But the advent of CD burning computers and disappearing car cassette players kind of push the kibosh on that whole process. And the really funny part of it all is that I've never put the time or effort into making mix CDs as I did tapes. The process isn't as much fun...not nearly the sense of ritual - setting levels and cueing the turntable and all. Kinda sad, actually.

Eeeeexactly how I feel, word for word!

Anyhoo, I'm a Denon-man myself. Bought it around 1990 give or take. Denon PMA-920 amp. DP-47F turntable with Denon DL-160 MC pick-up, Denon DRM-800 tapedeck.

In 1994 I added the cd-player - Denon DCD-1200. It's been going since then, no repairs or anything.

Speakers are Dali7a - 2nd generation of legendary Dali 7 which had just gone out of production when I got my speakers. Had to replace the bass-unit foam a couple of years ago but still going strong.

I'll try and find some pics later perhaps.

 

[LG]

Craig did you ever strip your little Cambridge setup? Maybe you could send it to EB for a modest price...just a thought.

 

[LG]

I'll try and find some pics later perhaps.

I look forward to seeing what you have Flipflop. I never understood why they didn't switch to Butyl rubber surrounds in the late 70's, everyone Knew then they would last almost forever unlike most foam which has a limited shelf life. I just replaced the old woofers in my ADS 300's with new ones with rubber and they sound as good as new.

 

[Craig in Indy]

No I haven't, LG, though the thought occurred to me right after posting. I also have a perfectly good 2-channel Ensemble IV system sitting here gathering dust. I had been hanging onto it for replacement parts if I ever blew anything in the 5.1 version of the same that I'm using with the home theater.

 

[LG]

Nothing wrong with that either. I bought two pairs of old KEF's on e-bay for one of my 3 surround set-ups, and if something goes kaput, then the older pair with be cannibalized.

 

[0000]

I'll look at the Cambridge thing, that sounds like something that would be practical, I'm not even really looking for a total audiophile setup, just something in between a crappy all in one system and lower end audiophile, I have no budget now, but very soon, hopefully--they cut my hours in half :
I'm going to be looking it up later, but how much do these usually run? I'm hoping its a fairly cheap solution... like, probably not, but under 100$?

 

[LG]

I'll check my e-bay listings and see what 100 bucks can buy EB, but there are great deals out there, hopefully someone in Pittsburgh has decent stuff you could save shipping costs.

 

[Dave78]

My very first stereo (which I bought for myself when I was a junior in high school) was a 35W Marantz receiver, a Technics belt-drive turntable, a Teac cassette deck and a pair of Janssen 3-way, 12", air suspension studio monitors which sounded awesome! Of course I had better hearing back then, too!

Then in the early 80's when I began to take recording seriously, I invested in a 100W tuner/amp, a second turntable, a double bay Pioneer cassette deck, a 10 band Yamaha EQ and a modest 2-channel Numark mixing board. When cd's became the format of choice I then added two Sony cd players. That was a ton of gear (and wires!).

By the mid-90's I had eventually scaled back to just the tuner/amp, the two cd players, the tape deck, EQ and mixer. But now that I do all my mixing and recording on my computer I've scaled back my home stereo even further to what is now just a new 50W per channel Onkyo stereo reciever, the Yamaha EQ and what is now a newer sony 5-disc cd player.

But to further illustrate how my listening habits have evolved, I recently bought Apple's "Airtunes" so I can now wirelessly listen to music played on my computer on my home stereo.

The biggest recent change I made though (and possibly the biggest mistake), was downsizing from my 100 watt per channel seperates to a 50 watt per channel reciever. I did so because I felt I no longer needed to rattle any of my neighbor's windows, but there is still a big difference just playing music at a low volume. It's now a challenge to get the same sound I once did with the more powerful amp, and I miss it. :

I'm not sure if I'll ever invest in another turntable or not.

 

[LG]

Nice I liked Jensen speakers, and the rest of your early gear was good too KMET.

Many people make that assumption that more power is just good for rattling the foundations, but you summed it up perfectly, at lower volumes a good powerful amp just does a much better job than a lower powered one.

Turntables,,,I am keeping mine forever, I assembled it in 1979 and it still works as good as new.

 

[Hepcat]

KMET:

But to further illustrate how my listening habits have evolved, I recently bought Apple's "Airtunes" so I can now wirelessly listen to music played on my computer on my home stereo.

How does that sound? Is the fidelity up to your quality standards? I was wondering just eighteen months ago why there are no good wirelss systems on the market to power remote speakers on different levels of the house.

I'm not sure if I'll ever invest in another turntable or not.

Check out some of the new ones out there these days. Turntable technology has advanced enormously in the last thirty years. Besides, turntables are fun!