Hello from a Seattle addict

Oblioguzzi

Oblioguzzi

New Member
Hello AK.
I've been lurking around this site and I figured I ought to come out from the shadows. After all this is clearly a safe place where I can talk openly about this vintage audio addiction that is consuming all my time.

I've been collecting vinyl all my life, spent much of the 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's in record and thrift stores digging for vinyl and never thought about looking for audio equipment. It hurts me now to think of the deals on gear that I missed. I have some B&W Matrix speakers that were given to me 25 years ago along with a high end system. Don't remember what system it was but there was this incredible coffee table subwoofer. Didn't know what I had and let it slip away. Guilt and Shame.

Anyway about a year and a half ago I was reading a book where one of the characters starts going on about an old vintage Sansui and it brought back a memory of Jumping Jack Flash blaring out of my older brothers stereo. Started looking on line and ended up at Hawthorne Stereo here in Seattle and brought home an 8080 to play through the B&Ws. That sounded good. Found a non-working Sansui 661 for $10. Following advice on this site I replaced a fuse and put some deoxit on the pots. Works like a dream. This is the point where nearly everything else in my life outside of work and family just sort of faded away.

I believe I am aware of every piece of audio gear for sale within a 200 mile radius. I now have audio in nearly every room in the house. Speakers, receivers, amps, tuners and a console for the love of god pile up in the shed squeezing out my moto guzzi. I've infected my brother and I am in constant battle with impulse control.

Thanks for listening.

So I am reading "How to Fix Everything Electronic". Anyone have other books on electronics they'd recommend?
 
I can relate on a different scale. I am on my third career. Between two and three, things slowed down a bit and I finally had time for a hobby. I had never had one before, but I DID buy MANY of the top speakers you find talked about here...and sold them from time to time. When I discovered AK and the Zilch thread about building Econowaves I was entranced and have been collecting parts and building my own speakers ever since. I have WAY too many raw well-regarded JBL drivers with plans for all of them. I have more projects than one person should have and I will build every one of them. No worries, it keeps me off the streets and learning all the time. Do what makes you happy as long as it's legal and not destructive. CURSE YOU AK! lol
 
"How to Fix Everything Electronic". Bout nails everything i'd say :dunno:
Welcome.
Keep a closet empty for the stuff you'll end up with.
Music. It's a great hobby and infectous.
I got my brothers hooked many years ago in all forms good audio and they go with it.

and btw, B&W', nice, are on the "someday".
took 10 years to find some JBL's and I really like them and good another 40 years AFAIAC.
B&W floorstanders someday baby!!! and Wharfedales, and Dahlquists and planars and too much else to fit under 1 roof!
 
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Hey Oblioguzzi, you shared my story exactly. Hanging out in Central California, looking to dust off my 35 yrs ago BS EE and see what trouble I could get into with some vintage gear. I had some fun with the "Make Electronics" kits and books when getting started. Probably below your level but it was a good reintroduction.

Been lurking for about 9 mos, the obsession started when I mentioned to a vinyl-hoarding friend that I had inherited an old Marantz tube amp and pre-amp, turntable and speakers from my dad when he passed away, and they were sitting in my 100 degree garage. He sent me home immediately to call with the model numbers (7, 8b, Garrard POS and Bozak behemouths), told me to do a google search and I had a newfound sense of destiny. Fast forward to today: Two 7' high bakers racks filled with gear in various stages of disrepair, electronics books, kits, testing equipment and a recent purchase of "How to Fix Everything Electronic" on the way to further illuminate my path.

I am so happy I found AK--have done a complete restoration of a pair AR 4a's (thanks to step by step instructions found here) , have several pair of vintage KLH in line for repair, grabbed two pair of Dynaco A-25's on Monday from CL and have come to understand the difference between "east coast sound" and "west coast sound" after finding a near perfect pair of JBL 4312's from GW in Minnesota. By the way, got several nice pieces from GW online auctions from the Seattle area so you have some music fiends up your way.

Looking forward to seeing your name and avatar posting in the threads. This is my first post-I'm making it official.
 
Thanks for the welcome. I'm looking forward to participating more on the site. I don't think I have much advice worth hearing but I sure have a lot of questions. My first project is a recap of a non-working Heathkit AA-21 SS amp. Just when I finished I read that a rookie recap is probably a bad idea. Uh-oh.

Of course the amp still doesn't work, but I mistakenly plugged a CD player into the Tape input and BOOM, out come the Isley Brothers full blast through the junk speaker. A minute of joy before I realized the volume control did nothing to quiet Fight the Power and no other inputs seem to do anything. So I have been reading the manual, learning to read the schematic and trying to understand what could be going on. I am learning things just not things that are helping me out with this.

I'm in no hurry as the obsession shows no sign of abating. I hope before too long I'll have a better understanding of things and I'll post a well thought out and detailed plea for help. If nothing else I hope I'll at least comprehend the advice.
 
Welcome aboard the AK.

With your background, what took ya so long to get here?:rolleyes:

Great intro... and to make ya feel better, you ain't the first to come out of the closet of vint sound.

Q
 
Welcome Oblioguzzi,
Yup, you’ve got it. Hifiitus. Some say it’s an addiction, some say it’s an illness. Most agree it’s fun. Word of caution, you are in a hotspot for loads of vintage gear being available, unlike over here on the east side of the state. But, it keeps me from going overboard. That, and my wife. Have fun.
 
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