Please critique my vintage set up... Thanks!

Jhclark

New Member
Hi,

This is my first post on AK, and I am a relatively new vintage collector, though my interest in music and the wares runs a lifetime! So, I thought it would be interesting to see if I'm on the right track with what I've picked up so far on my limited budget. Please feel free to critique honestly as I don't tend to cry easily, and it will surely help me out in the quest for sonic perfection! Specifically, is the receiver/speaker combo good? The following is my set up for my vinyl collection...

Harman/Kardon HK460i receiver ('81-'83) - 30 watts RMS per channel

Technics SL-QD3 turntable ('85)

Akai SR LA201 Speakers ('85-'87) - It says "Max Power 110 watts" and "Rated Power 65 watts" on the back. It's unclear whether the power ratings are per speaker or for both?

Anyway... what do people think? It sounds good to me and undistorted up to half way on the volume dial... Is there anything I could be doing better with this set up?

Thanks,
 
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If it sounds good to you, enjoy it!

As for set up, play around with speaker placement. Move them closer/away from walls, on stands, toe them in (angle them in a little bit).

Also, the watts on the speakers don't really mean that much. Marketing wizards have made people think that it means a lot, but it doesn't. Just make sure that you keep the volume down to an undistorted level, that's what hurts speakers.
 
Welcome. I agree with the power ratings comment. If you really enjoy your setup I would focus on fine tuning your room and adding more music to the collection. If you find yourself wanting, both receivers and speakers of the 70s-90s are easily obtained for pennies on the dollar. Careful though, once you have a great score or two the gear really starts accumulating!
 
It sounds like you've got a pretty good start. I'm not familar with the speakers or turntable, but I do own an older Technics SL-D3 and it is a very nice table.

Judging by the technics model number, it sounds like it is a direct-drive turntable w/ a quartz lock speed control. If it is, that is a very good choice for a 'table. I am hoping it does not have a P-mount cartridge, but a standard setup instead. My SL-D3 will support a very nice cartridge, so don't hesitate to get a good one. At one time, my Technics was home to my Shure V15 mk.V until I bought my AR. The interchangable headshells will also allow you to experiment with different brands and types of cartridges.

The 30w/ch. Harmon-Kardon receiver is a nice piece of gear as well. Personally, I really like some of the older low-power gear for their high-quality performance. I own a Marantz 2220b, a Pioneer SX-626, and a Pioneer SX-680, which are all low-powered and sound wonderful. I wouldn't trade them for the world. Your Harmon-Kardon is every bit as good, if not better quality, as my Marantz and Pioneer gear.

However, I would recommend that you pair them up with a nice and musical set of 2-way speakers for the best performance. I would select something like a nice set of Advents, KLHs, EPIs, etc. Again, I am not at all familar with the speakers you have, so you might have already done that.

In any event enjoy your system and welcome to AK! You came to the right place. :music:
 
The Harmon Kardon unit is a keeper for certain!

I'd get some different speakers though...they are cheapies.
 
I'm somewhat new to AK myself and this is all my opinion, so AK members, feel free to let me know if I'm on the right track here w/ my advice.

JHCLARK:
In a lower powered receiver, a 2 way speaker is definitely the way to go. I love the A60 offering by Boston so much I have two pairs....

But otherwise...yep...enjoy what you have. One thing to keep in mind is that with your setup, if the listening room is too large, you are losing a lot of audio quality. If this is the case, seriously consider moving all your gear to a smaller room. If the room is somewhat bare, add some sound deadening material like a rug, or a comfy chair. Try to get your speaks at about listening height, not too close together and not too far apart...about 6-8 feet is good.
The speaker power ratings are for each speaker. So each could "handle" up to 110W of peak power. For your application, they should make a nice pairing for your HK.
As for the volume, the situation with the 1/2 volume is normal. Typically, I have found that one you reach up to the halfway point on your volume knob, depending on how you have your audio settings, the amp is pulling down nearly 100% of it's capacity. When you move up the powerband, closer to "100%" you will definitly get distortion. And one other thing about that...your best chance of damaging your speakers (especially tweeters) to my knowledge is by pushing them too hard w/ an underpowered reciever. Meaning, you are unknowingly running them too long in that 100% range.

Good luck buddy! You are well on your way to becoming addicted.
 
Hi,

Welcome to AK. Rule one is:

If it sounds good to you, enjoy it.

I think the most overdone thing today is the speaker wattage ratings. "These speakers are rated for 100 watts."

Does that mean your speakers need 100 watts of power to drive them properly? Nope.

All that means is that if the speakers get 100 watts fed to them, they will not blow.

They can be fed with lower power, in fact on most listening levels the wattage may only be a few watts. Most of the damage we get is when we try to fill a room with sound with a low powered amplifier. The amplifier cannot maintain the headroom and the signal is clipped. Clipping the signal can result in the tweeters being burned out.

Your 30 watts of power per channel will be fine with speakers rated for 100 watts as long as the amplifier isn't asked to work as a disco blaster. I, for many years, listened to AR4x speakers, which were medium efficiency, using my 17 watt per channel Dynaco SCA-35 amplifier.

So, welcome to AK, pull a chair up to the fire and have fun gabbing about audio with us while you enjoy listening to your system!:music:
 
The TT and receiver should stay and if I had to change anything it would be finding a nice set of efficient speakers, which I would leave up to you.
 
Welcome aboard! :thmbsp:
Sounds like you have a pretty good start, and some great advice so far.
 
Greetings to ya!

The final point comes down to you liking your system & when it is time to upgrade then do so. I also like the HK receiver.

Rome
 
Welcome to AK, your headed in the right direction. I would look for some speakers like thunderroad suggested. I think you would be a little happier with your system. It's a great start though, enjoy.
 
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Thanks for all the feedback... and one more thing...

Lots of good advice appreciated... the biggest take away I get for improvement is to try some 2 way speakers with my low power amp... I'm glad to hear my amp stands up well to the brands like Marantz and Pioneer. I compared the HK specs to some classic 22 series Marantz amps, and the HK seemed to be comparable if not exceed the Marantz models in a few areas such as THD, Frequency Response, and Input Impedance according to factory specs...but I hear that Marantz really covers the low end well...

And, yes, the TT is a quartz drive model which I'm currently using an AT 81E needle with, but it could be interchanged...

Lastly...I have a Sony TC-640 R to R that I am currently using to load old 1/4" family tapes into my computer for archiving, but I'm wondering if it would play well through the HK receiver... my best guess is that the Sony TC-640 is an early to mid '70s model...

Thnaks again for your feedback...
 
If it sound good to you. That is all that matters. Everyone has certain taste. HK is a good quality brand.

Your Sony Reel to Reel should play fine through your HK receiver with no problems.
 
The HK is probably the best piece you have, and the last I would upgrade, if that's what you intend to do. You might notice the biggest improvement at first upgrading the speakers, though I don't know why they would have to be 2-way...just read around and find out what people think are good speakers, 2 way, 3 way, full range, whatever. There are plenty of threads about quality speakers on a budget. I think a pair of Boston Acoustics A-150s would sound great with that receiver, and they're a 3-way, for example.

The turntable may prove to be limiting at some point as I think that's a P-mount cartridge that it has. It's fine to start out with and they're really simple to set up, but eventually if you choose to really pursue vinyl you'll find a lot more variety of cartridges in the standard-mount variety.

Or you could choose to enjoy what you have for awhile and not rush into buying this and that until you want to make a big leap, instead of going little by little.
 
You might want to try and find a pair of used Vandersteen speakers. A guy down the hall from me in college (almost 20 years ago) had a set of Vandersteen 2C speakers hooked up to that same H-K receiver. Wonderful sounding system. If you are in the Pacific NW, there's a person on CL selling a pair in Olympia for what appears to be a decent price...

-Derek
 
Might also do you well to note your location in your profile. There's people in every area of the globe here that might willing to help you out by carting over a few things for you to try :yes:

Welcome to the nuthouse :D
 
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