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  1. birchoak

    unidentifiable old Sansui receiver

    OMG buy that! Now. Dude, you can't get a good cup of coffee for $5 these days. That may be a tube model--I'm not a Sansui expert.
  2. birchoak

    Do amplifier specifications really matter for sound quality?

    Specs matter but only to a certain point--some lab queens look fantastic on paper but sound lifeless in reality. I think the topology of an amp's components is most important to sound.
  3. birchoak

    Speakers VS Headphones......Ugh!

    Headphones are as close to a perfect listening environment as you can get---no room variables screwing up the sound waves, drivers one inch from your ears, no reflections. If you get a small pair of good speakers and put them on your desktop, linked to a subwoofer, you can get pretty close.
  4. birchoak

    Whoa, where's the data behind this statement!

    Great thread---I'm sure there are great sounding new amps, just like there are great new cars, BUT: No one is going to make a truck again like the '73 Ford F350. It had a 351 Windsor that always started and ran strong, and it's iconic hood and see-through lettering on the grill made it one of...
  5. birchoak

    is the "broken-ness" of vintage gear accelerating?

    Agree 100%. Far too many variables at play with vintage electronics, vs. furniture.
  6. birchoak

    Loudness varies from cd to vinyl, normal ?

    Normal. Phono as a source is nowhere near as "hot" as the modern CD player signal.
  7. birchoak

    Parting out a table - the guilt

    Man, a clean, unscratched dust cover is like gold! Surely someone on that auction site (or in Barter Town here at AK) will want the rest of the parts. Don't feel too bad for the Sony---it had it's day in the sun, spinning records--and you've salvaged some crucial organs.
  8. birchoak

    is the "broken-ness" of vintage gear accelerating?

    Based on my own experience, I would agree chazix. I got back into this hobby about 14 years ago...so the KA-7002 I recently bought now has 50 year old components (read, "weak links") instead of 36! And yeah, maybe we're scraping the barrel now. I agree with Conrad, too: if you don't have...
  9. birchoak

    Why do they have to drop the "F" bomb when it could do just as well without it.

    I feel like I've already lost when I drop the F-bomb, like the situation has gotten the best of me. I agree that it could be taken out of a lot of movies (and the intent could be delivered in a cleverer way). Ditto for all the fart jokes, fat jokes, etc. I think all this stuff ends up in a...
  10. birchoak

    Paul Carmody Classix II Speakers

    Nice finish, Gnesen! That's some tricky veneer work on the front baffles-- Yes, the bass on these is unreal, especially if you build your cabinets well. They respond well to old school amplification--old cap-coupled amps and such--but can also run with big power amps. Possibly the most bass...
  11. birchoak

    Just how good are your ears, audiophiles?

    I did the test again yesterday and....1 out of 6. The only one I got right was the classical music sample and I'm pretty sure that was an accident. I guess I'm lucky--I don't need fancy stuff to play my tunes.
  12. birchoak

    The Fantastic Polk Audio T15's

    Full disclosure: these are on my bench. Sometimes I hook them up to an old receiver to listen to FM while I work; sometimes I hook them up to test an amp. Today I used them to test a JVC 5540 and they sounded fantastic for their size--they really respond to quality amplification, which the...
  13. birchoak

    Need help to point me to correct capacitor please.

    Wasting our time? Ha ha, we live for this stuff, my friend. I'm sure you already know this but I'm pretty sure that's a bipolar (aka NP, BP) cap. F1nut is right, as long as you're in there replace those old resistors---I'll let him advise you on what to use.
  14. birchoak

    I read the news today, oh boy...

    This story is touching (and what a title!). Your DJ is lucky to have a listener that appreciates her gifts so thoroughly. A good DJ is curator to a collection too large for any one listener to fathom. I gave up on FM for many years until I stumbled upon a fantastic local station. The...
  15. birchoak

    I Wish I Had This Good Of Hearing!

    I love this story. I'm with Travis, as I, too, like to sit right in front of the receiver and play with all the knobs and buttons! I do not have his hearing gifts, however.
  16. birchoak

    Game: Ruin a Band Name with Just One Letter

    Blood, Sweat, and Rears.
  17. birchoak

    Auto body/electrical clip query

    Make sure you smack your head on the trunk a few times to make this an official repair job. I'd imagine that light brown clip pops off with Honda tool #4576-A, but a fuse puller (like we use on glass fuses on old amps) might get some purchase on that thing. I'd probably try to pull it off...
  18. birchoak

    Distortion on Technics 1210s DJ setup... Help, please :(

    Are the speakers close to the turntables? I had to move my speakers about ten feet away from the TT. I know this is highly unlikely in your case but I'm throwing it out there anyway.
  19. birchoak

    Sony 5 cd changer repair

    For what it will cost for someone to repair yours you might cruise a few thrift shops or check on that auction site. I have a Sony 5-CD player and it's ok but has terrible isolation--the slightest jar will give it a conniption fit. I have a 200-CD Sony carousel player I got at Goodwill for...
  20. birchoak

    Sansui 3000a Balance Issue

    Oh man, welcome to old Sansui volume pots. I spent quite a bit of time (and spare pots) trying to correct channel imbalance in a Sansui 800 and a Sansui TR-707 (though yours sounds more serious). The general consensus was, if there wasn't a poor ground somewhere, weak driver transistors in one...
  21. birchoak

    Who here has gone down the bypass capacitor rabbit hole?

    If you're posting on AK, you're already down the rabbit hole and in good company.
  22. birchoak

    Kenwood KR-6160, Oh MY!

    Jinx! Turned on the 6160 this morning and have that ocean sound---I'd say a transistor has gone bad. I thought I replaced all the 2sc458's but I guess not! I usually knock on wood when I praise something (truck, health, amp) but neglected to do so this time. So my bad.
  23. birchoak

    Kenwood KR-6160, Oh MY!

    Ha ha, rabbit hole is the right term for this. I found another TINY solder bridge on the PRE board and both channels are back in FM. The thing has survived my recap and continues to sound excellent---commanding, full-bodied sound and FM is excellent, much better than I expected from...
  24. birchoak

    At a crossroads. Leaving the hobby?

    A lot of this depends on one's ears. I took the audiophile hearing test again at NPR and scored 1 out of 6 (again). I cannot, for the life of me, hear the difference between an uncompressed audio files and a 128kbps MP3. In the first test, Katy Perry's Dark Horse, I can clearly hear her sigh...
  25. birchoak

    Rectifier Diode replacement question

    I took dly66's advice and installed 1N5408's. I had to drill out the holes just a tough larger--not a problem as the solder pads are massive on this board! The bridge rectifier is alive and kicking and no longer putting out AC, so this part of the problem has been solved. Thank you all! Now...
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