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Concept receiver (etc.) - comments from Richard Schram

N

Njord Noatun

Super Member
Banned
Concept resources on AK:Part II of the below Q&A with Richard Schram is available here.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Richard Schram, previously of Pacific Stereo. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Richard's background, he was responsible, inter alia, for the development of Pacific Stereo's brand products, and specifically for the purpose of this post, the Concept line of audio equipment. Richard was hired as Pacific Stereo's 13th employee at their original store in Berkeley, Cal., and was working with the company in various capacities for 16 years. He is currently CEO of Parasound, a manufacturer of high-end stereo and home entertainment equipment. Here's an interview with Richard at CES in 2006.

I wanted to pass on to those AK'ers interested in the development of the Concept line the key points of our chats, and I have paraphrased below a Q&A from our conversations, FYI.

A link to an online version of the interviews are available here. AK login and membership required - click here to register with AK.
 
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That is a great post. I have had some email with Richard, and he seems to be a really good guy.
I should be on the lookout for a Parasound preamp!
 
That's a great post, thanks very much for sharing! One of these days I hope to actually get my hands on a Concept receiver.
 
Great post!! As, I've always stated: "I'll NEVER sell my 16.5!!!" Every time I see someone Selling a 16.5 on E-Bay, I think to myself: "He's gonna be SORRY!!!! -- even if he gets $600.00 for it. That $600.00 isn't going to be able to get anything close to a 16.5! I hope he's not using the money to pay bills. It's like selling your daughter!"
 
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vintagestereo said:
Greast post!! As, I've always stated: "I'll NEVER sell my 16.5!!!" Every time I see someone Selling a 16.5 on E-Bay, I think to myself: "He's gonna be SORRY!!!! -- even if he gets $600.00 for it. That $600.00 isn't going to be able to get anything close to a 16.5.
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My thoughts exactly- (and me quoting you, VS, seems appropriate as you, together with a few other AK'ers, were the one to get me started looking for a 16.5!) - you sell the 16.5 and get $600 in your wallet, and then what? You'll surely be out of one fine and rare piece of equipment, that you may never be able to replace in the condition you want it, and most likely not at that price. Besides, it is too rare and heavy to responsibly ship in my estimation, which would limit me to local pickup, only, if I had regrets. I know beyond doubt that I would prefer the 16.5 at the centerpiece of my main rig than $600 in my wallet any time (that would be quickly gone, anyway!)

I don't know if this is bad or good (judging from some posts here, it is probably good!), but after getting the 16.5, I have completely lost the urge to buy other receivers to try out - I have a hard time figuring what could conceivable sound better than the 16.5, and certainly at this price point.
 
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like i have said before here i have a 5.5 and it more than meets my demands i can't imagine a situation where it will comprimise its self in meeting my audio demands would I like to have double the power tacked on ???? On top of it he!! yeah it has sounded great with every input source and every speaker i have used on it I can rest assured that the 5.5 prolly was made to the same exacting standards as the 16.5 as once it was the totl before the 12.0,16.5 were produced
 
Thanks for sharing your conversation. I thought I was finished buying vintage receivers but if one of these bad boys crosses my path I won't pass it up. :no: :no: :no:
 
After acquiring my Concept 11.0 for $100 -- and spending $300 to have it fully restored -- that baby is staying with me! What an informative posting --thanks so much for sharing it! :thmbsp:

Also, I have never seen the Concept speakers or cassette decks mentioned! Has anyone else seen them?

I'd love to get both to build out my Concept "system"! :yes:
 
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SoCal Sam said:
Great post N.N. How did you manage to interview Richard?
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In my excitement over my Concept and desire to spread some light on its history, I just contacted him by e-mail, and I can assure you I was stoked when he responded! We wrote back and forth perhaps four or six times - never did it take him more than a few hours to get back to me. He sounds like a great guy, and if it weren't for the fact that his loyalty and time clearly is now with Parasound, I have a feeling that he was very excited to talk about his days at Pacific Stereo.

He obviously permitted me to post a synopsis of our chats here, as well as quoting him as the source, but he was concerned about being inundated with emails from Concept owners and enthusiasts and asked me specifically to keep his contact details private. So he may not be equally forthcoming if others decide to try to contact him, but I would be happy to contact him again by passing on to him questions from AK'ers, though, if you post them here - the worst that can happen is that he says "enuff is enuff".

Regards,
 
VintageNut said:
Man, keep it on the low low about the Concept line. I aint got mine yet......
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Vintagenut,

A 16.5 just sold on a certain auction site this week-end for around $650. Two more sold earlier this summer in the $6-700 range. I was lucky enough to get mine from a relative who frankly didn't fully realize what she had and therefore didn't want it (!) any more. Likely, I saved this particular 16.5 from a detour to a Bay Area Goodwill!

I was surprised to find, however, that the listing for the 16.5 that sold recently only had some 500 hits: There were 13 bidders, who must have clicked at least once. I know that I checked the auction several times to check for early bidding activity. So must many other AK'ers, since the auction was flagged early with a hotlink over at the AK Dollars and Sense forum which took over 200 AK hits.

With only 500 listing hits, perhaps this line is more under the radar of the average vintage enthusiast than we would be led to think from reading AK rave posts about it?
 
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great article there. another affirmation to the detail used in the mid 70's..... great period for stereo equipment.
 
Njord Noatun said:
In my excitement over my Concept and desire to spread some light on its history, I just contacted him by e-mail, and I can assure you I was stoked when he responded! We wrote back and forth perhaps four or six times - never did it take him more than a few hours to get back to me. He sounds like a great guy, and if it weren't for the fact that his loyalty and time clearly is now with Parasound, I have a feeling that he was very excited to talk about his days at Pacific Stereo.

He obviously permitted me to post a synopsis of our chats here, as well as quoting him as the source, but he was concerned about being inundated with emails from Concept owners and enthusiasts and asked me specifically to keep his contact details private. So he may not be equally forthcoming if others decide to try to contact him, but I would be happy to contact him again by passing on to him questions from AK'ers, though, if you post them here - the worst that can happen is that he says "enuff is enuff".

Regards,
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As a HUGE FAN of his 16.5 and 12.0D Receivers (and also owning the 2QD TT and ELC Cassette Deck) I was wondering if there might be some way I could get his autograph on my 16.5's owner's manual??? Heck, he can even autograph the 16.5 and I'll ship it to him!!!
 
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Njord Noatun said:
With only 500 hits, perhaps this line is more under the radar of the average vintage enthusiast than we would be led to think from reading AK rave posts about it?
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Only those of us who own one are raving about it. And, there aren't many. Juding from the intensity of our passion, we must be pereceived as RAVING LUNATICS!!
 
vintagestereo said:
Only those of us who own one are raving about it. And, there aren't many. Juding from the intensity of our passion, we must be pereceived as RAVING LUNATICS!!
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No argument here. :D
 
Here is my proposed interview with Richard Stramm:

How does it make you feel knowing that after 30 years the 16.5 has such a fanatical following and easily outsells its prime competitor, the Pioneer SX-1250, on E-Bay?

When you were designing the 16.5, what did you have in mind?

Did the 16.5 meet your expectations?

What would you consider the 16.5's greatest merits?

Was the 12.0D an improvement over the 16.5, a step down or a step in a different direction?

How invovled were you in the 16.5's design? What aspects did you personally handle?

Who designed the "look" of the 16.5? Where are they now? What else did they do?

Looking back on your career, what place does the 16.5 hold for you as far as your design achievements?

I've always thought it would be great to "re-issue" some of the legendary Receiver designs of the late 70's, like Marantz did with some of their classic seperates. If there were one Receiver from the 70's to be re-issued, I'd pick the 16.5. Any chance of that?
 
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yamahammer said:
like i have said before here i have a 5.5 and it more than meets my demands i can't imagine a situation where it will comprimise its self in meeting my audio demands would I like to have double the power tacked on ???? On top of it he!! yeah it has sounded great with every input source and every speaker i have used on it I can rest assured that the 5.5 prolly was made to the same exacting standards as the 16.5 as once it was the totl before the 12.0,16.5 were produced
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Most people forget that the 5.5 was the FIRST TOTL Concept and considered by many (but, not me) as the BEST sounding. I'm a 16.5 fanatic pure and simple. I've owned several 5.5s and, in their class, they're UNTOUCHABLE. I like to buy them and give them as gifta to special friends. It's fun to watch eyes pop out of people's heads!

Even the lower-end Concept Receivers (2.5, 3.5, 4.5) make great gifts. I've pretty much decided to get the whole set. The construction quality is OUTSTANDING.

-- Chris
 
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