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Audio Club of Maine (ACMe)

infullview said:
I don't understand the fascination people have with these receivers. They are class B, capacitor coupled, and have THD's the are at or exceed 0.5%!
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lol. Its good to hear that take! Maybe the current fascination stems from their older receivers, and the collectibility then flows down hill to these older models? I'm selfishly pleased to here my HK is a better choice.

infullview said:
BTW I think you're going to really like the Genesis speakers.
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Also great to hear! I have one up and running... and it did sound very nice. I'm just making things more complicated for myself than i probably need to... going to rebuild the crossover for the second one, and then go back and do the same for the first. But, that effort has definitely stalled me out, probably because my free time comes in 30 minute chunks these days, and the effort feels like its going to take me a few hours. I keep telling myself, once I finish the Genesis, then I'll refoam the others, and then work on the KLH 20's, and so forth.

Speaking to wattages... I also picked up a Pioneer SA-1050 (https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/pioneer/sa-1050.shtml). Its my only integrated amp, and at 100wpc, the powerhouse of the collection. And a completely different aesthetic, being from the mid 80's, that I kinda love... the buttons are absolutely so nerdy and "of the time." This one also probably needs a thorough cleaning, and the previous owner decided to remove the B speaker connection in favor or replacing the A speaker connectors with 5 way binding posts.

infullview said:
Mine are more of a mix with the Yamaha RX-E100 being the newest of the bunch.
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I've admired that one online many times! I love the small profile. I had no idea the volume was motor controlled! so thats how it still manages to be analog, rather than digital? that's so cool.

infullview said:
I picked up the Akai AA-V301 because it is a very early example of an AV receiver and was manufactured in 1985. It is an oddity with micro processor control, florescent display, and touch control volume control.
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That Akai is wild looking! Very cool, and also very representative of its era.
 
pumablues said:
Speaking to wattages... I also picked up a Pioneer SA-1050 (https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/pioneer/sa-1050.shtml). Its my only integrated amp, and at 100wpc, the powerhouse of the collection. And a completely different aesthetic, being from the mid 80's, that I kinda love... the buttons are absolutely so nerdy and "of the time." This one also probably needs a thorough cleaning, and the previous owner decided to remove the B speaker connection in favor or replacing the A speaker connectors with 5 way binding posts.
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Some of that stuff from the 80's is just too good to pass up. I also have a 100wpc amp, the HK870 and its matching preamp the HK825. I've already recapped the 825 and replaced iffy transistors, and it is a daily driver for one of my systems. The HK870 power amp works, but I haven't bothered to look at it in a long time simply because I have nothing that will take that much power. It's sitting in my closet along with the stack of receivers :).

I know exactly what you mean about getting 30 minutes here and there to work on these things. I guess that's what happens when you have a life, family to deal with, work, etc..
 
Hi all, I'm located in Orono, Maine, and have been lucky to make some great FB marketplace and CL snags in Maine this year. I got a Sansui 1000A and a Fisher 400, both in non-working condition and fully restored the fisher, and am in the process of restoring the Sansui. I mostly listen to vinyl, and am constantly collecting records. Yesterday I picked up a modded pair of Dynaco A-10s in Brewer--someone sealed the ports and heavily insulated the inside of the cabinets within a cotton ball material. They sound great, and I'm not sure how I would undo the sealed port, so I will keep them as is, I think. They are my test speakers in the basement for working on stereos. Glad to join the Maine crew!
 
cobascis said:
Hi all, I'm located in Orono, Maine, and have been lucky to make some great FB marketplace and CL snags in Maine this year. I got a Sansui 1000A and a Fisher 400, both in non-working condition and fully restored the fisher, and am in the process of restoring the Sansui. I mostly listen to vinyl, and am constantly collecting records. Yesterday I picked up a modded pair of Dynaco A-10s in Brewer--someone sealed the ports and heavily insulated the inside of the cabinets within a cotton ball material. They sound great, and I'm not sure how I would undo the sealed port, so I will keep them as is, I think. They are my test speakers in the basement for working on stereos. Glad to join the Maine crew!
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Welcome to ACME, not too much activity in the way of local meet ups due to COVID, but hopefully someone will organize one in the near future.
 
indeed, welcome @cobascis ! I saw those listed on CL this past week, the owner had them listed as Dynamo :) I'm glad they went to a good home!

Here's a rando question for the group -- I was working on cleaning pots on a KL Model 52 receiver last week. Its in "like new" condition, given to me by a woman who was clearing out some of her late husband's audio gear (this is literally the only time this has happened to me!).

I used Caig Fader Lube on the pots, after watching a recent video that talked about the negative effects of Deoxit on potentiometers.

I had to take the face place completely off, to get to the pots, and even then, it was tricky, as I had to unscrew the chassis for the pots from the main chassis; everything was kinda dangling while I sprayed the pots for on/volume, balance, bass, treble.

I put everything back together, and there was less noise in the pots, which was great.

HOWEVER!... I swear, I'm getting live current through the pots and the silver faceplate now. Not enough to hurt, just enough to feel like a gentle buzz against the finger tips. When I turn the on/volume pot to off, I still get the buzzing feeling. But when I unplug the unit altogether, its stops (this was how I was testing it to see if I was crazy or not).

Additionally, I've noticed a slight hiss in the speakers -- even when the unit is in the "off" position. When I unplug it, of course, the hiss stops.

Any guidance for this newbie?

Thanks!
 
pumablues said:
I swear, I'm getting live current through the pots and the silver faceplate now. Not enough to hurt, just enough to feel like a gentle buzz against the finger tips. When I turn the on/volume pot to off, I still get the buzzing feeling. But when I unplug the unit altogether, its stops (this was how I was testing it to see if I was crazy or not).
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Pull the plug, turn it 180 degrees and plug it back in to see if this still happens. A lot of older equipment didn't have polarized plugs (one side is larger than the other) so it is possible to get a little shock if chassis is not connected to neutral (in house wiring parlance, black is hot and white is neutral).
 
pumablues said:
indeed, welcome @cobascis ! I saw those listed on CL this past week, the owner had them listed as Dynamo :) I'm glad they went to a good home!

Here's a rando question for the group -- I was working on cleaning pots on a KL Model 52 receiver last week. Its in "like new" condition, given to me by a woman who was clearing out some of her late husband's audio gear (this is literally the only time this has happened to me!).

I used Caig Fader Lube on the pots, after watching a recent video that talked about the negative effects of Deoxit on potentiometers.

I had to take the face place completely off, to get to the pots, and even then, it was tricky, as I had to unscrew the chassis for the pots from the main chassis; everything was kinda dangling while I sprayed the pots for on/volume, balance, bass, treble.

I put everything back together, and there was less noise in the pots, which was great.

HOWEVER!... I swear, I'm getting live current through the pots and the silver faceplate now. Not enough to hurt, just enough to feel like a gentle buzz against the finger tips. When I turn the on/volume pot to off, I still get the buzzing feeling. But when I unplug the unit altogether, its stops (this was how I was testing it to see if I was crazy or not).

Additionally, I've noticed a slight hiss in the speakers -- even when the unit is in the "off" position. When I unplug it, of course, the hiss stops.

Any guidance for this newbie?

Thanks!
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Yes, "Dynamo!" I got them for $80 which is a fair price. I noticed the ports appeared to be sealed off from the ad but didn't think much of it. Now I realize they were fairly heavily modded, sealed ports and full of dampening material. They sound great so I think I will leave them. I sort of wish I could heard what the original ported version sounds like, though.

No idea regarding the hiss when it is off... but I agree with @infullview re: changing polarity of the cord. The zap might mean the "death cap" is leaking a little bit as well and should probably be replaced with a safety cap that fails open rather than passing the current straight to chassis.
 
cobascis said:
The zap might mean the "death cap" is leaking a little bit as well and should probably be replaced with a safety cap
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Holy ****, the DEATH CAP? that sounds terrifying, lol. Ooh boy. I wonder if me getting in there and cleaning knocked anything loose, too. I'll try the plug trick first -- I did notice that none of these old receivers have polarized plugs (and i remember other older electronics/home appliances being similar).

How does one go about identifying a death cap? I can just google it, too, if I'm being annoying with questions :)

My next project is an old Sony receiver that needs to be cleaned up; and I just got word from New England Hi-Fi finished fixing up my HK 330b. I dropped it off back in early July; they've apparently been slammed with repair work. I'm looking forward to hearing how ti sounds with both channels working again :)
 
just found this interesting thread on Death Caps on this very site, of course :)
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/confused-about-the-death-cap.547287/

"So when a regular cap fails in this type of circuit you can get full line voltage to the chassis. Not a nice feeling!!!"

oh man. Maybe it is failing, then. Perhaps since I've been firing it up intermittently over the last few weeks, that cap started to leak. I'll check it, and the plug idea, out! Thanks to you both :)
 
pumablues said:
I just got word from New England Hi-Fi finished fixing up my HK 330b. I dropped it off back in early July; they've apparently been slammed with repair work. I'm looking forward to hearing how ti sounds with both channels working again
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Just wondering if you've had a chance to get your HK 330b yet. If so, what did they have to do to it and how does it sound ?
 
infullview said:
Just wondering if you've had a chance to get your HK 330b yet. If so, what did they have to do to it and how does it sound ?
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Not yet, unfortunately. Maybe this weekend. I'll let you know; I'm hoping they did a write up the repairs, as I'm curious myself., I will say, the channel (i can't remember if it was left or right) that had output BEFORE I took it sounded quite nice :)
 
Here's ANOTHER random question for our little group :)

Has anyone heard of Lewis W. Thompson of Lewiston, ME? From what I've recently learned, he was an audio and music enthusiast, who happened to be blind. He apparently custom built speakers as a hobby for friends and people that were referred to him. I'm hopefully going to be buying a set from someone who had originally commissioned them from Mr. Thompson.

HIs son, Dana "Wally" Thompson passed this last February in Portland, from the quick research I've done.

New England is rife with so many interesting stories and companies around audiophilia. I was just wondering if any of you had heard of Mr. Thompson before.
 
As I understand it, they were one-offs, and he was a hobbyist -- though the account I received from the seller is that he may have built something close to 100 pairs over time. As far as I know, this was not a career for him. I don't know if he was associated with any of the known NE speaker companies; I have an inquiry in with the Lewiston library, because I'm just very curious about his story. He sounds pretty remarkable to me. The story I received is that he would design the speakers, and his son and wife would help him assemble them. His son, Dana "Wally" Lewis would assist in cutting and building the cabinets, from what I was told.
 
pumablues said:
As I understand it, they were one-offs, and he was a hobbyist -- though the account I received from the seller is that he may have built something close to 100 pairs over time
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Speaking of time, do you have any idea when they were built? If they were from the lat 50's early 60's they could have Jensen, EV or Altec drivers in them. The only speaker manufactured in Lewiston that I am aware of is KM Farnswoth Speaker System. For more info check out this link
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/farnsworth-speakers.258057/
 
Another random question. I have a Marantz 2235B and I bought a restoration kit from irebuildmarantz.com last winter, thinking I would tackle that. (I rebuilt a Fisher 500B several years ago). Now the itch to do that myself has faded. Is that something New England Hi-Fi would consider? There's roughly 70+ parts, mostly caps, some resistors, a new power switch and a relay. I'd like it rebuilt but I don't want to ship it. SoPo is only about 40 minutes from me.
 
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