Hello all. I’ve been lurking for a week or so. This seems like a great forum, so I decided to jump in. I live in Austin, Texas. I will be 56 next month, so the ‘70’s gear was what I lusted after in my late teens and early twenties. This “introduction story” is going to end with a piece of that gear. I have a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Texas Austin and I work in the area of ballistics research, hence the screen name. I am not as into this hobby as many here (I have plenty of others), but I do want a system that sounds nice. I do have a bunch of pesky “noobie” questions, but those can wait at least a bit.
My first home stereo was in my early teens. I wanted a stereo, so my Mom took the opportunity to acquire a new piece of furniture. Nice enough furniture, but not the stereo I had in mind. I think the brand was Phillips or Philco, but I’m not sure. I never could seem to afford the Pioneer, Marantz, or Sansui stuff I lusted for, so the next thing was a pretty mediocre Panasonic 4-channel I bought when quad was going make stereo obsolete. The turntable was a Panasonic “changer” that I had the sense to operate as a single play. There was also a Panasonic Dolby B cassette deck. It was better than the receiver, but not by a lot.
When I got my Master’s degree in 1983, I decided to treat myself to a “real” system. The McIntosh stuff was still too pricey, and the store that sold it was run by a bunch of pretty snobby folks. A more easy going audio store (Audio Concepts, if anyone here is familiar with ‘70’s, ‘80’s Austin) pushed Yamaha and they also carried Nakamichi. I HAD to have the Nak, because this was back when the idea was to get your good vinyl on tape and then play the tapes. CD was just getting going then, and both the gear and CD’s were expensive.
So, I went in looking for the big, beautiful receiver I had always wanted. I guess I was thinking a Yamaha CR-840 or so, and they said “Those are no more, but we have the great new Yamaha R-700.” When it was all done, Yamaha R-700, a Yamaha turntable (don’t remember which), a Nakamichi BX-2, and a pair of Boston Acoustics A100’s (sequential serial numbers on the Bostons.)
The turntable didn’t last long. I discovered Linn. I couldn’t afford it either, but I ran onto a good deal on a Heybrook with a Linn Basik arm and Linn Basik cartridge. Still have it, still love it.
The Nakamichi is still plugging along fine, but it did get the “gear modification” to the drive sometime in the past. I don’t remember when. I discovered a good repair guy in Austin with a BS in Electrical Engineering, also from UT (1983.) He is still making a living messing with the gear he loves, and he has always been honest and fair with me (Austin Stereo, if anyone cares.)
The Boston’s are still with me. I did have to replace the woofers (actually, the A100’s are only 2-ways) sometime back, but Boston Acoustics makes that cheap enough and it is easy.
Somewhere in there a Nakamichi CDPlayer4 was added to the cabinet.
Now, the R-700 sounds nice enough, but I have never liked the tuner. It has only five presets, and I guess five on AM as well. There is no manual override, let alone a “direct entry” function. It never seems to “tune in” some stations well. Maybe it is OK if you are willing to work with its idiosyncrasies, but it never has suited me. I was never a big fan of the “Spatial Expander”, and it always seemed odd to me they put that on their units when their big selling pitch is “natural sound.” I do like the “Variable Loudness”, though it seems to cut too much to me when it is above about “4” or thereabouts. So, at that point, I do simply back down the volume. Some number of years ago a channel went out and it needed the big (for an IC) “power IC.” (Forgive me if I misname it. Remember, I’m an ME, not an EE.) The rotary “Input” and “Record Out” switches were giving me trouble a bit over a year ago, so in it went for a cleaning, some soldering, and the replacement of a few caps. I like the layout and function of those switches, but they do seem somewhat problematic. Those went on the fritz again last week, so in it went again.
So, thank you for the opportunity to join and to introduce myself. For the end of the story, you are going to have to go the Marantz forum . . .
My first home stereo was in my early teens. I wanted a stereo, so my Mom took the opportunity to acquire a new piece of furniture. Nice enough furniture, but not the stereo I had in mind. I think the brand was Phillips or Philco, but I’m not sure. I never could seem to afford the Pioneer, Marantz, or Sansui stuff I lusted for, so the next thing was a pretty mediocre Panasonic 4-channel I bought when quad was going make stereo obsolete. The turntable was a Panasonic “changer” that I had the sense to operate as a single play. There was also a Panasonic Dolby B cassette deck. It was better than the receiver, but not by a lot.
When I got my Master’s degree in 1983, I decided to treat myself to a “real” system. The McIntosh stuff was still too pricey, and the store that sold it was run by a bunch of pretty snobby folks. A more easy going audio store (Audio Concepts, if anyone here is familiar with ‘70’s, ‘80’s Austin) pushed Yamaha and they also carried Nakamichi. I HAD to have the Nak, because this was back when the idea was to get your good vinyl on tape and then play the tapes. CD was just getting going then, and both the gear and CD’s were expensive.
So, I went in looking for the big, beautiful receiver I had always wanted. I guess I was thinking a Yamaha CR-840 or so, and they said “Those are no more, but we have the great new Yamaha R-700.” When it was all done, Yamaha R-700, a Yamaha turntable (don’t remember which), a Nakamichi BX-2, and a pair of Boston Acoustics A100’s (sequential serial numbers on the Bostons.)
The turntable didn’t last long. I discovered Linn. I couldn’t afford it either, but I ran onto a good deal on a Heybrook with a Linn Basik arm and Linn Basik cartridge. Still have it, still love it.
The Nakamichi is still plugging along fine, but it did get the “gear modification” to the drive sometime in the past. I don’t remember when. I discovered a good repair guy in Austin with a BS in Electrical Engineering, also from UT (1983.) He is still making a living messing with the gear he loves, and he has always been honest and fair with me (Austin Stereo, if anyone cares.)
The Boston’s are still with me. I did have to replace the woofers (actually, the A100’s are only 2-ways) sometime back, but Boston Acoustics makes that cheap enough and it is easy.
Somewhere in there a Nakamichi CDPlayer4 was added to the cabinet.
Now, the R-700 sounds nice enough, but I have never liked the tuner. It has only five presets, and I guess five on AM as well. There is no manual override, let alone a “direct entry” function. It never seems to “tune in” some stations well. Maybe it is OK if you are willing to work with its idiosyncrasies, but it never has suited me. I was never a big fan of the “Spatial Expander”, and it always seemed odd to me they put that on their units when their big selling pitch is “natural sound.” I do like the “Variable Loudness”, though it seems to cut too much to me when it is above about “4” or thereabouts. So, at that point, I do simply back down the volume. Some number of years ago a channel went out and it needed the big (for an IC) “power IC.” (Forgive me if I misname it. Remember, I’m an ME, not an EE.) The rotary “Input” and “Record Out” switches were giving me trouble a bit over a year ago, so in it went for a cleaning, some soldering, and the replacement of a few caps. I like the layout and function of those switches, but they do seem somewhat problematic. Those went on the fritz again last week, so in it went again.
So, thank you for the opportunity to join and to introduce myself. For the end of the story, you are going to have to go the Marantz forum . . .
