David Brehm
New Member
Hi AudioKarma members,
When I was 15 years old in 1979, I saved up my paper route earnings for six months and bought my first stereo receiver, a Technics SA-200, from Pacific Stereo in San Diego. That receiver was soon joined by a Technics SL-D2 turntable and an ADC Sound Shaper 110 graphic equalizer, and some Pioneer speakers.
This system turned out to be perfect for the advent of New Wave, which hit the scene just as I entered High School: the B-52's, the Cars, Elvis Costello, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, even AC-DC's "Back in Black" sounded amazing on my new stereo. Not to mention the classics from the decade before, such as Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
About the only thing I can remember from those days was that my Dad, whose bedroom was above mine, would constantly tell me to "turn it down", until one day I packed my beloved stereo into my Toyota Celica and headed off to college at Berkeley.
In college we hosted cocktail parties -- maybe I was trying to act like Anthony Michael Hall in "Sixteen Candles" -- and we needed some "cool jazz" to go with our martinis and mixed nuts. Berkeley is home to some amazing record stores so I headed down to Rasputin's on Telegraph Avenue to see what I could find. After looking through the stacks, I came upon what I thought would be the perfect cocktail-party record for $0.50 and the guy on the front cover had these horned rimmed glasses and looked ultra cool/nerdy. Little did I know at the time was that the musician turned out to be Dave Brubeck and I would become an ardent fan of his ever since, seeing him twice live in concert in San Diego...
So besides discovering 50's and 60's jazz in college, I also started moving to "CD's" and then eventually to MP3's. During this time, I "upgraded" my receiver to a Harmon Kardon and eventually a Denon. I went through multiple speakers during the next 30 years but my music never sounded quite right. There was always something missing. Did I not buy the right speakers? Were the digital receivers just different with all of their digital signal processing and fancy new features like stadium and arena settings? It was a bit frustrating but i had other priorities like my career and family at the time.
Fast forward about 38 years and I see an ad for my original Technics SA-200 receiver at an amazing Vintage stereo store here in Greenville, SC. Less than $100. Wow! Could this really be true? Would it really sound the same as it did when I was a teenager? So I visit the store and the owner, Albie, says to me, "you can buy the same stereo you owned as a teenager (with 35 watts per channel), or for another $85 you can buy one of the top-of-the-line Technics models of the day, the SA-616 (with 100 watts per channel). We call this receiver "The Beast" because it weighs a ton". Naturally, I bought "The Beast" and some Bose 4001 speakers, and a Yamaha turntable to go with them. Interestingly enough, Albie worked at Pacific Stereo in California back in the day. To complete the set, I even found my ADC Sound Shaper 10 for $35 on ebay.
I brought it all home and after trying it out a few different spots, I finally found the sound I was looking for all these years. It was also interesting how important the exact placement of the speakers had on the overall sound. I did some A/B testing using Spotify vs. an LP and then realized for the first time how much depth, warmth, and dimensionality was missing in my music. I lugged all my old records from California and lo and behold, they still sounded great. Only one of them was too warped to play.
I went back and talked with Albie and he said that the best receivers were made between 1979 and 1983 so he was not surprised that I did not find the same sound I liked in more modern receivers. I have now come full circle, the only difference is that now my wife is the one that tells me to "turn it down" all the time.
This re-discovery of my music spawned a new hobby -- more of an obsession now -- with learning more about electronics, hi-fidelity, and vintage stereo systems. I bought a few broken receivers on ebay to learn on, and also a Technics SL-D2 turntable, which I hope to diagnose and repair soon as my skills improve. A used oscilloscope is on the way.
So I hope to be a contributing member to Audio Karma and help others discover a new world in analog audio...I'm starting with my kids, I bought their favorite albums on 180 gram vinyl so it will be interesting to see if they like it more than their phones and bluetooth speakers they use today for music...
Thanks for hosting this forum. I look forward to meeting some of you online in the near future.
Regards,
David Brehm
When I was 15 years old in 1979, I saved up my paper route earnings for six months and bought my first stereo receiver, a Technics SA-200, from Pacific Stereo in San Diego. That receiver was soon joined by a Technics SL-D2 turntable and an ADC Sound Shaper 110 graphic equalizer, and some Pioneer speakers.
This system turned out to be perfect for the advent of New Wave, which hit the scene just as I entered High School: the B-52's, the Cars, Elvis Costello, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, even AC-DC's "Back in Black" sounded amazing on my new stereo. Not to mention the classics from the decade before, such as Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
About the only thing I can remember from those days was that my Dad, whose bedroom was above mine, would constantly tell me to "turn it down", until one day I packed my beloved stereo into my Toyota Celica and headed off to college at Berkeley.
In college we hosted cocktail parties -- maybe I was trying to act like Anthony Michael Hall in "Sixteen Candles" -- and we needed some "cool jazz" to go with our martinis and mixed nuts. Berkeley is home to some amazing record stores so I headed down to Rasputin's on Telegraph Avenue to see what I could find. After looking through the stacks, I came upon what I thought would be the perfect cocktail-party record for $0.50 and the guy on the front cover had these horned rimmed glasses and looked ultra cool/nerdy. Little did I know at the time was that the musician turned out to be Dave Brubeck and I would become an ardent fan of his ever since, seeing him twice live in concert in San Diego...
So besides discovering 50's and 60's jazz in college, I also started moving to "CD's" and then eventually to MP3's. During this time, I "upgraded" my receiver to a Harmon Kardon and eventually a Denon. I went through multiple speakers during the next 30 years but my music never sounded quite right. There was always something missing. Did I not buy the right speakers? Were the digital receivers just different with all of their digital signal processing and fancy new features like stadium and arena settings? It was a bit frustrating but i had other priorities like my career and family at the time.
Fast forward about 38 years and I see an ad for my original Technics SA-200 receiver at an amazing Vintage stereo store here in Greenville, SC. Less than $100. Wow! Could this really be true? Would it really sound the same as it did when I was a teenager? So I visit the store and the owner, Albie, says to me, "you can buy the same stereo you owned as a teenager (with 35 watts per channel), or for another $85 you can buy one of the top-of-the-line Technics models of the day, the SA-616 (with 100 watts per channel). We call this receiver "The Beast" because it weighs a ton". Naturally, I bought "The Beast" and some Bose 4001 speakers, and a Yamaha turntable to go with them. Interestingly enough, Albie worked at Pacific Stereo in California back in the day. To complete the set, I even found my ADC Sound Shaper 10 for $35 on ebay.
I brought it all home and after trying it out a few different spots, I finally found the sound I was looking for all these years. It was also interesting how important the exact placement of the speakers had on the overall sound. I did some A/B testing using Spotify vs. an LP and then realized for the first time how much depth, warmth, and dimensionality was missing in my music. I lugged all my old records from California and lo and behold, they still sounded great. Only one of them was too warped to play.
I went back and talked with Albie and he said that the best receivers were made between 1979 and 1983 so he was not surprised that I did not find the same sound I liked in more modern receivers. I have now come full circle, the only difference is that now my wife is the one that tells me to "turn it down" all the time.
This re-discovery of my music spawned a new hobby -- more of an obsession now -- with learning more about electronics, hi-fidelity, and vintage stereo systems. I bought a few broken receivers on ebay to learn on, and also a Technics SL-D2 turntable, which I hope to diagnose and repair soon as my skills improve. A used oscilloscope is on the way.
So I hope to be a contributing member to Audio Karma and help others discover a new world in analog audio...I'm starting with my kids, I bought their favorite albums on 180 gram vinyl so it will be interesting to see if they like it more than their phones and bluetooth speakers they use today for music...
Thanks for hosting this forum. I look forward to meeting some of you online in the near future.
Regards,
David Brehm
