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I Finally Signed Up!

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Wildstyle_Au

New Member
Banned
Yes.....after staying in the background, actually while I amassed some decent gear:D, and reading about all the fine gear the forum members seem to have I signed up. I'm a fan of Technics and Pioneer from the glory days around the mid 70s to late 80s (read the time before everything became plastic fantastic!). A couple of years ago I gave up the Sub / satellite setup, which whilst powerful (500W RMS) never seemed to have any musicality,:music: and started buying vintage gear when and where I came upon it and could afford it!

I started with a Technics SU-G50 amp, SL-PD6 Multi CD Player, ST-K50 Tuner, SL-BD20 Turntable and a pair of Jamo D-365 speakers. The Jamo speakers were in great condition but for some strange reason, considering I bought them off an old guy in his 70s, had blown mids and a horn tweeter. I also had from my younger days a set of Infinity RS-3000 speakers which I bought new in the mid 80s and this small set-up kept me happy for a while.

I will expand on the collection in later posts but for now..........glad to be here:banana: and hope to be able to learn and make a contribution when and where I can.
 
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More of my story!

Thanks for all the warm welcomes........it is good to see people taking the time to welcome a newbie!
Now for more of my story! After acquiring the basic setup I detailed in my intro I began enjoying music like I had back in my 20s; even bringing out the vinyl collection and resurrecting all the old Anti-Static spray and record cleaners! Then the bug bit and I started to search for additions.

First to change was the turntable. The Technics SL-BD20 was in mint condition but seemed a bit basic. I have always wanted a Technics Direct Drive (read SL-1200) although most of the good ones are beyond my meager budget. I found a chap selling a SL-1300 Mk2 which needed some repairs and believing my restoration skills to be much better than they actually are:nono: bought it in the hope it would be a cheap alternative. I had to sell the SL-BD20 to fund the purchase but this was a bad move since the SL-1300 had more issues than I could solve. Even worse, on one occasion trying to listen to an old LP of mine the ground lead came off my amplifier. Result........huge feedback and two blown / burnt tweeters on my precious Infinity speakers!:tears: Not long after that the SL-1300 Mk2 was sold and in turn a Pioneer PL-120 took its place!

Next to be added to the collection was a set of Technics SB-X500A speakers which I remembered being "high-end" back in 83 when they came out. I actually bought 2 sets; one here in Aus. and another mint set in Canada. Sadly, the second set is still sitting in the US:tears: waiting for me to save up the US$450 it will cost to ship them out here. If not for the fact they look like they just came off the production line I would ditch them and buy something else but save I will and they will grace my lounge soon!:yes:

I then went on something of a buying spree! In quick succession came a set of Marantz HD-550 speakers (which I am doing a full restoration / building new boxes on and will submit an article later), A Rotel RP-310 Turntable, 3 Pioneer amps (SA-940 and 2 x SA-520), 3 Pioneer equilisers (SG-300 and 2 x SG-550) plus 3 Pioneer tuners and a couple of cassette decks. I also hit pay dirt when I found a chap wanting to sell a set of what he called "old Technics Speakers" which I promptly offered to buy off him. Seeing that I was something of a collector he sold me the Technics SB-4500A Linear Phase speakers for $250 but also threw in all his other gear including a Technics SU-7200 Amp, ST-7300 Tuner, RS-631 Cassette Deck, SL-P150 CD Player and genuine Technics SH-811 Audio Rack!:thmbsp: I found a set of mint Pioneer S-Z93D Speakers for $10 and set up my son with his own system. Best to get the young interested in this gear rather than the cheap junk on the market these days! Thankfully he has taken a great interest in the topic and does a lot of research looking for vintage gear he then pesters his old man to buy for him!:D It was he who found a set of Denon VS-56Ed Omnidirectional Speakers which I could not go past on purely collectible status.

My latest find was a set of Pioneer HPM-60 Speakers out in the countryside. A bit of negotiating, 5 hours driving and the sale of the now repaired Jamo D-365 speakers saw me add these to my collection. What fantastic speakers they are! I cannot stop listening to all my music collection through them and marvel at the sound each time. I was hoping to one day save up enough to buy a set of Yamaha NS-1000 or JBL Century 100L speakers but now see no reason to; and that is a big call on my behalf!

Oh well.....this post has gone on long enough! Suffice to say that the collection is now larger than my lounge can cope with; or my wife wants to tolerate!:D I have managed to find really nice items which whilst not in the mega budget league provides me with many hours of listening enjoyment. All my gear has owners manuals; with some even having the original purchase documents! I am now buying period advertising materials to frame and add visual atmosphere to the collection.

Oh what fun this vintage audio collecting....oops sorry....obsession is!:thmbsp:
 
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