• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

I have no idea where to start. new to hifi?

xtiandeath

xtiandeath

New Member
So I've inherited my fathers stereo. Its large. kind of intimidating. and I'm a noob. I'll put up some photos of the room and the system. or at least the parts of it I have. Im located in the Bay Area in california and work in a kitchen, so my funds aren't all going towards this, but I would like to listen to something at a reasonably loud volume and have it sound perfect.

I think I went about it right by attaching "your media" but please let me know if you need any more information. I don't even know how to hook this stuff up or what I need. or if the room is too small. can or would you even want to hook your tv up to something like this? or is that overkill?
IMG_0355

IMG_0355

IMG_0354

IMG_0354

IMG_0353

IMG_0353

IMG_0352

IMG_0352

IMG_0351

IMG_0351

IMG_0350

IMG_0350

IMG_0355

IMG_0355

IMG_0349

IMG_0349

IMG_0348

IMG_0348

IMG_0346

IMG_0346

IMG_0345

IMG_0345

  • Media owner xtiandeath
  • Date added
  • Comments 1
IMG_0342

IMG_0342

IMG_0341

IMG_0341

IMG_0339

IMG_0339

IMG_0338

IMG_0338

IMG_0337

IMG_0337

IMG_0335

IMG_0335

[GALLERY=media, 12279]IMG_0333 by xtiandeath posted Oct 26, 2017 at 11:39 PM[/GALLERY]
IMG_0332

IMG_0332

IMG_0331

IMG_0331

 
Register to hide this ad
Seems like you have all the necessary pieces to have a fully functioning system. Should sound good. Assuming you have interconnects and speaker wire?

Chances are you can hook up a TV to it if you want, but would need more info on your TV and TV sources (cable box, etc).

Whereabouts in the Bay Area are you?
 
Well,to be honest a lot of that stuff is'nt really needed to get started.
So you can ignore a good bit of it till much,much later on.

You only need one of those Adcom GFA-555 power amps to get started,does'nt really matter which one either.
That SAE piece is the preamp,so you're gonna need that too.
And of course you'll need one pair of those Infinity speakers (your choice here).

That SAE preamp is used to connect the Adcom power amp to any sources.
It's also controls the volume,selects the source,and tone adjustment.

Sources I'd use here would likely be the TT -and/or- the Kenwood tuner.
I would'nt mess with the cassette deck for now,odds are it needs fresh belts anyways.
Same with the reel to reel unit,that also likely needs some attention,just shove that aside for now too.

The smaller input selector box would only be needed if you run outta inputs on the SAE preamp,and for now that's not likely.
So you can ingore that for now as well.

You'll need stereo RCA patch cables to connect any of the sources you opt to use.
And you'l need another stereo RCA patch cable to connect the preamp & amp.
Also you'll need two seperate lengths of speaker wire to connect the speakers to the power amp.

That would be where I'd start.

So to start here,gather up the:
TT & tuner as sources.
SAE preamp & Adcom Power amp.
One pr. of Infinity speakers.

Then locate (or buy) 3 stereo RCA cables of appropriate length to connect the sources to the preamp,and the preamp to the power amp.
And locate (or buy) some 14-16ga speaker wire (nothing fancy just to get started,you can worry more about that later if you want to).

From there it's pretty basic,look at the back of the SAE preamp and study which of the sources connect to which inputs on the preamp.
Note that these inputs are marked for left and right channels,so make sure these are the same on both the source component and the preamp.
The output on the SAE preamp gets connected to the Adcom power amp's input,again making sure the L & R channels are the same on both units.

Then you connect the speaker wires.
You need to make sure the + terminal on the power amp's speaker output is connected to the + terminal on the speaker.
Same is done for the negative speaker wire(s) for each channel.

Then and only then you can connect the power cables and fire it all up and see if it works.

Now many here are gonna advise you get all this checked out before firing it up,and that's not bad advice at all.
Especially seeing as those Adcom power amps dont have speaker protection relays.
But that's a judgement call on your part.

That should about cover it.
Good luck with this.

Bret P.
 
Last edited:
I'd recommend that you use the RS5b speakers to begin with, the RSIIIb's have a car stereo woofer where a real Infinity woofer needs to be. That can be sorted out when you can locate a proper replacement and have the funds to purchase it. The RS5b's are really good speakers, I had a pair several years ago and they could get loud, real loud.
 
Last edited:
captouch said:
Seems like you have all the necessary pieces to have a fully functioning system. Should sound good. Assuming you have interconnects and speaker wire?

Chances are you can hook up a TV to it if you want, but would need more info on your TV and TV sources (cable box, etc).

Whereabouts in the Bay Area are you?
Click to expand...

I'm in Berkeley.
 
xero-D-hero said:
Well,to be honest a lot of that stuff is'nt really needed to get started.
So you can ignore a good bit of it till much,much later on.

You only need one of those Adcom GFA-555 power amps to get started,does'nt really matter which one either.
That SAE piece is the preamp,so you're gonna need that too.
And of course you'll need one pair of those Infinity speakers (your choice here).

That SAE preamp is used to connect the Adcom power amp to any sources.
It's also controls the volume,selects the source,and tone adjustment.

Sources I'd use here would likely be the TT -and/or- the Kenwood tuner.
I would'nt mess with the cassette deck for now,odds are it needs fresh belts anyways.
Same with the reel to reel unit,that also likely needs some attention,just shove that aside for now too.

The smaller input selector box would only be needed if you run outta inputs on the SAE preamp,and for now that's not likely.
So you can ingore that for now as well.

You'll need stereo RCA patch cables to connect any of the sources you opt to use.
And you'l need another stereo RCA patch cable to connect the preamp & amp.
Also you'll need two seperate lengths of speaker wire to connect the speakers to the power amp.

That would be where I'd start.

So to start here,gather up the:
TT & tuner as sources.
SAE preamp & Adcom Power amp.
One pr. of Infinity speakers.

Then locate (or buy) 3 stereo RCA cables of appropriate length to connect the sources to the preamp,and the preamp to the power amp.
And locate (or buy) some 14-16ga speaker wire (nothing fancy just to get started,you can worry more about that later if you want to).

From there it's pretty basic,look at the back of the SAE preamp and study which of the sources connect to which inputs on the preamp.
Note that these inputs are marked for left and right channels,so make sure these are the same on both the source component and the preamp.
The output on the SAE preamp gets connected to the Adcom power amp's input,again making sure the L & R channels are the same on both units.

Then you connect the speaker wires.
You need to make sure the + terminal on the power amp's speaker output is connected to the + terminal on the speaker.
Same is done for the negative speaker wire(s) for each channel.

Then and only then you can connect the power cables and fire it all up and see if it works.

Now many here are gonna advise you get all this checked out before firing it up,and that's not bad advice at all.
Especially seeing as those Adcom power amps dont have speaker protection relays.
But that's a judgement call on your part.

That should about cover it.
Good luck with this.

Bret P.
Click to expand...
Awesome. I can't wait to get started. thanks for the input! I'll update with photos when finished.
 
darkblue94 said:
I'd recommend that you use the RS5b speakers to begin with, the RSIIIb's have a car stereo woofer where a real Infinity woofer needs to be. That can be sorted out when you can when you can locate a proper replacement and have the funds to purchase it. The RS5b's are really good speakers, I had a pair several years ago and they could get loud, real loud.
Click to expand...
I noticed the "hella beat" in there and thought it odd. I'll definitely start with the 5b and maybe start the refurbishing/replacing project some other time.
 
I'd setup the speakers, one of the power amps (which I would hide from view), the preamp. Connect a APTX BT box to a AUX or TAPE input, the TV to another, and the reel to reel to TAPE2 (just becaue its a cool piece of gear)

If you like vinyl, set up the TT next to the preamp.
 
That SAE will be a bit of trouble to learn, not to get started but to understand all it can do because of the parametric equalizer offered instead of tone controls. But the right side of the unit will be easier to learn and use and that is the part you need to get going.

Grab the owners manuals from sites you need to join but they don't send you anything, just join and download.
Hifi-manuals.com has
Adcom (both amps)
SAE 2800 (a parametric equalizer, not a preamp) this will explain the EQ section of your 2900

HiFiEngine has
Pioneer RT-707

http://jims-sae-site.com/manual_schematics.htm has
SAE 2900 but requests a dachshund rescue donation

The Onkyo TA-2028 (is that right?), can't find a manual but other cassette deck manuals may be enough to get that knowledge.

Don't know the turntable but can tell it is not up to the performance level of the rest of the gear.

Now that you have some manuals to look over, I'd get that gear all cleaned up. Here is the thread on that: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/the-idiots-guide-to-using-deoxit-revisited.207005/

The cables you need and hooking up some stuff and you are ready to see what you have. I'd evaluate each component. Caution with the Adcom amps. If they don't work they can destroy speakers. I'll let someone else address this lack of speaker protection relay in these amps and what to do about it or how to check it before you do anything. If you know they work, give em a try. Otherwise, I would be figuring out how to check em before hooking them up to speakers.

Need a cassette to test that machine, thrift stores can have these. A 7" reel of tape and a 7" empty reel to test the Pioneer so they can wait.

Don't know the model number of the Kenwood tuner but the operation of a tuner isn't hard. Plugged in properly and with some kind of antenna, even a single chunk of wire hooked up to one of the 300Ω connections should get you some stations.

Keep this thread going as you get the rig set up or start a post for each unit if you want to and with the item in the title you should get folks that know that unit posting to help. Amp and preamp in Solid State, Kenwood in Tuners, you get the idea.

Good luck you have some fine gear there.
 
You have some nice gear there! As previously posted, keep the thread alive w/progress reports. And, as always...there are NO stupid questions...ask away! BTW...can't place the turntable...make & model?
 
so just to start. the pair of rb5, the equalizer, the adcom power amp gfa555, an onkyo CD player, an auxiliary cable for phone play(cause who doesn't like playing dj), and my audio technica crap TT. I wish I had a better one but money is tight and I need a place to put it before I go get a really nice one.
actually gonna go to a couple thrift stores to see if I can find some sort of stand or something today. I know the chair is in the way of everything but I have nowhere else to put it. it sounds good. when you press the buttons on the SAE preamp it gets static. I don't know what the levers do on it either. It doesn't seem to change the sound really while playing music. at least not noticeably. the first thing I played through was Type O Negative- World coming down. It can get very loud.

any advice?

IMG_0356.JPG
 
Sorry to hear about losing your dad. When you get the stereo sorted out it should be a gift that you can remember him by for a long time.
 
I wrote a whole damn thing about how your SAE works and when I clicked on one of your pics, it got eaten before I could post it. :dunno:

Find the IN/OUT or TONE/DEFEAT switch on the left side and turn off the equalizer section for now. Listen to your system 'flat' for awhile and see how you like it, then decide whether you need to mess with tone controls. This is actually a cool and very flexible set of tone controls once you learn how to use it.

BTW you can also post pics by clicking UPLOAD A FILE at the bottom of the text entry box. Browse for your pic, click on it, it will appear at the bottom of your post and you can select THUMBNAIL or FULL SIZE. Full size will put it right into your text.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom