Livin4
Well-Known Member
A little background, I have a EE degree, but really haven't done any design work in over 20 years, and not much component level troubleshooting in over 10. Now it's mostly board or module swap.
I spent almost 10 years repairing consumer electronics, but never really understood how the different materials used in the manufacture of the components could affect the sound quality. My thinking was influenced by my previous supposition that a cap was a cap.
My 9001 was given to me back in 1990 by a friend who worked at the shop I was working in at the time. He said that he had an "old" stereo that didn't work and was kicking around in his basement, and that he really didn't want, and asked if I would be interested. With some reservations, I said yes, as the receiver I was using at the time (an Akai AA-1030 which I still have) couldn't drive the DBX Soundfield V's I had just bought.
When he brought it in, I started to drool, :drool: I couldn't believe he didn't want it. I managed to find a schematic at another shop, but the guy wanted me to bring it in to him for repair. I almost had to beg to get a copy. If I remember correctly, I paid him $20 for a copy of it, with the promise that I would let him copy manuals that we had, if he needed them. It had 1 bad channel, I found most of the transistors were toast, some bad caps, and resistors smoked as well.
After I repaired it, (for about $60 in parts I think) I couldn't believe the sound. At the time I only had 2 speakers, so it was always in 2 channel mode. I enjoyed it for several years before I got married. After I got married we really didn't have the room, as we lived in a mobile home, I was also afraid that my step sons would crank it, and blow it or the speakers when I was not there. And then my daughters got kittens... There was NO way I was going to let those little fur balls destroy the grills. So the 9001 and speakers sat (safe) in my parents basement. I bought a pair of Nova 18's, and we used the Akai, at 30 wpc, I didn't think they could blow the nova's.
When we finally bought a house, we still had cats, and now I was more afraid that the step-sons friends might steal it, so again it sat. In 2002 my wife died, and the step-sons were no longer around, and the cats were now outside pets! So I dug the 9001 out, hooked it up with the DBX's on the front, and the Nova's on the rear. It still sounded good, but I thought could hear some distortion, but did not have the money or time to look into it further. I used it intermittently for about 3 years, then I had a water leak in my basement, so all my audio equipment was moved and stored in another DRY room while the basement was remodeled.
Well here it is 7 years later, the Akai is still in regular use in my "library", and sounds ok, it needs some tuner work, and could really benefit from a re-cap. Ok, it just the spare bedroom that I have all my books and computer gear in, but a man can dream right?. And I picked up a JVC RX-888VB with remote from the local GW for $20, (just needed the volume control cleaned) to use for the big screen. Its running a set of Cerwin Vega HED's on the front, and the Nova 18's on the rear.
Here are some pics.
And for those affectionados of the solid state form.
So begins the odyssey....
I spent almost 10 years repairing consumer electronics, but never really understood how the different materials used in the manufacture of the components could affect the sound quality. My thinking was influenced by my previous supposition that a cap was a cap.
My 9001 was given to me back in 1990 by a friend who worked at the shop I was working in at the time. He said that he had an "old" stereo that didn't work and was kicking around in his basement, and that he really didn't want, and asked if I would be interested. With some reservations, I said yes, as the receiver I was using at the time (an Akai AA-1030 which I still have) couldn't drive the DBX Soundfield V's I had just bought.
When he brought it in, I started to drool, :drool: I couldn't believe he didn't want it. I managed to find a schematic at another shop, but the guy wanted me to bring it in to him for repair. I almost had to beg to get a copy. If I remember correctly, I paid him $20 for a copy of it, with the promise that I would let him copy manuals that we had, if he needed them. It had 1 bad channel, I found most of the transistors were toast, some bad caps, and resistors smoked as well.
After I repaired it, (for about $60 in parts I think) I couldn't believe the sound. At the time I only had 2 speakers, so it was always in 2 channel mode. I enjoyed it for several years before I got married. After I got married we really didn't have the room, as we lived in a mobile home, I was also afraid that my step sons would crank it, and blow it or the speakers when I was not there. And then my daughters got kittens... There was NO way I was going to let those little fur balls destroy the grills. So the 9001 and speakers sat (safe) in my parents basement. I bought a pair of Nova 18's, and we used the Akai, at 30 wpc, I didn't think they could blow the nova's.
When we finally bought a house, we still had cats, and now I was more afraid that the step-sons friends might steal it, so again it sat. In 2002 my wife died, and the step-sons were no longer around, and the cats were now outside pets! So I dug the 9001 out, hooked it up with the DBX's on the front, and the Nova's on the rear. It still sounded good, but I thought could hear some distortion, but did not have the money or time to look into it further. I used it intermittently for about 3 years, then I had a water leak in my basement, so all my audio equipment was moved and stored in another DRY room while the basement was remodeled.
Well here it is 7 years later, the Akai is still in regular use in my "library", and sounds ok, it needs some tuner work, and could really benefit from a re-cap. Ok, it just the spare bedroom that I have all my books and computer gear in, but a man can dream right?. And I picked up a JVC RX-888VB with remote from the local GW for $20, (just needed the volume control cleaned) to use for the big screen. Its running a set of Cerwin Vega HED's on the front, and the Nova 18's on the rear.
Here are some pics.
And for those affectionados of the solid state form.
So begins the odyssey....
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