dundurnish
New Member
Hi there,
New to the forum, and thought I'd post about my system. I've been enjoying all of your posts for a while and have found them most helpful when making buying decisions and simply for fun reading.
I am a recent audiophile, so not really an audiophile, at least not yet. I bought a German console stereo, a Loewe Lotus Opta, at auction for CAN$15 that reminded me why I listened to records when I was a teenager. Before I knew it, I had a record collection, and my father-in-law gifted me his Kenwood KR-A5020 receiver and I picked up a completely cleaned up Toshiba SA-420 turntable for CAN$125 and Mirage M90is bookshelf speakers CAN$90, and I was rolling. The lower end wasn't terrific, but it sounded pretty good.
And then my neighbour put out on the curb a pair of 200w Duntech Opal speakers in excellent cosmetic condition with foam, tweeters, etc., intact, with high-gauge speaker wire. They also left out an Insignia surround sound amp. I lugged them down the street (about 50 lb. each) at night so I didn't look like "that guy" and hooked them up to the Kenwood, and could hear only faint sounds. The Insignia powered up but nothing happened, which is probably why it was on the curb.
(not my photos; I dropped my camera recently)
I went to a local flea market where a highly knowledgeable and reputable vendor talked to me about various options to power the speakers (I was assuming they would work), and over the course of about five weeks I narrowed the selection down a mint reconditioned Sansui AU-719 at 90 watts (CAN$860) and a mint and equally well done Tandberg TR 2075 at 75 watts (CAN$880). Ultimately I bit on the Tandberg because of its looks, frankly, sacrificing 15 w for aesthetics. I love the blue lights, the tuning meter, the FM muting option (great for when the phone rings), and the hookups are easy and clearly marked.
(my photo, of the actual unit)
After some jigging, and some initial fear that the speakers were dead, it all came together and sounds wonderful. The FM in particular is tremendous. The phono preamp was weaker than I hoped so I picked up a Cambridge Audio CP2 Pre-Amp, which has done the trick. The sound is much fuller for all my vintage LPs.
I would say that the sound for this setup, overall, is excellent. I'm still missing out on some bass, but the midrange is phenomenal. For jazz, instrumental, and newer albums, I have zero qualms. For some hard rock sounds, I'm missing the lower end, but I'm happy. The Sansui is still for sale and I look at it every week.and, if I return enough beer bottles, I might still pick it up.
I apologize in advance if I've posted in the wrong forum or if it isn't cool to post values, and please, moderator, do repost this in the right spot if I've flubbed, but I figured since I'm not looking for anyone to tell me prices it would be okay. I'm having a great time in my man corner (my wife won't allow me an entire cave) listening to Floyd, Zeppelin, Brubeck, and much else on this setup, and now I fear I have the audiophile bug. Thanks for staying with me if you've read this far!
New to the forum, and thought I'd post about my system. I've been enjoying all of your posts for a while and have found them most helpful when making buying decisions and simply for fun reading.
I am a recent audiophile, so not really an audiophile, at least not yet. I bought a German console stereo, a Loewe Lotus Opta, at auction for CAN$15 that reminded me why I listened to records when I was a teenager. Before I knew it, I had a record collection, and my father-in-law gifted me his Kenwood KR-A5020 receiver and I picked up a completely cleaned up Toshiba SA-420 turntable for CAN$125 and Mirage M90is bookshelf speakers CAN$90, and I was rolling. The lower end wasn't terrific, but it sounded pretty good.
And then my neighbour put out on the curb a pair of 200w Duntech Opal speakers in excellent cosmetic condition with foam, tweeters, etc., intact, with high-gauge speaker wire. They also left out an Insignia surround sound amp. I lugged them down the street (about 50 lb. each) at night so I didn't look like "that guy" and hooked them up to the Kenwood, and could hear only faint sounds. The Insignia powered up but nothing happened, which is probably why it was on the curb.
(not my photos; I dropped my camera recently)
I went to a local flea market where a highly knowledgeable and reputable vendor talked to me about various options to power the speakers (I was assuming they would work), and over the course of about five weeks I narrowed the selection down a mint reconditioned Sansui AU-719 at 90 watts (CAN$860) and a mint and equally well done Tandberg TR 2075 at 75 watts (CAN$880). Ultimately I bit on the Tandberg because of its looks, frankly, sacrificing 15 w for aesthetics. I love the blue lights, the tuning meter, the FM muting option (great for when the phone rings), and the hookups are easy and clearly marked.
(my photo, of the actual unit)
After some jigging, and some initial fear that the speakers were dead, it all came together and sounds wonderful. The FM in particular is tremendous. The phono preamp was weaker than I hoped so I picked up a Cambridge Audio CP2 Pre-Amp, which has done the trick. The sound is much fuller for all my vintage LPs.
I would say that the sound for this setup, overall, is excellent. I'm still missing out on some bass, but the midrange is phenomenal. For jazz, instrumental, and newer albums, I have zero qualms. For some hard rock sounds, I'm missing the lower end, but I'm happy. The Sansui is still for sale and I look at it every week.and, if I return enough beer bottles, I might still pick it up.
I apologize in advance if I've posted in the wrong forum or if it isn't cool to post values, and please, moderator, do repost this in the right spot if I've flubbed, but I figured since I'm not looking for anyone to tell me prices it would be okay. I'm having a great time in my man corner (my wife won't allow me an entire cave) listening to Floyd, Zeppelin, Brubeck, and much else on this setup, and now I fear I have the audiophile bug. Thanks for staying with me if you've read this far!
