My Vintage Collection: Time for some Housekeeping - or not?

[Family_Dog]

NOTE:
This is more or less a copy from my thread on the other forum, I will attempt to post what I can but there are many subsequent posts by people who no longer appear to be active on either forum and the pics they posted at the time are no longer showing. So, very much a work in progress.
---
I felt somewhat depressed this afternoon looking at my vintage audio bits-'n-bobs lying all over the house and decided its perhaps time to make some changes. So I started to browse through this collection of vintage audio products and perhaps decide whether it's time to get rid of some stuff. I figured over the next few weeks I'll connect various bits & pieces up and try make a heart-rendering decision about what stays, what goes.

So the first items appear as thus:



Wharfedale Super12 RS/DD Full Range Speakers







The Leak Stereo 30 & Troughline FM Tuner are a perfect match and the sound quality is just a little better than average - 10/10.

The Wharfedale 12" Super 12 RS/DD Speakers are mounted in a wooden cabinet as described in one of G.A. Briggs Loudspeaker books. All photos are of my own original units but I have not yet taken a pic of the enclosures, might do that sometime but it is very similar to the Goodmans 212 described elsewhere.


Verdict:
This combo is a keeper and will not be added to the C-A-D pile.


-F_D

 

[Family_Dog]

This is going to take a while. I am enjoying the very clean sound that Leaks are favoured for, had to spray the RCA jack that the tuner plugs into with some contact cleaner as the sound came & went every few minutes but it's as solid as a rock now.

House the lot in a seperate building for display purposes.

Every room in my house suffers this problem, as well as my garages and store room

Here is a crappy cell-phone snap of the Wharfie cabinet (popular shape in the 60s )


The two amps on top: Pioneer SX-737 and Sansui G-2000SS


The Pioneer was bought sight unseen from a place in PE. It was an American unit that only had a 110V AC mains input, it did not take kindly to the full 240V AC or whatever voltage PE uses. I bought it for R250 on the off-chance I might get it to work and indeed I did, even finding a 0 - 110 - 240V transformer for it in the USA of all places! It did sterling service with those same Wharfedales until all the pilot lights popped. I imported some from Germany oust, miniature ES types that were marked 8v but they popped again. Our friend Ingvar has promised to send me some 8v bulbs from Norway, I assume they are in the great big parcel pile-up at the SA Post Office somewhere.

The top amp is a very good-looking Sansui G-2000SS, works perfectly and was connected to the Wharfies when I disconnected the Pioneer. All bulbs etc in the Sansui are perfect and it is a very nice piece of gear, yet somehow the audio quality to me seems very un-Sansui, almost muddy. I have never opened it so maybe it could do with some TLC. I need to clean up the cheesy boomy bass a bit.



Verdict:
The Pioneer is a keeper, but it needs new 8v MES globes and a touch of contact cleaner on the tuning cap.
The Sansui - possibly a keeper because of its sexy looks, but the audio quality needs to be sorted. Not a very pleasant audio experience.

EDIT: The Sansui plays VERY well with another pair of Wharfedale Modus Speakers - audio quality is a match made in Heaven!


-F_D

 

[HB.]

Looking forward to the potential offerings.
Subscribed.

 

[Family_Dog]

Sir, I need to take some pics. Here are some old ones that I took a while ago to try remind me what I have where...

Sansui AU-777, TU-777 playing through AR-100 speakers



Pioneer Prelude 4000A Quad Tuner/Amp/KKcqp2Hx]


Old rescued Garrard 301 Grease-Bearing lying on a 401 plinth



SME 3009 Arm which needs to be fitted to the above plinth


Sansui Linear Tracking PM-7


These all still need to evaluated, except for the AU-777 batch, which is connected and playing just luvverly

The 301 may - or not - go, as I have a few of them but no decisions yet.

EDIT: Nah.... I will lovingly keep it!!

The SME is a keeper!

Someone ages ago expressed interest in the PM-7, but I can't recall who.

EDIT: Gone to Jaded Gem!

The Pioneer, as always, simply looks good! Guess when I tire of the Leak setup, I will connect that up to the Wharfies.


More pics later, the stuff is not all stored in a place suitable for taking pics.


-F_D

 

[Family_Dog]

It's taken me over an hour just to resize pics & copy over three posts! Will carry on later, Doggies are looking very sternly at me - it is their feeding time!

-F_D

 

[naboo]

Drooling... How many 301s lurks around? I prefer a lighter colour plinth with the cream colour. @fredeb post a pic of yours? Beautiful tt that.

 

[chrisc]

Note to self: Avoid temptation

 

[MusicMan]

If the old Garrard 301 grease bearing comes up for sale again, please let me know!

 

[Family_Dog]

In reply to JohnnyIC, I have Sansui TU-666 and TU-777 tuners, all connected to their respective amps. One of the TU-666 tuners was going to be dumped by its owner because he claimed it did not work. I offered to take it off his hands, fixed it and today it's my prime workshop tuner, coupled to an old Sony TA-70 amplifier. I thought i had a TU-555, but just had a quick squiz and cannot see it, so if I do, it might be packed away. If I don't, means I've gotta find one!

And so it goes on...


-F_D

 

[Family_Dog]

Anybody recall the Golden Age of that marvellous invention - the VCR?



I still have the Telefunken VR530, it worked when I last used it about 20 years ago. This one I bought brand new but should have another somewhere that I bought from an Insurance company which was written off through a lightning strike. I did manage to repair it though.


-F_D

 

[Family_Dog]

How about the AIWA AD-1500 Cassette Tape Deck?




-F_D

 

[fredeb]

It's taken me over an hour just to resize pics & copy over three posts! Will carry on later, Doggies are looking very sternly at me - it is their feeding time!

-F_D

Good gear @Family_Dog ! I bought (imported from UK) a Leak Stereo 70 , which looks like your Stereo 30 , except for Wooden enclosure (bads for keeping amp cool methinks) . Mine still has all original components and sounds really good .

 

[fredeb]

How about the AIWA AD-1500 Cassette Tape Deck?

View attachment 530


-F_D

Cool !

 

[Family_Dog]

Thanks Ari, hopefully I can get around to posting more items during the weekend. I have collected so much more vintage gear since I staterd this original topic some years back that I am quite ashamed of myself. It's something like eating freshly roasted peanuts... it is simply impossible to refrain from the habit.


-F_D

 

[fredeb]

Yeah Eric , I know - it is indeed hard to part with accumulated gear when one loves each piece so much .

 

[Family_Dog]

Felt like something different this evening, so blew about 4 years of dust off the AU-666/TU-666 combo and put it in the place of the Leak, connected to the Wharfies.

Man-O-man, if I thought the Leak was good, the Sansui is simply fantastic! One needs about 20 pairs of ears to listen to all the vintage sets at the same time - Audio Bliss, I tell ya!

Luckily the audio quality far surpasses the quality of the gaga cell phone pic I took, holding the phone below waist height as I squeezed in between the Wharfedale cabinet and sideboard on which the equipment is mounted.





I think it might be a while before I try something else, I need to savour the sensational Sansui sound for a tad longer. It seems they were made for the Wharfies (or vice-versa). I have a Trio VHF FM Tuner that I would like to try later with a Sansui AU-70 amp. Both these units are "valve power" so should be a very pleasant combo

I had a smaller equipment stand made for me by the Master, oradba69 some years ago and I traded it in on a larger stand. If I carry on like this, I'm going to need it back, uncle Louis


-F_D

 

[Family_Dog]

[From @Atjan Oct 8, 2014]
Some beautiful pieces you have here F_D.

I've visited Eric before and I can tell you lot vintage hifi nuts that he can keep this thread going to a 100 pages with all sorts of collectable items.

@F_D
I do suspect that there's a good chance that a bit of a clean-out will leave the spirit feeling much lighter. Perhaps only keep a few dozen prized items.
You will however collapse the vintage market in the southern hemisphere. ;D

It's only hifi people....

 

[Family_Dog]

[From @jadedgem Oct8, 2014

I would love to hear how that sansui sounds with a turntable hooked up. The tuner is very beautiful. Do you own any Sansui speakers Mr. Fd?

 

[Family_Dog]

I'm not being very successful in my cleanup. So far I have only moved one item from the collection, but there's plenty more to come

Brian, I have original Sansui AR-1 speakers then some Sansui enclosures but with other drivers in them because someone during the speakers' previous life cooked the original speakers. And you can be very sure it t'weren't me!


-F_D

 

[Family_Dog]

Have you got it yet, Brian?

Cherished values of vintage audio equipment transcends all races, religions, languages & nations. We are all united in our appreciation of these finely-engineered masterpieces

The speakers I require are 6.5", but I bought a pair of speakers from Chris in Durban, they sound fine, in fact, they sound very good with this:



The G-2000SS did not sound too good with the Wharfedales, tended to have a boomy bass but then I suppose it was designed more for smaller speakers like the ones above (no pic yet).

Usual crappy cell phone pic, it is just so convenient But I have now placed my camera battery on charge so the pic quality might improve a tad in future, assuming the battery is not sozzled.


-F_D