A couple of impulse buys

[Jac Hawk]

I've been at a bit of a loose end recently, so i've been trawling eBay for a project or two, my 1st buy didn't turn out to be much of a project a pair of absolute mint Bose 305 monitors, i know most people roll their eyes when Bose is mentioned, but i've always liked the sound these make and in the condition they're in i just had to have em.

My next purchase is definitely a project, a circa early 1980's Technics SU-V5 amp, it was cheap as chips but needs a good clean and some new binding posts at 1st glances and probably need the pots and switches sorting too.


Happy days........and here are some pics


https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDY0WDEwMjQ=/z/JV0AAOSw8-tWYwdB/$_86.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MVQAAOSwNnRYhPqI/s-l1600.jpg

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/QxkAAOSwLEtYhPor/s-l1600.jpg

[Stryder5]

The Bose speakers look interesting, I may just look for some.

[Gazjam]

HMV in Glasgow had those exact same speakers blasting away all through my record buying antics in the 90's, always thought they sounded superb, really getting down to what makes the music matter...especially compared to the Budget blasters I was buying (usually from Richer Sounds and reccomended by What Hifi) back at that time.

Whoever picked the Bose's for the store back in the day had a canny set of ears on them!

[Jac Hawk]

HMV in Glasgow had those exact same speakers blasting away all through my record buying antics in the 90's, always thought they sounded superb, really getting down to what makes the music matter...especially compared to the Budget blasters I was buying (usually from Richer Sounds and reccomended by What Hifi) back at that time.

Whoever picked the Bose's for the store back in the day had a canny set of ears on them!

HMV in Newcastle had them too, thing is with these, they are like marmite, you either love em or hate em, they're coloured, bass heavy and definitely don't suit all music.

[Frazeur1]

The Technics integrated looks quite nice! I used to have some Bose 301's(I believe series 1's) many years ago, the one that had the vane in front of the cone tweet. They were fun to play with. I don't recall ever seeing 305's here though. Interesting, they sure look very clean and tidy! Enjoy!

[Marco]

Whoever picked the Bose's for the store back in the day had a canny set of ears on them!

A canny set of ears? Hark at you, lol... Who telt ye that ye were a choochter? :D

Defo agree though, as I remember the very same speakers! Use to love going to that HMV, and then getting the bus home outside afterwards... Do you remember the 23rd Precinct, in Bath St, Gaz?

Marco.

[Barry]

The only time I've heard Bose speakers sounding half decent were those suspended from the ceiling in record shops. I remember Rare Records in Manchester used pairs of Bose 901s. They certainly had an immediacy about them that was attractive.

[Jac Hawk]

A canny set of ears? Hark at you, lol... Who telt ye that ye were a choochter? :D


Keep forgetting you speak Jockaneese, in english mate for the rest of us :scratch::scratch::scratch::scratch:

[Marco]

Lol... Here it is with the 'official' spelling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teuchter

Marco.

[struth]

A canny set of ears?

Think it was more NE of Engerland than NW of Jockland.

[Marco]

Yes, I suppose it is. Mind you, Gaz is about as much a Geordie as I am, so not sure what was in his nut when he wrote that :D

Marco.

[Gazjam]

23rd Precinct...

Remember it well Marco, that and Tower Records (all 3 flooors of it near the Bridge) were my go-to record buying places back in the day....with my wee Planar 2 from Stereo Stereo bought on my student grant!

Happy Days :)

[Macca]

with my wee Planar 2 from Stereo Stereo bought on my student grant!



No-one ever spent their grant on daft things like text books and food.

'Congratulations, you've won a place at University. You're going to need a hi-fi, here's a couple of grand to buy yourself a starter system.'

No wonder they stopped it. That was probably the turning point in the fortunes of the hi-fi industry.

[Gazjam]

No-one ever spent their grant on daft things like text books and food.

'Congratulations, you've won a place at University. You're going to need a hi-fi, here's a couple of grand to buy yourself a starter system.'

No wonder they stopped it. That was probably the turning point in the fortunes of the hi-fi industry.

Heh. :)

[struth]

Damned no good students :steam:

:lol:

[Barry]

Of my weekly allowance for rent, food, books etc., I would usually spend a good proportion of that on records. Happy days!

[Jac Hawk]

One of the speaker binding posts on the back of the amp has broken off, maybe in transit, who knows? anyway i decided to strip the amp, give it a clean and investigate the options for replacing the broken part, a couple of things struck me, 1. how well made these amps are, all the knobs and buttons are metal, not painted plastic and 2. how simple it is to work on, modern amps tend to have mostly surface mount components, much easier to manufacture by a robot and makes em much cheaper, but crap if owt goes wrong, this is all through hole meaning the binding post repair will be simple, plus as i'm replacing with better quality than original so it's a small upgrade too

[Barry]

One of the things that impressed me when the first Japanese amplifiers appeared in the UK was the build quality, and the use of solid turned-metal knobs. Quite a change from the plastic 'toothpaste cap' knobs used on British gear. I first saw this on Nikko and Akai integrated amps, and later on Sony and Trio gear.

[Arkless Electronics]

One of the speaker binding posts on the back of the amp has broken off, maybe in transit, who knows? anyway i decided to strip the amp, give it a clean and investigate the options for replacing the broken part, a couple of things struck me, 1. how well made these amps are, all the knobs and buttons are metal, not painted plastic and 2. how simple it is to work on, modern amps tend to have mostly surface mount components, much easier to manufacture by a robot and makes em much cheaper, but crap if owt goes wrong, this is all through hole meaning the binding post repair will be simple, plus as i'm replacing with better quality than original so it's a small upgrade too

Have you made sure it actually works? Some of these amps used a module for the power amp which if it needs a new one will render it scrap.... unless you want to pay something like £100 for the module..

[Jac Hawk]

i was expecting some of the small knobs to be plastic, it was a pleasant surprise to find everything metal, no wonder the Jap manufacturers were so dominant

[Jac Hawk]

Have you made sure it actually works? Some of these amps used a module for the power amp which if it needs a new one will render it scrap.... unless you want to pay something like £100 for the module..

It works fine, just the speaker binding posts for speakers need replacing

[Arkless Electronics]

One of the things that impressed me when the first Japanese amplifiers appeared in the UK was the build quality, and the use of solid turned-metal knobs. Quite a change from the plastic 'toothpaste cap' knobs used on British gear. I first saw this on Nikko and Akai integrated amps, and later on Sony and Trio gear.

Hmm... this is an area that intrigues me, hence the thread on "What does well made mean to you?" I started a few months ago... End users often seem to "fall for" the appearance of being well made when the things that matter, on the inside, are anything but! Another aspect that always has me going :scratch: is when things that don't need to be "well made" ie they are not under much stress or likely to wear, are deliberately made OTT "well made" to add to the appearance of being well made. Solid turned metal knobs is a good example of this, completely unnecessary from an operational, longevity or sound quality POV they merely add to the "feel" and "look" of quality but their cost no doubt means lower quality capacitors etc have been fitted internally. Same with eg 1/2" thick alloy front panels.... Totally pointless and adds a huge amount to the cost which could have been spent where it could improve the SQ and/or longevity of the unit.

[struth]

Great fit n finish are of importance just as much as sonic abilities in my book. Just same as buying a suit..its best to be well made of premium material. Ok a rough bit of hessian will do job but its not quality. Alas you dont get it :lol:

[Barry]

If items look like they have been knocked up in a garden shed, then they are not going to attract consumer interest and no one is going to listen to them. The average potential customer is not going to be interested with what is inside the case, and is unlikely to appreciate the difference of one capacitor to another. They might be impressed by the size of the transformer, but that is about all.

I specifically referred to build quality, and to the cosmetics in particular. The latter might seem meretricious to you, but I doubt if the build quality of a typical UK-made amp of the mid to late '60s was any better than the newly imported Japanese gear. The circuit design is a different matter, but I'm not qualified to comment.

[Arkless Electronics]

Great fit n finish are of importance just as much as sonic abilities in my book. Just same as buying a suit..its best to be well made of premium material. Ok a rough bit of hessian will do job but its not quality. Alas you dont get it :lol:

Indeed I don't. Hence all equipment I make for myself has no aesthetics to it.. any old case will do. I care ONLY about the sound quality, reliability and longevity. It sickens me to see such things as amps where they do have solid metal knobs and 1/2" front panel but everything not on display is complete cheap shite.... Same to me are kit cars that look stunningly alike to the Ferrari they are mocking but contain a 1.3 Escort engine and chassis... Bag 'o shite!

[struth]

There is also the house proud to think of. Many men and nearly all women are. They dont want an orangebox with pladtic knobs sticking out in the livingroom. If nothing else thats one of the main considerations. Men love silver jobs with more knobs than you can shake a stick at but women prefer something that fades into the background a bit. And they usually get their way.

[Arkless Electronics]

If items look like they have been knocked up in a garden shed, then they are not going to attract consumer interest and no one is going to listen to them. The average potential customer is not going to be interested with what is inside the case, and is unlikely to appreciate the difference of one capacitor to another. They might be impressed by the size of the transformer, but that is about all.

I specifically referred to build quality, and to the cosmetics in particular. The latter might seem meretricious to you, but I doubt if the build quality of a typical UK-made amp of the mid to late '60s was any better than the newly imported Japanese gear. The circuit design is a different matter, but I'm not qualified to comment.

Yes I'm well aware of how the market works... I still think it makes a complete mockery of the founding principles of hi fi and always will though... and the same people who are "unlikely to appreciate the difference of one capacitor to another" will no doubt then claim to hear non existent improvements from mains cables etc! A case of "if you can fit it yourself with no technical knowledge then it's REALLY important".... but if it really is genuinely important but beyond the lay man then "la la la fingers in ears, don't care, don't know, don't want to know".... It nearly drives me to a change of career at times:mental:

[Jac Hawk]

I would agree, the finishing touches add to the overall impression of quality, in the case of this amp the front plate and switchgear look like brand new after i've cleaned them, it doesn't matter that it doesn't add anything to the sound quality, it just makes the amp feel nicer to use.

[Barry]

I would agree, the finishing touches add to the overall impression of quality, in the case of this amp the front plate and switchgear look like brand new after i've cleaned them, it doesn't matter that it doesn't add anything to the sound quality, it just makes the amp feel nicer to use.

+1 I expect my preamp would sound just the same if it wasn't fitted with Penny and Giles potentiometers; but the silky smooth feel, and the ability to turn the (machined metal) knobs with one finger simply adds to the enjoyment of use. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

[Arkless Electronics]

+1 I expect my preamp would sound just the same if it wasn't fitted with Penny and Giles potentiometers; but the silky smooth feel, and the ability to turn the (machined metal knobs) with one finger simply adds to the enjoyment of use. And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Fine on expensive kit where you know what you're paying for and getting... Not good on cheaper stuff where the SQ has been badly compromised in order to make it look and feel nice.. in my opinion...

[Jac Hawk]

Fine on expensive kit where you know what you're paying for and getting... Not good on cheaper stuff where the SQ has been badly compromised in order to make it look and feel nice.. in my opinion...

Not sure, but i think you just called my new amp cheap tat:scratch::scratch: granted it's built to a price, but everything is if it's got any chance of being sold, honestly though the extra 5 or 6p that the metalwork costs would have bought how many better quality parts?