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Scorchin34
31-01-2010, 01:16
Hey Cats,
Found this place while doing a search for McIntosh gear. Thought it was a great spot so I decided to join up. I hope you'll have me :) An East coaster from Canada right on the ocean. :cool:

Might as well dive right and show off some of my kit.

Alpha system: consists of a Yamaha CX 600U pre (used in passive mode so I can have remote control), Rega Brio3, Harmon Kardon FL 8550 (transport), Meridian 586 (transport), simple Yamaha surround receiver, Samsung Blu-Ray, Yamaha YP-450 (modified), Blue Point cart., 2 Muse dacs, Unity, Analysis Plus and QED cabling throughout, Ascent Accoustics CBM-170SE main speakers.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2105.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2106.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2107.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2108.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2109.jpg


Beta System: Marantz Model 1250 (fully serviced recently) this was garbage picked from the side of the road one 8am morning :eyebrows: , Sony PS1 painted black, (slightly tweaked with a cable swap to my custom made units), Vintage Philips drive Cd Player (Sherwood model), purchased for $5 at the thrift store, Sony DVD player purchased for $5 at thrift store and the best speakers I've ever had, Philips 3 way kit speakers with DeForest 12" full range drivers, SQ8 Mids in cans and their sweet ceramic tweeter from the day, these were built in 1973, these were free as I answered an ad of a gent who were giving them away, they no longer made the WAF standard and finally Mark Audio Alpair 5 full range speakers I built, although small they are very electrostatic sounding. My interconnects and speaker cables throughout, all ofc silver plated This is my best sounding system in my opinion.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1696.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2111.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2102.jpg

Gamma System: I do my experiments with this kit, Quad 33 pre (has a slight imbalance issue, annoying), Teac CD player that I'm working the drawer kinks out of and am considering tweaking with new caps, dacs etc, etc as the drive is very good and extremely quiet another $5 thrift store score, so quiet in fact I have to put ear to case to hear it. A nice old Technics SL-P150, a great sounding old player and yes another $5 thrift store find :eyebrows:, custom chip mono block amps I had my electronics engineer Bud build, he starts with a kit and then works his magic, don't know what he did exactly as I'm not that astute I just know what sounds good, I do know it's something with the caps and better power supply and also improved speaker posts, Pro LX-5 speakers with the neat Lineaum tweets and the drinking straw tweak to the ports to quell the chuffing, AR, OFC silver plated cabling throughout.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2112.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2113.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2115.jpg

I hope you enjoyed this tour of some of my kit, got tons of it, I'm addicted to collecting vintage gear and so forth, I just can't leave it behind.

Thanks for reading :)

Peace,
Preston

Alex_UK
31-01-2010, 06:43
Hi Preston, some really interesting kit there. You certainly seem able to find a bargain! Love the Yamaha turntable from the Alpha system, Marantz amp from the Beta and the Bentley radiator ornament from the Gamma!

You'll certainly fit in with the "Sound Per Pound (Dollar) Value" (SPPV) approach most of us adopt on here - some of those $5 finds will take some beating though!

Beechwoods
31-01-2010, 07:54
Preston... thanks for the pictures. That Quad 33 pre 'imbalance' issue... It may be an issue with wear on the volume control. You can find there's a spot around the '2' mark where the l/r balance goes off. When the 33 is paired with a 303 power-amp '2' on the pre is around the 'pipe and slippers' listening level (ie. where I normally find the right level :lol: ;)) - I've used an attenuator on the inputs so my sweet spot in terms of volume is now around 2½ mark, out of the 'notch' where this wobble occurs.

Do you normally use it with the tone control switched in? I don't find I have the need on mine, though I know the 33 sometimes gets knocked for roll-off at the top end; I've never found it a problem personally, mind.

Jonboy
31-01-2010, 10:18
Preston,

You can still buy new volume pots direct from Quad for the 33, i had to replace mine last year.

DSJR
31-01-2010, 12:36
Welcome!

My, that's a good range of gear you have..:)

Try Mark Grant's cables too. IMO his stuff is better than anything QED make..

Re silver plated OFC cables - I think the current concensus is either all copper or all silver. The hybrid route can lead to a "shiny" sound with false "DEETAIL" being thrown at you..

Scorchin34
31-01-2010, 15:49
Thank you Nick, that's exactly where my imbalance issue presents itself. I normally don't use tone controls but the LX-5's require a little tweaking to get them to sound right, well to my ears anyway.

Jonboy, I emailed Quad for a replacement, let's hope they are still available.

Alex, here's what the Yammy looked like when my Bud dropped it off, he garbage picked it, a total disaster!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1485.jpg
Then I took it to this level.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1516.jpg
Finished restoration but I later went to a black mat and much heavier headshell for the Blue Point as there were compliance issues.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1519.jpg

Interesting comment on the OFC silver plated cables, I too do find them bright especially with the Ascend Accoustics when used as speaker cables hence the switch to the Unity, however the cables helped with the Philips speaker nicely, not adding anything artificial but more allowing them to reveal what they are capable of, when I first received these speakers they were tested on my Buds high res system (Bryston 3B SST, BP25, Rega 5 table, Saturn Cd Player) using Kimber's amazing speaker cables and we found these were capable of great detail although a tad directional because of the build style (drivers behind the baffle and poor port design). When I got them home I tried my ofc/silver cables and there was the sound I heard at my Buds, not quite as sweet but it was there. I felt there's more to be had so I took them apart and flared the driver openings, replaced and properly re-installed the fill, internal bracing added between the woofer and midrange and tweaked the port with another type of fill to quell the chuffing/breathing and bingo they sing beautifully! However I may address the crossovers one day and switch out the caps my only fear is that I may drastically change their sound that's why I've resisted so far.
Here's a picture of the Philips the night I picked them up.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1581.jpg

As interconnects the ofc/silver were very nice on the Saturn Bryston set-up being compared to Kimber PBJs heard through Quad63's but lacking some low end bump. They work well with the PS1 as they helped greatly with the upper detail but I wouldn't call it false detail as it doesn't have that digital harshness I hear when a unit is trying to present something that's not there in the first place, although considered a hidden gem as a cd player the PS1 is rolled off at the upper highs, my cables worked beautifully, however it did not help at the lower limits as this is an inherent issue with the PS1 player and can't be helped without serious tweaking, later PS1s corrected this issue but the highs were affected and became grating as Sony's goal was too add more punch to the gaming experience and were not overly concerned with 2 channel audio for these units (this is of course my opinion).

I build my cables with 14 gauge OFC/Silver plate with a 1.5" weave and I use Neutrix gold plate connectors and silver solder, non directional and no shielding.

Mark Grant cables? Is the the Grant Fidelity guy??

Thanks for your comments guys. If you'd like to see pics of my other stuff let me know and I'll post away.

Peace,
Preston

jandl100
06-02-2010, 08:58
The more pics the better!

It's certainly interesting to see so much Brit-kit in a Canadian guy's systems! :)

Scorchin34
06-02-2010, 12:41
The more pics the better!

It's certainly interesting to see so much Brit-kit in a Canadian guy's systems! :)

Thanks for noticing, I'm a huge fan of Brit kit, I like their no nonsense approach to sound, always relaxed not too bright and sensible design. For instance my Class A British Fidelity A1, pop it open and there's little in their to muddy up the sound, simply power and the bits required to translate nothing more nothing less and it has a great phono section as well.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1202.jpg

I also run a Quad 99/909 set up from time to time, it's not mine but my Bud lets me take it home when I'm in the mood or if he wants out of his way as it sits boxed up and collecting dust, very easy listening set up indeed.

Here's a very interesting turntable, Elac Miracord 40A, picked it up for $10, it fired up when I got it home but it was rough and noisy, so apart it came for a full rework, I pulled it all out, greased the bearing pack, polished the bearing shaft and used my favorite lube, tweaked the arm back into proper position, took that apart to reset the weighting spring as whoever owen it tweaked it badly, it's a unipivot arm, the idler was still in perfect condition not a hint of being dried out so I hit it with rejuvenator and buffed the speed bearings, removed and cleaned all the switches and relubed, where the VTA is non adjustable I didn't like the angle of attack to the groove the Stanton 700 series cartridge had so I devised a 4 layer mat system that corrected this and also quelled the light rumble that was present, I first went with a fresh Shure M97Xe on this but the compliance with regards to the monstrosity of the tonearm wasn't a good match so the Stanton prevailed as a better choice.... blah blah blah. It now resides in my Buds reference system as his primary, he loves it to death so I'll probably never see it again :) But at least I get to listen to it on my visits there.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1285.jpg

On a turntable stand I picked up for $5 at the Salvation Army. The weight is something I created, hockey puck with 3 washers glued to it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1605.jpg

My tape player when I'm in the mood, Yamaha K-350 open face, this also got the treatment, new belts, motor speed calibrated etc. Sounds pretty nice.
The Yamaha CR-1020 recently left my collection, I got this on a trade for a turntable to a Bud, it belonged to his Dad and it needed some TLC and he didn't want to try and sort it out. After sorting it the sound is very lovely and the tuner isn't too shabby either. The Marantz replaced this unit and I thought I should give it back to him as he recently found out his Dad is dying from brain cancer so I thought it proper that he have it back if you know what I mean. He was very happy about getting it back considering the circumstances.
The Quad 66 no longer is here, I sold it as the Meridian/Dac combo sounds much better.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1315.jpg

A pile of stuff I picked up at a church sale, Realistic, Dual, Sears Professional etc. got it all for $35. The boys approved :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1251.jpg

A new addition to the piles, Yamaha NS-30X monitors, serial/factory matched pair with A/B notation, they needed a good cleaning and they sound stunning very detailed and crystal clear, scary almost and very revealing, these need proper kit matching and will show just had bad/good a recording is, found them at a used electronics store, again very inexpensive :eyebrows:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2135.jpg

Mark Audio Alpair5s in their early stage of development, amazing sound from these, almost electrostatic like.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1480.jpg

Picking up a Philips 900 Series player today for $10, it's very clean CDP-920 I believe. For $10 hard to say no right, I hope it sounds good. There's also a Belgium build Philips available but I'm not sure if I want to lug to pieces home, the health is pretty bad these days.

Stay tuned on this forum for pics and questions on the 920 as I didn't find anything of use online about it.

Thanks for the read folks :)

Peace,
Preston

Alex_UK
06-02-2010, 15:50
is there any room for anything else apart from electronics in your house Preston? ;) Very interesting, think I am definitely hankering for some 70s Yamaha kit, those speakers look lovely! Thanks for sharing, keep posting!

The Grand Wazoo
06-02-2010, 16:06
Preston,
Snap!

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/4711/signalstrength.jpg

Except we didn't get the sleeve type wood casing that you guys got over there. We had wood on the top & sides only

DSJR
07-02-2010, 15:55
A fine collection if I may say so..

Mark Grant is -

http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=43_1

That Miracord turntable looks good although we never saw them here. try to find a Dual 1019. same era and so solid and slick. The 12** series sold in vast numbers over your way and many of these from the 1216 upwards are very good still. I shall never sell my 701, even when the other turntable projects come to fruition...

CR1010? Nah, get a CR1000 instead.....;)

Scorchin34
07-02-2010, 20:08
I've had several Dual tables, liked them but sold them all, the YP-450 and Elac I took a real shining to hence still in the collection.
Peace,
Preston

Marco
10-02-2010, 08:15
Hi Preston,

Respect, dude... Some great vintage kit there!! :cool:

Marco.

chris@panteg
10-02-2010, 10:41
Some really nice kit there Preston '

Your black and white cat ' reminds me of my late Fluff ' see my Avatar .

confession time fellas ' when he died i cried like a baby ' i mean really cried:(
i could not believe how it affected me .

Anyway i really like the way you restored the Yamaha ' nice job .

Scorchin34
10-02-2010, 11:39
Mine little buddy is called Needles, named him that because when he was 9 weeks old I was getting his meal ready at the kitchen counter wearing just shorts and in a blink of an eye he was up my leg and clinging to my waist, holy smokes it hurt especially when he dug in when I tried to remove him, my Wifey had a real good laugh watching me dance the funky chicken in my bloomers with a kitten hanging off me :lol:

He likes warm places, put a stop to it with my vintage Yamaha tape deck.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN2101.jpg

And BB likes to claim all new gear that enters the house but Needles thought he'd join in.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/scorchin36/Stuff/DSCN1243.jpg

Peace,
Preston

chris@panteg
10-02-2010, 11:57
Rascals ' lol love the pics