Tuesday, February 28, 2012

This is amazing.

I don't put video on the is blog, partly because I don't watch a lot, but this blew me away.
Description from Stimulant:
We all know that you can tell how old a tree is by counting the rings inside its trunk. But Munich-born artist Bartholomäus Traubeck has taken this practice several steps further, creating a one-of-a-kind record player that analyzes the rings’ strength, thickness and rate of growth, converting that data into piano music.

YEARS from Bartholomäus Traubeck on Vimeo.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

B&O Beovox 3702 photos.



I refoamed these yesterday afternoon, then gave a light sand. There are some rings that I can't completely remove, but all in all they look pretty good. They were designed in 1972 by Jacob Jensen, a Danish industrial design god, who pioneered Bang & Olufsens signature look. These were the smallest 3 way systems in the range.

The midrange drivers look like toys...they absolutely aren't (the tweeters are Philips, I don't know about the mids or woofers, which aren't marked). These speakers are fine and mellow.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Just arrived. B&O Beovox 3702 speakers.

These are vintage 1972 3 way, 8 inch speakers. Here is some information. My pair is in teak. I'm refoaming them now, will report soon.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Just arrived KEF 104s, BIC 980 Turntable.

Here are a couple of shots of the BIC (British Insustries Company) 980 turntable.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Weekend Update.

A lot of speakers have left recently:
The B&W DM2s will be missed. One of the best I've had here.
The uber cool Sansui SF-2s left this morning. They'll be singing with the new owners Marantz separates.
The PSB Passif 1s left last weekend, as did the Realistic Mach One 4029s.

I've been listening mostly to the Mission 770 Freedom Vs, and am actively searching for the next speaker project(s).

Friday, February 17, 2012

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Friday, February 10, 2012

Technics by Panasonic SU-8080 photos.

Updated Sunday:
This amp is really growing on me, visually and sonically.


I'm very happy to have this beautiful (to me) amp back after 2 trips for service. It delivers a very strong 72 watts/channel into 8 ohms, 90/channel into 4 ohms, and sounds great.


Wednesday, February 8, 2012

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PSB Passif 2 Speakers.

This is one of Paul Bartons early designs, refined using the anechoic chamber and test equipment at the National Research Council Lab in Ottawa.
They used a common Philips 8 woofer, but one was blown when I got the speakers. I've upgraded them with what look like the same Philips woofers, but with much bigger magnets, and squiggles of black toothpaste on the cones. They're actually hand calibrated versions, a matched pair intended use in a pair of Wilson Audio WATT speakers, highly respected audiophile speakers costing thousands of dollars a pair. I've never heard them, but know that Dave Wilson, who was an early reviewer at The Absolute Sound magazine, could've chosen many excellent woofers, and chose these.
They aren't going to be exploited to their fullest in the Passif 2s, but the system does sound great...as good as any I've heard that use the same classic Philips tweeter.

Monday, February 6, 2012

B&W DM2 photos.

I rebuilt 3 corners,sanded, oiled, touched up, painted the backs, redid the grills, repainted the badges, and now they look almost as good as they sound.



Sunday, February 5, 2012

Realistic Mach One 4029 photo.

This is the second iteration of one of the iconic macho speakers of the seventies. The original Mach One was catalogue number 4024. It looks the same, except that six screws hold the horn tweeter/mid/high frequency adjustment panel, rather than ten, as in the 4024. The 4024s fifteen inch woofer had a lifetime rubber surround, where the 4029 has a foam surround that rots. I just finished refoaming the woofers. This is my third pair of Mach Ones, but my first 4029s. The woofers were easy to refoam, but slow. They speakers sound better than I remember, are awesome for dance and reggae, and I think the 4029 has even better bass than the 4024.

Horn loaded speakers aren't usually my thing, but it's easy to see what the fuss was about.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

B&W DM2 Sneek Peek.

I have to do a bit more touching up, and the grill cloth, which I thought was ok, isn't, and will have to be replaced. I wanted to show you how the stripping sanding and oiling worked out, and will have them all finished soon. They're sounding great with the Technics SU-8080.
This is the before picture of the tops:

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Wednesday Update.

The Technics SU-8080 is back and healthy. The phono stage is a revelation.