Monday, May 28, 2012

Just arrived. Avant 4AX.

I thought these were excatly the same as these 5AXs that I had a couple of years ago. The driver compliment is basically the same, though the woofer doesn't have the same shiny coating as the 5AXs, the Audax tweeters have protective mesh covers, and the cabinet dimensions are slightly different. I'd guess that these preceded the 5AXs by a model year. They sound just as good.

Monday, May 21, 2012

My favorite record store.

  I love Around Again Records on Baldwin Street in Toronto. I still kick myself for selling my entire vinyl collection there in 1990. They paid a fair price for everything, but there were many irreplaceables.
  Barbara & Martin have been there from the start. They're wonderful people who really know their stuff. The shop is small, but feels carefully curated. This past Saturday, I found at least 2 dozen albums I wanted to take home! I also found an excellent copy of Ghost Writer, by Garland Jeffries, in the dollar bins out front. It's an album I should've never sold, and now I have it back for less than I sold it to Around Again for in 1990!
  Around Again also has a small collection of beautifully restored vintage audio gear, with the emphasis on turntables, as well as cartridges, stylii and all kinds of accessories for enjoying vinyl. Go yourself. Highly recommended.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Philips Montrose Tube Console photos.

I got it home with a hand cart, and it worked when I plugged it in at home. It gets JAZZ FM! It works in stereo! All controls work. The phono input can't be tested, because the tonearm is missing its proprietary looking headshell, but I can use the proprietary plug at the end of the cable to make a connector for any turntable. The 8 inch full range (?)speakers have tiny little magnets, and don't sound like anything special. I'll have the receiver out of the cabinet soon.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

I just bought a tube stereo console.

It's a Philips high fidelity stereo tube console with broken turntable, AM/FM tuner, ceramic and magnetic phono inputs, auxiliary input, auxiliary stereo speaker connectors...a whole tube receiver. I dragged it halfway across the store to plug it in, and immediately I was hearing Flow FM in stereo (that's where the dial was)! The tuner caught a few stations easily, so I bought it, and it'll be here tomorrow. The built in speakers sound awful, but I can't wait to try it with other speakers and sources. This will be fun. I bought True Democracy, a Steel Pulse album I've loved for a long time (twenty years), on brand new, 180 gram vinyl from Rhino Records at Sonic Boom for less than $10.00 a couple of weeks ago. Nice!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

LITTLE FREDDIE KING

Great cover, deep, rootsy blues playing, excellent, natural recording.

Saturday, May 5, 2012