Saturday Update.

Updated. This is as nice a pair of KLH 17s as I've ever heard. The previous owner recapped and resealed them properly. They're very good speakers, and in the current vintage audio market, an amazing value for the music lover on a small budget.

I found a nice pair of KLH 17s this afternoon. I haven't heard a pair in over a year, and these appear to be very clean.

This is the new Sherwood S-7200 that I told you about a couple of weeks ago ago. The selector knob shaft was broken, and I just had it fixed (also the stunning Sansui AU-4400 came back from being checked and serviced).

Rogers Monitor 2s refinished.

Thank you Mike for the amazing Howard Finish Restorer, which made these speakers look close to new in minutes. I'm usually a sand and oil kind of guy, but this came highly recommended, and didn't disappoint. I'll wax (with Howard wax) them soon (also Mike recommended).

I love the grain matching.

Just arrived. JBL L56.

Classic seventies JBL look and sound. Have a great weekend...a long one if you're in Canada!

Just arrived. Just refoamed. Just Refinished. Altec Lansing Model Fives.

Look at that beautiful wood! I picked these up early this afternoon. Today is the first 'normal' summer day in a week. I mean with normal humidity. It was a pleasure to be out on the porch working on these. They look and sound as good as the pair I had in December.

Just arrived.

This is some stuff I've wanted to get my hands on for a long time. I'll have a lot to say after some listening. Driving the Rogers Monitor 2s, so far so good.

Update:
After a couple of hours, I'm really liking this stuff. I just hooked up a pair of Energy 22.2s, and am very impressed with the clarity, detail, and naturalness. Nothing flashy, just beautiful music.

Rogers Monitor 2 photos.

Midweek Update

I brought two new sets of speakers home today that I've wanted to check out for a long time.
I have a pair of Rogers Monitor 2s, amd a pair of Energy 22.2s. The Rogers are playing right now, driven by the Sansui AU-777 and are awesome. I hope to take pictures tomorrow, but the forecast calls for a high temperature record to be broken in Toronto, so the weather may not allow it. I'll do my best.

Just arrived. Sherwood S-7200

This is the 35 watt/channel (I was mistaken when I first got one) big brother to the S-7100, and is a beautiful and great sounding receiver. The picture above is of the one I had 2 years ago. I'll take new pictures soon.

Just arrived. Just refoamed. NHT Model 1 loudspeakers.

These were introduced in 1987, so are out of my decade of greatest interest. I've heard good things about them. Here's a bit of history from the company website. They sound quite nice, and the claims for a wide sweet spot for imaging appear to be accurate.

Just Arrived. Sansui 5900Z.

A Sansui 5900Z 75 watt/channel DC coupled receiver from 1980, with a digital synthesizer tuner. I'm checking it out and am very impressed. It sounds just like a G Series so far, which is saying plenty.

UPDATE: Wow. This is a refined and powerful receiver. I shouldn't be surprised...December 31st 1979 wasn't the drop dead day for superb, well made, reasonably priced gear.

Mission 717, tweeters replaced.

I said they were in rough shape, and they were (still are, in some places). The main thing for me was rebuilding the baffle that had been cut away to allow the Advent tweeter, with it's square magnet, to be installed. Then I could install a pair of original equipment Seas, and check out some Missions I've never heard before. They're very good. If memory serves, they sound better than 737s, and closer to 770s (with which they share a tweeter) than I would've expected.

It's interesting that Mission's designs using this particular Seas tweeter place the tweeter above the woofer (770, 717), while others of the same line and vintage (70, 700,707, actually most 700 numbered models) that use different (often Vifa) tweeters, place the woofer on top.

Polk Monitor 7 Update.

I got them with one dead mid/bass unit. I replaced it with a driver recommended by Frank at The Speaker Shop, and they sounded ok. A day later, the other original mid/bass driver died. I didn't want to buy another replacement. Fortunately, I was able to buy an original pair of Polk drivers.

The Monitor 7s are now all original again, and sound fantastic. I was smart to buy them as a teenager, stupid to let them go, and I'm fortunate to have them again. I'd still love to hear the Monitor 10s, with 2 of those mid/bass drivers, that I couldn't afford way back then.

Bang & Olufsen Beovox S40 speakers

Baby brothers to The Beovox C55s (but with real rosewodd veneer cabinets) I had last month, these are small 2 way 8 inch systems with Philips drivers. After refoaming he woofers, replacing the female DIN speaker connectors on the backs with males, and putting together a set of speaker cables with female plugs (all a lot of work), I started to listen, and they're quite nice.

Just Arrived. Mission 717s in rough shape.

UPDATED: I've replaced the (dead) Advent tweeters with original Seas dome tweeters. These speakers give the 770s a good run for their money, and are better than 737s. I'm impressed and enjoying them very much. I'm listening to Ray Brown and Duke Ellington right now with the Sansui AU-770...just piano and upright bass, and they sound like piano and upright bass. I hope to refinish the cabinets tomorrow. They won't look new, but they should be respectable.
Update 2: They are fabulous.

I haven't had a pair of these before. The last owner replaced the Seas tweeters with Advent 'fried eggs'. The tweeter holes were expanded roughly and squared to accomodate. I'm not even interested in hearing how they currently sound (and one of the fried eggs has a broken connection), but I have a pair of original Seas tweeters. I'm going to cast the removed front baffle sections in epoxy, and turn these back into their potentially fantastic original state.

The Sansui AU-777 Returns.

I probably should have mentioned that it was gone, but sometimes I don't like to share bad news. Within hours of telling you that it had arrived, I detected a nasty but subtle bass distortion in the left channel. I was seriously disappointed, but also too busy to attend to it right away. When I did, I took it to Vladimir. Oh, I've got more bad news that I hate to share. I warned a few months ago that Vlad was getting out of vintage audio repair. Now he's really gone and done it! He wouldn't accept my sick Sansui. I was expecting this to happen, but still wasn't ready to accept it.

I took the Sansui somewhere close to me, manned by an old school european guy who runs his own shop. His price was quite reasonable, and the amp sounds great so far. I will try him out at least once more before giving the Seventies Stereo seal of approval, which does for audio repair people what Oprah's recommendation does for authors!

Technics by Panasonic SA-5250 Receiver.

I just love this generation of Technics receivers. I think they are among the most elegant receiver designs I know. As I've said here before, the build quality is fantastic. The aluminum faceplate, for example is about twice the thickness of a Marantz, with the tuner scale behind a glass panel, not plastic.

The bulbs are easily to replace, just screw in flashlight bulbs. All this wouldn't matter if the receiver didn't sound great, but it does. This is rated at 23 watts/channel, but like most vintage receivers, sounds much more powerful. I'm listening to Harry Manx on the SA-5250 and the Polk Monitor 7s, and it sounds great.

This is not a Photoshop trick. These Dynacos are mirror Imaged.

Pioneer SX-626

This is the little brother to the SX-828 that I was so impressed by a few months ago. I am once again amazed at the build quality, perhaps even more so because this was 2 steps down from the top of the line. Other than the woodgrain vinyl case, as opposed to real wood veneer in the larger model, this is built to the same incredible standards. In my opinion, even by the X3X series that followed, it was not economically feasible to offer this level of fit, finish and detail. If you need to be reminded of why the seventies were a golden age for the music lover, look no further.

EPI 100s. All time classics. Again.

I can't have this speaker too many times. They're never anything but musical.

Polk Audio Monitor 7s, my first name brand high fidelity speakers.

I bought mine in 1979. The Peerless tweeters in mine didn't have silver voice coils like this pair, made in 1988, but made me very happy for a couple of years (after which I traded them in for Energy 22s). I'm thrilled to spend time with them again. The tweeter design appears to have changed little, silver coil aside.

Canada Day Update.

This Luxman L-2 integrated arrived on Thursday, as did 3 Dynaco A-25 speakers in various states of cabinet condition. Cherry picking cabinets and components from among the 3 and refinishing will result in a rare pair of mirror imaged A-25s. I'll keep you posted.