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evobatman posted:So I found this in the electronics recycling at work: That is one hell of a find for free! In Denmark, they go for ~$3-400 in good condition, sometimes even more. Just look at the specs, it's up there with the very best: http://beophile.com/?page_id=743 As you know, cartridges are expensive, but they are available. Other than that, sometimes the tangential arm likes to crap out. If it doesn't sense the record size correctly, it's broken and probably expensive/impossible to repair. Get thee to a thrift store or something and find some cheap records. The stock cable has a 7-pin DIN connector, which B&O stuck with for a long time instead of RCA plugs. It'll work just fine like that, the other wires are for system integration with other B&O units. Did you get the Master Control Panel for it as well? It'll work fine without it, but you won't have access to programming etc. functions. E: Unrelated, but I just scored this for ~$4.50 today, original 1980 Bronze Records BRON 531 pressing. The cover is absolutely worn to shreds, but for that price I decided to take a chance on it. Turns out the LP itself was perfectly OK after a quick wash to get the fingerprints and dust off.  
KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 18:41 on May 21, 2015 |
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May 21, 2015 16:20
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Well, I just bought vinyl records for the first time in my life. The good news is that the turntable identified the record size and speed on both a regular record and a single, and all motors seem to work fine. The turning noise disappeared after a few minutes of playback. The bad news is that I am not getting any audio at all. I hear a faint faint sound from the player itself, but I'm guessing that's just the sound of the cartridge against the record. My receiver is just a cheap Sony STR-DH520, but I tried two of the inputs on it, and got no sound in any channel. I've previously tried a CD player with one intermittent working channel on it, so I know the receiver works. Any suggestions? And I also found this together with the record player, but it's not for this thread:  At least that seems to be working fine, even though I hardly even know what it's supposed to be used for.
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May 21, 2015 19:15
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evobatman posted:
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May 21, 2015 19:45
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evobatman posted:Well, I just bought vinyl records for the first time in my life. The good news is that the turntable identified the record size and speed on both a regular record and a single, and all motors seem to work fine. The turning noise disappeared after a few minutes of playback. You should probably lube the spindle bearing, if it was making grinding noises when turning. You'll hear a million different arguments for which oil is best, but the most consistent recommendation I've heard (albeit for direct drives) is to use ISO 68 oil for air compressors, which is cheap, widely available at hardware stores and roughly equivalent to any motor oil that starts with 20W. But really, any oil is better than no oil, sewing machine oil or 3-in-1 or whatever is fine. Just don't use WD-40. And you should probably also replace the belt at some point, but that's not nearly as critical. The fact that you're hearing faint sound from the player itself is good news. It means the cartridge is at least semi-OK and is making good contact with the record. Your receiver doesn't have a dedicated phono input, which is probably why you're not hearing anything. The output from a phono cartridge is much lower than normal line level, which is what the inputs on your receiver is designed for. Output from a moving magnet cartridge is around 3-6mV peak, but line level is usually 2V peak, which is a huge difference. So you'll need a phono preamplifier. You can get a decent one for less than $25 on Amazon etc. E: And if you're getting into this whole vinyl thing, I recommend that you at least get a carbon anti-static brush. You'll probably hear static crackle when lifting some records off the spindle after playing them, maybe even during playback. A quick run over the record with a light touch of a carbon brush with the platter turning will take care of most of that. Plus they're really cheap. If you get some really grungy records, a good and inexpensive cleaning solution is to use a soft paintbrush, unscented and colorless dishwashing liquid and warm-ish water. The brush will really get into the grooves and a bit of dishwashing liquid added to the water will lift fingerprints etc. right off. Just don't soak the labels too much. I use a microfiber cloth to dry the records off, but if you don't have too many deposits in your tapwater, you can just let them air dry in a dish rack. As long as you use warm water, most of it will run right off by itself. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 19:56 on May 21, 2015 |
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May 21, 2015 19:46
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Frobbe posted:Bought this beauty second hand: Hey there Kenwood buddy! I use the C1 rather than the C2 since it was what I found but they're solid pieces of gear. Have you done any of the upgrades for them? http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=608332 http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=609337 The op-amp voltages are out of spec (or borderline) with it stock, and theres lots of room for improvement considering how old the caps in them are. If you're handy with a soldering iron you should give it a try.
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May 21, 2015 20:17
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Frobbe posted:Bought this beauty second hand: You might like how it sounds but technically, the Muse amp has far worse specs. The specs on your old Kenwood gear are far better and even though the Muse can power those speakers, it's trying really hard at only 20W/channel. This introduces a lot of distortion. The speakers themselves are not super efficient either (88dB), which makes the problem worse. Your Muse amp has 0.1% THD at 8 ohms, and your Kenwood has 0.005%. Better S/N ratio too, 120dB vs 103dB. You were getting a much much cleaner sound out of your Kenwood gear. Then again, it's old equipment so who knows how much those specs have drifted since new. Aging caps, etc. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.
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May 21, 2015 20:43
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BANME.sh posted:You might like how it sounds but technically, the Muse amp has far worse specs. Yes they drift, which is exactly why you recap them with low ESR caps and 1% low drift metal film resistors for everything in the signal path.
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May 21, 2015 20:47
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KozmoNaut posted:Lots of good info! Thanks! Random preamp ordered! I'm not getting into vinyl, I don't have the time, space or means for it, so the player will be sold, as soon as I've confirmed it's working and fixed it up a little according to your advice. The midi board will be sold too.
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May 21, 2015 21:07
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In that case, someone is going to really enjoy a very nice turntable, and you'll be able to make a decent little profit for just a little bit of effort 
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May 21, 2015 21:08
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Just earlier today I was lamenting that I haven't come across many deals lately, but I just scored a Marantz 2250b and matching Marantz 5220 tape deck in great shape, along with a pair of old JBL speakers (unknown model, but good condition) for $180 all in.  I will probably tinker with the 2250 and make my money back selling it (I already have a 2230 that I really like), but keep the tape deck. 
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May 21, 2015 23:34
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That's a sweet looking tape deck, I'd keep it too.
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May 21, 2015 23:55
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BANME.sh posted:Just earlier today I was lamenting that I haven't come across many deals lately, but I just scored a Marantz 2250b and matching Marantz 5220 tape deck in great shape, along with a pair of old JBL speakers (unknown model, but good condition) for $180 all in. The speakers ended up being a pair of JBL L26's. The cabinets and grills are in perfect shape but the woofers need to be refoamed. Shouldn't be a tough job. Are the generic kits on ebay a good choice or should I look somewhere else? The receiver needs a deoxit treatment badly, and a few bulbs are burned out, nothing too serious. The tape deck seems to work well but there is a slight squeaking sound every rotation. Probably could use new belts, yeah? Overall pretty excited about getting all of this gear back in top shape again. I will likely post after pics when I'm done.
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May 22, 2015 06:34
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BANME.sh posted:You might like how it sounds but technically, the Muse amp has far worse specs. since these things are all through hole components, i can replace them myself. ideally i'd buy a kit for all the components, any idea where i can get such?
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May 22, 2015 06:42
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Kits for some some popular gear do exist, but you pay a premium for somebody to pick all the parts for you. It was daunting for me at first, but you save a lot of money learning how to pick them yourself from sites like digikey. I'm guessing since you know what through-hole is, you have a bit of experience with this already.
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May 22, 2015 06:52
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BANME.sh posted:Kits for some some popular gear do exist, but you pay a premium for somebody to pick all the parts for you. It was daunting for me at first, but you save a lot of money learning how to pick them yourself from sites like digikey. I'm guessing since you know what through-hole is, you have a bit of experience with this already. The only issue i have with places like digikey, farnell and what not, is that they're hilariously complicated when you don't browse them regularly. what do you mean there's 50 different varieties on this capacitor?
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May 22, 2015 07:07
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Yeah, you want to match the voltage and capacitance, but the voltage can be higher than the original if you want. The higher voltage, the larger the physical diameter or height also - so sometimes space can be a concern. Typically modern capacitors are smaller than older ones, so this isn't an issue most of the time. If you stick to the same brand and line of capacitor, you're usually limited to just a couple options so it makes choosing a bit easier. The last amp I recapped, I used all Elna Silmic II caps which made it easy to source everything. Make a spreadsheet for the caps you need for each board (power supply, amp, tone control, etc), and then figure out how many duplicates you have. Then you can make it a bit simpler by upgrading a few low voltage caps to higher ones if you already have a bunch rated at the higher value (as long as the capacitance values are the same of course). For example, if you have a bunch of matching capacitance caps at 20V, and only one at 16V, you might as well just upgrade it to a 20 to make it easier. And make sure all your power supply board caps are rated for 105C just for good measure. BANME.sh fucked around with this message at 07:17 on May 22, 2015 |
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May 22, 2015 07:12
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BANME.sh posted:Just earlier today I was lamenting that I haven't come across many deals lately, but I just scored a Marantz 2250b and matching Marantz 5220 tape deck in great shape, along with a pair of old JBL speakers (unknown model, but good condition) for $180 all in. Oh man, I love those VU meters, they're so pretty.
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May 22, 2015 10:10
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BANME.sh posted:The speakers ended up being a pair of JBL L26's. The cabinets and grills are in perfect shape but the woofers need to be refoamed. Shouldn't be a tough job. Are the generic kits on ebay a good choice or should I look somewhere else? I recently refoamed my JBL L56's and just bought the cheapest kit I could find on ebay. It didn't fit well so I had to glue both edges on the outisde (instead of on the rim and behind the cone). So it didn't look great, but it sounded just fine. If I had to do it again I might go with a slightly more expensive kit, but I wouldn't worry about generic parts. Even the cheap ones I got were good quality.
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May 22, 2015 14:25
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Someone recycled this beauty today. I can't believe the things people get rid of. 
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May 22, 2015 23:01
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I'll pay you to send me one of the smaller pushbutton ends from that (just the silver part, not the switch). I need a replacement power button on my recently acquired 2250 and I think those are all the same size across marantz products.
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May 22, 2015 23:14
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I found somebody selling a mcintosh 240 for $150 because they don't know if it works. Looking at the photos, it appears mint. I replied to the ad but it's been up for an hour already so I probably missed out. Somebody is gonna have one hell of a deal.
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May 23, 2015 02:49
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Bugger, the 2285B would be my pick of the lot.
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May 23, 2015 03:48
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Found a pair of ADS AVT148 at goodwill for $70. Should I pull the trigger? Can't find much info on this particular speaker but the brand makes me consider it.
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May 24, 2015 19:32
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They're probably great for the price if all the drivers work. Getting them repaired is a huge pain unless you live in Phoenix
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May 24, 2015 19:38
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At a thrift store I go to that never has great electronics, I found a very mint looking Technics SA-500. Unfortunately they had it priced kind of high for that store ($50) so I left it for now. Was that dumb?
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May 26, 2015 22:57
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You could do a lot worse for $50. It has 55 watts/channel which is pretty good, low distortion too. I would go back and get it, especially considering you said it's in good shape.
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May 26, 2015 23:10
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$50 is right at that "ehhhhh I guess" threshold, I'll go back tomorrow and see if it's still there.
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May 26, 2015 23:34
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pzy posted:$50 is right at that "ehhhhh I guess" threshold, I'll go back tomorrow and see if it's still there. So did ya get it?
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May 27, 2015 13:31
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evobatman posted:So I found this in the electronics recycling at work: Good news everyone! Got my preamp, got a lot of buzz and messed around with wires and stuff until I figured to ground the black wire in its spot on the preamp. The cart is in great shape, and my thrift store Top 30 album I bought for testing sounds awesome!
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May 27, 2015 16:22
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I sold my grandmom those homemade Kevin tower speakers I posted earlier. She's now waiting on me to find a receiver for her. What's the best way to figure out the power a set of speakers can handle without knowing exactly what the drivers are? All I know is that they're probably made by Scan-Speak (judging by the grille on the back covering a port), that each speaker has one ~4" tweeter and one ~6" woofer, unless there's a third driver inside the cabinet, and that they're the best-sounding speakers I've ever heard. I want to get her a receiver that can power the speakers pretty loudly (she likes her operas loud), but that doesn't run a risk of blowing out the speakers by turning it up too loud, since the replacement cost of one driver would probably be about half what I sold her the speakers for. I tested them for her with a Harmon Kardon 930, which apparently has 48 wpc, and I was able to crank it almost to the top of its volume range without the speakers showing any signs of distortion or rattles or what-have you. Would I be looking for something similar?
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May 28, 2015 05:25
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atomicthumbs posted:I sold my grandmom those homemade Kevin tower speakers I posted earlier. She's now waiting on me to find a receiver for her. What kind of monster sells poo poo to their grandmom? Are you six? Is she paying you in candy?
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May 28, 2015 05:32
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Electric Bugaloo posted:What kind of monster sells poo poo to their grandmom? She told me to sell her a sound system! I'm just following orders!
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May 29, 2015 18:55
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The other day, a co-worker gave me a Technics SL-BD25U turntable. Apparently, between their house and the office, the headshell broke off of the tone arm. Is this worth fixing/replacing the tone arm? If not, no big loss, it was free.
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May 30, 2015 00:07
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How broken is it? It's a p mount table apparently, did the cart just come loose?
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May 30, 2015 00:49
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What should the next upgrade in my setup be? I have Technics SL-1200MK2 Turntable Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge Pioneer SX-770 Receiver Pair of JBL ES30 Speakers I'm looking for something to upgrade the sound. I thought about getting a different cartridge such as Audio Technica AT-440MLA or Denon DL-110 I listen to a variety of genres: indie, alternative, rock, hip-hop, electronic, folk-country I've also wondered if getting a tube preamp such as pro-ject tube box would increase the fidelity a lot. Just trying to gauge where my weakest link is, and what will bring an increase in change.
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May 30, 2015 00:58
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Peacebone posted:What should the next upgrade in my setup be? Well I think yo--- Peacebone posted:I've also wondered if getting a tube preamp such as pro-ject tube box would increase the fidelity a lot. I think the best upgrade would be a new listener.
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May 30, 2015 01:46
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Dogen posted:How broken is it? It's a p mount table apparently, did the cart just come loose? Here's a picture.
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May 30, 2015 01:55
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Peacebone posted:What should the next upgrade in my setup be? If you're looking to buy a project tube preamp, I have one new in box that I'm looking to sell. I think it's a SE II, but I'll know for sure when I'm back home from Vacation on Tuesday. PM me if you want it.
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May 30, 2015 02:32
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rockinricky posted:Here's a picture. Oh yeah I don't think there's any way to fix that without just replacing the tone arm unfortunately. Probably not worth it.
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May 30, 2015 04:05
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Jerry Cotton posted:Well I think yo--- haha..I'm asking because I have no idea if that poo poo is bullshit or it will actually help.
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May 30, 2015 04:06
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