Think about how the essential perfect Feng Shui of the room can be completed by a stereo pair of stereos
Ah well, now it’s called Surround Sound, and six speakers (5.1) are always going to be better than four. And then you can have eight (7.1) but I couldn’t tell the difference from good 5.1 on the two set-ups I’ve listened to,
When we still had a bay window at the end of the lounge I made some window seats, with an arm rest at each end to square off the diagonal corners. Except these seats and the upright arm rests were also a pair of transmission line speakers (inspired by Dr AR Bailey) using the big oval Kef B139 bass units and a pair of the Fane twin ribbon horn tweeters (no trace of then now on a quick web search). The radiator was the backrest so we could have ■■■ massage while being toasted.
Five years later when I built the house extension the bay disappeared and I sold the Fanes for fives times what I’d paid for them new, and the wooden carcass went as well, but kept the B139s for future use - they still sit in their boxes.
Having these super-efficient main speakers we also experimented with a pair of Goodman’s Mezzos two thirds of the way back into the room arranged in a Hafler surround system, and it was surprisingly good on the right material. Listening to the Time Out LP (apparently recorded with crossed pair mics onto 15ips Ampex tape) we could walk around the instruments playing, and hear Paul Desmond emptying his clarinet. Most other commercial recordings were pan-potted mono, and failed in Hafler which needed the original stereo phase info (as provided by the crossed pair), so in the end domestic pressure prevailed and my old Maxims became the main hifi system, hidden away in the book cases.
Fortunately, most modern recordings and much TV uses the genuine stereo info, and our clever Z906 surround system can recreate the full depth of the sound stage even from a stereo source. Sixty-year-old Take Five is amazing again.
Another bad idea from the early '70s was the 2 pin DIN plug which was on either end of the speaker cable with matching sockets on the back of the amp. and on the speakers. One pin was round and the other was flat they were about 1cm long at the most and they would fall out of the sockets at the drop of a stylus. Utterly awful things, you could get around that at the speaker end if there was a bare wire/spade alternative but it was a real problem at the amp. end because (in my case) there were no alternative outlets.
Thanks guys some really good suggestions
Funnily enough, I’ve just ordered a pair of wirable 2DIN plugs for the new(er) set I collected yesterday. Main speaker outs on the amp have the spring terminals but the B speaker outputs are 2 DIN . I mentioned before about some differences between my unit and others (including this 2nd set) 5 DIN plug for the cassette deck too Instead of the RCA phono type. Anyway, my 1st set has the suffix H after the component model numbers, the 2nd set has the suffix K. Funnily enough, just looked at the point of sale brochure that came with the Ist set and on the amp it states power indicator both channels 4ohms, my 1st set states 8ohms, 2nd set 4ohms. Looking at the model specific manuals that came with my initial purchase, I have a H1 model that came supplied with the faux rack handles as standard along with all Phono type inputs/outputs etc., other models didn’t have the handles but could be purchased seperately, accessory part number AH-22Y, hence the scarcity of these parts possibly. I originally thought the suffix denoted the country it was sold in, my 1st unit has moulded euro 2 pin plugs, the second has UK 3 pin plugs. Perhaps we were getting stuffed back then with ‘lesser’ models being sold here?
The original (and only) owner before me, of the 1st set was a major in the army and was BFPO in Germany at the time of purchase. The majority of his albums, mainly classical, are German and priced in dm’s
Hence the euro plugs? Who knows.
Barrie
EDIT:
Looking into it a bit more and,
POWER SOURCE
U & C suffix 120v, 50/60 Hz
K & G suffix 240v, 50/60Hz
E suffix 220v, 50/60Hz
H suffix 110/220v 50/60Hz
Indeed my H type has switchable voltage selector on the components!
EDIT 2:
Found this: https://www.worldstandards.eu/electricity/plug-voltage-by-country/
I have only just started reading this topic which I find fascinating. My system is only about 22 years old. In 1996 the pools syndicate I was in at work had a decent win and my share was about £500. I was coming up to my 50th birthday so treated myself to a Technics system. Probably not top range but quite highly thought of.
Amplifier SU-V500
Tuner ST-GT350
CD Player SL-PG580A
I now play this through Wharfdale Linton 2 speakers which I inherited from my Father and recently bought a new turntable. Not sure how this compares with your systems but it seems pretty good to me either with chamber music or the Moody Blues.
I am constantly amazed by RichardFX’s knowledge and his great grandfather was certainly a pioneer in early recording systems and I think the interest and genes have carried on down the generations.
Just ask her how many handbags she has.
One of her Christmas boxes, handbag, purse and a giant work bag to lug her laptop and other paraphernalia around in, all matching so technically that three more to add to her collection!
Barrie
Got the little cabinet back together, here’s a few pics,
The obligatory " made in Japan" labels too!
EDIT: just reviewed this and I apologise for the thumbnails, just wanted to squeeze them all in to one post
Barrie
Internet pic of someone else’s unit
Mine,
Not bad
Barrie
You could tell her you are stocking up on spares for the future
Work in progress
Had to have a tidy up so put the components (all of them) into the unit I’ve been making. In the lounge, this isn’t its permanent home but it’s tucked away behind the lounge door for now. I have some adjustments to make to get the shelves all level, and it needs a good clean as the glass shelves are covered in fingerprints! I also need to cut some holes at each shelf in the back board for cables management. Can’t find my hole saw attachment at the moment, it’ll turn up
Barrie
Now THAT is what you call a tower system !
I know it isn’t, but it looks about 6’ tall!
PS: Barrie, are you bi-amping your speakers, or is it going to be a dual stereo, surround-sound system?
it does look tall! 1200mm total height actually. Ive left a space at the bottom and under the turntable for “other” components. Aiwa made an audio timer (MT 22) which I would like.
Barrie
So you’ve bought two identical systems.
One of them came in a rack labelled ‘Aiwa Micro Systems’. Note the word Micro.
You’ve turned them into a towering 1.2m monolith.
Ever thought of moving to East London? I was thinking of Barking.
So it’s gone from a hi-fi to a high-fi
Mrs B thinks I’m barking too
Barrie
I like that
Barrie
Whos barking now, its catching Bazz could not let it pass me bye are you there tomorrow Rob
Hi Rob, happy New Year yes I’ll be there bright and early as usual
think it’s going to be dry but cold so get well wrapped up! I like DENON, had a great mini system of theirs a few years ago including tape/minidisc/CD/tuner/amp sat on a glass and stainless stand, looked (and sounded) very nice
ATACAMA sand filled stands for the speakers with floor spikes and spikes on the stand platforms for the speakers to sit on. Happy days Rob.
Barrie