What did your system look like 30 years ago?
This is exactly what it looked like 16 years ago in 2004 https://www.theanalogdept.com/c_miller.htm 30 years ago would be 1991. That was the year I bought my current home, but at the end of the year. In January I was living in a 800 sq ft 2BR condo. The "living room" was more like a rectangular "living space" with kitchen at one end, then dinner table, and "living room" with a sliding glass door at the end opposite the kitchen. The system was your typical rack thing with my trusty 1974 Kenwood KA-8004 integrated amp driving 1974 JBL L25 Jubal. Yellow and orange, in case you were wondering. There was a JVC HiFi VCR, lamp cord, patch cords, and the one SOTA feature was the hard wired power cords. That's a joke, son. There was also a Technics SL-1700 DD turntable, but in this living situation that was stored away in a box. My listening was all MTV TV and HiFi VCR. Had CDs but no CD player. What I did was lug my VCR to a friend, dub CDs to tape, listen to tape. Now if you had asked about 20 years ago, how I wish there were pics of that! Imagine the current listening room above, only no paint, no sheetrock even, just house wrap, with an old recycled plank of wood across cinder blocks. My first upgrade from the Kenwood, McCormack DNA1, went on that plank. Oh how I wish I had pictures of that! |
Like this in 1980 college dorm room https://photos.app.goo.gl/SyU2JPgjWauRpBC46 ~4th revision to my first “good” system. Hitachi sr-804 Class G receiver philips 312 table probably an Ortofon cart of some sort back then. Maybe Audio Technica or Goldring. Aiwa ad6550 cassette Audio Control EQ dbx 118 Discwasher and Zerostat I think those speakers are my Ohm Ls that I refurbed a few years back and still use but could be my roommates larger Ohm C2s...not sure. |
Love the four Grolsch-Helmholtz resonators on the equalizer. Even mahgister doesn’t have those. Awesome. https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNnyj-XQxvcJEyjPglBEWV4HhYqhAfgcdTslgBbXmh639xHA7W3r2EEy9kWEXmU... |
Pink Trangle Export, GTI status in 1992 Alphason HR100S, ATOC9, ARC SP9MKII, DENON POA6600 monoblocks, TDL Studio 2, AKAI GFX91. Straightwire Maestro cabling. No fancy powerstrips or dedicated lines or special power cables. Just a Sound organisation rack for turntable and pre. Loved that system. 1993 mistakes took place. G |
Phase Linear 400 amp Phase Linear 2000 preamp Epicure Omin Directional speakers Revox A77 Reel to Reel Swiss model Empire TT 698 I was in the Army in the 70s and GIs were able to purchase gear for 1/4 of the price. It was crazy! It was a lot of fun! Not the Army part! If I remember correctly the A77 was under 500.00! Brand spanking new. I was 19 years old and buying all this high end gear! In the mid to late seventies this was top shelf gear. |
VPI HW-19 Mklll, don't recall the low price MC cartridge ARC SP 9 Mk. lll ARC Classic 60 Thiel CS-3.5 Same system today, though I upgraded Audioquest and FMS wire to MIT 330 interconnects and MH 750 speaker wire. Also added a Grado Sonata MI cartridge Why mess with a great synergy? Thanks to Steve Bauman wherever you are! |
Optonica RP3636 turntable with Signet 5 cartridge NAD 3020 Polk Monitor7b Discwasher brush and Zerostat I still have the 45lb Optonica in its original box. The pseudo granite plinth has survived a lot of moves. Polks were in storage also until last month when they were gifted to a budding music lover. Bought the entire system new in ‘78 |
@oregonpapaNaw. I gave away the record player to a buddy who had an old midfi system. And the Rectilinears were thrown out after the drivers started failing. But I’ve kept the electronics in storage. |
I'm not that old, I was 10 30 years ago. But 20 years ago.. McIntosh C34v. Preamp Mcintosh mc7300 x2 (bridged) Mcintosh Mcd7005 cd playerYamaha NS-2000 Yamaha NS-1000 I still use the amps to this day and have gone back to the Yamahas every few months. But I still have every piece of this setup, with the boxes and crates. |
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My Infinity IRS Betas looked identical to how they do today.....like new. My Linn Sondek ...same...like new 30 yrs ago and today My Mark Levinson 23's as well....like new. Only piece not the same....went up one number ....Audio Research 6B replaced by a Klyne 7. Wow. Time goes by fast. This has turned into my wife's set-up as I have been relocated to the basement....with much sweeter system but with much lower WAF. |
Kenwood 8100 integrated amp (the nice silver one) Kenwood tuner (matched the amp) Kenwood cassette deck (matched the amp) Thorens 145 turntable with Stanton 681E cartridge Bose 301 speakers (version 1 which I bought the day they first went on sale. The amp/tuner/deck just got sold two years ago, still in perfect working condition (but had long ceased to be my primary kit) The turntable I still use but it was refurbished and sports a Grado Prestige Gold now. After coming to my senses, the Bose speakers had been relegated to garage use and Infinite Slope .6’s took their place. PS I also still have my Zerostat, Dustbuster, Watts Dust Bug and other assorted vinyl gear which gets used too! Good times! |
In 1990, the system I have now was the system I had then: Nakamichi 410 preamp, Quad 405 power amp, NAD CD player (currently on my 3rd NAD CD), Thorens 166 mk2 table but married to a Denon 103 cartridge instead of the Sumiko blue point #2 I have now. Speakers? The venerable ADS 1230s, still going strong since 1983. |
What fun to remember Speakers: JSE Infinite Slope, Model II. The only speakers I heard at audio shows I liked as much as the ones I had and use now. They were/are the most accurate speakers I ever owned. Preamp and Amp: McIntosh SS C28; McIntosh SS MC2250. TT, none, solidly in the ’cd’s perfect forever’ world. (Thorens TD124/SMe on a shelf downstairs). CD: Onyko, dual matched burr brown processors Cassette: Onkyo, their high end dual deck. Prior to CD I made lots of recordings from LP’s, now played them and made Cassettes to give away from CDs 8 Track. Just kept it, it was a gift from Columbia House, I had designed their offices. R2R: vintage 2 Track Stereo with 2 Track Stereo Tapes (no 4 track yet) Equipment Rack: Same one I have now Locations: Then: Plants only on top of the Rack (I promised Donna she could have the top for plants when we bought the rack). All equipment on 2 shelves below, a bit inconvenient, but Speakers in the same corners as now. On 4 wheels as per OEM design. Easy to adjust, push back when big party. Changed to 3 wheels, more weight per wheel. Current speakers, even heavier, 3 wheels, hard to move even on wheels. Location Now: to keep my word, but get 4 pieces stacked on the top shelf, I bought some trays, put felt on the bottom, put them on top of equipment, I still do that. Gotta trust her. I keep one tray of plants on top of cassette that doesn’t move, and one tray that stays/moves from the TT when current 4 track R2R in use, moves to R2R when TT in use. New deep glass shelf for JVC big plinth. How many of you would trust the wifey to water plants on your equipment? Plants can be seen here https://www.ebay.com/itm/133612076659 |
mapman
Are those Grolsch bottles? They look darker than the Green ones, did they make a dark beer I wasn't aware of? Grolsch was my 'celebration' beer, couldn't afford it regularly. |
