Who remembers audio from the time when ...


... I recall hurrying home with the newest vinyl, placing it on the rek-o-kut  belt turntable (arm and cartridge beyond recall) then turning on the HeathKit preamp (with all sorts of equalizing circuits) and amp, then watching the tubes warm up.  The anticipation of hearing the new music through a decent system built up with the warming rube glow from orange to red and dimming into the infra red.  Gently grasping the arm and rotating it to place the needle’s crystal  perfectly into the first cut.  The Heathkit 2way speaker was placed forward from center wall to mimic a mono transducer at center stage.  Switching the turntable motor on while gradually increasing gain at the preamp required a soft touch.  Then stereo,  Reel to Reel.  The Dolby cassette deck, tubeless amps and preamps. Digital ...

  i continue to be amazed at the continuing tidal wave of efforts directed to achieve more accurate sound reproduction and more pleasing perception utilizing our incredible ability to hear sound in the spectrum of musical experience.  The sounds of nature: A drip of water on the wet surface of a broadleaf in the rainforest. The startling gasping wheeze of the change in air flow through the mountain pass.  The sizzle of receding waves through the pebbles on shore.  And the sounds made by humans.

  Old timer’s reminiscences of early audiophile recollections are welcome.  




davesandbag

Showing 1 response by barts

My parents had a Magnavox cabinet phonograph with 2 12" woofers! It was stocked with all Broadway show records that they had been to as well as Sinatra records.  They had seen him live many times at the Rustic Lodge in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.  Well, I played the crap outa that thing, hence I know all the popular show tunes from the 60's.  Bought my first album at Sam Goodys it was Cream "Disraeli Gears", 1968.  My parents hated it. So, I got my first stereo for Christmas that year, a Philco all in
one, fold down turntable, detachable speakers, sounded horrible.  So I decided to add some speakers to it.  Scavenged the surrounding neighborhood for thrown out stereos and cabinet TVs.  On my bicycle with my tool bag I managed to get quite a collection of speakers over time.  Started to gang them together in parallel and the inevitable happened, I smoked the Philco literally.  That was the beginning of a long journey, no one around me at the time could understand why I would spend so much time trying to get better sound.  My better half totally gets it and is very supportive and a good listener.  One day you find yourself with many tens-of-thousands of dollars in audio and realize what a long strange trip its been.