When people are looking through over 40 years of your life on one side of the room, and you are on the other - holding forth and making gin cocktails, it can get a bit stressful.
The Westgate Cavern was festive on Saturday night. We had a very nice party and everyone hung out in the basement this time out. People were looking through my record collection without me hovering over them, judging my life's work. I'm sure all the cool stuff they liked was added by my wife. In the end, it all worked out. The worst thing was one record being misfiled - I hope a librarian did not do that. Got to add some new vinyl as my brother's partner came to the party, gifting me of his record collection. I spent some time yesterday weeding out the duplicates and what will move along and added some cool stuff and things he had that I lost in the flood to Discogs. That Lloyd Cole Rattlesnakes record is damn good.
There's a new member of the family also. Finally bit the bullet and got a new amp. The Supro Comet is a little tube dynamo. A ten inch speaker powered by six or fourteen watts of power, and it cranks at both. Good reverb and a smooth tremolo makes it what will be the last amp I ever need.
It was a bit of adventure getting the amp. I had bought from the company before and thought I put in my new address. I did not. Saw that it was shipped to the old address and races over there right away. When I got there, the guy had his laptop open and said, "You work for Ohio State." He was googling me to find some contact info as he suspected I'd need this, and he was right. And he is an honest man, this renter of my old house. Also, apologies to all the people I spoke with at UPS over the past week. My tone was not appropriate.
So it is good, a solid party turn out despite steady rain that ranged from a hard drizzle to near biblical. The puddle in the downstairs bathroom held off forming until after everyone left.
Showing posts with label amplifier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amplifier. Show all posts
Monday, September 10, 2018
Monday, April 6, 2015
Making it 1985 again
Readers of this blog know I've been on a constant updating of my sound system project for a couple of years.
I knew the weak link to the system was the amplifier. Even with the clarity of sound, the power was quite low and the system would cut itself out if the volume got too loud. Sometimes I like it loud, but this was a loss I could accept.
My son is on spring break this week so I'm watching him for a couple of days so instead of doing laundry I took a look at my thirty year old Onkyo TX-15 this morning. The only problem is that one of the phono input channels drops out. Opened it up, looked at the connection, tried cleaning it and getting the dust out of places there should not be dust, closed it up and hoped.
It sounds very good, I do have to say the separation is better with the Lepai amp. but I'll take the volume over that any day. Also have the FM if I ever need that. Still working on the AM reception. Plus, I went to Best Buy and picked up a cord similar to this and I can plug in my iPod or laptop to the system. Sweet.
All that's missing is a cassette deck!
Verdict: so far so good, but I'm keeping the Lepai just in case.
I knew the weak link to the system was the amplifier. Even with the clarity of sound, the power was quite low and the system would cut itself out if the volume got too loud. Sometimes I like it loud, but this was a loss I could accept.
My son is on spring break this week so I'm watching him for a couple of days so instead of doing laundry I took a look at my thirty year old Onkyo TX-15 this morning. The only problem is that one of the phono input channels drops out. Opened it up, looked at the connection, tried cleaning it and getting the dust out of places there should not be dust, closed it up and hoped.
It sounds very good, I do have to say the separation is better with the Lepai amp. but I'll take the volume over that any day. Also have the FM if I ever need that. Still working on the AM reception. Plus, I went to Best Buy and picked up a cord similar to this and I can plug in my iPod or laptop to the system. Sweet.
All that's missing is a cassette deck!
Verdict: so far so good, but I'm keeping the Lepai just in case.
Saturday, March 21, 2015
A sound system journey
After many attempts and configurations the Back Room of the house is finally set up as my little Man Cave. At the very least the audio components are finally in place.
About a year ago I replaced an old pioneer belt drive turntable with an Audio Technica AT-LP60. There have been no problems with it at all. It delivers solid performance. For the price, it's probably the best turntable you can get.
My thirty year old Onkyo receiver was losing a channel frequently. I still have it and if anyone can fix it, come on over, I will pay you in beverages. I picked up a Lepei LP2020A amplifier. This amp about the size of my hand, has a jack to plug in my computer or iPad. I could not be happier with the sound. Obviously it's not a high quality amplifier, look at the price. But for my needs, in a mud room of the house that is only used 2-3 seasons of the year, it's perfect and fills the room with good noises.
This left the speakers. I have shelves up high in the room that are perfect for bookshelf speakers. It may not be the best placement for sound quality but it's a good use of the spacial limitations of the room. I jettisoned a pair of basement warped 30 year old speakers that were the kings of mid-range. Scoured thrift stores for decent speakers. Thought I found some nice old Radio Shack Omnibus speakers but it turned out they were old and messed up. Pro tip: check under the grill for torn and blown speakers before purchasing. Also, check the heights of the speakers. After paying about the same amount in thrift stores for speakers, I finally bit the bullet and bought new Dayton Audio B652s.
These are the speakers I should have had all along. They fit perfectly in the space, deliver very good sound. I tested them with Queen's A Night at the Opera and was very pleased with the separation and depth of sound. They pack a good punch and again, these are not three or four figure speakers. For my purposes though, I love them. Finally, after twelve years of fits and starts, I have built a sound system I'm happy with.
About a year ago I replaced an old pioneer belt drive turntable with an Audio Technica AT-LP60. There have been no problems with it at all. It delivers solid performance. For the price, it's probably the best turntable you can get.
My thirty year old Onkyo receiver was losing a channel frequently. I still have it and if anyone can fix it, come on over, I will pay you in beverages. I picked up a Lepei LP2020A amplifier. This amp about the size of my hand, has a jack to plug in my computer or iPad. I could not be happier with the sound. Obviously it's not a high quality amplifier, look at the price. But for my needs, in a mud room of the house that is only used 2-3 seasons of the year, it's perfect and fills the room with good noises.
This left the speakers. I have shelves up high in the room that are perfect for bookshelf speakers. It may not be the best placement for sound quality but it's a good use of the spacial limitations of the room. I jettisoned a pair of basement warped 30 year old speakers that were the kings of mid-range. Scoured thrift stores for decent speakers. Thought I found some nice old Radio Shack Omnibus speakers but it turned out they were old and messed up. Pro tip: check under the grill for torn and blown speakers before purchasing. Also, check the heights of the speakers. After paying about the same amount in thrift stores for speakers, I finally bit the bullet and bought new Dayton Audio B652s.
These are the speakers I should have had all along. They fit perfectly in the space, deliver very good sound. I tested them with Queen's A Night at the Opera and was very pleased with the separation and depth of sound. They pack a good punch and again, these are not three or four figure speakers. For my purposes though, I love them. Finally, after twelve years of fits and starts, I have built a sound system I'm happy with.
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