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Post by sandawa on Oct 18, 2005 17:40:12 GMT 7
this is a tribute to old speakers we still use today. one of my favorites - a JBL Century already passed away last year after the MDF box was destroyed by water and termites. one of its woofers has a distortion problem since the early '90s, thus, i stored it since 10 years ago. its midrange and tweeter units were given to a friend involved in mobile sound business. my oldest pair of speakers that's still keeping me happy is an ElectroVoice Interface A built in mid '60s. among my four favorite speakers in the '80s, including an AR-3a and a Dahlquist DQ-10, only the EV Interface A is still putting out magical music better than the new ones. it's currently hooked to a Sansui AU-X11. my son who'll be entering the medical school next year described EV Interface A as the best sounding speakers he's ever heard. btw, i got over a dozen US, Brit and Jap speakers including an Epos 14. for me, Epos 14 when hooked to the Alpha 907 is the best especially when pushed to the edge. on the other hand, EV's sonic quality when hooked to the same amp goes down when pushed at live concert level volume. Diego was here in my apartment and was surprised by EV Inerface A's sound despite its vintage and almost tattered look. his friend said it's better not to change anything on the speakers, to maintain their unassuming character, and thus impress visitors. here are few photos of the Interface A, sold for only about $600 per pair in late '60s: without the grill - it looks too frustrating. alongside Denon Superboy which I use as HT front speakers. EV Interface A's pair includes an equalizer to tame the highs - it has two tweeters, one in front and one in back to boost presence. this is how it looks when new (this one, however, is a mid '70s model - Interface A series III)
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Post by wanderlust on Oct 20, 2005 11:26:26 GMT 7
quite intresting sir, i really really hope i could someday visit and listen to the many gears you have there. kakagulat mga gears mo sir.
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Lordfoo
Audionut
Listen to be heard.
Posts: 225
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Post by Lordfoo on Oct 20, 2005 17:27:24 GMT 7
;D
OT na naman.
sir Wanderlust, awesome talaga si Sir Sandawa.
When the surplus units at the pier dries up, When all the audio units coming from Japan peters out, Sir Sandawa could probably set up a museum of Philippine Audio History: Highlighting the Surplus Audio ERA.
heheh. Just kidding.
Sir Sandawa's gift is not just the physical audio items he has but the knowldege ang history about them that he has in his brains.
I can't wait for his audio website to be up and running.
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Post by sandawa on Oct 20, 2005 19:40:41 GMT 7
sir foo, bilog na bilog na 'ko sa bola. pero salamat na rin, na-inspire lang ako sa website ng kaibigan nating si Axel (TVK). naisip ko, ba't hindi ko kunan ng photos - labas at loob - yung mga equipment ko at mga kilala ko dito. kasi yung mga newbies, or shoppers - hindi lang Pinoy - interesado sa itsura ng loob at background nung mga nakikita nila pag nag hifi-hunting. tulad ng K-nisi ba na reference website kahit hindi maintindihan ang English translation. nanghihinayang ako, kasi ang daming nakawala sa aking equipment na hindi ko nakunan ng photos since the '80s, including hard-to-find.
anyway, ito pa rin naman ang home board ko, kaya bago ko buksan yung plano kong website, ipo-post ko pa rin dito yung mga equipment photos, kahit kalahati lang. maganda kasi dito parang isang pamilya lang, walang insultuhan, walang away (puro bolahan lang, he-he-he!), halos magakakaibigan lahat, bata o gurang (tulad natin!).
i'll be posting a few more vintage speakers i have here - susunod siguro yung ESS Performance 90C - in the next few days. sana i-post mo rin yung AR-90 mo, tagal kung naghanap niyan nuon, wala akong nakita - hanggang AR-3a, AR-10pi, AR-18 at AR-25 lang ako. sama mo na rin yung Yamaha NS-1000 at 690 mo. daming interesado dyan.
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geko
Audionut
tsk... tsk... tsk...
Posts: 108
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Post by geko on Oct 20, 2005 22:34:16 GMT 7
galing, sir! would love to hear your collection. am a proud owner of a Dahlquist DQ-10 myself.
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Lordfoo
Audionut
Listen to be heard.
Posts: 225
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Post by Lordfoo on Oct 21, 2005 5:34:25 GMT 7
I really miss my lost digital camera. I'll post pictures soon. My Vintage speakers are: 1. AR90. ( i actually got this unit from Lito's Audio exchange in Makati). AR18s AR2a 2. Infinity Kappa 7. This one sports the famous emit tweeters. I bought my kappa 7 from a guy who brought home his audio gear from the Middle east. Some of our OFW compatriots in the 70s to the 90s brought home some of the gems occassionaly being sold at the buy and sell market place. I saw a kappa 8 being sold at the buy and sell magazine almost a year ago. Here's the seller's advert. 8/27/2004 INFINITY SPEAKER 28,000 (neg) Kappa 8. 757-6224 or (0917) 7399110. Only a few months ago, i ran after an EX OFW selling his infinity RS5000. (the RS6000 is the TOTL.) Unfortunately, his wife has done some terrible damage to the speaker enclosure not the least of which is having it soaked in a flash flood. The drivers and dividing networks were still okay though and I thought this could be a nice DIY speaker enclosure building project. We didnt come to a sales agreement though. I still ache for that pair though. 3. Cervin Vega D9. (awesome pair of 15 incher party speaker.) The enclosure of D9s though are not as good as the Kappa's. This speaker packs some bass wallop. 4. NS1000m. This one i did not get from the Pier but from a guy who I believe didnt know what he had and was using it with a 55 watt plastic pioneer amp. 5. I have a pair of 18 inch behringer drivers. I am still hoping i can do someday do something with these monsters. 6. KEF reference 104ab. Got this pair from a thrift shop. The sound output was awful when i brought them home. My brod replaced all the capacitors and the speakers started to sing. The two other speakers that i have, i brought from the pier, the NS690 and 2 pairs of Victor SX3. 7. Beovox 4802 8. unknown or are these Bose 301 oldies?
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Post by sandawa on Oct 21, 2005 7:37:19 GMT 7
the source of my speakers were varied. some bought new, others were from expats' yard sale back in the '80s and about a third in my collection are Jap surplus. i started my fascination for Jap surplus only three years ago after checking out the websites and realizing we could be dealing with hifi gold on these so called "surplus" items. as they say, one man's trash could be another man's gold. like some newbies in other fora, i used to hate Jap brands too, except a few amp brands.
did you know that i swore never to buy a Rotel again after i got a "tunog lata" 75wpc receiver back in the early '80s when i was new in this game? Rotel is a Jap firm that had manufacturing plants in Korea and Hong Kong. it was villified and insulted for its low-quality products back then. the HK connection resulted in some Brit investments, plants in Europe and aggressive marketing, including putting up huge ad budget in British magazines, in Stereophile and other publications that transformed it into a good hifi brand. some Pinoy hifi newbies don't even know that Rotel is Japanese. then there's Korea's Inkel, which bought US brand Sherwood in the '80s to gain respectability, the same way the Japs bought Marantz, Harman Kardon, ADC, etc. pretty interesting stories, but important info that one could use in choosing hifi equipment. it's not brand new, recycled surplus, or used unit. it's not the looks but the background of the equipment/brand and how it actually sounds, as confirmation.
my brand new units were bought here, in the US and in HK, while i was working there. the used units from the '80s were from the expats who would dispose their gear before they go back to their home countries. Forbes, Dasma, Bel-Air and Roxas Blvd were the usual sources - as we'll as Dau. i also got a package of good European hifi from a staff of the British embassy in early '90s - Rogers LS3/5a, Thorens 320, a Nak and a Rogers Reference amp for P20K. i had to sell them individually, except the Thorens, netting me roughly P30K (the LS3/5a was sold at only P7.5K because i feel, until now, that's the used price for an average-condition pair.) A Goethe House staff also sold me his gear back then. my Dual 1219 was from a member of the board of ADB.
i'm sharing this info since newbies hardly read this from local publications. many posters in other forums sound learned but their biases were familiar. i was like them 20 to 10 years ago.
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Post by Superman on Oct 21, 2005 9:11:50 GMT 7
sir nani, i'm intrigued with the sound of your speakers...gotta listen to those...i'm arriving december 20...until january 2...dami tayo oras...i believe jon (onedown) is also spending christmas again there...hope to see you and diego as well!
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joey
Audionut
Posts: 88
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Post by joey on Oct 21, 2005 9:48:28 GMT 7
Sir sandawa i saw some of your gears and it amaze me on rare gears that you have there. i my self love vintage gears. im just a newbei here. sir lordfoo i like the collection you got. specialy the ar9. to share what i have... Vintage sansui SP-5500. but the cabinet is alredy gone, couse of the "maga" thing. i made a new box which same dimension but not finish. i made a little mods which inilabas ko yung horn to make look Altec A7. not actual pic.. heres another sansui the SP-2000 series. its in prestine condition. i spray the cabinet with clear gloss to make it look good. not actual pic also a Yamaha NS-690III, JBL L112 with modified mid & high Driver, and JBL L100 with a new box. i saw some gears in Litos Shop in evangelista like the rogers ls3/5a, harbeth, magnefan, infinity, klipch like belle. jbl's, polk audio, jensen, advent, wharfedale, altec like A7 and a huge vioice of the theater, Acoustic research like AR11, Yamaha like ns-1000m, sansui, kenwood, coral, and some pioneer like cs-99a, cs06. cant track na yung iba ang dami kasing lumampas that i made a mistake not paying attention to those vintage gears.
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Post by sandawa on Oct 21, 2005 10:19:22 GMT 7
wow, is the condition of your vintage speakers same as those in photos above? i'm amazed. many of the vintage speakers i had "lost their looks" when the condition of the grills deteriorated. i lost my L-100s square-matrix foam grills only after a year of use (na pulbos) and that was way back in early 80s. i remember Silverio's Delta Audio could get original grill replacements back then pero mahal, para ka na ring bumili ng brand new speakers. then, someone told me almost original AR boxes and grills could be produced locally by a guy in La Loma (sana buhay pa 'yung mama). seeing photos of these vintage wonders makes young again.
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joey
Audionut
Posts: 88
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Post by joey on Oct 21, 2005 11:09:21 GMT 7
well its sad to say na yung Sp-5500 box is already gone. but i made a new one but not finish. the SP-2000 though is in its original box now with kinis kintab look couse of the clear gloss i spray. the jbls though eh wala na ring mga grills, bare na bare Sir sandawa. sayang nga eh, if i could just remake those foam grill. im looking for a good kahoy sana, nagpunta pa nga ako ng baler quezon, isabela at banawe to look sana yung magagandang kahoy na babagay dun sa drivers ng jbl at SP-5500 to make a new box and grill. but i ended up sa mdf na lang medyo mura. but im still wanted to box it in good kahoy sana. well i hope to see more of your "vintage museo" sir sandawa.
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Post by sandawa on Oct 21, 2005 11:31:07 GMT 7
parang meron na yatang gumagawa ng foam grill ng L-100 ngayon sa US, sa Audio Karma ko yata nabasa. pero palagay ko mahal. true, sayang ang looks nitong mga vintage gear natin. may mga lauan pa dito sa Davao, pero mahal at hindi sigurado ang quality - including enclosure sealing. at least, basta walang sayad ang woofer at walang distortion ang mids and highs kahit i-overdrive, masarap pa ring pakinggan.
Diego also suggested to me to apply high-gloss cover for the truly wood speaker boxes to preserve the grain quality. nagkamali ako nung isang buwan, i sprayed high-gloss on a turntable instead. i'll try high-gloss on one speaker pair soon.
GEKO,
sir, paki-check nga yung left side ng paa ng isang DQ-10 mo. if it has a small (half-inch) H marked by a Swiss knife on the wood, that was mine 20 years ago. i let go of my DQ-10 after the EDSA revo in '86. nuon kasi konti lang ang good hifi gear dito, umiikot lang ang units. i remember buying an AR10pi, all orig, from an expat at $150 (less than P4K at that time), sold it after 6 months at P5K. tapos, after two years, i bought an AR10pi from another guy also for P5K. then i looked at my Apple II PFS file and found from the serial number it was my old pair. the box was grinded to have a newer look!
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joey
Audionut
Posts: 88
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Post by joey on Oct 21, 2005 11:45:32 GMT 7
i think mahal yung grill na yun. well im so busy right now kaya di ako makapgkalikot ng gears. but im still looking for good kahoy like kamagong sana. sa banawe mura lang sana ang kahoy kaso pagbaba dito ang problema. me nakita nga ako dun na narra ang diamiter niya is apat na yakap ng tao ang laki! wow grabe. nakakita din ako ng yakal pero nagbibitakbitak naman siya. kung narra naman kasi gamitin ko, masyadong common. gusto ko sana eh kamagong or yung look alike niya, medyo maitim na may halong brown sana. well siguro next time ill post the unfinished vintage gears in modified look. dont forget to clean, medyo scrub mo ng liha yung manipis lang at wood stain mo siya. spray dapat para maganda look niya. pagbrush kasi sasama yung stain sa gloss minsan ok minsan hindi maganda. well for me ok sakin yung spray.
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Post by sandawa on Oct 21, 2005 12:02:18 GMT 7
thanks for the tips, kailangan ko 'yan to preserve my speaker cabinets. balak ko kasi i-donate itong hifi collection ko sa UP ten to 15 years from now. your comment on yakal is true. bought a set of pure yakal table ang stools here, sobrang bigat. sabi ng nagbenta tuyong-tuyo daw ang kahoy, but after a year, lumabas ang cracks. sayang, kasi solid wood and the round table's diameter is almost one meter.
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joey
Audionut
Posts: 88
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Post by joey on Oct 21, 2005 12:22:43 GMT 7
well kung gusto mo iship mo dito and ill preserved na yung mga gears mo ngayon while im enjoying it before you put it in museum! ;D ;D ;D joke lang. medyo malaki na yung diameter ng yakal na yan. sayang nga lang nagbitak na. well anyway im still looking forward to see some of your vintage rare gears. keep em posted sir!
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Lordfoo
Audionut
Listen to be heard.
Posts: 225
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Post by Lordfoo on Oct 26, 2005 14:53:31 GMT 7
Sir Sandawa,
You've got a whole batch of AR speakers pala. I found an AR18 last night in very good condition. I am now playing it with a Fleetwood Mac Live album spinning on my Pioneer PL516. Its a bookshelf that should be kept on the floor. It came with black stands but the bass comes alive when the pair is on the floor.
OH OT- Yesterday evening, I also passed by a thrift shop looking for LPs. I got a whole bunch (including a very good looking but not powered up Pioneer PL-A45d Turntable that Bully of AK also has.
Among others I took home three double live albums - - Eric Clapton's Just one Night recorded at the Budokan Theatre;
-- Fleetwood Mac Live,
-- Frampton comes alive.
I even took home -- two LPs of Ric Manrique, -- two Simon and Garfunkels, -- a Neil Young, --Chet Atkin's Finger Style. -- two Ray charles singer albums, --Golden Hits of the 4 Aces, --several Carmen Caravallo's.
The cinderalla of my finds is Protest Album of Joe Glazer, 'AFSCME Sings with JOE Glacer. At the back is a handwritten dedication:
"for friends at FFW - Solidarity Forever - Joe Glazer Manila Feb '69.")
Remember this is the time of the Third Quarter Storm, of Jane Fonda visiting Vietnam, of UP student leaders going to China when China was seen as a "red" black box. The album contains such songs as "joe hill" John henry, Solidarity forever. I imagine Joe visiting the Philippine protest groups or Unions active at the time, (KM? SDK?) and handing out signed albums.
I was simply delighted to say the least with the history carried by a forgotten piece of vinyl.
Two months into the vinyl hobby and i am simply blown away by the satifaction it is giving me. By the way, one of the Ric Manrique Album was the sountrack of the "uhaw" film in the 60's or 70's...but that's another story.
My money's running out!!! heheh. I was eyeing vintage speakers the likes of The Advent Loudspeaker, a KLH six (someone told me this is the first 2-way suspension speaker from Kloss), and a Boston A10.
Foo
"The music keeps playing in my head."
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Post by wanderlust on Oct 26, 2005 15:58:18 GMT 7
i am speechless... you guys have an awesome collection, that i personally dont even have a hint existed.... reading here becomes now a learning experience as well, and admittedly, it is only now that i knew that rotel is a jap brand, i always though of it as brit. keep it up mga sirs, i salute you. - a fan
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Post by pedor2 on Oct 27, 2005 12:55:41 GMT 7
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Post by sandawa on Oct 27, 2005 13:45:09 GMT 7
pedor2, saksakan ng mahal yang JBL 212 mo nuon, katapat na ng Quad ESL 63 ang presyo. hope it's still in good condition. wanderlust, 10 to 20 years from now, ipagyayabang mo rin yung mga hifi gear na dumaan sa 'yo. foo, i remember Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland visited the UP campus back in early '70s, after visiting Vietnam, pero elementary school pa lang ako nuon, nabasa ko lang sa Free Press. i have a vinyl of the song collection of the Nueva Ecija-wing of the old communist party - kasama halos lahat ng classics na kinakanta ng mga tibak. also vinyls of Spanish leftist songs from El Salvador and Cuba. plus recorded poems on vinyl personally recited by Dylan Thomas, Ezra Pound, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Frost, Rod McKuen, etc. you might be interested in Wiredstate's thread: www.wiredstate.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4036&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=740(mods, patawad) started by boy bustamante (a.k.a. Discexchange) and george mabasa (ihatejazz). it's a very interesting thread, medyo nagka-lamigan na nga lang these past few weeks.
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narayan
Audionut
I am a peaceful soul
Posts: 234
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Post by narayan on Oct 30, 2005 19:18:56 GMT 7
Lordfoo, i like those ar90s ;D.meron pala yan sidefiring woofers. i would imagine those speakers sing very well with your vintage amps
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