Audiophiles, help me build a decent stereo

[doubleeject]

I thought that Philips was solid.

Ah, I thought you’d mentioned a Philips tube amp, not the first time I’ve been confused. Nevertheless, $250 for “the devil you know” doesn’t seem bad.

[EWG]

I decided to go with the Technics for a while. Seems to be fully functional once I sort’ve solved the speaker binding post problem by using the remote speaker hookups. 63w per channel. I may still fix up the Philips too. My stereo guy was high on both but really likes the Philips phono amp.

I still need to clean up the innards probably but it cleaned up pretty well on the outside…

[Gcooker]

I'm looking to jump in to the vintage amp/tuner world and one question always comes to mind... how many watts per side is adequate for a home system? I've seen some great reviews for older Sansui and Marantz with 30-40 watts a side... and I can pick one up for under 500$... but then a similar vintage 70 watt per side people are asking 12-1500$ for the same brands...

I live in one of those sort tall and skinny townhouses so my listening area is 8-900 square feet and I have neighbors. Looking for quality over loudness... is 40 watts a side enough? TIA

[doubleeject]

I decided to go with the Technics for a while. Seems to be fully functional once I sort’ve solved the speaker binding post problem by using the remote speaker hookups. 63w per channel. I may still fix up the Philips too. My stereo guy was high on both but really likes the Philips phono amp.

I still need to clean up the innards probably but it cleaned up pretty well on the outside…

On an unrelated note, what kind of wood are the sides of that acoustic guitar made from? Looks wild, or is the sun hitting it?

[Meathelmet]

I'm looking to jump in to the vintage amp/tuner world and one question always comes to mind... how many watts per side is adequate for a home system? I've seen some great reviews for older Sansui and Marantz with 30-40 watts a side... and I can pick one up for under 500$... but then a similar vintage 70 watt per side people are asking 12-1500$ for the same brands...

I live in one of those sort tall and skinny townhouses so my listening area is 8-900 square feet and I have neighbors. Looking for quality over loudness... is 40 watts a side enough? TIA

Depends on a lot of variables, like acoustics, music type (dynamics), your listening preference (quiet/loud)...but I would say the most important thing is your speaker efficiency. Aka. "To compare, a speaker with an 85 dB efficiency rating takes twice the amplifier power to reach the same volume as a speaker with 88 dB efficiency. Similarly, a speaker with an 88 dB efficiency rating requires ten times more power than a speaker with a 98 dB efficiency rating to play at the same volume."

That 40w would be more than enough for "normal" listening conditions when paired with some sensitive speakers...but could end up being sub optimal if paired with some inefficient, hudge floor standing behemoths that are a pig to drive.

I have a Marantz 1030 with 15w/chan driving some quite efficient 2 way speakers (90 dB à 1 W, 1 kHz) and it is more than enough for a small, urban flat.
In the workspace I have bigger Canton GLE 100 (100w/150W) coupled with a crappy Onkyo 5.1 amp, yet the speakers manage to sound absolutely fantastic.
So, it is all about pairing: What with What?

[EWG]

On an unrelated note, what kind of wood are the sides of that acoustic guitar made from? Looks wild, or is the sun hitting it?

It’s rosewood. (Taylor 214ce). It’s a cool looking wood for sure but the light is also playing with it in that photo.

[EWG]

Depends a lot of variables, like acoustics, music type (dynamics), your listening preference (quiet/loud)...but I would say the most important thing is your speaker efficiency. Aka. "To compare, a speaker with an 85 dB efficiency rating takes twice the amplifier power to reach the same volume as a speaker with 88 dB efficiency. Similarly, a speaker with an 88 dB efficiency rating requires ten times more power than a speaker with a 98 dB efficiency rating to play at the same volume."

That 40w would be more than enough for "normal" listening conditions when paired with some sensitive speakers...but could end up being sub optimal if paired with some inefficient, hudge floor standing behemoths that are a pig to drive.

I have a Marantz 1030 with 15w/chan driving some quite efficient 2 way speakers (90 dB à 1 W, 1 kHz) and it is more than enough for a small, urban flat.
In the workspace I have bigger Canton GLE 100 (100w/150W) coupled with a crappy Onkyo 5.1 amp, yet the speakers manage to sound absolutely fantastic.
So, it is all about pairing: What with What?

Also, around the late 70s the FCC (I think it was the FCC) put in consumer protections about wattage ratings. So some of the early stuff with huge listed numbers were actually much smaller than listed. (Companies had been using stuff like Peak power and then multiplying it by 2 for two channels, etc). Then when the regs came along the way you measured wattage got very conservative by rule. So that 63w amp above I showed can blow the windows out of your house.

If it’s a true 40w from that era it could be really loud. If it’s earlier then 40w could be nothing, and a modern 40w is kind of on the small side maybe. But the 1030 meat is talking about was a real 15 (Marantz never did the gross up rating crap to my knowledge) and it can fill a room. If the 40w is from the late 70s early 80s era it could be quite loud. That late 70s Philips I mention up thread is 40w and the stereo service guy I use compared it to a modern 80 or 100w system. As a 40w it’ll fill any room in my house.

So not so black and white…

[highangle]

I decided to go with the Technics for a while. Seems to be fully functional once I sort’ve solved the speaker binding post problem by using the remote speaker hookups. 63w per channel. I may still fix up the Philips too. My stereo guy was high on both but really likes the Philips phono amp.

I still need to clean up the innards probably but it cleaned up pretty well on the outside…

Is that an Ernie Ball with a Floyd Rose?

[Gcooker]

Thanks guys, gives me more to think about. I don’t need a lot of volume, but I’ll research pairing with the right speakers for the 30-40 watt range and see what happens. Will post set up pics once it’s all in place.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[EWG]

Is that an Ernie Ball with a Floyd Rose?

Nope. That’d be cool though. It’s a 1985 Japanese Stratocaster with a custom wood pickguard I put on it early in the pandemic. I am not a great guitar tech. It was a bit of a project.

[The Tortoise]

Didn't know where to put this, so I put it here.

I have a pair of V2 Paradigm Titans, judging by the noise one of them is making I'm assuming the surround has gone. Are these worth repairing myself? I've never done it, but how hard can it be? amiright?

Or do I just ditch them and find a used pair of something equivalent?

[J. Barron DeJong]

Didn't know where to put this, so I put it here.

I have a pair of V2 Paradigm Titans, judging by the noise one of them is making I'm assuming the surround has gone. Are these worth repairing myself? I've never done it, but how hard can it be? amiright?

Or do I just ditch them and find a used pair of something equivalent?

I had a Paradigm (floorstander in the same range as atom, titan, etc. don’t know which is which anymore) that tipped over and damaged the tweeter. Was able to contact the company directly and buy a replacement. That was ~10 years ago, so not sure if policy has changed, and not sure how far back inventory is kept.

If you can buy a replacement driver, should be simple to install.

[highangle]

^^^The internet seems filled with repair tips for those speakers...

[basinbeater]

Got this set for 200 bones. The theobe preamp and son of ampzilla power amp by great American sound company. GAS. Theobe power supply was buggered, so i fixed that. A number of caps were failed or failing, so i replaced all electrolytic capacitors.
Pretty cool unit. Class a line amplifier, servo controlled DC and fancy dual regulated power supply, and of course, a stepped resistor attenuator.

The amp needed nothing but a light bulb, but I'll probably put fresh caps in throughout.

Pretty sweet set for $200. Sounds dope. Listening to Redman muddy waters.

[EWG]

That is phenomenal. Nice work right there.

[Timberridge]

That CD player is getting a workout.

[basinbeater]

Ha yeah. She sturdy.
This stuff won't stay in there for long. Just wanted to hook it up and give it a try.

[AdironRider]

Timely bump as I just got my speaker stands and my setup is coming together finally.

Unfortunately my location makes finding vintage scores a whole hell of a lot of driving for gambles on whether the stuff is any good or not so pieced together new equipment for the sound profile I want. Slightly jealous of basin who gets all of SLC to pilfer. Northern NH just doesn't have enough options.

Amp: Denon PMA-600NE
Speakers: Klipsch RP-600M
Sub: SVS SB-1000
Turntable: Fluance RT-83
Output speaker stands and some crutchfield cables tying it all together.

Came in just under 2k after scoring the speakers well under market on ebay. This thing sounds sooooo nice. The warmer sounding Denon amp and the Klipsch's really pair well together.

[Bite Me]

Didn't know where to put this, so I put it here.

I have a pair of V2 Paradigm Titans, judging by the noise one of them is making I'm assuming the surround has gone. Are these worth repairing myself? I've never done it, but how hard can it be? amiright?

Or do I just ditch them and find a used pair of something equivalent?

Unless you want to get into repair, I'd look for something new(er) in good shape. Paradigm, PSB and others make great stuff at great prices, and even better at used prices.

If you do want to play, then a screwdriver and a pair of needle nose for the connections should be all you need. Paradigm might have something, but will probably strongly recommend changing in pairs, or just going to parts express for something similar. If they're that old, the caps in the crossovers are probably something else that should be addressed soon.

[basinbeater]

I've been listening to the gas stuff for a couple hours now, and man, it is good. Excellent sound out of my little Polk desktop speakers. Best bass I've ever heard at my desk, and the highs are so clean. Can't wait to plug this stuff in upstairs.

[basinbeater]

Ar, i like the old Denon stuff. Pretty high quality imo.
I have a Denon pra-1100 preamp that i really like, but i buggered the volume pot taking it apart to clean, so i need to find a replacement.

[basinbeater]

Couple pics of the intestine where the gas comes from...
First pic is power supply. One of the transistors had failed open and would lead to the load dragging the voltage on that side to drag down resulting in very high offset output. No bueno. I luckily had one on hand to fix. You can also see fresh filter capacitors on the power supply. Second pic is the class a line amp board with fresh electrolytic caps in. The line amp uses an opamp based servo to minimize DC output. That board needed no additional work beyond checking DC out and bias. Both were within spec.

[basinbeater]

Redid all the electrolytic caps on the power amp, and reset the DC offset and bias. Significantly cleaned up the sound. I had been playing the thieves preamp with the big Denon badger, and that sounded great. Really good. So far this sounds pretty good. Once the novelty wears off I'll do some a b testing.
Very curious if the gas combo will beat out the apt Holman/honey badger combo.

[Todds]

What are you all doing for a digital source? My integrated amp only has analog inputs. I'm currently using an ipod 160GB with 3.5mm to RCA cable and figure there are better choices. I'm looking to keep it in the $250 range. I was thinking about a Bluetooth DAC or a Digital Audio Player.

[EWG]

Chromecast audio. Discontinued. Find one used somewhere. It’s excellent. $30 new.