Q) I found a strange old pair of speakers at the dump one day about a year ago. Brought them home, dusted them off, spent about a month killing mildew... They are Walsh 2 speakers, with a Huge crossover in the depths of the cabinet, and a removable "Capsule" containing the drivers. They sounded pretty darn good at first but now the tweeters, buried deep inside the capsule, are beginning to sound fuzzy and the mids need to be re-edged. i think I can do the latter. I don't know that I can cope with the tweeters, though. Ohm is still around. they charge about $900 to fix these. That might be a decent deal. I have no idea -- do You? Ever worked with these? Given that I'm in Freeport Maine, You are in "Wattatown," and Ohm is in NYC, even the Shipping might be prohibitive... whereas I could drive these down to you. Is this something you'd tkae a look at?...Read Full Article
Read Full ArticleI know that many people will debate me when I tell them that I have encountered far too many "supposed" esoteric, expensive, fancy cabinet design speakers and gimmicky speaker designs to be extremely lacking in regards to phase accuracy, or at least having reasonably wide frequency response or dynamic linearity to be accurate enough to honestly judge the "supposed" attributes of special capacitors, resistors, wire, or what-ever.
The simple and tragic view point I hold is that most speaker designs which use simple dynamic drivers (i.e. woofers and tweeters with voice coils and magnets.)...Read Full Article
(a letter to a customer)
Thank you for your inquiry on the Edison EX1
The Edison is an audio processing device designed to enhance, correct, or remix stereo program material of any type or from any format. It is especially useful and shows it's capabilities astonishingly on vintage music, or most music which came before the digital era...Read Full Article
Q) I'm looking for a Marantz CDR 600 or a Phillips CDR 101. Do you have one or know where I might find one of these old units??
A) In all honesty I would have to strongly advise against looking for one of these machines. They were notorious for high failure rate, and parts are difficult to find. Seldom is a cost effective service possible. Philips owns Marantz and sets the policy. The only reason why a Marantz is listed here is because we can make sure the laser specs OK, and some people just want the same item for replacement, regardless of my informed opinion....Read Full Article
Q) Hi some time back I purchased a pair of Electro-Voice Interface A speakers on E-bay less the equalizer. I hooked them up and they sounded fine but I seem to remember them having more bass response (I am basing this on how I remember them sounding 30 or so years ago). I finally saw another one on E-bay again last week or so but lost the bid, I have two questions: first, do you feel this unit is required for the speakers to perform correctly (it seems like it but I would like another opinion)...Read Full Article
Read Full ArticleQ) What do you think of the Nikko Beta 30 Preamp?
A) The truth is any reasonably well designed preamp, regardless of what op amps or circuitry is in it will sound OK or excellent or terrible depending upon the expectations of the consumer. This preamp as well as many other better designed Japanese preamps were remarkable if careful gain staging to keep the noise down and quality components, switches, capacitors, etc. were used, proper grounding techniques and if careful circuit path of foils were done, would make for excellent preamp which was neutral in sound character....Read Full Article
Q) I just purchased a Pioneer rt-1050 reel to reel tape deck. I've found that the speed is very unstable. Is this a common problem with this unit and can it be caused by non-manufacturer power chord which this one came with?
A) No. These are great machines but obviously they are 35 years old now. The problem is the unit is in need of maintenance. (possibly new drive belt, oil of motor and mechanism, the speed switch itself can arc out and become intermittent as well as all switches need a proper cleaning and touch up calibration....Read Full Article
Q) Can you please list for me the equipment you use when performing an FM alignment?
A) Well, I have lots of test equipment. Sountech, Leader, Tektronix, etc. but if you're asking if I'm qualified by the equipment I own that would be misleading. Truth is, tuner design is somewhat technical and mystic art. Often times I alter tuners to improve the tuner shielding, grounding, stub tune the 300 Ohm Balun Antennae matcher and especially often adjust existing coils in the tuner assembly to improve FM sensitive and reduce radio frequency parasitics...Read Full Article
Are you a consumer oriented audio electronics technician living in the Boston, MA area? If so, we would like to talk to you about an opportunity as a technician in our shop. We are looking for someone who is passionate about Hi-Fi and pro audio, and has a vast knowledge of audio electronics, from reel to reel tape recorders to digital effects processors, from tubes to transistors, and everything in between. We don't look for licenses, degrees, or certificates; we are looking for someone with a vision, a desire to keep on top of the latest technology, without forgetting the vintage roots. If this is you, email us, or give us a call - (617)926-8020 - and talk to Vince (the owner) about this position in a one of a kind shop....Read Full Article
Read Full ArticleQ) In your opinion how would these speakers work as rears in a theater system?
A) These are OK. People want them because of style appeal. Infact the speaker is a common woofer tweeter combination hidden inside an unserviceable sealed metal basket. The units I had were the better peerless dome and better CTS woofer, so they should be reliable. Others had cheaper parts. Ohm products varied tremendously...Read Full Article