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The old but awesome thread

Anything with Decca London Ribbon Horns. Magical and lifelike sound.

Decca AL1500 or AL2000, Mordaunt Short 737s.
 
Still used (78s) rarely and was my first true audio equipment that I had.

Dansette Bermuda (2nd hand but from the 1960 )

Lush valve amp 'mono' and my Led Zep and Boston LP's sounded so good (at the time 1975 ish onwards to 1982).

I bought a new Diadem Needle from a proper music shop (sold pianos) and kept it scrupulously clean.

Simple days and not the collection of boxes that a three way active system requires now.
 
My elderly friend (92) who walks the half-mile to the pub and back for a couple of pints three times a week and has a soft spot for (I’m not kidding) Jack White, having read an article about him in the Telegraph that he enjoyed.
 
Sonny Rollins, now 87. His wonderful “Road Shows” were recorded in his late 70s and early 80’s.
 
Silver Threads Among the Gold.

The lyrics are by Eben E. Rexford, and the music by Hart Pease Danks.(1873)

Darling, I am growing old,
Silver threads among the gold,
Shine upon my brow today,
Life is fading fast away.
But, my darling, you will be,
Always young and fair to me,
Yes, my darling, you will be
Always young and fair to me.
Chorus:
Darling, I am growing old,
Silver threads among the gold,
Shine upon my brow today;
Life is fading fast away.
When your hair is silver white,
And your cheeks no longer bright,
With the roses of the May,
I will kiss your lips and say,
Oh! My darling, mine alone, alone,
You have never older grown!
Yes, my darling, mine alone,
You have never older grown!
chorus
Love can never more grow old,
Locks may lose their brown and gold;
Cheeks may fade and hollow grow,
But the hearts that love will know,
Never, never winter’s frost and chill;
Summer warmth is in them still;
Never winter’s frost and chill,
Summer warmth is in them still.

I also am partial to The Old Gold Shoe by Lambchop.

..and apologies, I didn't notice this was in the Audio Room instead of Off Topic.
 
McIntosh MR-77 tuner, 1970, because I own one.

Dynaco Stereo-70 amplifier, 1959, of which I own several.
 
Tony L said:
I’ll nominate the oldest thing I have in regular use, my 1961 Leak Stereo 20. Older than me and all the amp one could possibly want assuming sensible speakers and listening levels.
Click to expand...

I would never say that all amps sound exactly the same, but I would say that amps of similar topology, design and power output, driven with a suitable load, not clipping or distorting, sound more alike than dissimilar.

In a blind AB it would be very difficult to tell them apart, expect perhaps on a few seconds of very well known tracks - one thinks, Oh, that snare hit is clearer/better/has greater transient attack on Amp A than Amp B, and so on, or the bass has more grip and drive on that acoustic bass riff, but that's about it - on unfamiliar music it would be very difficult to pick significant differences at all under blind AB conditions.

So I agree totally - if one finds an amp one likes, then it is pretty much all the amp one is ever going to need assuming again a good match twixt amp and speaker and not listening at PA levels.

Cheers
 
I have that song," Silver Threads...", recorded by the great Irish tenor, John MacCormack, on RCA Red seal 10" 78, circa 1912. Sounds bloody great on my HMV 102.
 
Tony L said:
All bar the EL84s are Mullards of the same date period, all be it NOS examples when I fitted them. I actually have two Mullard ECC83s and a GZ34 that were in the amp when I bought it and I suspect are the original tubes, they are a bit tired but still work. My amp had actually been rebuilt once before so my rebuild was as much as anything doing it again right/as close to original spec as possible. There are many similar Leaks and Quads out there with a fair few original components, a lot depends on how well they have been stored I guess. Quads seem very kind to their tubes, you see loads with the original GEC KT66s still working fine. The majority of carbon resistors in my Leak had drifted way off spec or become noisy hence replacing them all, though I have stuck with nice carbon replacements in key areas.
Click to expand...
Sounds like the right approach, from my own messing about some of the English/Irish carbon comp resisters drift off value along way. Original mallards do sound the best, of what I tried. Allen Bradley carbon composite are a nice replacement. Surprised me how the resistors type affect the sound.
 
I'm almost fully retro - except for a latter-day CD player. Here is my old but awesome, almost totally analogue, hifi from the 1980s

Linn LP12 turntable
Pioneer C-21/M-22 preamp/power-amp
Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1.5
Yamaha T-1 AM/FM tuner
Yamaha NS-1000M loudspeakers
 
lsinclair said:
My elderly friend (92) who walks the half-mile to the pub and back for a couple of pints three times a week and has a soft spot for (I’m not kidding) Jack White, having read an article about him in the Telegraph that he enjoyed.
Click to expand...

my "life goals", as the kids say.
 
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