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Dead Audiophiles Society

Craig B

Craig B

Re:trophile
This thread is intended as both 'mind and ear opener' for those of us on here who believe that only the latest, greatest, highest end source can bring one to tears of absolute joy.

This 1963 Pioneer deck was pulled from having been in storage since the early '70s, with nothing more than a main bearing and motor lube having been done before recording this first played track in near on 50 years. Admittedly, the original A-T stylus is due for a change; I can almost make out the flats, having looked at many hundreds of tips though microscopes. Regardless, I believe that anyone with ears to hear will be gobsmacked that the idler wheel is original, let alone by the sheer beauty of the sound.

I cried (and I am one tough bastard)...turn it up a bit...

 
Craig,

Not too shabby at all. Apart from the occasional click and pop and some sibilance, it's remarkably high fi.

Just for comparison, have a listen to this. I assume it's from the CD, given the lack of surface noise.


Joe
 
That is lovely too, Joe.

Slightly OT, Karen really only wanted to be the drummer. What a shame that would have been.

It also proves the point that a wonderful recording will transcend the storage/retrieval medium. IME, this is especially so with the better AAD transfers of the best of yesteryear.

Getting back to record decks originally owned by those who are likely to have long since shed their moving coil, this 1958 Perpetuum-Ebner, with 1958 B&O SP1 (NOS original needle) does The Brothers Johnson credit.

As bonus, the bottom end of classic P-E can really help keep one regular. Crank it!

 
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Always liked Sonic Youth’s ‘tributek to Karen Carpenter:


Initially when it came out in 1990, even as a bit of a Sonic Youth fan, I couldn’t work out if it was sincere or a bit of a piss-take, but entirely the former apparently. Kim was a fan (Dangerous Minds).
 
Woodface said:
The story of The Carpenters is one of the sadder tales of our times.

Her brother was seen as the talented one by their parents but without her voice they wouldn’t have made it. She has a strong claim for having the greatest voice in popular music.
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Was it Paul McCartney who described Karen as having 'the best female voice in the world'?
 
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Fast forward to Soviet Russia circa 1979...

Turntable: 1979 KORVET 038s (CCCP)
Cartridge: KORVET GZM128 (CCCP) w. berryllium cantilever nude paroc diamond
Phonostage: 1978 ELEKTOR Preconsonant (W. Germany)

 
The PL12D I remember as the first 'poor man's' hifi deck but 1963? Think yours must pre-date the 12D. I started around '63 with a Garrard, I don't remember any Japanese stuff around at that time. Maybe yours was an import?
 
Mike Reed said:
The PL12D I remember as the first 'poor man's' hifi deck but 1963? Think yours must pre-date the 12D. I started around '63 with a Garrard, I don't remember any Japanese stuff around at that time. Maybe yours was an import?
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Hi Mike,

The Pioneer deck in the first video is an original PL-7 (not to be confused with a bit of plastic that was released circa 1981 that was also called Pioneer PL-7). Comparing original PL-7 to PL-12D would be akin to comparing Garrard 401 to SP25.

Sort of the point of the thread, really. That there were a lot of superb products out there long before many of us were in school. Many of which were well loved by folk who are now long gone, hence the thread title of 'Dead Audiophiles Society'. It's sort of an unfortunate coincidence that we drifted off into memories of the lovely Karen Carpenter (there's a Stevie Ray Vaughan track going on the spacey Soviet Russian deck featured in post #11 above).

BTW, the Pioneer isn't mine, the chap who owns/owned it lives in Germany. I'm not sure how he came by it.
 
Also from CCCP, this is not a Thorens TD-125, nor is the tonearm an SME!

Turntable: 1976 Elektronika b1-01 (CCCP)
Cartridge: 1977 Philips GP422/2 w. orig. D68 SST Shibata needle (Holland)
Phonostage: 1978 Elektor Preconsonant (W.Germany)


From an owner of the same deck (possibly the owner of this one):

"That's my turntable, a real piece of history with excellent sound
I live in Germany and found this table at a flea market near to Berlin
around the Jelzin time when the Soviets (Red Army) left Eastern Germany.
I like the smooth operation and the nice finish of the surfaces.
The tone-arm looks just like an SME but this one is called RODINA and its made 100% in CCCP.
Its 1976 top quality "Breshnev era" cold war Soviet workmanship.
The shock absorbing subchassis-construction with softly spring loaded
cast alloy plate is just like Thorens TD125 and near to a Linn LP12.
No plastics, no fakewood, solid alloy dustcover-hinges, even the
adjustable feet under the plinth base are made of solid brass.
I think a swiss Thorens TD125 hardly can be more solid.

Best regards

Willy"
 
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Of course, no thread is complete without some Trek.

Note the slight similarity between the linear tracking tonearm main beam and headshell to the fuselage and bridge of a Romulan Battle Cruiser.

Turntable: 1970 SCHLUMBERGER A1B (FRANCE)
Cartridge: 1982 ELAC ESG796H30 w. van den Hul tip (W. GERMANY)
Phonostage: 1978 ELEKTOR Preconsonant (W. GERMANY)

 
Craig B said:
This thread is intended as both 'mind and ear opener' for those of us on here who believe that only the latest, greatest, highest end source can bring one to tears of absolute joy.

This 1963 Pioneer deck was pulled from having been in storage since the early '70s, with nothing more than a main bearing and motor lube having been done before recording this first played track in near on 50 years. Admittedly, the original A-T stylus is due for a change; I can almost make out the flats, having looked at many hundreds of tips though microscopes. Regardless, I believe that anyone with ears to hear will be gobsmacked that the idler wheel is original, let alone by the sheer beauty of the sound.

I cried (and I am one tough bastard)...turn it up a bit...

Click to expand...
Very cool. I often wonder if I really need anything more than my trusty old Rega P5, it’s a remarkable sounding deck and by far the best bang for buck I’ve had from a vinyl front end.

Here’s one of my favourite Carpenters songs, just played on my own deck (I’d just cued it up before opening this thread)... we’re dealing with the microphone on my iPhone here so it’s not doing it any justice but take my word for it, it’s pretty good!

 
Craig B said:
Slightly OT, Karen really only wanted to be the drummer. What a shame that would have been.
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She was a very competent drummer and one of, if not the first and still one of very few female drummers in a pop band, she always wanted to sing, that was a massive talent that she wouldn’t have wasted... she was happier doing it whilst sat behind a drum kit though and despite protesting, the decision was made for her... and sadly that helped compound her illness and she paid the ultimate price for it, that’s the real shame, utterly tragic.
 
Love this thread! I listen mostly to classical, plus some 80s and post-80s pop, but playing the video snippets here reminds me that there's plenty of other great music out there to explore. Wonderful turntables too!
 
Craig B said:
This thread is intended as both 'mind and ear opener' for those of us on here who believe that only the latest, greatest, highest end source can bring one to tears of absolute joy.

This 1963 Pioneer deck was pulled from having been in storage since the early '70s, with nothing more than a main bearing and motor lube having been done before recording this first played track in near on 50 years. Admittedly, the original A-T stylus is due for a change; I can almost make out the flats, having looked at many hundreds of tips though microscopes. Regardless, I believe that anyone with ears to hear will be gobsmacked that the idler wheel is original, let alone by the sheer beauty of the sound.

I cried (and I am one tough bastard)...turn it up a bit...

Click to expand...
Just to satisfy my vinyl nerdiness...Is that a Canadian pressing of The Singles 69-73? I don't recognise the label at all although it is clearly an A&M design. I've seen a white background with patterned bar across the middle similar to yours but not a black background design. Can you spill the beans...?
 
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