New Finds

[dakatabg]

I haven't gotten anything new lately so today I grabbed one Pioneer SX-737 Receiver. The only thing that bothers me is that it has a big brown spot at the top! I guess the previous owner was a painter or something because it is paint! Overall the receiver is good and it has very good sound.

[thekid]

I haven't gotten anything new lately so today I grabbed one Pioneer SX-737 Receiver. The only thing that bothers me is that it has a big brown spot at the top! I guess the previous owner was a painter or something because it is paint! Overall the receiver is good and it has very good sound. The AM sounds so nice on it!

Congrats Dak.

A little Howard's Restor-A-Finish and 0000 steel wool should remove that paint and restore the wood cabinet.

[dakatabg]

Well I have some paint remover somewhere in the garage but I have to check. I like the sound on that receiver. It is my first vintage Pioneer. I like how the AM radio band sounds!

[thekid]

Well I have some paint remover somewhere in the garage but I have to check. I like the sound on that receiver. It is my first vintage Pioneer. I like how the AM radio band sounds!

I would try the Howard's and steel wool before you put paint remover on the case. Chances are that the paint reomover will damage the cabinet stain. A can of Restor-A-Finish and steel wool can be found at your local Home Depot for about $10. It is a must have to bring back the finish on any wood receiver cabinet or speaker cabinets.

[thekid]

While I am trying to reduce my gear pile I could not walk away from this $5 beauty. It is a Nakimichi CR-2A from the late 80's and works flawlessly. It came with the original owner's manual and a tape catalog listing tapes in the Nakamichi Reference series. The pic is a little fuzzy but here is a link that can give you some info and a better pic.

http://www.vintagecassette.com/Nakamichi/CR-2

Not quite sure what the difference is between the CR-2 and the CR-2A but I am sure the owner's manual can help there.

[poppachubby]

dak I have the SX-650 and I absolutely love it. Sounds way better than it should. That's a keeper...

[02audionoob]

While I am trying to reduce my gear pile I could not walk away from this $5 beauty. It is a Nakimichi CR-2A from the late 80's and works flawlessly. It came with the original owner's manual and a tape catalog listing tapes in the Nakamichi Reference series. The pic is a little fuzzy but here is a link that can give you some info and a better pic.

http://www.vintagecassette.com/Nakamichi/CR-2

Not quite sure what the difference is between the CR-2 and the CR-2A but I am sure the owner's manual can help there.

The A designates the models intended for North America.

[Mr Peabody]

Who would just dump a Nakamichi.....

I was just reading an interview with Nelson Pass today and learned Nakamichi at one point built some amp replicas of his Threshold Stasis series. Nak sent the design to him to tweak before production. I wish he had given some model numbers that would be something to watch for.

[thekid]

Who would just dump a Nakamichi.....

I was just reading an interview with Nelson Pass today and learned Nakamichi at one point built some amp replicas of his Threshold Stasis series. Nak sent the design to him to tweak before production. I wish he had given some model numbers that would be something to watch for.

Well I am glad they did....

Just finished listening to some classical pre-recorded tapes and it is a great sounding deck-similar to my 480. Will try to record something on it tomorrow and see how that goes.

02- Thanks for the info. The owner's manual did mention that the A does mean it was desinated for the North American market and an E is for the European market.

[dakatabg]

Today I got in the store Marantz SP2010 speakers. Those are probably the worse speakers Marantz has ever made. They sound horrible and look like KLH speakers!

[E-Stat]

Who would just dump a Nakamichi...

How much time do you spend listening to cassettes? I still have an old Sony unit, but keep it only to convert cassettes to CDs for family and friends (which I last did over the weekend).

...and learned Nakamichi at one point built some amp replicas of his Threshold Stasis series. Nak sent the design to him to tweak before production. I wish he had given some model numbers that would be something to watch for.

Actually, you have that backwards, Like Adcom, Nakamichi simply licensed his design (schematics) and was completely responsible for all aspects of execution. The PA series of Stasis amps were nice, but not built to Threshold standards. They used smaller transformers, fewer output transistors, lower quality parts and were significantly lighter than the Threshold equivalent. You can regularly find them on Agon and there are a couple there now.

A couple of years ago, Texas Instruments licensed his current "Super Symmetry" design, but as yet has not put it into production as far as I know.

rw

[E-Stat]

Those are probably the worse speakers Marantz has ever made.

My favorite part is the Taiwanese spelling on the back label.

rw

[Mr Peabody]

Here's Pass's interview if anyone is interested. Pass seems to indicate he had a pretty big hand in the Adcom designs and even though Nak purchased rights to the Stasis, Pass mentions Nak sending him back their result to go over.
http://www.linearaudio.nl/JDpubs/Int...iew_MMM110.pdf

[Mr Peabody]

Even though I haven't listened to cassettes in a long while the Nakamichi deck would have brought money on Ebay or Audiogon. I wouldn't have just tossed it.

[thekid]

Even though I haven't listened to cassettes in a long while the Nakamichi deck would have brought money on Ebay or Audiogon. I wouldn't have just tossed it.

Thanks for the link!
I have not ever come across any other Nak gear other than the 3 decks that I own but would be curious to hear what their other gear sounded like. It was also be interesting to find some of these tapes listed in the "Reference Series" catalog. This catalog is the first time I have heard that Nak produced their own tapes.

There really is no accounting for what/why people do what they do with older gear. Some people I have got gear from just have no clue. They bought the gear in the first place because someone or some salesperson said it was good. When something else comes along they just let it go because they had no real interest or knowledge of it in the first place. Some just don't think anyone is interested in older gear anymore and that it no longer holds any value. Both scenario's have allowed me to experience a fairly decent variety of gear at very good prices. Just the Nak decks alone would have had a combined retail value of around $1500 in their day and my total cost has been less than $25.......

[poppachubby]

A couple of years ago, Texas Instruments licensed his current "Super Symmetry" design, but as yet has not put it into production as far as I know.

rw

Scary. TI will surely botch it up. How does it work E, regarding licensing? Can any company spend the cash and get one, or does the license holder have power of selection.

Honestly Nelson Pass is a big shiny audio god. Has he ever done any wrong? Anyone have any dirt on him, or maybe some crumby product that he built?

[poppachubby]

There really is no accounting for what/why people do what they do with older gear.

Bottom line, the average person thinks that old = no longer good/relevant. This is why the thrifts contain some honest to God gems.

That's how I like it. I don't waste my time trying to "educate" people, I would rather scoop their wares for a good price.

[E-Stat]

Pass seems to indicate he had a pretty big hand in the Adcom designs and even though Nak purchased rights to the Stasis, Pass mentions Nak sending him back their result to go over.

He did have a pretty big hand with many Adcom designs - they used his schematics. He did not, however, design the board layout nor spec the parts used. As for Nakamichi, I sit corrected in that "At the end of the process, they brought one up to Foresthill to have it tweaked, and there we were." Once again, unlike the Threshold and Pass Labs products, he did not design how the amplifier was built. Such can easily be determined when you look at internal views of both amplifiers. Pass would never put a 700 VA transformer in a 200 watt per channel amp. He specified a 1200 VA unit for the 100 watt per channel Stasis 3.

"Actually, we did not have to do a lot of work—they took our existing schematics and rendered them into their own version of the product."

rw

[luvtolisten]

Today I bought a Adcom GFP 555 II off ebay today. It has a little paint over spray on it, but supposedly the unit runs and sounds fine.(Got it <$100)
Now the search for an amp.From what I'm hearing hear the GFA 545 is the way to go, but the GFA 535 has had good reviews, and goes for about 50% less. Is the price diff just for power (as stated in the Stereophile review)?

[poppachubby]

Nice grab L2L!! Looks like the beginning of a nice little system. What do you see the final deal looking like? Sources? Speakers?

Can't comment on the Adcom, but I suspect there will be plenty of help for you. Right on!!

[thekid]

Today I bought a Adcom GFP 555 II off ebay today. It has a little paint over spray on it, but supposedly the unit runs and sounds fine.(Got it <$100)
Now the search for an amp.From what I'm hearing hear the GFA 545 is the way to go, but the GFA 535 has had good reviews, and goes for about 50% less. Is the price diff just for power (as stated in the Stereophile review)?

Congrats!
I think you will really like it.
do you know what the difference is between the 555 and the 555 II? From what I know about the amps it was basically cosmetic but I have not heard anything about the pre's.

[luvtolisten]

Nice grab L2L!! Looks like the beginning of a nice little system. What do you see the final deal looking like? Sources? Speakers?

Can't comment on the Adcom, but I suspect there will be plenty of help for you. Right on!!

Thanks Poppa C!
Right now for the source, or at least 90% of the time I use iTunes (with a laptop) thru a Cambridge DAC Magic (I know you mentioned before another DAC with a particular chip, which my be in my future, but I for got the chip and DAC, do you remember?)

As for speakers, I'm a guy who l like variety, The newer ones are Paradigm Titian's, Wharfedale EVO10's, and AV123 XL's. Bit I also love the vintage stuff. I have a pair of Polk SDA 2's, Klipsch KG2's,Wharfedale 60D Mark III's, EPI 100's Boston A 60's, Genesis I's, and about 10 others, but the ones mentioned are my current favorites.

[luvtolisten]

Congrats!
I think you will really like it.
do you know what the difference is between the 555 and the 555 II? From what I know about the amps it was basically cosmetic but I have not heard anything about the pre's.

Thanks Kid,
No, I don't know the difference between them.But I found this link to be helpful:

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...ight=adcom+555

[02audionoob]

Today I bought a Adcom GFP 555 II off ebay today. It has a little paint over spray on it, but supposedly the unit runs and sounds fine.(Got it <$100)
Now the search for an amp.From what I'm hearing hear the GFA 545 is the way to go, but the GFA 535 has had good reviews, and goes for about 50% less. Is the price diff just for power (as stated in the Stereophile review)?

I had a GFA-535 and I still have a GFA-545II. I think it's a fair statement that the price difference is for the power...and the GFA-535 was pretty darn powerful. It sounds like more than its rating.

[luvtolisten]

I had a GFA-535 and I still have a GFA-545II. I think it's a fair statement that the price difference is for the power...and the GFA-535 was pretty darn powerful. It sounds like more than its rating.

Thanks noob! Nothing like the voice of experience! Very appreciated.