I inherited this collection from a friend of the family, and it's been sitting in storage for some time now. It's all classical. All classical. The first shelf is regular 33 1/3 RPM vinyl, while the other three shelves are all shellac 78 RPM records. This was carefuly curated by the person...

I've picked up a set of Drop/Hifiman HE5XX planar magnetic headphones, and I'm really liking the clarity and the bass, especially now that I have an amp that will do them justice. What's a good next step up in the planar magnetic world? I tend to be cheap, but could go up to $1k on this -...

I've recently gotten my first amp that has a 4-pin XLR balanced drive output, and I'm interested in taking the plunge on that. I have several headphones with removable cables, and I've already ordered balanced XLR cables for those. That's easy, and I've done it and am now (im)patiently waiting...

I first came around here more than 20 years ago, got some great advice and had some fun chatter. It's still here, and that's good, because I need new headphones. Lately I have had a couple of my tried-and-true phones wear out - usually physically, but sometimes just losing a channel after a...

So, fool that I am, I was looking at a reel to reel machine today.   High quality analog source!  Plenty of selections used.  Unusual equipment in the audio stack!   Interesting.  Maybe I should look into it.   Today, I was in a repair shop, and they had a TEAC 3340S, serviced and...

Not sure if this is the best place for this, but I thought I'd put it here as it relates to an amp.   I bought a pair of AKG K1000's.  The seller had an SAC KH1000 to go with them, and I went for it, as some like the combination, and it plugs right in.   The KH1000 has balanced inputs...

A random e-bay search for something else noticed a set of Marantz SE-1 electrostatic headphones.  I put in the minimum bid and got them.   No energizer, though, and they aren't compatible with my SRD-7.   So, an e-bay search and some more minimum bids, I found the Marantz EE-1 energizer...

I've been looking at turntables, at replacing my cheap Radio Shack one with something better.   I've been really happy with the vintage Marantz tuners I've bought.  I think they sound great, they look good, and they have all the features I want.  They also have a phono stage that will work...

Don't know if you've heard of Big Al's Record Barn in San Jose.  It's been a staple of vinyl sales for forty years now, and has a large collection of vinyl.   I went by on Friday and picked up some LPs, and talked a bit with Big Al himself.  He's turning 78 this week, and has been running...

I've been lurking here for ages, and reading along.  I keep seeing excellent DIY amps and thinking, "I can do that!"  I have been collecting the parts to build some good things, and finally have the time to build them.   Knowing I was out of practice, I'm starting with a CMoy.  It's a good...

Hello, headfiers.   I bumped into an auction for Koss Portapro headphones from a seller in China.  The prices are really low, but I have no idea where these headphones came from or why they have them.  Are they knock offs or stolen?  I have no idea.  But who'd bother knocking off a cheap...

Hey, collectors!  There's a seller in China who claims to have a warehouse full of Koss K6 Stereophones, new in box from 1972.   These were the first headphones I ever listened to - Dad had a pair on his Fischer stereo - but that pair fell apart and is no more.  I may order a set for...

I bought a Neuros Audio Computer with a giant 40G hard drive (both physically and storage-wise) in 2003. They had just announced there would be Ogg support for it, and I bought one. I've been using one (upgraded to USB2, replaced hard drives, screens, warranty and out of warranty repaired a...

So, a week ago, I picked up some used Stax gear (see: here) and was quite pleased with them. Until the left channel quit working. It was doing it's happy Stax sound and then I turned my head and got nothing but hum from the left speaker. When I turned back, it came back. The cable which...

I bougt myself a Stax SRD-7 with SR-X MKIII earspeakers. I'd heard a set at a meetup and thought they sounded really great. The older equipment was also more affordable. So, it comes all wrapped up in bubble wrap and I get it out. It's all there, as far as I can tell. There's a little ding on...

I'm putting together a system for the living room, and need enough inputs and outputs and things. A phono stage and tuner are also on the wanted list. A nice, vintage reciever/tuner should do all of this. Since I can't talk my Dad in to parting with his mid-70's Fisher, I'll have to buy my...

A few weeks back, you may have read that I realized how much I missed music, and what to do about it. The Squeezebox came already, and drove light phones pretty well by itself. After reading and thinking, I decided it needed an amp and high quality headphones to go with it. After many...

I've suddenly got some records to play, and am looking at turntables. I've pretty much decided on a vintage Marantz reciever with phono stage to plug it in to, but the turntable itself is less clear. Part of me, the completist, would like a Marantz turntable, to match the reciever. All the...

Not sure this is the correct forum, but I don't see a clearly better place... My Grandmother passed away in April, and it seems I have inherited the record collection she and my Grandfather had. I've also inherited his old stereo... I'll likely ask more about it in the components forum...

I've fallen in to the habit of listening to music on the computer. While I used low-compression Ogg Vorbis, it is still compressed audio, and does not sound as good as a CD does. Last night, I played a CD on a vintage cd player routed through a Total BitHead. I also used the total bithead to...