[wualta]

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Originally Posted by mypasswordis Thanks for the link... maybe I should join AK.

You could do worse.


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Originally Posted by mypasswordis don't know if there are people as crazy as me looking to buy these massive vintage receivers.

There are. Crazier, even. Lots of 'em, too. Trust me on this.



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Originally Posted by BoilermakerFan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Heck, a member of Team Ortho should be interested if they have the room and are really a dedicated member of Team Ortho.

Dassrite. I'm not one of those people who believes in the special '70s voodoo that happens when you team up '70s speakers with '70s amps and '70s cartridges playing '70s vinyl, but to really amp the first-gen orthos, it's no surprise that something that was designed for low-sensitivity transducers using old magnets works very well.

You have two choices: marry rich and buy present-day 'phile amps for thousands of monetary units, or accept the risks of owning vintage gear and enjoy really good sound for pennies on the dollar. You might find your other power-hungry 'phones (K501, HD 600) sound better too.

 

[sachu]

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Originally Posted by smeggy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, the pads are pretty nice. I'm good for a long sessions with mine. As the days and playtime wear on the RP is settling in very nicely. I pitted them against the t30 and T50v2 again and the RP now has these two beat for bass, modded as I have them all. I'm in love

Been about 10 months now since you made those thunderpants..You still in love with them ?

Found this while browsing the thread...hahah..am laughing so hard..truly ROFL

I did not picture you this way at all..

 

[BoilermakerFan]

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Originally Posted by wualta /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dassrite. I'm not one of those people who believes in the special '70s voodoo that happens when you team up '70s speakers with '70s amps and '70s cartridges playing '70s vinyl, but to really amp the first-gen orthos, it's no surprise that something that was designed for low-sensitivity transducers using old magnets works very well. You have two choices: marry rich and buy present-day 'phile amps for thousands of monetary units, or accept the risks of owning vintage gear and enjoy really good sound for pennies on the dollar. You might find your other power-hungry 'phones (K501, HD 600) sound better too.

Eh, there are only a small handful of '70s cartridges that would sound good today and maybe two speakers I'd want, but the Yammy receivers, oh man...

They do make my K401s and K141s sound sweet too. That said, I think I'll be putting my K240 Sextetts and K240DFs up for sale along with the K140s as I just do not listen to them anymore.

 

[mypasswordis]

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Originally Posted by wualta You have two choices: marry rich and buy present-day 'phile amps for thousands of monetary units, or accept the risks of owning vintage gear and enjoy really good sound for pennies on the dollar.

My CR-620 is the least expensive (at least in terms of what I paid) component in my system, and it definitely isn't the weakest. I'm tempted to say it's the strongest, but that's just blasphemy. I wouldn't ever be considering another monster of a receiver if I didn't think it would be worth it (these things are stackable, right?

).

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Originally Posted by BoilermakerFan /img/forum/go_quote.gif They do make my K401s and K141s sound sweet too. That said, I think I'll be putting my K240 Sextetts and K240DFs up for sale along with the K140s as I just do not listen to them anymore.

I definitely understand the Sextetts, but what do you not like about the DFs? I haven't heard a pair but would like to based on what's been said about it.

----
Meanwhile, dammit, I can't believe I didn't win those ID1s just because of some lame setting in my snipe service. Bleh.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

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Originally Posted by mypasswordis /img/forum/go_quote.gif I definitely understand the Sextetts, but what do you not like about the DFs? I haven't heard a pair but would like to based on what's been said about it.

Hmmm... Maybe I should toss them in the mail to Colin for your mini-meet?

No inherent flaws at all. They sound great, especially with the JMoney leather pads, but I just do not listen to them often enough. My dad loves them and they'll probably make it to his house along with the BJT MAX V1.2 proto and BantamDAC. Then we'll sort out the funds after he's addicted.

I've amassed a larger collection of cans than I listen too and I just need to thin it down again before I bring in T20v3.5s, T50v2.5s, LCD-2s, and a 'stat or two. I'm also waiting to see what AKG drops on us soon for their high end can and high end portable. Then there are all the customs I have in cue to build, though the current production T20s and T50s fall into this category, I also have MB Quart drivers, SFIs, and custom ESP/950s in the planning stages.

I'll probably part out one of the K140s for spares so I can dual entry my K401s on a recable with a stock look and change the K141s to the two dot round sides versus the stock rectangle which I just do not like from an aesthetics stand point. Probably send the K401s and K141s down to Fitz for a recable as I'm too concerned about screwing them up to risk it myself.

But, as seems to be the case of most ortho'ists on this journey, I'm learning to become a more critical listener or my tastes are changing. I can still just listen to music and enjoy it, but my level of expectation is just higher now. I also seem to prefer the Fostex sound sig over the Yamaha sig, and that damn Stax SR404LTD keeps singing a Siren's song to me.

 

[mypasswordis]

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Originally Posted by BoilermakerFan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmmm... Maybe I should toss them in the mail to Colin for your mini-meet?

Hah, that would be great. But the meet is on Sunday so it wouldn't make it on time. Thanks for the offer, though.

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Originally Posted by BMF But, as seems to be the case of most ortho'ists on this journey, I'm learning to become a more critical listener or my tastes are changing. I can still just listen to music and enjoy it, but my level of expectation is just higher now. I also seem to prefer the Fostex sound sig over the Yamaha sig, and that damn Stax SR404LTD keeps singing a Siren's song to me.

Amazing that you nailed everything right on the head... I'm in exactly the same boat. Well, I'm having a really hard time trying to choose between the 404LE and HE5, but otherwise it's the same. I think things will come into focus and an upgrade path made clear after the meet, for me at least.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

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Originally Posted by mypasswordis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hah, that would be great. But the meet is on Sunday so it wouldn't make it on time. Thanks for the offer, though. Amazing that you nailed everything right on the head... I'm in exactly the same boat. Well, I'm having a really hard time trying to choose between the 404LE and HE5, but otherwise it's the same. I think things will come into focus and an upgrade path made clear after the meet, for me at least.

Well, I'll send them out to Colin with the RP18s and QP400s and then the two of you can listen to them and I'll have Colin ship them back with other stuff coming my way.

 

[BoilermakerFan]

So I went to pick up the HAM radio receiver today and the previous owner is a prominent attorney in town and he came running out to ask what I was going to do with it. I told him I was going to see if I could get it to work first since I believe I have all the tubes it uses, then I was going to repurpose it for a new tube headphone amp.

His face lit up and he asked if I would be interested in selling it back to him if I get it working again. It was his from his childhood and the local HAM shop told him not to bother with it seven years ago! They said the tubes can't be sourced anymore... He said he would like to pay me for my time and any parts it needs, but the power cord was dry rotted, cracked an had exposed wire everywhere. I said I charge $50/hr plus parts and I'd have at least 2 hours in it, just to replace the power cord and properly ground the chassis and clean it up. He said to call him, but if I thought it would come in under $200, he'd love to have it back.

So, the free HAM radio may no longer be my next chassis, but the profit from its probable repair will fund the purchase of a similar, but older model with a cooler front bezel, as well as the parts to build the eXStata amp! Booyah!

 

[Kabeer]

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Originally Posted by BoilermakerFan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Booyah!

Score!!

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

I asked a company about one of their vintage orthos. They suggested I should go ask in something called the "Orthodynamic Roundup" thread.

 

[mypasswordis]

They know of us??? And they think we know more about their vintage headphones than they do??? Hilarious.

 

[sachu]

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Originally Posted by mypasswordis /img/forum/go_quote.gif They know of us??? And they think we know more about their vintage headphones than they do??? Hilarious.

Wouldn't be surprised really..only like one or two headphones were ever manufactured and damped right from the get go

Curiosu though, which company was it?

 

[sachu]

So who grabbed the Wharfedale ID-1 from across the pond?

 

[wualta]

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Originally Posted by BoilermakerFan Eh, there are only a small handful of '70s cartridges that would sound good today and maybe two speakers I'd want..

I'll see you that Eh and raise you several Omigawdnos. Handful is right.

 
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Originally Posted by mypasswordis My CR-620... I'm tempted to say it's the strongest, but that's just blasphemy. (these things are stackable, right?)

Sweet, sweet blasphemy. Some amps from the time run cold and could be stacked. Others, like the MOSFET amps I favor, tend to run noncold.

 
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Originally Posted by DefectiveAudioComponent I asked a company about one of their vintage orthos. They suggested I should go ask in something called the "Orthodynamic Roundup" thread.

Hey, whaddya wanna know? Heh heh.
 
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Originally Posted by mypasswordis They think we know more about their vintage headphones than they do??? Hilarious.

But probably true. Sometimes you get lucky and find a Willi Presutti who was around bitd and has kept archaeological bits for show'n'tell, but it's thanks to all of you (yes! you!), a cadre of international orthoninjas, that we've collected as much info as we have. Eentsy little dust-sized bits of information, slowly being plucked from the inky shadows in the far forgotten corners of the globe, slowly being brushed with tiny, tiny brooms into the dustpan of this thread.

Yes, it's incomplete, not to mention dusty. But it's more than the manufacturers kept.

 

[mypasswordis]

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Originally Posted by wualta /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sweet, sweet blasphemy. Some amps from the time run cold and could be stacked. Others, like the MOSFET amps I favor, tend to run noncold.

The CR-620 barely gets warm even hours after being turned on, and only on the transformer side.

Another quote I found from Tom Ishimoto on AK:

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To the best of my recollection, the TX6500 MKII and the TX4500 had no antenna amplifier. It does however have a rf amplifier in the FM front end assembly. There are a couple of possible problems however. First, I would clean the front end assembly as suggested by Dr. Audio. If that doesn't improve the overall reception, my suggestion is have the fm sensitivity checked by a competent service center. Possible problems could be problems with variable capacitor, front end MOSFET, the IF amplifier, fm regulated power supply, defective detector, or even alignment. On the TX4500, I have had problems with incompetent technicians cracking the tuning coil of the detector many times which caused more problems that you can imagine. On a different note, just for your reference, when we designed the TX4500, there should be an empty hole on the chassis next to the filter capacitor. If you want, you can add another filter capacitor in that spot and improve the low frequency transient response immensely. Our cost to hit a specific price point didn't allow us to put that extra capacitor so it remained empty on the final production run of the unit. By far, the TX4500 was my favorite receiver. The TX2500 and the TX4500 were the last ditch effort to show any sign of profitability in the USA aside from the T4055 which flew off the shelves after the Absolute Sound report comparing it to the Marantz 10B. It saved Onkyo from leaving the shores of USA and truly turned the company around. Tom Ishimoto Northridge Electronics

He did help in the design process so he should know what he's talking about. I'm very tempted to pick up the TX4500 MkII now and put in that filter cap. Do you know of any good sounding vintage MOSFET receivers that can be had for cheap? The VFET receivers/power amps seem to have exploded in price recently.

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Originally Posted by wualta But probably true. Sometimes you get lucky and find a Willi Presutti who was around bitd and has kept archaeological bits for show'n'tell, but it's thanks to all of you (yes! you!), a cadre of international orthoninjas that we've collected as much info as we have. Eentsy little dust-sized bits of information, slowly being plucked from the inky shadows in the far forgotten corners of the globe, slowly being brushed with tiny, tiny brooms into the dustpan of this thread. Yes, it's incomplete, not to mention dusty. But it's more than the manufacturers kept.

And it's all thanks to you for creating this thread and raising ortho awareness. I owe/blame you for my addiction to planars and possibly vintage receivers now.