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Another McIntosh fan here - MA6900 integrated amp and MVP 861 SACD player coupled with Bowers and Wilkins 802s, a Dual CS 431 turntable and an Oppo BDP-83 for video.

The 802s have frequently been something of a battle. My wife thinks they ruin the decor of a room. (In this, she has often found support from friends and family who have felt the need to express opinions on how we decorate our house). I, and scores of discerning and sophisticated people I know, understand that the best way to perceive higher frequency sounds - such as the voices of singers - is directly from a source at ear level. So, if you start down the path of seeking clean musical reproduction in your home, you either need to accommodate speakers that place tweaters roughly 42" off the floor, and compromise on whatever pre-existing notions you may have on how to decorate certain rooms in your house, or hire Stephan and build a dedicated listening room.
 
Yeah - My B&W 801 Matrix speakers are (to say the least) not loved by my wife. I have the 'hats' for the mid/tweeter enclosure (to give them a squared out - less 'speakerlike' look.
But still - She calls them my R2D2's... (and not in a smiling way - LOL).

A few years ago I had the opportunity to get a pair of B&W 803 Diamond speakers. They do 97% of what the 801's did - but in a way that allows peace to return to the valley. :)

The 801's will go in my loft out in the shop - when that gets completed. Hopefully first half of next year..
 
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Ohmess said:
Another McIntosh fan here - MA6900 integrated amp and MVP 861 SACD player coupled with Bowers and Wilkins 802s, a Dual CS 431 turntable and an Oppo BDP-83 for video.

The 802s have frequently been something of a battle. My wife thinks they ruin the decor of a room. (In this, she has often found support from friends and family who have felt the need to express opinions on how we decorate our house). I, and scores of discerning and sophisticated people I know, understand that the best way to perceive higher frequency sounds - such as the voices of singers - is directly from a source at ear level. So, if you start down the path of seeking clean musical reproduction in your home, you either need to accommodate speakers that place tweaters roughly 42" off the floor, and compromise on whatever pre-existing notions you may have on how to decorate certain rooms in your house, or hire Stephan and build a dedicated listening room.
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In this, she has often found support from friends and family who have felt the need to express opinions on how we decorate our house Ha ha! - yeah this in part was why I didn't go with Magnepans - and the 802's are a fairly nice looking speaker to boot. My wife wanted to stuff everything away in an antique sideboard until I pointed out the amp would overheat and shut off in about 5 minutes without some form of active cooling. The subwoofer, necessary with the Gallos, remains a bone of contention.
 
Sean Haas said:
In this, she has often found support from friends and family who have felt the need to express opinions on how we decorate our house Ha ha! - yeah this in part was why I didn't go with Magnepans - and the 802's are a fairly nice looking speaker to boot. My wife wanted to stuff everything away in an antique sideboard until I pointed out the amp would overheat and shut off in about 5 minutes without some form of active cooling. The subwoofer, necessary with the Gallos, remains a bone of contention.
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Low impedances on the Magnapans - you need the right amp. I was surprised that my B&K St140 was able to drive them.
 
Sean Haas said:
In this, she has often found support from friends and family who have felt the need to express opinions on how we decorate our house Ha ha! - yeah this in part was why I didn't go with Magnepans - and the 802's are a fairly nice looking speaker to boot. My wife wanted to stuff everything away in an antique sideboard until I pointed out the amp would overheat and shut off in about 5 minutes without some form of active cooling. The subwoofer, necessary with the Gallos, remains a bone of contention.
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Fortunately, with subs you have more flexibility because of our ears are not as good at discerning low frequency sound.
 
I've got a number of old electronics. The nicest looking one is a Telefunken Allegro radio.
Telefunken Allegro radio.jpeg
 
I can't hear the difference anymore....too many live shows over the years, but it works for me.....
Denon direct drive
Adcom amp
Adcom preamp tuner
Tascam dual cassette
Tascam CD Recorder
Tascam MD Recorder
901's in suboptimal placement.
Shelf unit was using leftover planks from building 1.5" x 11.5"

tempImage8y4D6h.jpg
 
I started with two Marantz tube amplifiers, two Marantz tube preamplifiers, and the matching gang control for the preamplifiers. All made in the USA, so likely from the late 1950s or early 1960s. I had it rack-mounted, and I also had a rosewood case for the gang control, the original shipping boxes, and original paperwork. I don't remember the model numbers, but I remember that the power supplies for the preamps were in the middle of the power cords, and there were three separate control panels mounted together in the rack. I also had a Thorens TD-121 turntable with a long Sure SME tone arm (maybe a 3009?). My father and I made the speakers using plans and components from SpeakerLab in Seattle.

When I moved to Boston in the late 1970s my insurance agent said I needed to get everything appraised because they has no idea what it was worth. They recommended that I go to Esoteric Audio in Cambridge for the appraisal. The owner of the store was more than a little surprised at all of the Marantz tube equipment, and said that he rebuilt them with modern components and sold them at ridiculous prices to collectors. He said that I could have any preamp and amp in his store in trade for the Marantz equipment. I had no love for ancient tube equipment and went home with a new Crown IC-150 preamplifier and a DC-300 (not a 300A) amplifier. In the mid-70s I made a quadraphonic decoder for the FM tuner from plans in an RCA chip catalog. Quad broadcasting didn't last very long.

I still use the Crown equipment with an FM tuner that I built from a kit, a Yamaha CD jukebox, the cable TV box, and the speakers that we made. I had to recap the Crown amp last year to fix an overheating problem. The Thorens and Sure are in the attic and haven't been used for years.

I volunteer at a local radio museum so I am back to repairing lots of tube based equipment.
 
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The local radio museum that I volunteer for received a Blaupunkt San Francisco SQR 28 from 1990 in a box of vintage radio equipment. No power cable or security code came with it, but the serial number label is on it. If someone is interested you could make a donation to the museum and I could ship it to you.
 
m_thompson said:
I started with two Marantz tube amplifiers, two Marantz tube preamplifiers, and the matching gang control for the preamplifiers. All made in the USA, so likely from the late 1950s or early 1960s. I had it rack-mounted, and I also had a rosewood case for the gang control, the original shipping boxes, and original paperwork. I don't remember the model numbers, but I remember that the power supplies for the preamps were in the middle of the power cords, and there were three separate control panels mounted together in the rack. I also had a Thorens TD-121 turntable with a long Sure SME tone arm (maybe a 3009?). My father and I made the speakers using plans and components from SpeakerLab in Seattle.

When I moved to Boston in the late 1970s my insurance agent said I needed to get everything appraised because they has no idea what it was worth. They recommended that I go to Esoteric Audio in Cambridge for the appraisal. The owner of the store was more than a little surprised at all of the Marantz tube equipment, and said that he rebuilt them with modern components and sold them at ridiculous prices to collectors. He said that I could have any preamp and amp in his store in trade for the Marantz equipment. I had no love for ancient tube equipment and went home with a new Crown IC-150 preamplifier and a DC-300 (not a 300A) amplifier. In the mid-70s I made a quadraphonic decoder for the FM tuner from plans in an RCA chip catalog. Quad broadcasting didn't last very long.

I still use the Crown equipment with an FM tuner that I built from a kit, a Yamaha CD jukebox, the cable TV box, and the speakers that we made. I had to recap the Crown amp last year to fix an overheating problem. The Thorens and Sure are in the attic and haven't been used for years.

I volunteer at a local radio museum so I am back to repairing lots of tube based equipment.
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You might appreciate the radio collection I saw in one of the very few Memphis Design houses I've ever seen. In Hawaii of all places, too. See here: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/83-Kolohala-Dr-17-Kula-HI-96790/2060269446_zpid/?mmlb=g,11
 
cicada said:
You might appreciate the radio collection I saw in one of the very few Memphis Design houses I've ever seen. In Hawaii of all places, too. See here: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/83-Kolohala-Dr-17-Kula-HI-96790/2060269446_zpid/?mmlb=g,11
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Nice radios. Nice place. When I first moved to Maui I lived just a mile down the road. A couple of years later, I bought my '70 2800CS from a gentleman who lived just a bit further down the road. Kula is one of the best places in Maui though a bit cold for my tastes sometimes. Still hoping to go back, but house prices have at least doubled since we left.
 
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