Speakers - BOSE 901 Series VI

I'd always wanted a pair of BOSE 901 speakers, and when a friend called me one Saturday morning from an estate sale in Orange, California saying there was a pair with good driver surrounds for $100, I didn't hesitate, "Grab 'em!" I said over the phone, and felt a satisfying chill run down my spine.

What I forgot about was the fact that these need the BOSE active equalization unit, and I had to buy that separately off of eBay - oh well. Once up and running these sounded terrific. Of course, I also didn't have the stands for them, so I set them atop my JBL Century's for a few weeks while auditioning them. That worked fine, but looked pretty junky. The thought came to mind to purchase stands, but other speakers arrived, and as is the life of a fickle collector, my honeymoon with the 901s soon faded. I stored them for a few months and finally ended up selling them to a buddy of mine.

The main problem with these speakers, for me anyway, was the fact that they were very sensitive to placement. They wanted to be a certain distance from the corners in an otherwise uncluttered space. My room dynamics just didn't lend to the "perfect" listening space for these babies. Other than that - they sounded fine and had terrific imaging with the radiated sound waves. Had to be in the sweet spot though as with most speakers.

Have any experiences with your BOSE 901 speakers? Please leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Speakers - Lafayette Criterion 2001+

Lesson learned: When it comes to buying used speakers, solid, well-built cabinets and qualtiy binding posts don't always lend toward a good purchase choice. Such was the case with the Lafayette Criterion 2001+ speakers. I listened to them briefly before purchase, but there was a floor buffing machine fifteen feet away, so critical listening wasn't possible. But hey, these were destined to be garage speakers anyway, so who needs a critical listening test?

All I can think of is that the crossover capacitors have lost value over the years because I couldn't imagine these selling from a showroom floor sounding like they did for me - lifeless is the word that comes to mind. There was bass, midrange, and treble, but every source I tried with them sounded as if music was being played out of a tin can over 100 yards of kite string.

I gave these to my neighbor who, for whatever reason, really liked their sound. Maybe he represented the target demographic back in 1979 for the Criterion 2001+. Sound quality is such a personal thing. I'm glad he's happy with them. Now if I can only get him to take my 1981 Realistic receiver, we'd both be thrilled.

Have anything you'd like to share about your Criterion speakers? Please leave a comment or shoot me an email.

Preamplifier - McIntosh C32

Why do I collect McIntosh gear? Because every piece I acquire instantly becomes my new favorite - out of all brands.

This C32? My new favorite preamp. Followed closely by my McIntosh C31V. Now granted, I haven't listened to hundreds of preamps. I'll go as far as to say that I'm certain, especially considering advancements in technology, there ARE better preamps out there. Will I ever own one? Dunno. I'm still young and delusional enough to envision a day where vast wealth will provide me opportunities to spend $10,000 or more on a preamplifier. In the meantime though, I'll stick with what, in my mind, is the most beautiful, clean-sounding, full-featured preamplifier I've experienced. That is until I save up enough for a C39 or C40 :)

Want the specs? Let's let Roger Russell provide those.

By the way, if you'd like a higher-res version of the above photo, shoot me an email and I'll hook you up. Let me know the resolution and size.

Have any experiences with your C32 or other McIntosh preamp you'd like to share? Please leave a comment or shoot me an email. hificollector [at] gmail.com

Speakers - Yamaha NS-225

Here was another classic impulse buy from a yard sale. I had no room for these Yamaha NS-225 loudspeakers, nor did I have a particular need for them, but at the $7 asking price, there was no way I was going to walk off the lawn without them.

On first listen, they sounded quite good, especially at low volume. The tweeter looks identical to the one used on the higher-end NS-series from the late 1970s through the 1980s, and I assume it is the same model. The woofer, although paper-coned and somewhat flimsy-looking, held up well to the Pink Floyd I pumped through them over the weekend.

By the way, a quick Orion Blue Book lookup tells me these sold for $350 in 1978 and 1979, and the current used retail is $46 - $58. That's a respectable resale for 30-year-old Yamaha two-way speakers. These might be keepers. . .but it's all about the sound, not the monetary value, right?

They capably handled everything I threw at them and kept their smoothness through most musical passages. There was a distinct ringing in some high-frequency passages, but, after listening to them at high levels throughout most of the afternoon, I ascertained that the ringing was coming from inside my head, not the tweeters.

These Yamaha NS-225's were in very good physical shape for their age (let's leave the personal comments about my own physical shape for another time, shall we?) and sounded every bit as good as I'd hoped.

Have any experience with Yamaha NS-series speakers? Chime in by sending me an email or leaving a comment on this post.

Speakers - Rectilinear XIa

Another thrift shop find, these Rectilinear XIa speakers were surprisingly smooth! I usually don't buy speakers without first examining the drivers, but the grills on these were apparently put in place to stay in place. I kept the pair in my garage for a few months until the Celestion Ditton 33 pair arrived to relieve their shift. During their stay they filled the space with pleasant full-range sound. Lots of bass for their size, and pronounced if not overbearing highs.

Unfortunately, lack of storage space forced me to make some tough decisions, and since my wife wouldn't approve my idea of moving the washing machine and dryer to the dog run, the speakers had to go.

Honestly though, I've always hated the name Rectilinear. Although part of me appreciates the name as suggesting high-tech and futuristic, another part of me equates it to an unpleasant-sounding anatomical descriptor, as in "We entered the patient rectilinearly, and removed his spleen."

I know, "grow up!"

Have any experiences with your Rectilinear speakers? Send 'em on in - thanks.

Turntables - Pioneer PL-570

I received this turntable as part of a gear trade with no high expectations and was pleasantly surprised to find it worked quite well. One of the common failures of this vintage of automatic turntables is that they tend to no longer be . . .well, automatic. Parts wear out after 30 years? Who woulda thunk it?!?

This particular model still churns out all functions smoothly and without much complaint. The dustcover is even in decent shape, which is a flippin' miracle for any turntable over 11 minutes old.

The Shure cartridge deserves a kind retirement, and this will happen soon enough. At the moment though, I've got Beethoven's Sixth Symphony spinning and the hounds are about to take chase!

Have any experiences with the Pioneer PL-570 or any photos you'd like to share? Please send them on in.

Spoooky Speakers - Criterion 200A

Criterion 200A loudspeakers - A Ghost Story

I usually pass on mediocre speakers when I find them, especially ones without a strong positive or negative legacy. That being said, I found myself in a particular state of resale weakness brought on by a combination of hunger, boredom, and impatience while waiting for my wife to finish shopping next door at Ross. Yes, the Goodwill shelves were overflowing with Halloween paraphrenalia, but I couldn't be distracted by plastic bats and witch costumes as I was headed to the back wall - my usual haunt, the electronics section.

Every great once in a while I'll find something here, my BIC Venture Formula Six speakers come to mind. Picked up the pair for six dollars, just slightly less than the equivalent value of the gas it took to haul the hefty hulks home. On this occasion though, there were no treasures, only a pair of surprisingly-well kept pair of Criterion 200A loudspeakers for, gasp, $5.

To deny that this was an impulse purchase would be a shameful journalistic betise. Sometimes you just have to buy speakers - if you're a gear collector, you know exactly what I mean. Alcoholics can't pass a bar without stopping for a drink, audioholics can't pass a thrift store without buying speakers - same difference. In fact, the $5 was worth the excitement of plugging them into my garage receiver, turning the volume knob up slowly, and breathlessly waiting for the intoxicating, embrionic timbrals of acoustic energy to seep from beneath the grill cloth.

Wait a tick - no sound? Just a little more volume, still smiling. . .a little static, some faint rumblings, a little more volume, some screeching sounds, more rumbling, a sound like a cat being skinned alive, not smiling any more. . .the sound of a machine gun being fed into a garbage disposal, a moan, and finally something that sounded like an espresso machine exploding. . . I turned the volume down, brought both speakers off the work bench and placed them in my trunk. Drove directly back to Goodwill, and took advantage of the seven day return policy.

I told the clerk the speakers didn't work and she looked up at me, smiled and said "Oh, okay, we'll recycle them." But the very next day, Halloween, in fact, as I walked with my daughter through the isles in search of a plastic pumpkin to put her treats in, there they were. In exactly the same spot along the back wall, flanked by stacks of VCRs and early 80s black-faced AV receivers, a veritable graveyard of fetid, decrepid technology, the speakers stood there mocking me. I almost said something to one of the sales associates, but they were all in costume, and I've always had a hard time disucssing serious matters with anyone wearing a rainbow wig and glitter lip gloss on their eyebrows. The store is spooky enough without all that, and after all, the clerk told me the truth - they DID recycle them.

Tuners - McIntosh MR78

This newly-acquired McIntosh MR78 is the quietest, most accurate, best-sounding tuner I've ever owned. Think: CD-quiet, and you're close. I was listening to it this morning while taking these photos (man, McIntosh gear is hard to photograph well!), and there came a break in between songs before the DJ woke up to talk and I thought I'd kicked the plug out - total silence on FM! Blew me away.

Everything about this tuner speaks of quality construction and first-rate workmanship. The confident, smooth click of the metal knobs, the smoothness of the tuning dial knob - the list could go on, but you know - it's McIntosh. It would be shocking if these qualities weren't there!

Look at my other tuner reviews and you'll find mostly luke-warm reactions. My advice: If you're looking for a tuner under a grand - buy an MR78. Who knows, if you haven't started a McIntosh collection already, this may be a great place to start!

Goodbye BOSE 1801

After three months or so of LOVING the idea of having a rare, vintage BOSE 1801 amplifier, I decided to sell it. Two weeks ago I took it to Brooks Berdan, LTD in Monrovia, CA and had them test it, replace a binding post, check to make sure all the diodes had been replaced by the previous owner. It tested fine - 260 wpc at .08% THD - well within the distortion spec and outside the wattage rating of 250 wpc. I was very pleased.

After running it last weekend, though, I was disappointed to find it didn't like the warm environment of the loft nor the confined space I had it in. The protection circuit kicked in after about six hours at moderate volume. Not bad, considering , but I knew I'd be worried about running it up there for any amount of time. So, not wanting to simply shelve the unit for any number of years until I can accommodate a better operating environment, I decided to let someone else enjoy it.

Ever experience a bittersweet moment of separation with any of your gear? Tell us about it. Misery, after all, loves company :)

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KEF Recap - The Parts List

INTERNET ORDER DETAILS from Parts Express
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QTY	PartNumber	Product	Price	Ext. Price
4	027-328	3.3uF 100V Non-Polarized Capacitor	$0.42	$1.68
4	027-336	6.8uF 100V Non-Polarized Capacitor	$0.53	$2.12
4	027-340	10uF 100V Non-Polarized Capacitor	$0.58	$2.32
4	027-358	80uF 100V Non-Polarized Capacitor	$1.92	$7.68
8	027-362	125uF 100V Non-Polarized Capacitor	$1.70	$17.00
2	027-436	Dayton DMPC-20 20uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor	$5.77	$11.54
2	027-444	Dayton DMPC-60 60uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor	$15.17	$30.34

I got a few extras in case I broke the leads off of any while soldering. Except in the case of the 60uF at $15.17 each! Just got what I needed on those.

My speaker SNs: 1858 and 1859 so they use the first model of the crossover.

Crossover Schematic photos HERE.

Apparently, KEF hand-picked caps with 1% tolerance. You might be able to find all the caps with the values and voltages you need with that tolerance, but it will cost you. Please chime in if you can find a source for 1% tolerance caps at a good price. I wasn't able to find one, but the community here will appreciate the info.

So, KEF built the crossovers with military-spec components and, evidently, to withstand a two megaton blast at ground zero. The voltage limits are very high, and unless you routinely overdrive your speakers at crazy volumes, 100 V caps should work fine.

Here's a great site that my brother recommended for soldering tips.

Other than that - the forum will be up tomorrow, and you can start a topic on this specific subject so you'll be able to get global feedback and we'll have all the info in one place.

Hope this helps!