Jeff checking in ...
After a couple cups of coffee this morning, I sat down and practiced my fingerstyle guitar lesson for about an hour. I'm enjoying working my way through a beginning fingerstyle guitar course book, in hopes that I'll become a better guitar player (it wouldn't take much! 😉 ). One of my goals in retirement has... Read More »
GE 6L6GC vs. Tung-Sol 6L6GC STR: The Day the Music Died!
I decided to bite the bullet and order two matched pairs of the increasingly rare & expensive NOS GE 6L6GC's for my vintage MC30 monaural amps, so I could compare the fresh new GE's to the new production Tung-Sol 6L6GC STR's. I have found certain aspects of the Tung-Sol's musical & sonic performance to be... Read More »
Tung-Sol 6L6GC-STR Vacuum Tubes. Update.
My favorite power tube for my vintage McIntosh MC30 monaural amplifiers have been the gray plate GE 6L6GC's. The GE's provided a warm, rich, and naturally musical presentation that even the highly esteemed black plate RCA 6L6GC's had to bow down to. For my hot-rodded MC30's the GE's take musicality to another level, but they... Read More »
Jeff checking in ... previews of coming attractions and other stuff!
This last week was really a nice one of relaxation and getting out in nature with my friend Chad at his cabin on the shore of Lake Chelan in Washington State. We got in a bike ride in the village of Chelan, and did some sightseeing around the lake. There were deer everywhere, and at... Read More »
Jeff checking in ... the hifi witching hour!
Have you ever had one of those periods of time where everything goes wrong? I'm in one of those periods now. Usually it seems like things go astray in triplets, for same strange reason. Usually, I sigh with relief after the third mishap, because things are about to get better, but this time it appears... Read More »
Duelund DCA wiring fun with Tannoy's and Altec's! Update.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been having fun trying different wiring schemes with my Tannoy Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers and their Duelund CAST crossovers, as well as my vintage Altec based systems. Tannoy Westminster Royal SE based system: My living room music system is composed of Tannoy Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers with outboard... Read More »
Jeff checking in ...
It's been a nice weekend of just kicking back, relaxing, and celebrating. To celebrate my Mom's majority Irish ancestry that we didn't know she had until after some recent DNA testing (oral tradition isn't always accurate), we celebrated St. Patrick's Day on Saturday with me cooking a traditional St. Patrick's Day feast of corned beef,... Read More »
Almarro A205A EL84 Integrated Amplifier Duelund Coupling Cap Mod. Update x 2.
I've been using the sweet little Almarro A205A EL84 integrated amplifier to power my vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers that I'm using in my bedroom system, and it's a really nice match for them. The volume pot has been kind of noisy in the A205A so I thought I'd pop the bottom off and squirt... Read More »
A Duelund DCA12GA tinned-copper wire adventure to kick off the weekend!
Remember my Big Round Tone post from a couple of weeks back, where I discussed the relationship of tone to gauge size for headshell leads, interconnects, speaker cables, and speaker/equipment internal wiring? In relative terms, you get bigger, richer, and rounder tone as gauge size decreases (fatter wire). You can think of it in guitar terms too.... Read More »
Kramer's Best Antique Improver
If you're like me, you've had a hard time finding finding a quality wood cleaner, restorer, and preserver, that doesn't contain things you don't want on fine or vintage wood finishes (i.e. silicone), or that leaves a waxy buildup that will oxidize to a dull finish over time. I've found something I am really impressed... Read More »
A little music to usher in the weekend!
We're all in this great hobby together because we love listening to and learning about music, and tinkering with our hifi gear. As hifi hobbyists it's easy to get so preoccupied with the hifi gear that we forget what attracted us to it to begin with, which is the pure pleasure of listening to music... Read More »
A Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge-ectomy for Sunday!
In the last six decades I haven't broken a single phonograph cartridge, but in the last two weeks I've broken two, and the crazy thing about it is I don't even know how I did it in either case. The first cartridge fatality was the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge Guy Pelletier sent me. I... Read More »
Voltage conditioning RCA adapters for the Hagerman FryBaby2 compact burn-in generator!
I really appreciate the emails I get from you. Take for example the recent email from Robert Atkinson, expanding upon using the Hagerman FryBaby2 compact burn-in generator for interconnects, speaker cables, capacitors, and resistors. Jim's manual for the FryBaby2 is very brief and doesn't really give the reader a comprehensive overview of the specifics of... Read More »
Big Round Tone
I've been looking at guitars again, or more exactly, vintage Gibson ES 150 guitars. YouTube example below. Listen to that incredible tone of "Fred Archtop's" 1938 Gibson ES 150 "Charlie Christian", it's out of this world! So what does that have to do with audio? Well, both guitars and audio intersect at music, that's what! You've heard... Read More »
Two jazz guitar LPs to ease you into the weekend!
I love jazz. I love guitars. I love to hear jazz cats playing jazz on their guitars! It makes me smile. 🙂 Blues Going Up is a nice jazz swing album featuring George Barnes (guitar), Duncan James (guitar), Benny Barth (drums), and Dean Reilly (bass), that was recorded live at Bimbo's "supper club" on April 17,... Read More »
A vinyl morning with the Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers!
To get my mind off the plunging stock market and my plunging retirement savings, I thought I'd do something edifying like give my Thorens TD124 a try on my vintage Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers. I've wanted to revisit the Leben CS-600 integrated amplifier and Leben RS-30EQ combination that works so well together... Read More »
Vintage Altec 832A Corona's as a bedroom system!
I went a bit wild today and decided to rearrange all my bedroom furniture so I could set up the new-to-me vintage Altec Corona loudspeakers as my bedroom system. The speakers look small in the photo above because of the size of the room, but they're really 3.5 feet tall and 3 feet wide, so... Read More »
Long-term report on the Spec RSA-M3 EX and Leben CS-600 integrated amplifiers!
I'm a huge fan of integrated amplifiers. In fact some of the finest amplification I've ever had the pleasure to listen to music with has come from integrated amplifiers, like the Leben CS-600 and the Spec RSA-M3 EX. I get quite a few messages from integrated amplifier owners asking me what separate components would better the... Read More »
The Pete Riggle Audio Engineering crossover project for vintage Altec domestic loudspeakers with 800Hz horns!
It turns out that with my purchase of a pair of vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers, that there are now four of us local friends that have vintage Altec loudspeakers with 800Hz (811B) horns that were designed for domestic use (Valencia's, and now the Corona's). Altec built a lot of loudspeakers that were designed for... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: Vintage Altec Lansing 832A Corona loudspeakers!
The vintage Altec Lansing 832A Corona's arrived from LA Jazz Audio this morning via R+L Carriers, who were very helpful and polite, and brought the pallet with the Corona's right up to my front door for easy unpacking -great service! LA Jazz Audio did a nice packing job, and I was able to quickly remove... Read More »
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jeffe ...
Today's post was inspired by Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, one of my favorite pointillist impressionism paintings, showing Parisians relaxing in a park on the banks of the Seine (below). In a silly oddio variation on a theme, you get my music, film, literature, and audio impressions while I'm relaxing... Read More »
Three guitarists on LP that you'll want to hear!
It's crazy, I thought I'd have 9 or 10 hours more every day to get things done after retiring from my day job at the end of December, but that hasn't happened. If anything I've been busier than ever and the days whiz by, and before I know it the day is over! How can... Read More »
100 Men and a Girl ...
In the coming months, we're going to be building crossovers using the new Duelund Coherent Audio tinned-copper components for the custom Altec Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers that were built for Mr. Stokowski, nearly six decades ago now. In preparation for the upcoming project I've been doing some background "research" on Mr. Stokowski, and I have been... Read More »
"I said it must be Sunday 'cause ev'rybody's tellin' the truth ..."
I am sitting here pondering my Altec A5 & A7 Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers, and am reminded of the lyrics from Phoebe Snow's song It Must Be Sunday, "I said it must be Sunday 'cause ev'rybody's tellin' the truth ...". Here's some useful Altec truths that don't get talked about enough. Truth #1 - Vintage Altec's... Read More »
The full review of the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 is now live at Positive Feedback!
The full review of the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 is now live at Positive Feedback HERE. I was just telling the editors at Positive Feedback, Dave and David, that I found it particularly satisfying to tell our readers about Audio MusiKraft and their great idea of developing the tunable Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge, and... Read More »
Preview of the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 review for Positive Feedback!
I'm working hard on my review of the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 for Positive Feedback, and I thought you would enjoy a preview. ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ The “Tunable” Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 Phonograph Cartridge Audio MusiKraft was founded by Guy Pelletier in 2016 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, and consists of “a small core of experienced craftsmen and devoted music... Read More »
Announcing the Duelund Coherent Audio & Stokowski Altec Project for 2018!
I am absolutely thrilled to be able to announce the Duelund Coherent Audio - Stokowski Altec Project for 2018! This exciting project will showcase the Duelund Coherent Audio tinned-copper components, and will be a world first for a crossover constructed of tinned-copper components. As you know, I have been extremely impressed with the prototype tinned-copper capacitors and... Read More »
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
A Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! The snow is really coming down right now, so it's a classic White Christmas here in Washington State. I'm bringing my Mom over to share Christmas with, have a nice Christmas dinner together, sip a hot toddy, and listen to some jazz! For me it's not only... Read More »
Seventh Tune: A Tunable Adventure with the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 Phono Cartridge! Update.
In my “sixth tune” report on the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge I reported to you my adventure with the oil treated Jatoba tonewood inserts (above). I've mentioned before what a dramatic difference a complementary set of headshell leads makes to the overall voicing and performance of a cartridge, which can easily be as great... Read More »
Announcing my retirement ...
Most of you know that what I write about music and hifi here at Jeff's Place (as well as Positive Feedback) produces no real income for me. In fact it's just the opposite, it costs me a lot to write about many of the things I write about because they are personal purchases (Altec A5's... Read More »
Sixth Tune: A Tunable Adventure with the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 Phono Cartridge!
In my "fifth tune" report on the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge I reported to you my experiences with the lime tonewood inserts treated with beeswax & lemon oil (above). In this "sixth tune" report I want to tell you about my experiences with Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge using the oiled Jatoba tonewood... Read More »
Take Two: Duelund Coherent Audio 0.01 uF Tinned-Copper Paper-In-Oil Bypass Capacitors! Update.
As I mentioned in my last post, I just got a note from Frederik Carøe that the first batch of the new Duelund Coherent Audio 0.01 uF tinned-copper paper-in-oil bypass capacitors are ready and will be arriving at Parts ConneXion this coming week. I was really impressed with the Duelund 0.01uF tinned-copper bypass capacitors' performance on the 6.8uF Duelund... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: The Luxman AS-4III Line Selector - Update.
My vintage MX110Z tuner preamplifier has two phono inputs, which is not enough to accomodate the three tonearms I have in play on my Thorens TD-124 and Classic 301. I've got the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 / Schick tonearm / Auditorium 23 SUT going into one phono input, and my Ortofon SPU Classic GM MkII stereo... Read More »
Fifth Tune: A Tunable Adventure with the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 Phono Cartridge!
In my last report on the Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 phonograph cartridge I did a photographic strip-tease of the Denon DL-103 as I dismantled it from its aluminum Audio MusiKraft shell with maple tonewood inserts ... ... and then reassembled it in its Audio MusiKraft aluminum shell with oiled black walnut tonewood inserts installed. In my... Read More »
Prototype deHavilland Super 40 and the NOS Tung-Sol 5AW4 Rectifiers
Kara Chaffee (deHavilland Electric Amplifier Company) was over visiting Pete Riggle (Pete Riggle Audio Engineering) for an impromptu audio fest, and brought along her prototype Super 40 monaural power amplifiers for a little listening. I didn't have a camera along with me so I didn't get any photos of the Super 40 prototypes (sorry about... Read More »
Seasons Greetings! Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho!
I got a message from Jack Roberts about a holiday music column he was planning to do on people’s favorite Christmas or Holiday LPs on his website, The Audio Beatnik, and asking if I’d like to make some recommendations. Sure, I thought, “That’d be fun!” You can see my contributions to Jack's column here. Then... Read More »
