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Skylabs Audio is a vintage shop in West Des Moines, IA.
The TL;DR version is:
1. Marantz 2270
2. JBL L-100 speakers
3. Klipsch Heresy, Cornwall speakers
4. Cerwin Vega speakers
5. Pioneer SX-850, SX-980
6. Harman/Kardon 430, 730
7. Sansui G Series
There are some nice tidbits within, including some commentary about the iconic maxell ad.
Comments
I lent my Marantz 2270 to my sister (decades ago) and she doesn't know what ever happened to it
I currently only have one on the list - an SX-850. I'm still looking for an SX-950 in decent shape at a reasonable price, but I'm not holding my breath. I did a restoration on a guy's HK 730 not long ago. Nice gear to work on. Sold my beat up JBL L100s to him the same month.
Thats cool , Tom and I both made the list with the SX-850.
I like my Adcom GFA-555 II's...
Vintage gear has doubled and in some cases tripled in price in the last 4 years. A simple Marantz 2240 receiver could be had for about $500-550, three years ago. Now people are asking $2,000. Pardon me for saying this but people are stupid.
They have been finicky but I love my Soundcraftsmen MA5002A and matching SP4002 pre-amp. They look great rack mounted next to a big pair of towers.
I just got a message from the guy with the HK730 I rebuilt. He picked up an SX-1250 with no wood case and the power cord has been cut. He's offering to sell it to me at a pretty reasonable price. I'm going to meet him this afternoon, so we'll see...
Nice!
Isn't that the mac daddy of Pioneers?
Yeah - top of the line for that year. 160 w/ch and around 65lbs!
I just got back from meeting him. Sadly, it looked like a 7 yr old went at the internals with a screw driver and a pair of wire cutters. The huge power transformer was flopping around, a relay had been torn off a board, and it looked like one board was completely missing underneath. Too much of a risk for me.
I found a transformer and the missing fuse board on eBay, so I just made him an offer that he accepted. It's not going to be easy or cheap, but I haven't lost a patient yet!
I would call the Pioneer SX-1980 the MAC Daddy of receivers.
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
For that series and year, yes! More power than the 1250 or 1280 and a few more features, but I'm told it also runs hotter and cooks power supply parts on occasion. There seems to be some disagreement (like most any topic in audio - ) about whether the x50 or x80 series sounds better.
From the look of the equipment on that flyer, I might be too young
https://www.jfcomponents.com/
That would be a very dangerous event for my bank account.
You lucky dog. Hopefully good equipment not stupidly over priced.
Are you going to check it out Eric?
I know what I got. NO LOWBALLERS!
A few wears from the meet. Man it was hard not to haggle! Lots of Marantz stuff. Decent turn out. I met up with Jerry McNutt and we perused the goods. I did by a set of speakers. I thought possibility for guitar drivers, guy said $20 for the pair, I jumped.
Huh, coaxs..
Dig it!
Maaaaan , I got a gal down there , shouldve sent her with you. Nice score
know a gal
You should have grabbed those Allegros!
https://reverb.com/item/36075157-classic-onkyo-integra-m-504-dual-monoblock-165wpc-amp-p-304-mm-mc-preamp-led-upgrade-serviced
A bit pricey? but solid vintage combo
I had one of these as my second turntable, it sounded great but the rubber suspension went and at the time, couldn't be replaced so I sold it. Naturally, the kit was re-manufactured two or three years later....
These were a British made, very accurate and simple turntable which are now collector's pieces, going for around A$500, depending on the tonearm and cartridge. Fully manual with just a lift-off at the end of the side.
Actually, considering inflation, they're probably cheaper now than when new. I got mine for free by writing a nice review for Encel Stereo, the iconic Melbourne hi fi shop which was established in the late 1950s.
Many were fitted with a Grace arm, good old Shure cartridge and reportedly gave similar performance to much more expensive turntables.
Geoff
I currently run my computer speakers with a Proton 930 which came out in 1984. It's a 30 WPC receiver that is rated to do 60 watts into 2 ohms. It was made in the same factory as NAD and post 90's Dynaco. It looks a lot like NAD stuff but apparently has different circuitry.
I stole this image off the internet so I wouldn't have to clean off my desk.
These don't go for much but Proton made some big power amps with lovely meters that can be pricey.
Proton AA-1150 Dual Mono Amplifier 150WPC.
Ron
Wow, they even used the same buttons & knobs as NAD. I had always heard it was good stuff. The music store (instruments, not records) I worked at in college picked up Proton to sell along side the studio gear. I wonder if they had the same sales rep as Fostex?