It's going to be interesting rebuilding a vintage audio system. The two digital recorders and the various mics & Sennheiser headphones are "imported" from use with my photography and occasional videography. The Holman preamp and the Dalhquist DQ-LP1 are holdovers that were missed when my system was stolen back in the mid-'80's. The rest I've purchased in the past couple of weeks. There will be more....
- Thorens TD-126 Mk III turntable
- SME 3009 series II improved pick-up arm
- Shure V15 type III cartridge
- Technics SP10 Mk II turntable
- SME 3009 series II improved pick-up arm
- ADC model 100 cartridge (w/ styli for stereo, mono & 78-rpm)
- McIntosh MR-78 FM stereo tuner
- McIntosh MPI-4 oscilloscope
- Studer/Revox A702HS half-track open-reel recorder (7.5, 15 & 30 ips)
- Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck
- Apt Holman pre-amplifier
- Dahlquist DQ-LP1 active crossover
- Hafler DH-500 power-amplifiers (3 of them, assembled f/ kits)
- MartinLogan Monolith speakers
- an assortment of headphones, microphones & accessories
I'm not going to try to duplicate everything. I certainly have no use for the open-reel and cassette decks these days. And I'll hold off on amplifiers and ML electrostats for a short while as I have no place for speakers at the moment (I'm retired and living with my 91-y/o mother who doesn't want to move out of her home and cannot live alone anymore, thus no place for the prospective Monolith III behemoths).
Given the impracticality of serious amps and speakers, I've been investigating discrete headphone amps. Based on a number of threads here and elsewhere in audio fora, I've ordered, unheard, the Schiit Asgard 3, sans DAC (got the MM phono preamp instead - will probably add DAC later in the form of the Modi multibit, or, maybe the Bifrost 2). In the meantime, I'm using the AudioQuest Red DragonFly with my computer (I haven't tried the Cobalt).
Okay, so I lied. An amp I lusted after became available at a price that more than tickled my fancy. Now it will have to sit patiently until it gets one or two brothers (maybe an MC2500) and some modded M/L monolith III's to absorb its raw power.
I'm probably going to sell the MR80 -- don't need two tuners and I love the older MR78 -- even if it does need a total refurb. In fact, most of the electronics I've bought need TLC. But, that's okay. It's part of the fun. Some I'll farm out and some I'll do myself. I can relive my teenage years immersed in a Knight, Heath, Dynaco and Hafler mindset.
Just found a pair of ML Monolith 3 speakers that have been a bit battered physically and missing the crossover. but are described as being in excellent working condition. I've seen extensive pictures and have paid a small deposit. I've been promised a refund of the deposit if I don't like them upon inspection. I don't care about the cosmetics -- that's fixable. And I don't care about the missing crossover -- I'll use my DQ-LP1. I'm taking my crossover and an extra amplifier when I go to examine the speakers later this month. Now I have to convince my 91-y/o mother to let them dominate her living room with its otherwise 18th-century decor.
I've managed to acquire three of what could be classed as the best of the moving-magnet genre of cartridges: the last of the Shure V-15 series, Pickering/Stanton's 681 series and Pritchard's ADC XLM series. Long ago, I owned top-of-the-line cartridges from all three manufacturers. It will be interesting to see how my ancient memories interact with their similarities and differences today.
Bought the Monoliths. I'm in love. Bought an MC-2500 to go along with the MC-2255 I already had. The MC-2500 is a strange beast. In addition to the standard taps off the autoformer, it has one labeled 70-volts -- custom for PA system use. It was one of four in a church sound distribution system. It failed (caps shot). I got it cheap. The church is replacing everything, figuring that one failure predicts another in the not-so-distant future. Regardless, the three working units were long gone when I heard about the deal. I made a low-ball offer (at least I thought it was low-ball) and they jumped on it. It's off being resuscitated as I type.
I've added a Sony CD player (actually BR/DVD/CD) and a Bifrost 2 DAC to the mix. I think that makes my system essentially complete. I may never be cured of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome); however, for the time being, it appears to be in remission.
Now, I'm buying music. Chasing down vinyl I've lost is time consuming and expensive. Searching is half the fun: life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party -- Jimmy Buffet. Plus, there's so much new to explore!
