THE OTHER TAS ROOMsometimes you just want to relax, lie down, grab a beer, and listen to music....
...this is where I do it all and more.
analog source is VICTOR QL-A7 (that auto stop function is most important) with a GRACE F9 cartridge (why the auto stop is important hehe)
feeding an EAR 834P to a LUXMAN L400 integrated amp driving the DAHLQUIST DQ-8.
i long have wanted to integrate a pc based media server to the audio system but seems cant start on it. talk about analog karma hahaha
On most days, it's History Channel on the tv (yeah you guess it right - watching KINGS OF RESTORATION). Some 80's pop on the turntable.
Office work on the PC (well we have to work sometime, don't we). All at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking.
I like working on the floor thus the monitor because i gives me a lot of desk space hehehe.
SECTIONS
1. RETRO HALLS SYSTEM
2. HOW I BUILD MY ANALOG SOFTWARE LIBRARY -the start (ADDED OCT 2008)
3. OFFICE SETUP 2009
4. MY FIRST AUDIO SETUP
5. TAS LISTENING ROOM -added June 2010
6. Tas Audiophile Source
RETRO HALLS SYSTEMMusic has been, is, and will always be a big part of my life. As I’ve pointed out in my welcome post here at WS, my audio journey started when my parents bought their AKAI console when I was still in grade school. During weekends, our set would blare up lps after lps of engelbert, abba, carpenters, perez prado, ian hero, ray conniff etc.
Fast forward 10 years later, I bought my very first own gears when I started to work during my college years. It was a SONY CD player which then was thought to be the best technology that will revolutionized the music world. I did not have a system then yet. I use a Pioneer? Or a Sony? big headphone to listen to the CDs that I buy. I still remember that the first album I bought in compact disc is JOSE MARI CHAN – A Golden Collection. With my limited budget, I would buy only an album every other week from saved baons. You can imagine how with all the lovely titles available, I would ponder deeply and with length to select only one title for the week. I get a chance to buy more when I see those Naxos and Laserlights CDs on sale which happens to be my introduction to classical musics. I have build up a CD library of about 500 titles of various genre over the years.
When I was already working and earning more than enough to live decently, I got myself an average system - Dynaaudio speakers, Pioneer AVR and LaserDisc Player, MK sub, Atlantic HT speakers, Toshiba 50in rear projection TV. HT was the in thing then. I started with Dolby Prologic, growing up to AC-3 and so on….. but I still always do not forget my stereo. Boy, you must be really crazy to listen to music on those different DSP modes. Also, I find it hard and weird to cope up with the increasing numbers of speakers required for the upgraded HT system…. Ilan na ba ngaun 100.10 na?
My music interest then dwindled. Don’t know the reason. Didn’t analyze. However, I surely know now that I regret it. Been to one interest to another. Nothing permanent.
It was early this year when I was so bored that I remember I had some gears kept somewhere and that stash of softwares to listen to. In short, I set it up. And like most of you in this hobby – that upgrade itch did not take long. I was looking for a receiver or an integrated for my extra speaker for a second system. I did not yet know about various forums on this hobby. I scan Buy&Sell and stumble into this mint NAD304. When I went for an audition, I saw this monstrous speakers attached to this wood-cased preamp/power amp. Boy, it looks really cool. The seller even played some Nat King Cole. Sounds Cool. Though a lot colored, the music coming out from the system reminded me of my childhood days. No – I did not get the vintage package. Brought home the NAD integrated.
I was mesmerized with that old sound I heard. I look for that Buy&Sell page for the sellers number but no luck finding it. I remember the brand – it was a LUXMAN. So I thought, I’ll get another Luxman instead. Found and bought an L400 (not the van
). Sure, that Luxman air is there but I’m craving for more…..
Going back to the internet forums….. on free time which I have a lot then, I lurk at sites with interest on various nightouts, gimiks, youknowwhats, etc. which have been a good reference hehe. There, I stumble on a short forum on audio and HT where I got the link to the other audio channel. Browsing on the marketplace, one post caught my attention. That audio rack looks familiar. I PMed the member posting and indeed he was my NAD seller. After a few kumustas, I inquired about those old gears I listened too. I was informed that the monstrous speakers – it was a BIG ADVENT – was already sold and the Luxman combi are for keeps. So as parting words, I told that when the time comes he is about to upgraded – give me first priority to get the Luxman.
Maybe a month after, I received a text informing me that the Luxman combi is for sale. So I hurriedly reserve it, schedule an audition on the nearest weekend. Brought my daughter to see it. After a short audition, I finally got myself my first wood-cased vintage gear – LUXMAN C-120 Preamp and M-120 Poweramp. This may not be considered vintage yet as it was produced in the 70’s as compared to those Dynacos, Fishers, and Scotts.
Finally, it was set up at home driving my Audience 5. One night while listening, I got an idea – This system will be a lot cool if I would get a turntable to match that old amps. Hehehe. I even know what kind of turntable I want – the one with wood casing. And so the search continues... I already got the link to Wiredstate by now. Browsed on those incredible setups. Salivate on those gears for sales. However, I do not seem to find the gear I am looking for my next project. I also did not want to shell out big amount as I do not know anything about analog. Out of desperation, I went to audition for a Sony turntable. To my surprise, I saw 3 or 4 wood case turntable. After careful inspection, i found out that they were just laminates but will suit my purpose for the moment. Got all the wood laminated turntables from the seller. Didn’t know that it was this cheap. Less than 2K each. The one shown here is a SHARP OPTONICA belt drive turntable. The other turntables I got from the lot are 2 Pioneer belt drives. I have only one vinyl album – CHUCK MANGIONE’s Feel So Good. Saved it purely because I like the cover more than anything else. Boy, to my amazement when I played it. That trumpet sounds life like not anything near my cd sounds. Tat tat tat tadat tada …….
I am not a shark. I’ll never be one. For the moment, I have no lps so I’m building up a library. This is also to find out which will sound great in my analog setup. So far, my interests are in oldies (loved those crooners and sweet ladies’ voices), musicals and old soundtracks, jazz fusion (those brass, woodwind, pianos solos sound great), a few ballads here and there. Have build up already a library more than that of my cd collection. Thus, I have been slowing down on my buying spree (ubos na rin budget ko).
As I’ve said if you set it all right, there is no more turning back from analog….
I’ve been playing my analog system almost every day. Start playing when I get home at 6 and end at around 11. After sometime, I already set aside my early morning gym schedule for some more listening sessions. Hope this should just be temporary because seems to be adding the pounds again. So when I wake up at around 5, I would fire up the system and starting spinning those lps until just about to go to work at 8. When schedule is not that hectic especially towards the end of the week, I would still play 2-3 albums during lunch breaks. The whole day of Saturdays and Sundays are also listening session days. So now, you will understand my appetite for software.
This may also be the reason why the phono stage of my luxman preamp gave up. It produce a hum when I’m on my fifth lp already. So instead of having it repaired, I thought I would just get an outboard phono box and attached it to a line stage. I had enough courage to PM the gurus here at WS. You should try it if you have problems with your system as they are very accommodating. One advice I got is to just get another receiver with a phono stage as it is not that expensive anyway. So my search continues….
Luckily I found this Pioneer wood cased receiver. It has low wattage thus sold very cheap. To my surprise, I found out that this receiver has two phono inputs. Maybe during those time, it is ordinary to have two turntable in a system. Another plus from this catch is that it has a preamp to amp jumper so actually I can use it as a preamp also. I have tried these setups -- all Pioneer and Pioneer preamp – Luxman Power combi. However, it does not have that Luxman air. So finally, I decided that the pioneer will just be phono stage connected to my luxman pre-amp line stage via tape monitor out. Another advantage with this system is that I get to use the tuner of the Pioneer.
The setup was placed in cabinet that was not anymore used at our shop. I finished it with an old rustic look. Now only one item does not match – in look that is. No, it is not the TV but the Dynaaudio speakers. Although it sounded great, its look does not matched. So off I go to look for a vintage speaker. I have been looking in the market place here and there, but no luck finding one. How I wonder that after I got my old speakers, a lot of old speakers are being posted for sale. Luckily for me, I went home to the province for our annual November 1st tradition. There, I found this old piece of furniture lying around in my friend’s house so I offer to buy it from him. So much luck that I have that it was given to me without a fee.
Now, my retro system is complete. This is a fun project for me. It does not cost an arm and a leg to complete. The most fun part is in the sourcing as you get to meet new friends. Also, there so much things out there that is fun to discover. Thank you to all of you who have helped me. Its been a learning experience.
HOW I BUILD MY ANALOG LIBRARY
the startI just got burned out from another hobby - golf. Not the one that stereophile is into but the game where the more rounds you play the merrier it becomes... or so we hazily thought.
Having used to being out all night and most of the nights... then all of a sudden having to go home after office hours and doing nothing is literally breaking my head. I've started to pass the time away by watching tv and altenately playing some dvds. But then after some time, it kinda becomes boring... napagtyatyagaan ko na nga panoorin even the make-over shows. The number of new movies cannot cope up with my viewing marathons.
One night while staring blank at the turned-off TV, an idea came into my mind.... hmmmm buti pa isetup uli un audio system ko. This was a long forgotten hobby a decade plus ago after my time was eaten up with work and budget was relocated to a starting family life. Good thing I did not dispose of my gears and my cd library of about 500. So it was setup again.
Fast forward to after listenning to the entire library... there was a crave for new software. Btw, I really cannot enjoy the sound of an MP3 file as I find it very bright and so i look for software in CD format. I am a regular at MCS where I would take home a bagful of PCD on a weekly basis . But then again after a few weeks, it seems that ive been selecting off on the sames titles over and over again.
The analog journey started out one lazy Thursday afternoon when I saw this pre-owned wood plinth turntable. In my mind I thought “Maybe that turntable is the key to my access to a wider variety of music”. There seems to be no turning back.
I’m an avid fan of music of the yesteryears. I’ve been looking for albums of Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Joni James, Doris Day and the likes. I have so much fond memories of these music in my younger years. How we would spend those lazy Sunday afternoon reviewing our lessons for the next school week along side with our mother busy ironing our school uniforms. Of course, she get to choose the radio station she liked. Although I must admit that the music seems boring at that time, I didn’t know that it made a lot of impact in my musical preferences.
It was not limited only to Sunday afternoons because it seems that Sunday mornings are also a musical delight. It the time of the week when songs from Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperthingy, Perez Prado, latin and other upbeat music are blaring either from our console, our neighbor’s console, or a cornucopia mixture from 3 or 4 sources. Hehe, I surmised that this is a way of showing to your neighbors that you have arrived. (Literally I would say.. as we would know that our Manila-based neighbor Mang Juanito is home as he pump the juice from his component to blare those Souza Marches, Tangos, and Cha-chas at 6 o’clock in the morning. HUH!!) I would say that these bubbly Sunday morning music would have a lot of influence in stimulating not only our sleeping spirits but also our appetite for the Sunday lunch fare which includes Mom’s specialties like putchero, escabeche, laing, bicol express, nilaga, etc.
Some years earlier before our father died, we would have our family bonding moments listening on our new acquired console on mostly easy listening music including Ray Conniffs, Mantovannis, 50’s and 60’s music mostly from Reader’s Digest boxsets. Sometimes, my mother would also played dance lps ( I remembered only the Punk Rock lp which includes rock lobster) which our only sister who is about 3 at that time would dance to her heart’s delight. This is a weekly event that we look forward to very eagerly as we go to school about 100km away from home and we be all together only on the weekend.
You see some of the artists I mentioned above are not anymore available in CDs. Chances of what you’ll get this time are compilations of their greatest hits. So in short, I was able to buy that Kenwood turntable. Now the next problem is where to find the lps.
Asked from the nearby pre-owned lp store but the average price was P500. Saw a friend and was referred to a seller who showed me a new sealed lp but was selling it at P2000 a piece. I was sneering while politely declining the offer. In my mind… P2000. ano ako? Hilo!!!.
I went home with a turntable with no lps in hand although I’ve kept a mint copy of Chuck Mangione’s Feel So Good lp which a friend gaved me some years ago not because of the music but because of I like the album’s cover.
One afternoon, I went to Greenhills Tiangge and saw a crateful of lps… hmmm… Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Beatles…. Ahhh my type of music. Asked the price. P150 the seller replied. Ahhh…. Just my price range.
At this time, I’ve been reading and contacting the different sellers already at Wiredstate. Also, I have seen a lot of sellers from Buy&Sell. It is just that I’m planning how to go about with the purchases. My idea is, since these lps are pre-owned, I should buy it only if I have listened to it and found to be in good (at least listenable) condition.
One weekday afternoon, I braved to go to Gypsy’s shop knowing that it is a store so the lot to choose from must be big and the possibility of a testing turntable is most likely available. So my hunch is bullseye. I was able to take home about 5 lps. I was eager to go home and play my newly acquireds. So after getting home and while doing some computer works, I place a Johnny Mathis lp and start spinning. My turntable is a fully-automatic one. So after I pressed the START button, I went back to my workstation and continue what I was doing.
When it was just started playing the first track, I felt goosebumps. I was even facing away from the speakers. The sound of the bass guitar felt so real. The low notes are creeping in my skin. That’s even before Mathis sing his first word. Even worst when he began to sing. He seems like to be singing just at my back………
OFFICE SETUP 2009added march 2009
I used to share my office cubicle with my sister. Late last year, she already started taking her review for the Bar which gave me a reality check that eventually she will be looking forward to a brighter future somewhere else. It would also mean that i'll be spending more time now in the office as the bulk of the company's workload - which used to be handled by her while i was away digging into those record bins - will now be done by me.
It didnt took a minute for me to decide what will i do with the emptied space....
....and here it is...viewed from my desk....
....viewed from the cubicle door....
....source view from visitors' chair....
MY FIRST AUDIO SETUPcleaning my desk today and just found a very old photo 1994. ang payat ko pala dati hahaha
THE NEW TAS LISTENING ROOM
after my daughter forcibly thrown me out of old music room.....im back with a vengeance.
presenting the new TAS listening room.
now playing the GLIDER ....
Tas Audiophile SourceThe problem with using your own system for audition of products for sale is that you end up with no personal system at all. That is what happened to the TAS LISTENING ROOM for the last two years. As a consequence, the interest also began to wane after listening to the same records over and over most of the time.
Late last year, I've decide that for me to get back on my feet is to rebuild my own personal system for my own pleasure listening rather tuning them to push products. Recently i've noticed that i am back again on record buying spree...maybe a testament of how nowadays im enjoying my newly rebuilt system.
SOURCE ON THE RIGHT IS A JELCO FITTED LENCO L75 with REGA IOS PHONO STAGETHE LEFT RACK IS FOR TABLE FOR EVALUATION...now listening to a GARRARD 301 with a refurbished SME 3012 in a CAMOTECUE plinth.
The regular turntable here is the JVC QL-A7 attached to the EAR 834P happily digging the grooves alternately....
GRACE F9-EBENZ MICRO REF 3Tas Audiophile SourceThe problem with using your own system for audition of products for sale is that you end up with no personal system at all. That is what happened to the TAS LISTENING ROOM for the last two years. As a consequence, the interest also began to wane after listening to the same records over and over most of the time.
Late last year, I've decide that for me to get back on my feet is to rebuild my own personal system for my own pleasure listening rather tuning them to push products. Recently i've noticed that i am back again on record buying spree...maybe a testament of how nowadays im enjoying my newly rebuilt system.
SOURCE ON THE RIGHT IS A JELCO FITTED LENCO L75 with REGA IOS PHONO STAGETHE LEFT RACK IS FOR TABLE FOR EVALUATION...now listening to a GARRARD 301 with a refurbished SME 3012 in a CAMOTECUE plinth.
The regular turntable here is the JVC QL-A7 attached to the EAR 834P happily digging the grooves alternately....
GRACE F9-EBENZ MICRO REF 3thanks for viewing