Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

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Re: Audio Catalogs, Accessories & Memorabilia

Postby jadis » Tue Nov 20, 2012 1:23 pm

Jon Agner wrote:Phil,

I think you should have asked Ivor Tiefenbrun to also send you a personal letter ;) :D


Well Jon, he gave me his business card that night,

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...so I guess, I might just have to WRITE him. :D
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Letter to the Editor

Postby jadis » Tue Nov 20, 2012 3:29 pm

And it's good to hear HP's piece on the subject of the listening room:

"The listening room is one of the last frontiers that we must address in our search for a convincing replication of the absolute sound."
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Mark Levinson JC 2 Pre Amp

Postby jadis » Wed Sep 18, 2013 8:42 pm

MM VIII - The Mark Levinson John Curl-Designed JC 2 Preamplifier

It's been more than a year since Morita gave me some audio memorabilia to write about. I certainly am not from his time, so it is always interesting to hear his stories of audio life back then - early 70s, I was told.

This time, he brought along a John Curl designed Mark Levinson JC 2, in the flesh, or metal, as the case may be, for me to see, touch, and feel. Passive display, in audio show parlance. :lol: Made in 1973, this solid state full function pre amp is a thing of beauty, and the innards can be seen right through its acrylic top cover.

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The white plastic switch (1 & 2) is for phono cartridge impedance matching:

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The metal toggle switch is for tube or solid state amp matching:

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Factory made acrylic top cover has labels for Phono 1, Phono 2, etc.

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Balanced Sockets

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The Absolute Sound June 2012 issue naming the JC2 as one of 12 most significant preampliers made:

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Morita's audio system in 1973. ARC D-150s, he ordered 2 stereo amps and had them factory revised for mono usage. The ARC SP 3 and the ML JC 2 were his 'reference' pre amps. He said, to experience the best of both worlds, he wanted both the best in tube and SS design during that time. Blurred in the rack, one can spot a McIntosh product, Morita says it's a thing to enhance the FM tuner. :o Above it is a Nakamichi Dragon Cassette Deck..

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Upon seeing this fella, I asked Morita who the guy was in the picture, and he said it was HIM! :o :o I wouldn't have guessed. I had to take a real long long look again and said, ahhh, maybe. :D It was taken in an audio shop in Hong Kong, around 1972 he says. Siga din ang porma. The shirt I think was called Knik Knik, at least it's not Banlon. :lol:

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He stressed that he wanted to be with AMPZILLA in the pic, and not with any other HK girl. :D

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He then flipped me some original catalogs of the SP 3 and Marantz 7 pre amps, 2 products he holds dearly and with high respect.

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And finally, a catalog of the ML LNP2, which occupies a special place in his audio heart. He promised to bring me the actual unit in our next kamikaze meeting for a 'photo shoot'.

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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby narayan » Thu Sep 19, 2013 11:47 am

Very interesting Philip 8) More :clap:
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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby Jon Agner » Thu Sep 19, 2013 12:43 pm

Nice :) Pat Morita in black ..... (hair) .... :D :D :D
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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby bb3 » Thu Sep 19, 2013 1:47 pm

Hi philip,
The pic might have been taken around 1975 as that was the year the JC2 and D150 was introduced.
I remember requesting for the JC2 and SAEamp as a HS grad gift from my mom and dad.
Ang mahal pala!
. . . got a pioneer receiver instead. :D
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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby jadis » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:22 pm

narayan wrote:Very interesting Philip 8) More :clap:


Thanks, Obet. I think Morita will give us more. I'm eagerly awaiting his loudspeakers collection but I don't think he can just haul them in into a coffee shop for a photo shoot without the guards noticing. Unless audio buff din ang sekyu, tulungan pa niya ihakot sa loob. :D :D
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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby jadis » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:29 pm

Jon Agner wrote:Nice :) Pat Morita in black ..... (hair) .... :D :D :D


Well Jon, the guy is a maverick of sorts. Born and raised in Binondo, if I'm not mistaken, but collects and reads the underground journals in his time. Visits HK to shop for his wares, I thought it was to escape the curfew of the early 70s. :D He had long hair then, and has ponytail now. I had neither in my life. :D He was listening to Dark Side of the Moon in those days, ako, hanggang ngayon, di ko pa kaya. :D
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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby jadis » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:33 pm

bb3 wrote:Hi philip,
The pic might have been taken around 1975 as that was the year the JC2 and D150 was introduced.
I remember requesting for the JC2 and SAEamp as a HS grad gift from my mom and dad.
Ang mahal pala!
. . . got a pioneer receiver instead. :D


Hi Boy,

That should be it then, as the guy might have lost track of his 'years'. :D I imagine, anything marked 'ML' should be expensive.
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Mark Levinson LNP-2 Preamp

Postby jadis » Mon Oct 14, 2013 9:04 am

MM IX - MARK LEVINSON LNP-2 PREAMP


As promised by Chairman Mor - MORE!!! :D

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I think as far as Pat's favorite preamp of the yesteryears is concerned, the Mark Levinson LNP-2 occupies a true sweet spot in his 'audio stable'. I should refer to it as 'Pat's Pet Preamp'. :lol: He brought it over, in the metal (not flesh), :lol: to have another coffee shop photo shoot with dimsum. :D I was quite astonished to see something wrapped up in a leather car seat cover when it was ushered in the coffee shop, yun pala, the LNP-2 was inside, to protect it daw from the raindrops of Typhoon Santi. :D Like a newborn wrapped in a fluffy blanket. :D

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Then he presented a pic of the whole picture of his 'rack' in the mid 70s which was posted previously. From top left going down: Technics SP 10 MKII without plinth, SAE EQ, Nakamichi Dragon, McIntosh Multiplex Signal Tuner. From top right downwards: SP10 plinth, Amzilla preamp, Harman Kardon Citation 16 Power Amp, and another SP-10 plinth.

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Below, more audio catalogs of his favorite gears in those times:

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Below, from a Japanese Hifi magazine: Marantz Model 7, McIntosh C22, and a JBL SG520 preamp.

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A black and white scanned pic of his rack mounted gears in those days: Left side top to bottom: Sony 777 R2R Tape Machine, Marantz 10B Tuner, Marantz Model 7 preamp, Marantz Model 15 SS power amp, and the Marantz Model 9 Mono Blocks. Right top pic was already posted in color the last time, and below it, a pair of McIntosh MC3500 Mono Blocks.

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McIntosh MC3500 Mono Blocks rated at 350 watts/channel:

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Audio magazine clippings of his favorite gears:

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Quality Control Checklist Card of Marantz, in those days, they called it 'Performance Documentation'.

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Clippings about the ML LNP-1, predecessor of the LNP-2:

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One of his favorite industry trivia about ML the man that he had told me a few times in the past:

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Interview with Mike Kay of Lyric Hi-Fi NY on ML the man:

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He keeps a write-up on one of his early idols James Bongiorno of Ampzilla fame:

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And finally, a catalog of a preamp which evaded him and never got to own, the Marantz Model 1 stereo preamp. Poor guy. :lol:

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Next: Chapter X - The Speakers of the House (of Morita)
:lol:
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Morita's Loudspeakers

Postby jadis » Thu Nov 07, 2013 9:09 pm

MM X - MORITA'S SPEAKERS OF HIS HOUSE :lol:

In past conversations with Morita, in the world of loudspeakers, 3 names always come up - Arnold Nudell, Dick Sequerra, and Jon Dahlquist. He showed me a few pictures of the speakers he collected in those times.

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On the left, the Dahlquist DQ-10 Special Edition. Modified by Saul Marantz with a Sequerra HF-1 Ribbon Tweeter inside, with a rare white grill cover. And on the right, the AR-3(W) as bass drivers only, which he used as bass module driven by Phase Linear 400 amp. Crossover used was a Dahlquist Electronic Crossover. Morita was a bi-amping adherent.

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Double Quad 57s, with original Mark Levinson Stands, he would use 2 pairs of AR-3s as bass drivers instead of the Hartley woofers, and he calls it 'AQ' - AR/Quad. :) Regarding the HQDs, he told me something I didn't know before. Erstwhile, I had thought that the HQD system was lock stock and barrel supplied by Mark Levinson the man as whole package. What Morita clarified to me was that ML supplied only the electronics and the individual had to source his own H, Q and D. Morita was the importer of the double Quad 57s in those days, and he hooked up with a another local importer (who sourced the H and the D and the ML gears) to sell the HQD system to the audio hobbyist in those days.

Today, he plans to set up what he calls a 'GQS'' in the near future. Genesis 2 woofer towers, double Quad 57s, and a Sequerra Signature Ribbon/Cone high frequency driver, pictured below, and heavier than any bookshelf speakers I've come to know.

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He was also a fan of Magnepan Loudspeakers (now he tells me), 2 decades before I got my own Maggie. :lol:

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He bought himself a Tympani 3D on Christmas Day, 1977 - A day of self-serving bliss. :D Why have I never done that? :D

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Unknown to me till now, Magnepan had a 4-panel bass driver in the Tympani 3A-W, which he owned in those times with the Tympani 3D.

He also had the AR-LST speakers:

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He also liked Arnold Nudell's venture into combining the KLH 9s with Bozak and Klipsch which was one of Infinity's very first speaker - The Servo Statik.

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He kept articles that mentioned one of his idols, Jon Dahlquist and the now legendary DQ-10 and how the DQ-10 was used in the initial works of speaker makers who later on made a mark in the industry.

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And last but not least, he pays tribute to whom he considers the greatest loudspeaker designer of all - Arnold Nudell of Infinity and Genesis. His admiration for Arnold Nudell led him into importing the Genesis Loudspeaker line in the early 90s, here with the then 2nd flagship Genesis Model 2 in Manila, which was featured in a local audio magazine in those days:

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Before Genesis, there was Infinity. The IRS in Nudell's own room.

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Nudell used a Mark Levinson modified Studer A-80 tape machine (modified by John Curl) and was called the ML Model 5.

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He took a photo of the son of his partner in the States, beside an IRS in Nudell's factory in Denver, Colorado:

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And this, in his own words, is the feather in his cap. In 1995, as the importer of the Genesis line of speakers, he flew up to Eagle Point in Denver to visit his idol Arnold Nudell, who hosted a dinner for him, with Arnie's family members and Genesis Partner Paul McGowan in tow.

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For the record, the guy on the left is Pat Morita (aka Robert Tan), and on the right, the legendary Arnold Nudell. There can be no mistake. :lol:

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Morita has lived his dreams, but I, I have yet to sit down with Larry Bird. And well, maybe try to meet Jim Winey's son in the Magnepan plant someday. :lol:
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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby TheAnalogSource » Thu Nov 07, 2013 9:56 pm

Earlier on, he keep mentioning the name to me. Clueless I am on audio history...i was at a lost who is this ah-nold noddle guy hehe
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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby jadis » Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:21 am

TheAnalogSource wrote:Earlier on, he keep mentioning the name to me. Clueless I am on audio history...i was at a lost who is this ah-nold noddle guy hehe


Hehe, sometimes Morita calls him ah-nie newdel too. :lol:

And here is my 'dream-did-not-come-true' speakers - the IRS Beta. In the early 90s, I was choosing between it and the B&W 800, I ended up choosing the later. I should have...but that was history. And this same review mentions the history of Nudell, Christie and Infinity - founded 'informally' in 1966. He points out to me so many times, Nudell's 4-piece design was ahead of its time. The bi-amp bass tower/mid hi module design is still being used today by many big speaker companies and designers. That is why he holds Nudell's name way up there when in comes to loudspeaker designers. The history of Nudell is really awe-inspiring.

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspe ... 8infinity/
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Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby jadis » Fri Nov 08, 2013 8:58 am

I was a lover and user of Infinity speakers as well. In the mid 80s, while drooling over the RS-1B in the pages of TAS magazine, and after flipping my bankbook, I bought the RS3B instead, :lol: and it was already the most expensive pair of speakers I ever purchased in those days, on indent order basis to boot.

On the left is the RS3B:

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Price quote for the bigger RS speakers, RS1B was $3,750 plus p25,000 taxes. IRS was a $21,500 without taxes yet, in those days.

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And the one that I missed getting in the 90s - The IRS Beta:

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Spec Sheet:

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The Grand-daddy of them all - The IRS V:

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Morita's Memorabilia

Postby jadis » Mon Nov 11, 2013 8:33 pm

MORITA'S MEMORABILIA XI

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I never would have imagined there would be an MM XI really, until the other day at the Hi Fi Show. Morita unleashed not 1 but 2 'angels' - Morita's Angels. I knew he was into bi-amping, but didn't expect it in this FORM. :o People were showing off their woofers in the show, huge rounds ones, but Morita was displaying a couple of cute 'puppies'. :lol:

Did I say Morita was living his dreams ? This is yet another proof. I need to ask some monk about Dharma, and what Morita did in his past life to deserve all this. As his audio-biographer, I am stumped. :D
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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby tony » Tue Nov 12, 2013 7:21 am

very nice thread, thanks for sharing.... :D
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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby jadis » Tue Nov 12, 2013 7:51 am

tony wrote:very nice thread, thanks for sharing.... :D


my pleasure, tony. glad you liked it. :)
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Re: Morita's Memorabilia

Postby Jon Agner » Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:05 am

jadis wrote:MORITA'S MEMORABILIA XI

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I never would have imagined there would be an MM XI really, until the other day at the Hi Fi Show. Morita unleashed not 1 but 2 'angels' - Morita's Angels. I knew he was into bi-amping, but didn't expect it in this FORM. :o People were showing off their woofers in the show, huge rounds ones, but Morita was displaying a couple of cute 'puppies'. :lol:

Did I say Morita was living his dreams ? This is yet another proof. I need to ask some monk about Dharma, and what Morita did in his past life to deserve all this. As his audio-biographer, I am stumped. :D


Phil,

Now I realize that TAS is following Morita's "chi" to the fullest :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Morita's Memorabilia

Postby jadis » Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:17 am

Jon Agner wrote:
jadis wrote:MORITA'S MEMORABILIA XI

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I never would have imagined there would be an MM XI really, until the other day at the Hi Fi Show. Morita unleashed not 1 but 2 'angels' - Morita's Angels. I knew he was into bi-amping, but didn't expect it in this FORM. :o People were showing off their woofers in the show, huge rounds ones, but Morita was displaying a couple of cute 'puppies'. :lol:

Did I say Morita was living his dreams ? This is yet another proof. I need to ask some monk about Dharma, and what Morita did in his past life to deserve all this. As his audio-biographer, I am stumped. :D


Phil,

Now I realize that TAS is following Morita's "chi" to the fullest :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


Jon,

I must have to say who doesn't want to follow Morita, but I JUST CAN'T follow his footsteps. :D :D
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Re: Audio Catalogs & Morita's Memorabilia

Postby Jon Agner » Tue Nov 12, 2013 11:51 am

hahahaha :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
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