Audioless Winnipeg Group!

Ah, one of the budget level Fluoroscan receiver from Pioneer, only a step up from the SX-3400. The SX-3500 just has more "fluoroscan" components over the SX-3400. Basic testing shows the fluoroscan are still pretty bright. DC offset are good, controls are being cleaned, FM sounds okay and power meter works! Still need to put it through it paces, I haven't heard one for a very, very long time. More to come!

One of the nicest speaker switch/selector that has been ever made. They are well made, all mechanical, and has banana plugs. No fuses or speaker protection. You can also use it in reverse (2 amplifiers and 1 speakers), just be careful! I would try to do a workup on them but, honestly, there is so much information on the internet, the product speaks for itself. Works extremely well when you power amplifier has only 1 set of speaker taps. Hifiengine description " Extremely low internal resistance for minimum power loss; well below the contact resistance of the amplifier output connectors. The highest grade of heavy-duty, gold-plated, solid-brass, 5-way binding posts, found only in the finest quality instrumentation-grade equipment. Glass fiber epoxy (NEMA FR-4 grad e) circuit board construction with the widest signal traces for minimum power loss; resistance of less than 0.001 ohms; will not degrade the damping-factor of any amplifier. Oxygen Free Copper (OFC), internal wire jumpers...

Ariston has a very interesting history with Linn, which I will not get into. The basic design of the Ariston RD-11S is basically the same as an early Linn without the patent spindle bearing. It uses a more convention but, larger ball bearing or captive ball bearing. So, refurbishing this unit was fairly easy as I could source Linn LP-12 springs and grommets. Some tweaks: Other than buying Linn LP-12 springs and rubber grommets. Replace the suspension screws with new 10-32 x 2.25" screws, wing nuts and washer. Keep the internal tooth washer to aid with retention. Talc'ing the belt as well as the rubber grommets and ends of the springs will help with adjusting (turning) the springs/suspension to tune the bounce. These inexpensive tweaks will make your life easier when you're setting up the suspension.  For transit screws: #6 coarse thread screw will work. I am sure there are others but, very limited choices where I live. This Ariston RD-11S was  equipped with a SME 3009 S2 I...

I thought I would never buy another vintage receiver, until this HH Scott 337B popped on the market. It was partially recapped and the work was done by a fellow AKer. You can see his work and his ramblings on audiokarma here:  HH Scott 377B I've never heard an American made HH Scott before. While the Japanese made ones sounded nice, they all sounded much like other Japanese made stuff in the late 70s. I was curious about the American made ones. I had an inkling that because it was made in the early 1970s it would be very warm sounding as a lot of early solid state gear replicated the sound of tube amps of the era before. My suspicions were correct, the HH Scott 377B definitely is on the warmer side of things .  Its very nice, very "full/robust" sounding. Definitely a lot more robust sounding over the Pioneer SX-636 I had previously.  It has a certain tube characteristic with an emphasis on the more midrange, which is nice. If matched with a more "brighter" sound...

These are the 4-8ohm version and uses the small magnet HF1300. From what I can figure out they are the second version (MkII) with the fabric grill cloth. However, I am not entirely certain. I truly believe that speaker technology have come a long way since the 1950/60/70/80 and that each generations of speakers comes with improvement, especially with materials and engineering. However, that does not dissuade vintage speakers by any means. If they sounded good back in the day, they probably still sound nice today.  Over the past couple of years and transitioning from a house to condo living, I've begun to appreciate bookshelf speakers more. As well, not everyone wants a big or bigger set of speakers. While I've always kept my Bozak MB-80s and I do have a set of modern "stand mount" speakers, I still like to experience vintage bookshelf speakers. The difference between the more vintage bookshelf and the more modern bookshelf or stand-mount speakers are, at least the way...

These are one of my favourite bookshelf speakers. I've had them for almost a decade and recently I did a small refurb on them, replacing the 22uf electrolytic with new Mundorf electrolytic (Poly caps I had were too big) and new black grill cloth versus the faded brown. Plus a re-oiling of the blond oak veneer. They sounded better than they were before. A lot more livelier on the top end.  Originally, I thought the Audax tweeters were struggling a bit and I wasn't too sure if it was the ferrofluid or the cap. Took a gamble and hoped it was the cap and it paid off. Story time: When I first auditioned them, wayyyy back in Winnipeg. I had a very interesting A/B comparison with a pair of Rogers LS3/A. I can't remember which version it was nor the power source. But, it did give me an opportunity to listen to a pair of LS3/A. The Rogers and Bozak were very distinct from one another. That the Bozak were a lot flatter in sound signature and the Rogers had a more more mid bass bump (...

I was recently browsing through my old folders and found quite a few pictures of pieces that we've sold but never posted. I might take this opportunity to go through them and post the less grainy ones! While I can't comment on them in detail, I will certainly do my best!

This midrange receiver was one of the last few vintage pieces I've bought in Winnipeg. While by it only put out 25wpc into 8ohm, it was adequate to power my little Bozak MB80. This combination served me well during my transition to the interior BC.  It was more than adequate for my previous living space and even my current living conditions. Granted the Bozak prefer more power.   It was recapped by the previous owner, IIRC all the caps were replaced. That was the extent of the "restoration." It sounded very good for what it was. This Pioneer was on the middle to warm side of things of the sound signature. It was pleasant, wasn't mushy or overly "tubey" sounding but, not as dynamic or transparent as others.  Middle-ground stuff. Tuner was nice, it was able to grab signal in my condo without an antenna and sounded pretty decent. No qualms about the tuner. Everything worked as it should. Overall, I had zero issues with this unit. However, I was not a huge fan o...

One of the more interesting preamplifiers I've had in my main system. I had it for years and kept it around, even hauling it to another province. I've only had a handful of active preamplifiers and I've always liked the Belles DMM that I had. I only stopped using it when in my current step up there was not enough steps in the volume potentiometer. It goes from soft to too loud in a single step. Had to use the "mute" function which was a 20dB attenuation to make it work. It was a nice basic preamplifier with all the basic features one needed. It has a phono input, tone controls, bypass switch, 2x tape input and 2x auxiliary input (thought one is "tuner"). It also came with a moving coil phono input in their DMC model. This one is unique because it is labeled as a DMC but, does not have the internal switch for a moving coil. It is a DMM that has a DMC faceplate. Why? Absolutely no idea. But, it was a very nice sounding unit. Class A, if that means somethin...