Audioless Winnipeg Group!

Today is Christmas Eve and we at Audioless Winnipeg would like to send our season greetings to everyone!  Hope everyone has a warm Christmas!  And, of course celebrating the festivities with music!

QED wasn't really known for their audio equipment but, everyone knew they made some quality audio accessories like switch boxes, and I should know as I have one and it's great stuff, much better than the Realistic ones, that's for sure. But, when it came down to the R232EN, I wasn't too sure.  When I saw it, all I could say was "QED made a turntable?"  But, it had some quality stuff put into it.  A glass platter, tri-point isolation feet, a nice light weight aluminum tone arm and it does say the motor is quartz lock.  I will admit I do enjoy non-suspended belt drive turntables and I really like the Cambridge Audio TT-50.  That being said, I like this turntable too!  I think it sounds pretty nice.  As well, I am a sucker of a nice glass platter! The QED "EN" model uses a DC motor with electronic speed controls between the 33/45rpm instead of taking the platter off and moving the belt to a different part of the motor spindle, which is nice.  It...

It was brought to our attention for those who cruise our blog that many may not know about our sale ad on Kijiji.  It is up and running now!  All the pieces listed in this ad are at our lowest price. some have been gone through by our technician, Tweakjunkie1. Christmas is coming so, if you've been looking for a treat or gift, give us a shout!  All you have to do is search "Audioless" in the Kijiji search bar (minus the quotations)! Cheers!

This is probably the first modern turntable that's come into my hands for servicing and of course the photo shoot.  I know many people think Audioless Winnipeg just purely deal with vintage and to some degree it's true.  However, we are a fan of all audio equipment throughout the ages.  This little black puppy just happens to be for sale due to the owner's upgraditis, haha.  Our member is the original owner and it's been well taken care of.  There is something about the Black Piano Finish that I really love.  It's clean, shiny and classy, like a grand piano in a concert hall.  The angled dustcover is also a bonus. This is your typical 2-speed, non-suspended, belt drive turntable.  It's purely manual and not only it is dead simple but reliable!  The design is of your typical European flare.  Suspended motor to reduce vibration, a heavy composite sub-platter for resonance control and an elastomer coated platter for who knows what, haha...

I completely forgot about posting this turntable on the blog.  I thought I did, but I guess I didn't.  However, it is sold so, this is primarily for information and posterity.  Personally, I enjoy non-suspended belt drive turntables because they're less finicky to deal with, no need to adjust suspension and the need of a solid platform.  Granted, a solid platform is good for all turntable.  For some odd reason, could be laziness, I just tend to prefer non-suspended belt drive tables, and which is why I would like to get an Empire turntable to play with! But, I digress.  I have numerous of Thorens turntables in my ownership, from the sought after TD-125MKII, to handful of TD-160s and TD-150s (I did love the look of the tone arm on the MKII), the popular Harman Hardon T165C and of course plenty of Japanese suspended belt drive turntables, and all were great but all of them weren't from me.  I've always stuck with my non-suspended direct drive turntab...

I've talked to some of the guys and I think it's time to do a small fire sale to clear out some of our serviced gear out to make room for up and coming projects! We all know that Winnipeg loves a deal.  So, we're gonna give you one!  Stay tuned!

Our lovely Pioneer PL-600 has found it's new home but, I guess many would never figure out where it is.  It's not in Winnipeg, or in the same Province.  Heck, it's not even in the same country!  The Pioneer PL-600 has found it's new home in Anchorage, Alaska, USA!  That's right, we do ship out our gear to the USA and Canada.  Now, this wasn't the easiest packing job.  Getting all the necessary material took time and just packing it took even more time!  We do take our time to properly pack any gear that's being shipped out.  And, that's the most important thing!  We want all our gear to arrive undamaged and in the same shape.  As well, we want all our gear to find appreciative homes just like this one! The new owner is thrilled to have the PL-600 where it will join other Pioneer gear!  Here are some snap shots of the PL-600 in Anchorage!

This is a real treat.  I haven't seen the early scanspeak drivers in quite some time!  When the member phoned me about them all he said they were Dynaco as per the badge.  After a quick description, I identified them as the A25.  When they got dropped off to me and after a close examination of the Aperiodic vent, which was above the tweeter, I soon realized they are the early version of the A25 with the Scanspeak drivers! These are some mighty fine speakers.  They are quite dynamic with a very lively sound signature.  As well being a nice bookshelf speakers I can see why these are quite popular and desirable for both new and veteran enthusiasts.  For their age, they are in great shape.  There is a depressed area but not really noticeable.  Grills are in good shape as well the badges are intact!  Not to mentioned they are wrapped in real wood veneer! They have been cleaned up and oiled up and ready for a new home!

This is coming out of my private collection!  This is one heck of a turntable and is probably considered one of the best turntables that Pioneer built at the consumer level. It has all the features one would want in a fully automatic turntable!  It's 2-speed, direct drive with quartz lock.  It has record selection size as well with repeat.  And, most importantly, it has VTA!  Not to mention the build quality underneath the hood. All metal plinth, heavy platter, superb tone arm, an excellent direct drive motor and suspended platter and tone arm!  Think of the Technics SL-1600mk2 to SL-1800mk2 turntables, they too are suspended.  I have to admit, it's really a superb table that can give the Technics it's run for it's money. I really love the design of the PL-600, it's very simplistic with a very utilitarian / industrial design.   It's in excellent condition and comes with its original headshell and transport screws.  It's been fres...

For early Japanese belt drive turntables, this has to be one of my favourites.  Those who know me know that I am not a huge fan of suspended belt drive turntables because they are quite finicky and require a very solid surface.  However, I am quite impressed by this Yamaha turntable.  I've had AR turntables and Thorens and when it comes down to sound quality, it does remind me of the Thorens.  It's also built really well.  Design principles are much different than the usual suspended platter turntables and more in lined with the Thorens. There is a sub chassis that holds the platter and tone arm, just like the more known Thorens.  As well the motor (hefty sized too) is also isolated with it's own suspension.  The arm is also well designed with a set screw that can adjust for VTA. The drive system itself is also different than the more common belt drive turntables that it's almost a rim drive table.  Nonetheless, this is a well built and well...

Now, I've owned some interesting speakers before but, these have to be one of the most interesting speakers I've come across in quite some time.  Why?  Well, probably because the mid drivers and woofers are made out of aluminum. By today's production, aluminum may not seem so uncommon.  However, back in the 70s/80s, there were probably only a small handful of manufacturers using aluminum cone drivers.  Other than Hitachi, I can only think of Bozak using aluminum cones.  I am sure they are more, I just can't think of any other manufacturers at this time.  The woofers also uses an aluminum voice coil, think vintage JBL. Another shocking aspect is the weight of these speakers.  You would assume they look somewhat substantial, but they are fairly light weight.  Makes one wonder why? I won't speculate as I'm not a speaker designer/engineer. However, I can tell you that they sound really good.  You wouldn't expect that a light weight speaker ...

These pictures are probably better than the last set I took of the Microns.

This is an impressive set of speakers.  Made in the USA, with beautiful workmanship, innovative design and excellent sound.  There is not a lot of information about this company other than a few pieces that people may have commented over the internet.  But, regardless of how little information there is about this company, the sound quality and build quality of these speakers are highly regarded.  Not to mention, they are well designed and look very elegant.  This happens to be our second pair of Microns, the first set we had was the 421 with the same 1011 passive sub and found a loving home.  Not to mention, wood lovers will love the look as they are wrapped in real wood veneer. From what I can find the 631 was their TOTL bookshelves speakers for this particular series.  The bookshelves are 3-way, featuring a 6" woofer, 2.5" midrange cone driver and 1" dome tweeter.  They are wrapped in a well made cabinet with rounded edges and the front are ...

I've owned several different belt drive turntables from AR to Thorens and of course tons of Japanese belt drive turntables but my experience is still limited.  However, from all the belt drive turntables I've owned, serviced, and heard, the Harman Kardon T-65C is definitely a superb deck.  I know many belt drives are subjected to plethora of modification the HK T-65C is one of the better sounding and better decks in stock form for several different reasons. 1) Suspension adjustments are done up top, underneath the platter 2) Pitch control 3) One of the quietest motors I've "heard" it's really a well engineered deck 4) Subjective: auto life at the end of the record While it's no giant killer by any means, it's truly a giant poker.  This is a 2-speed, belt drive w/ quartz lock, auto life turntable.  It also has adjustable capacitance for cartridge loading and a low mass carbon fiber tonearm.  The tonearm is more likely a Japanese design due to HK ...

These have to be one of my favourite fully automatic turntables.  Why?  For one, they are relatively simple inside which equates to ease of servicing, reliability and longevity.  They are truly well made machines and you gotta love that.  Good size motor, good and simple mechanics, good quality parts and very little plastic inside. Second reason is the look.  I've always enjoyed the look of these tables, the simple clean wood grain look with the metal plate on the left for contrast makes it a very elegant looking turntable.  Actually, many people who have bought these turntables off us love the look and you can't blame them, it is truly a great looking turntable. This is a 2-speed, fully automatic, direct drive turntable with repeat option and disc size.  If you have been following my previous information about Realistic turntables, this was made by C.E.C., a OEM company in Japan (which still exist today) that made turntables for various companies ...

Now these are some serious speakers.  While they don't hold a candle to their bigger brother, they still produce a fine sound signature. The AR91 are floor standing speakers in a 3-way acoustic sealed design.  It features AR's 12" woofer, it actually measures out to be 11", dome midrange and dome tweeter.  If you're looking for big and detailed sound, these are a fine pair of speakers. They are pretty big but, not super large and they are well designed having that real wood veneer and unique shape.  The grills are also bowed out at the bottom, so they are quite elegant to look at with some serious sound behind them. The woofers have been freshly redone and still need to be broken in.  The downsize of these AR91s are that they are power hungry.  They aren't really efficient and they love clean dynamic power.  So, no they aren't really tube friendly unless you have some serious tube monoblocks.  They are also 4 ohms and need something with a g...

Unlike what the model states, it's not a ribbon tweeter.  Rather the voice coil are wrapped in a ribbon fashion.  These are my favorite "small" 3-way speakers.  They have a 8" woofer with rubber surrounds, that have been reconditioned, a dome midrange driver and metal dome tweeter all wrapped in a well built acoustic sealed box.  I will assume all the drivers are German made. The frequency response is quite nice from 33-34k Hz, which is quite impressive for their size.  They really have that German characteristic, being detailed, clear, dynamic and precise.  They sound really superb.  They have to be one of the best small 3-ways I've heard, and I've heard quite a bit. They are also quite efficient, I remember running them with a small SET amplifier and they ran fine.  But, I would say at least 10wpc is enough to fill a room and have good headroom to move on the volume.  They are rated at 8ohm impedance.  The fabric on the grills ha...