Hitachi HA-5700 Integrated Amplifier & FT-5000 Tuner

Ah, one of my favourite power source. Most of the guys know that I like Hitachi gear, especially their amplifiers. The HA-1100 integrated amplifier is one of my favourite amps as it's dynamic and clean. Not to mention, it is well built. The HA-5700 is no different, except in it's sound signature. The HA-5700 integrated amplifier uses MOSFET as their output. And, how does it sound? It sounds smooth, full but not muddy. It has such a musical midrange that vocals sound superb. It has almost a tube vibe. I like MOSFET amplifiers and my main power amplifier is a MOSFET amp because they sound so good.

Let's talk about some specifications. Let's start with the interior, it has dual transformers. As well, it has extra gain in the phono section for MC (Moving Coil) cartridges. Alright, moving to the exterior. It has all the goodies most people like, it has a subsonic filter, tone defeat and loudness. It was built during the early 1980s so, it does have VU (volume unit) meter but, it's not your typical analog-needle looking meter but, a row of LED but, it's pretty neat in this pretty slim line amplifier. As well, it's rated at 50wpc.

It was professionally serviced by our friend, the Tweakjunkie1, and it's in excellent shape. If you haven't heard MOSFET before, you should at least give it a go. I tend to prefer the "lush" sound of the MOSFET over the early solid state gear from the other Japanese manufacturers from the early 70s, as the MOSFET is far less muddy.

Let's talk about the tuner. Truth be told, I don't know much about tuners. However, the FT-5000 is a digitial tuner with quartz lock. I have to admit, it does sound a lot better than many analog tuners. It's very clean sounding. And, having memory function is very useful to have. Remind me of your typical HK tuners of the 80s.

Links!
http://audio-database.com/Lo-D-HITACHI/amp/ha-5700-e.html
http://audio-database.com/Lo-D-HITACHI/tuner/ft-5000-e.html

Energy Encore 2 Speakers

My family were the original owners of these speakers. We actually had the entire Energy Encore 5.1 surround set, minus the integrated stands. Slowly, the rear speakers were sold. I kept the subwoofer to use with my sound bar, and the center channel broke. All that remained were these little guys sitting on the same shelving unit for the past 15ish years. I used them for a bit for my computer setup but, opted to use my Mirage Omni 350 instead. While these are considered "big box store" speakers, they are still great little speakers. These were made in Canada. Used their hyperdome aluminum tweeter that made Energy famous from the Pro22 days (thank you Burhoe!). A super nice black piano finish and sealed box, with a 4" long throw woofer. Some Specifications that I took from the web: System Type: Magnetically shielded acoustic suspension satellite Tweeter: 1" (28mm) Aluminum dome with cloth suspension Woofers: 4" (112mm) Multi-laminated aluminum polycarbonate c

Yamaha YP-66 Turntable

The rosewood vinyl wrapped twin sibling of the Yamaha YP-221, they are the exactly the same other than the colour of the plinth and instead of silver plastic bits on the YP-221 the YP-66 has black bits. This is your typical belt drive turntable of the mid to late 70s. It's a 2-speed with automatic return (semi-automatic). It's a nice entry level turntable with all the decent built quality that you find on majority of the Japanese made tables of that era. It has a good sized motor and a decent weight. Yamaha tables are like Sony tables, they always have decent quality components and they always look nice to the eyes. The slight smoked dustcover and the rosewood plinth makes it quite unique to look at. Sadly, the antiskate weight on our isn't original. It was missing when we got it. After a bit of research we found the appropriate weight and found an appropriate weight to retrofit into our table. We found a nice brass weight to fit with the design. And, as usual,

Dual CS-616Q Turntable

Finally doing a write up for a couple of turntables. So, let's start with the Dual CS-616Q. Made around the mid 80s when wood-grain design were no longer in fashion and the new sleek grey and black were in. This Dual is in really nice shape, and I mean real nice shape. While it's not from the 70s, it doesn't mean it's not quality. In comparison to other companies of the time that still made entry level turntables, this Dual is really well made. It has decent heft and it is German made so a lot of precision was still put into it. It is a direct drive, a true semi-automatic and quartz lock turntable. Why do I mean true semi-automatic? Well, before some of their earlier turntables had an auto-lift off at the end but the tonearm never returned to the rest post. So, having it returning is a nice feature to have! It also features Dual's ULM (ultra low mass) tonearm and their EDS motor. These tonearms are especially nice for higher compliant cartridges as

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