Audioless Winnipeg Group!

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...

Ever since I've started into the audio hobby, I've always wanted a Technics SL-1600mkii. I've had two of them before and every single time I sell one, I always want to get another one. Why? They are such nice tables. I know there are better tables out there, such as those with electronic damping arms (JVC, Denon, Sony) or even pure manual transcription base tables (like the SP-10/15/20/25 and their lovely EPA-250 arms and such). But, I've always liked Technics as a brand. They've always made solid turntable, especially their direct drives.  The SL-1600mkii seems to be an amalgamation of different school of thought. While weighty at 10kgs, it employs a suspended platter and arm (albeit, unlike a Thorens), fully automatic with a well damped platter. There are other suspended direct drive turntables (Pioneer) but, the overall reliability of them isn't as high as the Technics.  Built quality is always good on them, though they have a weakness with the nylon-type gea...