Old stuff you still use.

That's quite a nice collection of vintage audio equipment. One of these days I'd like to buy some older high end components. They had so much more style than what you can buy today.

Jeff

The "mid-century modernism" movement is quite well and growing! Many shops are now selling vintage vinyl records AND systems to play them on. Usually mid-line brands from the late '60s to earlier '70s. Receivers, amps, tuners, turntables, speakers, etc. Most in the $300.00 range. Quite neat to see that stuff still around! LOTS of different stores here in the DFW area, outside of the many antique malls, have that stuff. Even some furniture!

When I was growing up, that was all just "normal stuff". Now it can be quite desired.

There are several modernism groups. There is one in the OKC area that has a yearly festival and home tours, for example, next month.

In my last years of high school ('67-'70), I was quite interested in electronics and physics, which dovetailed nicely with my car engineering interests. I followed the advancing stereo items, too. So seeing those sound system items on sale, which I couldn't buy back then, look even better now. Neat to fill out the Reader Service cards in the magazines to get sales brochures mailed to you. Interesting reading!

In '66, Motorola had some high-end stereo consoles which had "tone settings" for various types of music. First use of a graphic equalizer that I know of, just not adjustable as later models were. AND, of course, you could have a 27" color TV in the middle of that console too! Major furniture works of art!

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
 
I don't know what I'd do without my 1969 International 3800. I usually work by myself, so it's really handy to have something that will move around heavy objects.

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Another vintage item of note is my Heathkit alarm clock. I built it in 1979 or 80 for a 7th grade project. It's been plugged in and keeping perfect time ever since.

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Jeff
 
Grew up listening to this Heathkit amp with matching tuner that my Dad built. It also had a Garrard record changer.
It's still in working order in his shop.
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Kevin

We have an FM tuner/amp that matches the one you pictured. My father built it in the 1960's and used it until about 1973 when it was replaced by a Lafayette tuner/amp. I had it in my bedroom for quite a few years before I bought a Sansui component system. It's currently in the basement of my parent's house.
 
I have lots of older tools, but nothing I particularly think of as vintage or especially valuable, except this favorite...
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Snap-On FAR 70 Air Rachet Kit - Impact Sockets - 7 Shallow, 2 Swivel Sparkplug | eBay

Stole the picture off ebay. Snapon obsoleted these by the 80's and they won't repair them since (no parts for a full rebuild), IDK when they made the last of them. They were marketed as a spark plug air ratchet, hence the kit with spark plug sockets. It spins at high speed but has so little torque you can stop it with your fingers.

I jealously guarded mine for decades, as it still works good. The majority of them I've seen in the wild were used by aviation techs. I never had it in me to try this on a spark plug, but I believe it would work on an iron head if not previously buggered. Mine was used for tin oil pans and a few odd jobs that sucked to get them threads to engage. When working with steel threads, this thing would spin fast, but didn't have the torque to cross thread or cut a cork gasket... it became my secret weapon for certain timing chain tensioners when I worked for MB, I'd see folks fight against spring pressure for 20 minutes or more and do the job in 20 seconds.
 
I bought that kit brand new and still use it to Jeff. Mine still has power. They were never that strong to begin with, around 30 ft.lbs.
But man they are a great time saver like you said.
 
Here’s a mid 60s Wheel Horse that I mounted a generator to. If you look closely you can see part of the old Briggs and Stratton engine that was integral to the generator.
At the time, I thought it would be handy but I rarely use it.

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I have a big Craftsman 3/4" drive wrench and socket set from my Grandfather, one of my most prized possessions when it comes to tools. Not sure of it's age...60'-70's? But the ratchet is HD and the sockets range from 1" up to 2". I use it all the time and have even balanced and jumped up and down on that ratchet to free up a locket nut, as well as a 10' cheater bar on that ratchet as well to loosen some things....just laughs and says.."Is that all you got!":lol:

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Wow! Lots of really nice nice stuff posted. Here's mine, mid-eighties Wharfdale mach 9 speakers, newish technics amp (can't even come close to properly powering the Wharfdale's), which is okay, I have neighbours. And a '79 Pioneer belt driven turntable with a Grado stylus. 70's teak cabinet with the glass doors removed.

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Wow! Lots of really nice nice stuff posted. Here's mine, mid-eighties Wharfdale mach 9 speakers, newish technics amp (can't even come close to properly powering the Wharfdale's), which is okay, I have neighbours. And a '79 Pioneer belt driven turntable with a Grado stylus. 70's teak cabinet with the glass doors removed.

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Very nice - impressive gear, far better than mine. Especially the Grado - mine is entry level decent stuff, flexible with EQ etc, and where the real flexibility comes in is with the two turntables and multiple cartridges etc... the good thing about my system is as a record producer, after dealing with and listening to super high-def sound with $25,000 speakers and amps in near silent acoustically tuned rooms, the entry level system really can help you recognize fundamental flaws in your recording. If it sounds great on an entry level system, chances are the mix will stand up anywhere.

I have a collection of about 10,000 records, mostly 78s of various descriptions, 16" transcription discs, Edison and Pathe discs. All playable with either my Garrard or Dual turntables - with the Garrard I just switch out the headshell with either the GE VRII, or a couple of Stantons with switchable stylii. Edison and Pathe require reverse wiring because they're vertical cut records instead of lateral. It's remarkable how much difference there is when playing a vintage disc with the CORRECT equipment it was designed to be played on. I can play you an early 50s Ella Fitzgerald record on my Dual with the Ortophon, and it will sound really good, but then I play it on the Garrard with the 1952 GE VRII coarse groove stylus, and it literally JUMPS out of the system with all the life and punch one would expect from some sort of high end dynamic range expander.

The Brunswick Gramaphone plays all 3 types (Lateral, Edison or Pathe) with a rotating reproducer/stylus assembly that's really cool.

Yes, if your Wharfdales are rated at 150 watts RMS, then you really need 1,000 to 1,500 watts to do them justice - not to have volume, but dynamic range headroom. Have you had to replace the butyl rubber support rings on the edges of your speakers yet? Mine disintegrated about 10 years ago, and I had to get new ones.

I have an ace in the hole tucked away awaiting refurb - a 1959 Fischer 800-C receiver - top of the line for the day, and cost nearly as much as an entry level new car back then (interestingly, so did the Brunswick Ultona Gramaphone). The Fisher 800-C was one of the best they ever made, still covetted to this day by audiophiles, and known collectively as "The Fisher". RIAA curve switches, Frequency contouring for tuning to your listening room/speakers, polarity reverse switches, phono input impedance switches, radio frequency fine tuning rejection switches etc. Lots of flexibility, and a true honest high power rating (compared to today's out and out RMS power fibs from specs today), all done with gorgeous warm tube technology. It will be my mid level listening system once I get it going.
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