Your short list of most iconic audio products

I agree. Love mine when I'm on a plane or in the pool

 

I used to love mine

 

LP 12 with the Linn arm, Keel, and DC motor + control is over ten grand.

 

I can't agree, it's insanely expensive in terms of price to build cost and it is in no way original as a design.

 

For me notable products have been:

Sony MDR-V6 headphones...still see them on tv.
iPhone (my first was 3G)
My first Sony ES CD Player (1993 Vintage)

Other products I never owned...that are iconic
First lexicon home theater processor
Martin Logan Electrostatics
Bose wave radio

 

Should one not consider sound quality as apposed to perceived built cost ?
And how can one accurately judge built cost without being directly involved in it's production. Not being original simply means the've continued to evolve the player and likely with high development costs.

 

Yup, and it sounds almost as good as my SME at 1/4 the cost.

 

I would very much enjoy a PERFECT MINT set of AR-3's. A like new Pioneer SX-1980 with back-up parts (just in case) would also be pretty cool. Both are actually obtainable for the right amount of money, however, so they don't keep me awake at night.

But I would pay nearly any sum for a like new set of Kenwood LS-990 speakers. My father purchased a set in 1978 and they were what introduced me to ROCK at very LOUD levels. I have a pristine set of JBL L100's (the speakers the 990's were designed to best), and while I like them very much, they are not THE dragon I seek to slay. I have my doubts that I'll ever locate a pair in the condition I require... but I keep looking.

 

Well, I've heard a lot of LP12s and owned a couple myself.

When set up just right it works pretty well. But it's not vastly better than anything else. The Gyrodec is a better table overall technically, but it is untraditional in appearance.

When not set up just right it's terrible.

And you have to learn to set it up. Unless you have full time tech staff you have to do this yourself it has to be done with some frequency and can't be moved without redoing it.

The Lingo is about twenty to fifty bucks worth of electronics and does not positively solve the speed issue. The ONLY way to do that is with a tonewheel on the DRIVEN member-i.e., the subplatter-and a sensor and circuit and Linn isn't going to do that.

I do appreciate the huge third party aftermarket of stuff for this table and that the Cirkus bearing is indeed well made. I'd also point out that for decades Linn plinths had a propensity to warp because they used green wood and that Linn's refusal to put out technical documentation to users is a deal breaker for many, including myself, in and of its own.

As far as judging build cost, it helps to have a manufacturing background. Mine is electronic as opposed to mechanical and most of a turntable is mechanical, but still I can see that the markup is extreme. The most expensive part is the bearing and Linn sell that as an upgrade for about $800.

 

The Lingo is old news, Linn have long since gone to a DC motor and controller, the "Radikal". It costs twice as much as the Lingo, four times as much if you get the "Machined From Solid" version.

 

Paid $2200 for mine ( used ) and sold it it a few years later for the same.

 

Roland TB-303
Technics 1200
Pioneer DJM-600 mixer

 

While there are are more refined systems .. I still have that appreciation for game changing products from these companies;
SAE 2400L
Acoustic Research AR-11's
Thorens turntables
Grado cartirdges+
Bedini amps
David Berning
Snell Type A

 

I had this very same Walkman!

 

Thorens TD-126

 

Cosmetics can be redone by any competent wood finisher.

 

My criteria are products that either advanced the state of the art, and/or enabled the masses to enjoy meaningfully better sound in the home. All of the pieces can be used today with very few allowances for age.

Klipschorn First high end speaker in the modern sense of the term
Altec VOT Brought the theater into the home
McIntosh 50w-2 Basic Mac circuit and unique transformer that delivered true wideband response and high power. Subsiquent Macs are derivatives
Williamson Amp High Fidelity for the masses
Quad ESL Shockingly realistic reproduction
Dynaco ST-70 Model "T" of tube amps
AR3 Dome drivers, acoustic suspension box and the standard for 10yrs
ADC-1 First modern stereo cartridge that delivered wide bandwith, low crosstalk and tracking at 1 gram
HK Citation II Demonstrated benefits of ultra wide bandwith in amplifier design
AR-XA The archetype of the sprung chassis TT. Thorens and Linn are derivatives of the basic AR design
Fisher 500c First high end stereo receiver
Shure V15 Demonstrated the need for standardized VTA and high compliance in cartridges
HK Citation 11 Demonstrated that SS could sound good in the moden sense and showed what SS was capable of
JBL L100 Brought the recording studio into the home
Advent tape deck With the addition of Dolby NR, made the cassette into a viable home audio product
Audio Research SP3a and D76 first modern Tube designs that reminded listeners of how much was lost in the changeover to SS
Nackamichi 1000 Showed what cassette was capable of
LS3/5a Professional monitor for the home
Levinson Amp Pure Class A amp that opened ears (and eyes due to price)
Infinity IRS Cost no object assault on SOTA
Celestion SL6 Exotic cabinet materials and applied CAD in the drivers hidden inside a monitor sized box
NAD 3020 Original- uncanny near high end sound at a bargin basement price- legend has it that a manufacturing quirk is responsible....

 

Unfortunately, the Kenwood LS-990's have a synthetic / leather-like material on the top and sides, and finished birch (IIRC) backs. Almost impossible to refinish these particular beasts, unfortunately.

But some old retired military guy (like my father) has a set in the original boxes stored in his attic somewhere out there I just need to find him!

 

I'm still spinning vinyl on this setup:

Linn Sondek LP12
Infinity Black Widow tone arm

and playing them through two versions of Dynaco ST70: one is the GSI mod made by Andy Fuchs in the 80's and the other is one I made from a kit from Tubes4hifi.com

 

I'd probably put the B&W Matrix 800s on the list too.

 

Hi Guys,

Question for all you vintage guys out there. I am considering getting a vintage system. My budget is not too large, but after researching I came up with the options below. Do you guys think this would allow for a system that would work well together? I definitely want crisp, clear sound that is powerful yet with that old vintage sound you just can't replicate. Curious what people's thoughts are or if there are suggestions in this price range that would work better.

Fisher 500-C tube preamp
Dynaco St-70 tube power amp
Thorens TD 160 with SME arm and possible Rega cartridge
Large Advent speakers

And I could still hook up this system to an Oppo BDP-105 to watch movies and play CD's with the sound coming through the system, correct? That's quite a noob question, but I'm not a big tech / spec guy!

Thanks in advance!

 

-Weiss EQ1. Not strictly an "audiophile" component, but it can be!

http://www.weiss.ch/products/eq1

 

The first Mc tube amps were of the same principle, but used a more complex circuit with a driver transformer and were not as clean as later ones. So subsequent Mc amps are not merely derivative: but all the chrome top ones have a circuit that's identical from the 30, 40, 60, 75 and 225 excepting only the last part before the tubes on the 225 and the 75.

The Williamson was a design, or rather two designs, and not a production unit. Depending on how strictly you use the word "faithful", faithful ones are actually rare in the US and not all that common in England even: all sorts of variations are called Williamsons that had nothing to do with the original.

 

The Clairtone....always wanted one, couldn't afford it. Sigh!