Ah, yes, the late 70s and early 80s. I was able to purchase my first stereo system when I got to my duty station in Germany with the US Army. The Post Exchange (PX - department store for the troops) had significantly reduced prices. EVERYONE was sinking money into stereo gear and I was no exception. I think I did okay on my system and I still have all of the pieces, though, some are needing repairs. This is what I had when I returned home:- Pioneer SX-3800 60W receiver (in need of serious repair!)
- Pioneer CTF-1250 cassette (I just loved the little tape tuner thingy --needs repair)
- Pioneer PL-600 turntable (still in use by a brother in Sioux Falls, SD)
- Pioneer RG-2 Dynamic Range expander (needs a switch replaced)
- JVC SEA-80 graphic equalizer (Needs repair -- yes, the white noise generator did exactly what it claimed)
- Teac X-10R reel-to-reel, auto-reversing tape deck (Yes, the BIG one --needs a capstan drive belt)
High fidelity sound reproduction technology, even in the seventies and eighties, was maxed out. You just could not improve upon 0.0003% total harmonic distortion. You cannot even HEAR that difference much less improve it! It was nothing more than a race for who could make the prettiest equipment and hang most "whistles and bells" to their line. I have to admit the Marantz equipment was certainly the most beautiful around but for my money, mere beauty did not fill the bill. In a barracks full of electronic technicians who knew this, the time, the research and the money went into speakers. As far as I am concerned, the set-piece of my system was (and is) the JBL L112 300W loudspeakers I found in the PX. I purchased these for $600 a pair at the PX in Augsburg, Germany in 1981. The audiophile magazines had priced them at $1200 a pair! I snatched those up before the packing was even off of them. As I recall the L112s were a limited edition JBL speaker system with some difference over the L110s, though, today, I do not recall what that was. No matter since they are still in service today driven by a newer 105 watt Pioneer receiver. They make DVD movies sound great! ;)
Anybody know where I might be able to find the "pop and click" (DBX) box that married up the Teac X-7, X-7R, X-10 and X-10R open reel decks? I would still like to find one of these since they did improve signal-to-noise ratio performance of the tape.
Jeffrey D. Fisher, MCP
Schaumburg, IL, USA
jfisher944@comcast.net |
