July 2015 SAC Meeting*** Table to be inserted.
The July 2015 meeting of the Sydney Audio Club was another of our popular Vintage/Classic meetings.
We always have a lot of wonderful vintage gear in our vintage/classic meetings and this year was just as varied and just as interesting. Clearly the attics and garages of our members are still hiding audio gems from bygone eras.
For our meeting, we considered anything pre-1995 to be vintage/classic equipment (although as with all labels we try to be flexible to allow our members to exercise their creative flair).
Our formula remained broadly the same as previous years, some of the gear was on static display, but a lot was functional and was used on the day to great effect.
It is amazing how much chaos one can cause by the simple request that members stand up and turn their chair left to face the next system. What were ruler straight lines of chairs fast became a chaotic jumble. Thanks to all the members for surviving this necessary left or right turn to face the next live system and sorry for those used to snagging the front seats, hope it wasn’t too bad sitting to one side or even at the back for a change!
******** TABLE TO INSERT HERE **********
Listening started with system 1, the Boston Acoustics and NAD setup. Unusual in their relatively wide but shallow format these speakers gave a good account of themselves and the audience warmed to them.
“Warming up” itself was a topic of conversation, with many members reporting that a couple of the combinations were definitely nicer once they’d been running for a while. These days it seems less of an issue but as memory serves me reminders about warming up a system were a constant presence in many reviews in days gone by.
The Nakamichi impressed with its rotating cassette trick but it would be reasonable to say the sound was not quite so impressive even with a “master” cassette of organ music. Not as bad as an iPod driven MP3 perhaps, but definitely pale in comparison to the vinyl source.
The system was certainly of a different era with a much less clearly etched sound than today but it was still clear and did have a coherence and balance that impressed.
The Quad 33/303/FM3 system with the B&W speakers and B&O turntable proved very popular. It did indeed sound very sweet and impressed many people. The FM3 tuner showed what a good tuner can deliver. Overall the system was in some ways the surprise act of the day (so much so that it was indeed sold, evidence of its popularity with at least one member then!).
The eye candy was once more a great diversion and during the break most people had a chance to have a look at the various bits of kit that had been brought in.
A nice set of Leak equipment illustrated the change in the 60s from valve to solid state with a Stereo 20 alongside a mint NOS Stereo 30 Plus
The Lecson AC1 and AP2, a radical design in the 70s, still looked fairly smart over 40 years on. Boothroyd and Stuart the designers, went on to form Meridian and still produce beautifully designed and great sounding equipment today.
A big hit was the cardboard record player. Yes CARDBOARD! Designed to take the word of God to the natives in the jungles of the world it came complete with a sermon on a record. You folded it out, put the record on the little stud/spindle, put the “needle” on the record, stuck a pencil point in the little hole drilled on the edge of the label and spun it round and hey presto you heard the sermon. No electricity, stylus balance tracking protractor or cables. Mmmm bit radical that eh?
The second half of the music sessions our popular BYO session was again a vibrant mix of genres and styles. Once more the mix was nothing if not eclectic. Our members’ feedback always seems to feature someone who hates rock and someone who hates classical but thankfully the majority are constructive about the opportunity to share with each other and generally their preferences do not seem to cause them apoplexy!
The feedback for the meeting overall was very positive with people seemingly enjoying the “chaos”. Lots of genuine interest and a great deal of appreciation from members I spoke to about the turn out of interesting equipment and the enjoyment they got from seeing it, hearing it and talking about it.
Encouragingly, demands for more again next year were common, so next time you are in the attic or in the garage drag out that old bit of kit and have a look. You do that and we will put on another Vintage/Classic meeting next year so you can bring it along.
We always have a lot of wonderful vintage gear in our vintage/classic meetings and this year was just as varied and just as interesting. Clearly the attics and garages of our members are still hiding audio gems from bygone eras.
For our meeting, we considered anything pre-1995 to be vintage/classic equipment (although as with all labels we try to be flexible to allow our members to exercise their creative flair).
Our formula remained broadly the same as previous years, some of the gear was on static display, but a lot was functional and was used on the day to great effect.
It is amazing how much chaos one can cause by the simple request that members stand up and turn their chair left to face the next system. What were ruler straight lines of chairs fast became a chaotic jumble. Thanks to all the members for surviving this necessary left or right turn to face the next live system and sorry for those used to snagging the front seats, hope it wasn’t too bad sitting to one side or even at the back for a change!
******** TABLE TO INSERT HERE **********
Listening started with system 1, the Boston Acoustics and NAD setup. Unusual in their relatively wide but shallow format these speakers gave a good account of themselves and the audience warmed to them.
“Warming up” itself was a topic of conversation, with many members reporting that a couple of the combinations were definitely nicer once they’d been running for a while. These days it seems less of an issue but as memory serves me reminders about warming up a system were a constant presence in many reviews in days gone by.
The Nakamichi impressed with its rotating cassette trick but it would be reasonable to say the sound was not quite so impressive even with a “master” cassette of organ music. Not as bad as an iPod driven MP3 perhaps, but definitely pale in comparison to the vinyl source.
The system was certainly of a different era with a much less clearly etched sound than today but it was still clear and did have a coherence and balance that impressed.
The Quad 33/303/FM3 system with the B&W speakers and B&O turntable proved very popular. It did indeed sound very sweet and impressed many people. The FM3 tuner showed what a good tuner can deliver. Overall the system was in some ways the surprise act of the day (so much so that it was indeed sold, evidence of its popularity with at least one member then!).
The eye candy was once more a great diversion and during the break most people had a chance to have a look at the various bits of kit that had been brought in.
A nice set of Leak equipment illustrated the change in the 60s from valve to solid state with a Stereo 20 alongside a mint NOS Stereo 30 Plus
The Lecson AC1 and AP2, a radical design in the 70s, still looked fairly smart over 40 years on. Boothroyd and Stuart the designers, went on to form Meridian and still produce beautifully designed and great sounding equipment today.
A big hit was the cardboard record player. Yes CARDBOARD! Designed to take the word of God to the natives in the jungles of the world it came complete with a sermon on a record. You folded it out, put the record on the little stud/spindle, put the “needle” on the record, stuck a pencil point in the little hole drilled on the edge of the label and spun it round and hey presto you heard the sermon. No electricity, stylus balance tracking protractor or cables. Mmmm bit radical that eh?
The second half of the music sessions our popular BYO session was again a vibrant mix of genres and styles. Once more the mix was nothing if not eclectic. Our members’ feedback always seems to feature someone who hates rock and someone who hates classical but thankfully the majority are constructive about the opportunity to share with each other and generally their preferences do not seem to cause them apoplexy!
The feedback for the meeting overall was very positive with people seemingly enjoying the “chaos”. Lots of genuine interest and a great deal of appreciation from members I spoke to about the turn out of interesting equipment and the enjoyment they got from seeing it, hearing it and talking about it.
Encouragingly, demands for more again next year were common, so next time you are in the attic or in the garage drag out that old bit of kit and have a look. You do that and we will put on another Vintage/Classic meeting next year so you can bring it along.