My latest give away system

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

Some of you may know that I often "load up" on gear that I buy at yard sales or pick up from the side of the road.   I play with it for a little while then give it away, usually to someone well my junior who is interested in getting into vinyl.   I've given away a few fairly nice "mid-fi" systems because it is fun to do so and I can't justify keeping it all around.   I think it is my mid-life crisis, buying all of the cool toys I wanted as a kid but couldn't come close to affording.   I don't think of it as thinning the herd, I think of it as having systems all over the greater Pittsburgh area.

This system was going to go to a friend who did some video work for me.   His new wife said that her Crosley from Target was all they needed but thanks anyway (ugh).   So, next in line was my daughter's best friend, thirteen year old Alexis.   Evidently my daughter Gina was telling her about how I do this from time to time, and she said she would really like to have a system.   So I asked her dad if it was okay and he said he still had some vinyl but nothing to play it on.   Okay then.

This pic is the stuff in my basement, playing an album by one of my daughter's favorite bands "needtobreathe".   This system sounds better than I expected it to.   The CD sounds really good with electronic or acoustic music.   Rock stuff with real drums is a bit hot on the treble side for my liking.   The turntable doesn't sound as good, it is quite bright.   I put a new, cheap stylus on it, so I am hoping this will improve with some break in (if not, I'll give her dad some suggestions for a cartridge upgrade).

I suspect these speakers could be really good with a tweeter and/or a crossover upgrade.   They are VERY hot in the 6k area.   I suspect that the mid and tweet just have high pass caps (didn't bother going under the hood to check) and that both drivers are probably playing in this region.   At any rate, on rap/dance stuff they crank (where that metallic sound is more desirable).

So here is the rundown on the system...

Optimus STA-2170 Receiver - $10
Technics SL-D30 Turntable - $5
Generic eBay Stylus for above - $11
MGA (Mitsubishi) M-C 2200 CD Player - Free
Sony SS-MF400 Speakers - Free (big thanks to SD and special mention to PBJ)

[papabearjew]

very admirable markshan

[StephenWVU]

I tip my hat to you, sir.

[Kingman]

Paying it forward in action!!

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

I firmly believe that there is a link between giving systems away and finding complete Leak systems for $85.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

Plus, I expect something good to come SDs way.

[bmwr75]

Kudos Mark!!

[SunnyDaze]

Plus, I expect something good to come SDs way.

Well I hope you're right!

How did the speakers clean up?

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

The cigarette burn is hardly noticeable now.   I washed with bleach wipes then wiped with Armour All.   Of course, there is nothing to be done for the swollen joints at the bottom, but they are hardly noticeable and since it is a ported box I don't think they have a grave effect on the sound.   If I did, I could caulk from the inside, but I'm not at all concerned about it.   They are much better than the speakers I had at thirteen, and the price was right!

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

The stylus is breaking in nicely.   I played a bunch of very bass heavy 12" singles and the frequency response is evening out.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

I'm putting the finishing touches on my latest give away system (watch this space) but in the meantime I thought I would do a short PSA...

If you like the "pay it forward" idea, I want to let you know that I have a couple more tables that are almost ready.   One thing I lack is an adequate supply of headshells.   So, if you have a few kicking in a junk drawer and want to see them put to good use, send 'em my way and I'll give 'em a good home.   TIA.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

[Dicky]

I think I have a couple p mounts if you need any

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

I need at least one at the moment.   Thank you for donating to the cause!

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

 We have here a Technics SA-222 receiver that was quite filthy when I acquired it, but thankfully needed nothing more than DeOxit and some elbow grease to get up and running.   The amp and phono stage seem decent enough.   The tuner is surprisingly crappy sounding (I say surprisingly because it looks like they put some effort into it.   I guess once again that looks are deceiving.

The turntable is a Project-One DR-V (CEC made, I am all but certain). It is a direct drive on which I replaced faulty speed pots. The lift arm is also broken, but since this is going to a college kid, he should have steady enough hands to handle it being fully manual. I also misplaced the knobs, but hopefully they will show up soon.   I would like to lube the motor, but can't figure out where to do it.   An entry level Audio Technica cart is in service.

The speakers are Teledyne-Olson speakers which are basically a knock off of the famous Dynaco A-25. I bypassed the faulty l-pads.   I was going to DeOxit them, but when I tried to remove the knob, the entire shaft came out.   I was too cheap and impatient to order replacements.   I also hit the cabinets with some Howard Restor a Finish.   Nice sound, ALNICO magnets, I may reserve rights to substitute something else for these later. They are better than they should be.   The large dome doesn't seem to do much above 12k.   I have a pair of add on piezos from Rat Shack that I'll offer to the lucky recipient.   I'll just wire them into the "B" speakers so we can switch on and off for comparison.

[MacGeek]

Some budding enthusiast is sure to appreciate that rig.  Very nice.