I would just like to take moment to introduce myself and tell you a bit about my audiophile experiences.
My name is Roger Kidder living in the idyllic, chilly wonderland of southern Maine, USA.
My first true audio system was cobbled together from a collection of components at a friend's father's pawn shop in Portland 40 years ago. As payment for some electronic repair work I had done for them, I was allowed to select from the store inventory, whatever components I wanted to create a decent system. I chose the following units:
Rotel RA-610 Integrated Stereo Amplifier
Lafayette LT-725A Stereo Tuner
Perpetuum-Ebner 3015 Turntable
Empire 66 PEX Cartridge
Technics RS-641 Stereo Cassette Deck
ADS L420 Speakers
Pioneer SE-L40 Headphones in original case
I mention this because I think for a young guy I put together an awesome system given the pool of equipment I had to choose from. For instance, the Rotel was ahead of it's time and the Pioneer SE-L40 headphones are still sought by vintage audiophiles. Perhaps I will talk about some of the other systems I have had at a later time.
What brought me to this excellent forum is my recent inheritance of a large collection of original 78 recordings which have been handed down continuously since they were new. My current rig does not have the ability to play 78s so I took it as an opportunity to acquire a system that could. During one of my frequent perusals of pawn shops and second-hand stores I came across a 1959-1960 Guild "The New Englander" rolltop hi-fi stereo system. I am not sure why but the unit "spoke" to my sense of what 78s should be played on. Also, it is just an awesome conversation starter.
It works but does need some TLC and minor adjustments. I have been fiddling around with electronics all my life so fixing this really should not be a problem. The furniture part of the unit is in darn good shape for having sat in a barn for 30-odd years. I can't say I am overly impressed with the sound quality but I think swapping out a few tubes and perhaps upgrading the speakers will yield a less tinny output. Given the condition it is in and with delivery included in the price, I think I did pretty good for $50.
