Although we originally started our business with one foot deeply entrenched in the ‘home theater’ field (including full installations of dedicated rooms and multimedia applications), we had the other firmly planted on trade-ins and ‘vintage audio’ equipment. Over the first few years we came to realize that the home theater market was too volatile and in 2007 made the decision to simply concentrate on used two-channel audio equipment, including our real passion – vintage gear.
The following article by Ed Kobesky is re-printed by permission of Audio Discourse (with a big thank you to Mr. Dave Clark).
So where do you start? Easy. If you are simply starting out in the audio hobby there is a massive market to explore with garage sales, flea markets, swap meets, thrift stores etc. Sometimes simply asking your friends or relatives if there is some stuff in their attic or garage they wouldn’t mind letting go of can yield surprising results! There are no rules at this level about what to buy as long as it works, and there is no smoke coming from it when it is playing, and it should not smell like the bathroom Grandpa just left. If you can buy an entire ‘system’ for around 50 bucks including speakers, welcome to the hobby.
To clean vinyl (LP’s): Use a solution up to 20% isopropyl alcohol (one part isopropyl alcohol to four parts water), and gently wipe the record in a spiral motion, using a soft cloth, from the center out to the edge. Pat it dry with a clean, anti-static cloth. A fine camel hair paint brush can remove visible dust particles.
Around 1989-1990, Gordon Sauck (that’s me) started experimenting with stereo set-ups that were slightly different to what people up to that point were used to. Not radical things mind you, but simply showing people ways of getting various sound sources through their systems. This included VCR’s, (beta and VHS), musical keyboards and a host of other fun things. In today’s world this sounds like child’s play but this was some cutting edge stuff back then. I specifically chose this as the official starting point because this was the time I started to put into works the dream I had as a kid.
I.1 – All warranty and guarantee clauses become void upon payment of invoice
I.2 – Dimensions will always be expressed in the least usable terms. Velocity, for example, will be expresses in furlongs per fortnight
I.3 – Identical units tested under identical conditions will not be identical in the field
