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  1. BilboBaggins

    The Return of the Giant Hogweed or How I Fell Back into the Vinyl Rabbit Hole!

    It all started when I bought that copy of Moon Tan by Golden Earring. I had it in the 70s, of course. It was one of the best driving songs up there with Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Highway Star. I purchased a frame for it at Value Village, and I was happy. For a time. Then I got another...
  2. BilboBaggins

    The Dark Side of the Moon, Remastered

    Last week, I received my new remastered version of Pink Floyd's iconic The Dark Side of the Moon. I held off until this morning from opening it. I wanted to sit relaxed for the unveiling. I also wanted to pull my original version in near mint condition to hear what differences there would be, if...
  3. BilboBaggins

    Road Trip to the Last Sam The Record Man B&M Store in Belleville Ontario

    Have you ever heard the news telling you that an icon was ending? I remember near the end for the Concorde, there was one at the Toronto International airport, and I got to see it as it was sitting on the runway. I also remember the iconic Sam The Record Man in downtown Toronto. I never got to...
  4. BilboBaggins

    Does anybody remember when Alternative went off the air right across North America?

    I remember this so well, and I'm surprised it didn't stir up any reaction. Over night, Alternative disappeared almost completely across the North American airwaves. I remember this so well, because I was flying out to San Francisco for a training course in San Jose. The morning I left, I driove...
  5. BilboBaggins

    Are you seeing the nice vintage gear that's starting to hit the streets?

    I'm pretty well finished in building my systems, and anything that I might want is not likely going to show up at a thrift store. I've had hundreds of pieces of gear during the hey days of vintage audio. For a while, it was a desert out there! Especially considering the things I have found in...
  6. BilboBaggins

    My favourite hunting knife

    With audio finds becoming rarer and rarer, I've noticed more people posting pictures of their kitchen knives. I have some nice kitchen knives, but I didn't want to tread on @transmaster area of specialty. BTW, you have some very nice knives! So I decided to look up my favourite hunting knife...
  7. BilboBaggins

    The never ending upgrade path to coffee nirvana

    Some of you might have noticed my comments lately about investigating a new espresso coffee grinder. The last time I investigated grinders was 15 years ago. That all started because I bought a KitchenAid Double Boiler Espresso machine which was junk. And that started me down a six month patch...
  8. BilboBaggins

    Sota Pyxi with my Yamaha GT-2000

    I have found that a little change can have vast consequences. My little change occurred when I found a very nice Kenwood KD-550 back in September 2019 while on a weekend visit to Montreal. The lady I bought it from was selling off her deceased husbands turntable, and had agreed to hold onto it...
  9. BilboBaggins

    A tribute to Astrud Gilberto

    This morning, I woke up to a new world. One without the singer who brought Bossa Nova to the masses. Yes, Astrud Gilberto has gone to join with her husband. I decided I would play her music as a tribute. I started with The Shadow of Your Smile, and moved through my fairly good selection of...
  10. BilboBaggins

    The life and times of a laptop with an added poll for your curiosity.

    Yesterday, I upgraded my laptop doubling the RAM and maxing it out. It already has a good solid state drive. Can you believe I bought it in late 2011, and I've been using it since. I think it will last for another year before getting too slow, so I guess I will be shopping for a new one...
  11. BilboBaggins

    Best Stereo Test Records and/or Obstacle Courses for the enthusiast

    I picked up a couple of Stereo Test Records at the thrift on the weekend. It got me wondering how many of these I have. So I pulled them out, and it seems I have a few. Which of these should I keep and why? Should I keep an obstacle course at the same time? Thanks in advance. I'm trying to...
  12. BilboBaggins

    The joys of system set-up!

    The renovations are done, and now it is time to empty the storage container. I would like to empty it quickly so I could set up my main system, but my wife has different ideas. So in the meantime, I had been using gear that I planned to sell. However, some of it is selling, and that is giving...
  13. BilboBaggins

    What are your favourite cassette decks from years gone by?

    I saw a thread in General Audio about CD players and for a little while, it went off tobic into favourite cassette decks. I was wondering if we could get it going here instead. I'll start! :D I've had quite a few decks since the 70s. My favourites were the following, in order of like. 1) TEAC...
  14. BilboBaggins

    Everything you wanted to know about valuing Audio components

    I see these threads all the time. You know, how much is my gear worth? I see a new one this morning actually. So I thought, why not put together a guide for valuing audio gear for the newbie and oldie, alike. I’m hoping people can add their valuing methodology and experiences here. It will be...
  15. BilboBaggins

    It's like Christmas!

    Well, after almost a year of renovations, I have started unpacking my storage unit. It has been a little frustrating because my wife wants to take it slow, and I want to assemble my IKEA Jerker Desk and set up my two stereo systems, but I started bringing things in on Wednesday evening, and got...
  16. BilboBaggins

    Have you ever gone out in risky conditions to get your gear?

    I have to admit, I have. About 6 years ago I drove out into a storm in order to beat out the competition. Yes, about 45 minutes each way to a small town outside of Ottawa, through blowing snow, hail, sleet, along roads where there are large farms and no wind protection. It was worth it, because...
  17. BilboBaggins

    Kef Shoot Out: 107 vs 107/2

    I'm thinking of buying a pair of Kef 107s. In my searches, I see 107 and 107/2s. I thought, why don't I do something novel and find out which is best before I buy the speakers instead of afterwards? Hence, this thread. First let me give you some back ground. It seems I like large speakers...
  18. BilboBaggins

    The identify these speakers thread

    I thought I would share a few pictures taken when my wife and I have been in the listening zone. The night would start off with one pair and then speaker pairs would start coming up from the basement to be heard. Lots of fun, and it led us to the keeper gear we have now. All of these pictures...
  19. BilboBaggins

    Sansui made by Technics???

    I was browsing around the other day, and saw a Sansui R30 receiver. Nothing really special, but one of the pictures jumped out at me. When you look at the back of the receiver, you will notice the speaker connects are not standard Sansui. In fact, to me, they look like they were made by...
  20. BilboBaggins

    I went to pick up a speaker and an amp. Look what I got!

    On Wednesday night, I saw an ad in Facebook Marketplace for an interesting looking amp with meters. The guy used it for DJing along with a set of likely DIY speakers. I contacted him and he replied, and then, nothing. Finally, I tried again last night. I could come in the morning. Just before I...
  21. BilboBaggins

    Yamaha M40 back in the house!

    When I got back into audio about 10 years ago, my first power amp was a Yamaha M40. I picked it up in Toronto on one of my visits there. I used it along with a Sony TA-2000F preamp, and it was really nice. Lots of power to drive the Infinity's, Camber, Kef, and Celestion Ditton speakers I was...
  22. BilboBaggins

    I have a lot of Cartridges. Looking for advice on what to keep.

    I won a Sony PS-X45 yesterday at auction. It came with a Grado Gray cartridge. I didn't want to hook up another system yesterday, so I took the Grado down to my Sony PS-X600, which uses the same headshell. Only one channel working. :( I started wondering what I should put on the headshell, and...
  23. BilboBaggins

    Just bought Micromega CD Player, considering DAC 1

    I just picked up a Micromega Stage 3 CD Player. The seller also has a Micromega DAC 1. Is it worth considering and if so, how much should I offer?
  24. BilboBaggins

    New cassette enthusiasts who want to fix their own decks

    I see a lot of requests from new cassette enthusiasts on how to repair tape decks. So I thought it might be a good idea to create a thread to consolidate a knowledge base. I do know something on cassette decks, but by no means a lot. These are complex electro-mechanical devices and you really...
  25. BilboBaggins

    The saga of the ESS AMT 4 speakers

    I bought these speakers about 2 years ago. I have loved ESS speakers since I bought my AMT 1 speakers about 8 or 9 years ago. I liked them so much, I subsequently purchased a very nice pair of ESS AMT 1aM monitors. The ESS had moved on, and I missed them. I ended up making a trade to get these...
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