How old were you when you got your first McIntosh?

I was 39. I heard Mcintosh and like the sound but just had never bought one. Started with the MC252 and kept upgrading till MC501s. Saving for the MC611 which should take me into retirement.
 
welcome! you can find the service manual here:
http://berners.ch/McIntosh/en/C28.htm
Thanks! The service manual is a bit above my ability as I have a only rudimentary understanding of electronics and reading schematics. I am looking for more of a "how to". Like: remove two screws on both left/right sides near front bezel. Remove two screws on top/bottom....

It was much easier than I thought it would be. I replaced all bubs except the wheat bulbs and it looks fantastic! I'm putting together a simple how-to and will post it for future noobs.
 
I was 24 when I bought my MC2100 to drive a pair of Janszen Z-824's (1974)
Regards,
Jim
 
I bought an MX 110 from a student house mate in Swarthmore PA for $100, and dragged it to Hawaii where the salt air trashed the components. Sat unused for years until I offered it to a young military EE who was smitten to restore it in trade for a nice little Yammy. I had already been gifted by the universe with a C30 and MC2150 at a yard sale for $20!!! (A kid had been left in charge of the sale and I drove around feeling guilty for an hour. I drove back and offered it back to his uncle, the owner. He said he didn't want to ship them and wasn't sure they were working. I could have them for the $20 if I promised to keep them. Not a hard promise to keep.) Just finally had them cleaned up locally for about $400 each and happily have them feeding a new pair of Dentons
I forgot! I was 28 years old when I made the plunge.... in '83.
 
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I was 18 (1972) when I bought my first Mac, a MC 2300, which of course is the ideal amp for a small dorm room. Parents advanced some money for tuition and, somehow, part of it got "diverted" to dorm room decor. Part of it got diverted to the Laverda dealer too. The Mac was only slightly smaller than the room BTW.
Sold it when I finished school because it was too heavy to drag back home.
Committed matrimony 1979 and bought a 1700 Receiver.
Traded that on a 2105 - C28 - MR78 - MCD 7005 to celebrate our first born in 1983.
Sold that at a really bargain price in 2016 due to some "cost overruns" on a vehicle restoration.... friendly advice, restoring a 1960 Mercedes Panoramic Bus will eat money pretty much faster than anything.
God took pity upon me and about a month ago I picked up, from the original owners estate, a MX110Z and MC240 along with a Viking 85 Tape Deck and an Empire 208 Turntable for all of... $325.....
Need to find some vintage speakers, Wharfedale W3's or maybe W70's.
Kind Regards,
Ron
 
67 years young
8/2018
ma6100
$175(wanted $200)

That's me at 21, 400ft. underwater,day 50,Only 30 to go.
287397.jpg

At that time Lafayette Quad,Nova somethings,Garrard sl-95b, Akia r/r.
JUST married, poor man rack, loved every minute with it, since I
wasn't underwater and had a girl sleeping with me instead of 88 guys.

Sorry to ramble, retired.
Pigboat
 
Adding to the thread and reposting, I was 18 (1976) when buying a 2nd-hand C26 from Del Padre just blocks from college campus, STCC.

There may be earlier photos of the preamp, but here's a fall 1980 dorm room pic taken in State College with the C26 behind my LEFT shoulder.

Space_cadet_sm.jpg

Two other pieces were added after the C26, a Yamaha CT-800 tuner (above in rack) and a Mitsubishi DA-A10 power amp (top of rack), all three from Del Padre.



The REAL reason for this post is... I've found one of the two Soundco Stereo stores in Connecticut, the ones Mike Mixter opened. Mike bought Soundco after the Dwight Street building was demolished to make way for the Springfield Civic Center in 1970, generally speaking when it relocated to Roosevelt Ave, Spfld.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MassMutual_Center


Here's an advertisement from a fall 1972 UConn college newspaper. It wasn't written too well.

Soundco_Storrs_Conn_red.png

Notice (red arrow).. it says Holiday Mall which is 1733 Storrs Rd, (Rt-195) Tolland Turnpike, Conn.


Here is a Google Earth street view image of the sign Holiday Mall on Route 195:

Holiday_Mall.jpg


A Google Earth view of the Holiday Mall with street sign circled in yellow:

Soundco_Holiday_Mall_256.png

There's no info on what `store´ in that mini mall they were in.. possibly on the left? They had McIntosh in there for sure!


This is the general location relative to UConn campus:

Soundco_Storrs_Shaboo_256.png

And one of the region's most popular rock joints, Shaboo Inn – destroyed in 1982.


Only ONE more Soundco store to locate in Avon, Connecticut, closed in 1974. Mixter basically killed the company by opening retail stereo shops, draining assets from the wholesale business IMHO. He also brought in a young hippy-type VP and office manager that didn't go over well with the WWII guys.


-Greg
 
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Have decided to post the 1973 Soundco Electronics Organization Chart..

Best if there was a separate Soundco thread, and I doubt anyone would object to putting it here. One of Worthington [Mike] Mixter's last business moves was opening AUDIO stores in Connecticut. See the chart below dated June 1973, the main store location being 2095 Roosevelt Ave in Springfield, Mass.

Looks like 25 employees total.

Soundco_Org_Chart_1973_v01.jpg


The chart is divided symmetrically L-R with the new managers on the left, and the old guys on the right. Mike had a computer in place (lower left cell) at that time, something the old timers didn't have at Dwight Street in the 60's.

TWO audio stores were opened in Avon and Storrs Conn, probably between 71 and 73.


Managers

Bev Edwards was what you'd describe today as a middle age hottie. Tim Rirordan was a hippy type that was made VP. The only other VP that I'm aware of was Bob Lyman back in the 50's–70's. This was the source of much contention. In plain English, the old timers didn't get along with the new management and the company only lasted until Q3 1974.

The old manages were my dad and Al Jackson who lived 3 doors down and across the street from us. I went to school with his daughter Jeannine. We were in the same graduating class.

Al was the industrial sales manager. That's him on the right under the flag.

Al_Jackson.jpg
Al was big into ham radio, both fixed and mobile. In the pic above are young and veteran radio guys. See on chalkboard: Civil Defense 17 Jan 63.

These were the sales and management guys in the late 1950's on Dwight St. I believe that's Fred Touhey from left-to-right, Al Jackson, and Pop.

Soundco_sales_purchasing_bw.jpg


General Electric Award

Soundco won a GE Vacuum Tube sales award in 70 or 71 that included a vacation for two couples to the Isle of Mallorca, Spain. The couples were Al Jackson, Pop and their wives.


Here are some photos pop took of the TWA 707 on the ramp at Mallorca before heading back to JFK.

TWA_002.jpg TWA_003.jpg TWA_004.jpg

How could Soundco go from an award winning company in 1971 to kaput in 1974 unless it were looted?


Staff Description

You can see Bob Cizek (Hi-Fi-Ci) was a mere salesman in the main store after decades with Soundco. It was a slap in the face for him to report to a long-hair VP. Steve Soumakis was the other salesman at the main store. Doug Hunter was the Service Tech. I used to hang out with him in the repair shop. He had a nice B&K scope and lots of the best tools, but that's all I can remember.

The cashier in the Parts Counter area working for Beverly was Lenna Bryans. She was attractive with long black hair and from eastern Europe IIRC. Everyone liked her.


Purchasing and Inventory

Moving to the Purchasing and Inventory column is Keith Stevens, a long-time shipping room guy. He was always working the reinforced tape dispenser with built-in sponge. Harry Babichicos (ba-ba-Cheecus) was the stock room guy, a job Pop did years before. I used to hang out with him too. The other two guys were delivery drivers I think and also handled stock.

Soundco had a LOT of big color picture tube boxes plied high in the stockroom. They had Rohn tower sections and big spools of cable, practically every vacuum tube GE made, down to the tiniest diode and transistor.


Wholesale Division

I remember most of the guys that worked for Al Jackson in the right column. Fred Tuohey (Too-ey) and Henry Albonisi were his outside salesmen.

Dave Guidetti
was the coolest Parts Counter guy who went to work for Signal Electronics (Signal Center) later on. He was very friendly to me. There was a Regency Scanner similar to the one below running on the shelf behind the counter where the cops could be heard. It was crystal controlled and sounded loud and clear.

s-l640.jpg

Don't remember the other Parts guy's first name.

This is what Signal Center looked like in 2009.

Signal_Electron_2.jpg


By late 2014 it had been completely taken down, as was the fate of Soundco on Dwight St. Very sad.

Signal_Center_2012-0329.png

Signal_Center_2014-1024.png

Bob Cizek went to Del Padre later on. I bought lots of audio gear from him including the C26.


Wrap-up

Mike hired me in summer 1974 to paint walls and displays. Got to see and hear the latest McIntosh gear at a young age. Can remember the C28, MR77, and MC2105 in the sound room. The MR78 and MPI4 were on display then. The MR78 was impressive but I really wanted a MR77.

VP Tim used to play From The Beginning on LP through the C28 & MC2105. It sounded GREAT!




I was 15 y/o at the time the Org chart above was prepared, and 16 y/o when Soundco closed.

It was awful and no one could believe it!


-Greg
 
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Have decided to post the 1973 Soundco Electronics Organization Chart..

Best if there was a separate Soundco thread, and I doubt anyone would object to putting it here. One of Worthington [Mike] Mixter's last business moves was opening AUDIO stores in Connecticut. See the chart below dated June 1973, the location being 2095 Roosevelt Ave in Springfield, Mass.

Looks like 25 employees total.

View attachment 1312208


The chart is divided symmetrically L-R with the NEW managers on the left, and the old guys on the right. Mike had a computer in place (lower left cell) at that time, something the old timers didn't have at Dwight Street in the 60's.

The TWO audio stores opened in Avon and Storrs Conn.


Managers

Bev Edwards was what you'd describe today as a middle age hottie. Tim Rirordan was a hippy type that was made a VP. The only other VP that I'm aware of was Bob Lyman back in the 50's - 70's. This was the source of much contention. In plain English, the old timers didn't get along with the new management, and the company only lasted until Q3 1974.

The old manages were my dad and Al Jackson who lived 3-4 doors down the street from us. I went to school with his daughter Janine.

Al was the industrial sales manager. That's him on the right under the flag.

View attachment 1312219
Al was big into ham radio, and those are both young and veteran radio guys in the pic above. See on chalkboard "Civil Defense 17 Jan 63".

These were the sales and management guys in the late 1950's on Dwight St. I believe that's Fred Touhey from left-to-right, Al Jackson, and Pop.

View attachment 1312409


General Electric Award

Soundco won a GE Vacuum Tube sales award in 70 or 71 that included a vacation for two couples to the Isle of Mallorca. The couples were Al Jackson, Pop and their wives.


Here are some photos pop took of the TWA 707 on the ramp at Mallorca before heading back to JFK.

View attachment 1312253 View attachment 1312255 View attachment 1312254

How could Soundco go from an award winning company in 1971 to kaput in 1974 unless it were looted?


Staff Description

You can see Bob Cizek {Hi-Fi-Ci} was a mere salesman in the main store after decades with Soundco. It was a slap in the face for him to report to a long-hair VP. Steve Soumakis was the other salesman at the main store. Doug Hunter was the Service Tech. I used to hang out with him in the shop. He had a nice B&K scope and lots of the best tools, but that's all I can remember.

The cashier in the Parts Counter area working for Beverly was Lenna Bryans. She was attractive with long black hair and from eastern Europe IIRC. Everyone liked her.


Purchasing and Inventory

Moving over to the Purchasing and Inventory column is Keith Stevens, a long-time shipping room guy. We was always working the reinforced tape dispenser with built-in sponge. Harry Babichicos (ba-ba-Cheecus) was the stock room guyt, a job Pop did years before. I used to hang out with him too. The other two guys were delivery drivers, not sure.


Wholesale Division

I remember most of those guys that worked for Al Jackson in the right column. Fred Tuohey (Too-ey) and Henry Albonisi were his outside salesmen.

Dave Guidetti
was the coolest Parts Counter guy who went to work for Signal Electronics (Signal Center) later on. He was very friendly to me. There was a Regency Scanner similar to the one below running on the shelf behind the counter where the cops would sound off. It was crystal controlled.

View attachment 1312302

Don't remember the other Parts guy's first name.

This is what Signal Center looked like in 2009.

View attachment 1312222


By late 2014 it had been completely taken down, as the was the fate of Soundco on Dwight St. Very sad.

View attachment 1312223

View attachment 1312224

Bob Cizek went to Del Padre later on. I bought lots of audio gear from him including the C26.


Wrap-up

Mike hired me in summer 1974 to paint walls and displays. Got to see and hear the latest McIntosh at a young age. Can remember the C28, MR77, and MC2105. The MR78 and MPI4 were on display then. The MR78 was impressive but I really wanted a MR77.

Tim used to play From The Beginning on LP through the C28 & MC2105. It sounded GREAT!



I was 15 y/o at the time the above chart was prepared, and 16 y/o when Soundco closed.

It was awful and no one could believe it!


-Greg
That's quite a story sir.
 
Have decided to post the 1973 Soundco Electronics Organization Chart..

Best if there was a separate Soundco thread, and I doubt anyone would object to putting it here. One of Worthington [Mike] Mixter's last business moves was opening AUDIO stores in Connecticut. See the chart below dated June 1973, the main store location being 2095 Roosevelt Ave in Springfield, Mass.

Looks like 25 employees total.

View attachment 1312208


The chart is divided symmetrically L-R with the new managers on the left, and the old guys on the right. Mike had a computer in place (lower left cell) at that time, something the old timers didn't have at Dwight Street in the 60's.

TWO audio stores were opened in Avon and Storrs Conn, probably between 71 and 73.


Managers

Bev Edwards was what you'd describe today as a middle age hottie. Tim Rirordan was a hippy type that was made VP. The only other VP that I'm aware of was Bob Lyman back in the 50's–70's. This was the source of much contention. In plain English, the old timers didn't get along with the new management and the company only lasted until Q3 1974.

The old manages were my dad and Al Jackson who lived 3 doors down and across the street from us. I went to school with his daughter Jeannine. We were in the same graduating class.

Al was the industrial sales manager. That's him on the right under the flag.

View attachment 1312219
Al was big into ham radio, both fixed and mobile. In the pic above are young and veteran radio guys. See on chalkboard: Civil Defense 17 Jan 63.

These were the sales and management guys in the late 1950's on Dwight St. I believe that's Fred Touhey from left-to-right, Al Jackson, and Pop.

View attachment 1312409


General Electric Award

Soundco won a GE Vacuum Tube sales award in 70 or 71 that included a vacation for two couples to the Isle of Mallorca, Spain. The couples were Al Jackson, Pop and their wives.


Here are some photos pop took of the TWA 707 on the ramp at Mallorca before heading back to JFK.

View attachment 1312253 View attachment 1312255 View attachment 1312254

How could Soundco go from an award winning company in 1971 to kaput in 1974 unless it were looted?


Staff Description

You can see Bob Cizek (Hi-Fi-Ci) was a mere salesman in the main store after decades with Soundco. It was a slap in the face for him to report to a long-hair VP. Steve Soumakis was the other salesman at the main store. Doug Hunter was the Service Tech. I used to hang out with him in the repair shop. He had a nice B&K scope and lots of the best tools, but that's all I can remember.

The cashier in the Parts Counter area working for Beverly was Lenna Bryans. She was attractive with long black hair and from eastern Europe IIRC. Everyone liked her.


Purchasing and Inventory

Moving to the Purchasing and Inventory column is Keith Stevens, a long-time shipping room guy. He was always working the reinforced tape dispenser with built-in sponge. Harry Babichicos (ba-ba-Cheecus) was the stock room guy, a job Pop did years before. I used to hang out with him too. The other two guys were delivery drivers I think and also handled stock.

Soundco had a LOT of big color picture tube boxes plied high in the stockroom. They had Rohn tower sections and big spools of cable, practically every vacuum tube GE made, down to the tiniest diode and transistor.


Wholesale Division

I remember most of the guys that worked for Al Jackson in the right column. Fred Tuohey (Too-ey) and Henry Albonisi were his outside salesmen.

Dave Guidetti
was the coolest Parts Counter guy who went to work for Signal Electronics (Signal Center) later on. He was very friendly to me. There was a Regency Scanner similar to the one below running on the shelf behind the counter where the cops could be heard. It was crystal controlled and sounded loud and clear.

View attachment 1312302

Don't remember the other Parts guy's first name.

This is what Signal Center looked like in 2009.

View attachment 1312222


By late 2014 it had been completely taken down, as was the fate of Soundco on Dwight St. Very sad.

View attachment 1312223

View attachment 1312224

Bob Cizek went to Del Padre later on. I bought lots of audio gear from him including the C26.


Wrap-up

Mike hired me in summer 1974 to paint walls and displays. Got to see and hear the latest McIntosh gear at a young age. Can remember the C28, MR77, and MC2105 in the sound room. The MR78 and MPI4 were on display then. The MR78 was impressive but I really wanted a MR77.

VP Tim used to play From The Beginning on LP through the C28 & MC2105. It sounded GREAT!




I was 15 y/o at the time the Org chart above was prepared, and 16 y/o when Soundco closed.

It was awful and no one could believe it!


-Greg
Indeed, as Tony says, quite the story.......If only we could freeze that favourite era of our lives I am sure we'd be eternally happy!! I feel little deflated at what has become of the world past the 80's....give me a goddamn time machine, I want to go back!!
 
That was a "time capsule" for me, as I purchased my equipment form Soundco and I knew Greg's Dad. I knew a lot of the people Greg knew from Soundco and was lucky enough to be personal friends with quite a few of them.
 
I bought all my Mc gear in my mid 20's. Still have most of it. There's something very satisfying about not needing to up grade even 25+ years later.
 
I was 24 when I bought my MC2100 to drive a pair of Janszen Z-824's (1974)
Regards,
Jim
When I was 16 (in 1974), I purchased a Dynaco Stereo 70 and preamp rig from a guy who had a pair of MC2100’s feeding a huge pair of Janszen electrostatics. Easily the most impressive (as well as most expensive) system I had been exposed to up until that point. Needless to say, it left quite an impression.
 
Seems I hijacked this thread pretty bad last year, and now it's dead and no longer pinned atop the Forum. That was not the intention, and it started on-topic with a `how old´ post, but then.. got carried away with Soundco history. Never noticed what happened until a week ago when, ironically coming back to post MORE on Soundco.


After thinking about it for a week, have decided to press ahead. :idea:

This is what it looked like 45 years ago (in 1974) walking up to the front door of Soundco on Roosevelt Ave – with different signage of course.

Soundco_entrance_2019.jpg

Suppose the sign could have been photoshopped all white, but that wouldn't show how pervasive the medical monopoly is today.


Another street view from Google Earth with labels.

Soundso_Roosevelt_Ave_3_256.png

Note: Soundco Electronics Corp was different than the original Soundco Electronic Supply Co. — same outfit and employees, different owner.


Google Earth tools

A polygon was drawn over the store area, and apparently Soundco #2 had 10,000 sq/ft of space (10,200 measured via polygon).

Soundco_GE_256.png

Coords
: 42.138419°, -72.546994°

The polyline (distance) is Yellow, and the polygon (area) is Red.

Trying to stay on-topic, I was 16 y/o then.


The NEW location did not compare to the original Dwight Street store downtown, there was nothing else like it.


-Greg
 
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Adding to the thread and reposting, I was 18 (1976) when buying a 2nd-hand C26 from Del Padre just blocks from college campus, STCC.

There may be earlier photos of the preamp, but here's a fall 1980 dorm room pic taken in State College with the C26 behind my LEFT shoulder.

View attachment 1266237

Two other pieces were added after the C26, a Yamaha CT-800 tuner (above in rack) and a Mitsubishi DA-A10 power amp (top of rack), all three from Del Padre.

-Greg
That looks like a great system there, all your’s I’m guessing. Did you build the shelving?
 
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