The stands look great!

Thank you.
I hadn't mentioned it yet, but a few weeks ago my dream power amp came up for sale locally and I couldn't resist picking it up:
Yamaha P2200
It sounds very nice, warm, almost wooly, very musical. It's a little light on bass compared to my Crown DC300a, but then again what isn't?
Cosmetics are good, it was never rack mounted and it's not scratched up. Pretty soon I'll have it gone through but for now I'm digging it!

 
Your listening area looks amazing. Great work on the veneer for the Advents. Sharp looking bass in the corner there too, I have a 2012 American Special in honeyburst. :thumbsup:

Where do you source the veneer? I need to make my monstrous cabs look nice.
 
Thank you.
I hadn't mentioned it yet, but a few weeks ago my dream power amp came up for sale locally and I couldn't resist picking it up:
Yamaha P2200
It sounds very nice, warm, almost wooly, very musical. It's a little light on bass compared to my Crown DC300a, but then again what isn't?
Cosmetics are good, it was never rack mounted and it's not scratched up. Pretty soon I'll have it gone through but for now I'm digging it!

Very Nice looking setup! Great amp but it looks like you have the gain level set differently.
 
Thanks. The little cabs turned out really well, I'll have to post pics soon.
I recently picked up a pair of Smaller Advents, they're very good sounding vintage 'bookshelf' speakers. However, from the factory they're wrapped in vinyl imitation walnut.
I've taken the liberty of peeling the vinyl off and am replacing it with real walnut veneer:









Some Watco oil (2 coats) on the raw walnut:







After two coats of oil:



Oil only on the left, one coat of Shellac on right:



First coat of Shellac on both cabs:





Will update once they're fully done. I might still redo the grills and I've got original badges coming. Will convert to modern binding posts as well.
That will bring them into the new millenium.

Oh my goodness it is SO satisfying to see someone peel off that plasticky veneer. Hate that stuff. The new finish looks fantastic
 
Thank you all very much for the kind words. I'm glad I get to share my insanity, I mean passion, with fellow AKers.

Where do you source the veneer? I need to make my monstrous cabs look nice.

I got the Walnut from Parts-Express in a 2x8' sheet, it's paper backed and gets applied with contact cement.
However, since that purchase I've come across JSOwoodproducts on ebay and they sling 4x8' sheets which is better for me, so that's where I'm getting all my veneer from now on.
Paper backed is the way to go, contact cement is great. The PSA or iron on stuff doesn't tend to last.

Very Nice looking setup! Great amp but it looks like you have the gain level set differently.

You got me. The pots are very dirty and I'm out of DeoxIT spray, only have brush on right now. So I was trying to find a spot where they'd pass signal other than wide open.

Oh my goodness it is SO satisfying to see someone peel off that plasticky veneer. Hate that stuff. The new finish looks fantastic

It was deeply satisfying to peel it off with a heat gun. Veneering the cabs in that walnut was a bear of a job though, but well worth it. The speakers are worthy.

I've been watching your thread for a while and I like your setup and how it grows with quality pieces.
Very well done with the restoration of Advents :)

Thank you! Glad to have ya.
 
Small update on the Advents, I redid the grills in the grey grill cloth from parts-express. I did one layer of black underneath the grey, this way the cutouts don't bleed through and the fabric color is nice and even. The fabrics are very thin, so doubling up really isn't an issue.





I love how well the stands and grills match now. I did keep the old fabric, even though it wasn't original either, but if I feel like it I can always whoop up a second set of grills with a vintage look.
 


I love how well the stands and grills match now. I did keep the old fabric, even though it wasn't original either, but if I feel like it I can always whoop up a second set of grills with a vintage look.

I agree. Looks fantastic and reminds me of my neighbors' KLH 20 system. But of course yours sounds much better, I'm sure!
 
Last edited:
That does look excellent! And even though the new grill cloth is super thin, if it were me, I would have rattle-canned the grill cutouts satin black and used one layer of fabric. This though, those Advents look great, and the Bose 901 stands are a great match!
 
I don't know how I missed this thread so far. These projects are great, well done Sir! I just wish we lived closer and could hang out and listen together. :)

Those JBL are intriguing.

@Valveglow another thread you will like.
 
Thanks guys!
I'm recapping the Advents right now and I've got badges coming in the mail. The end is near...
I can't wait to get to the JBLs, they're getting veneered in real wood cherry, I've been excited about that since I got them but I keep getting side tracked :)
Fun stuff.
 
Thanks!
The Smaller Advents just sold, they will be dearly missed but they went to a great home.
I've got several other pieces in the works right now, stay tuned for more pic dumps :)
 
Lots of activity / changes happening in Kraut's listening space.
First, the 3 Teac components that are very dear to me are temporarily set aside because the integrated amp's DC offset in one channel is 49mV and it's kicking in and out of protection mode. Bummer! Not sure if it just needs an adjustment or a wholesale service / recap.
I don't know of a local tech that I really trust and don't want to ship it, so it's on hold for a minute. But let's just say that we're not running out of amps quite yet :)

So recently I got the Yamaha P2200. Great power amp, been on my wish list for a long while. It works great, sounds great, only the right meter is lazy.
Since I sold the Yamaha C-2 pre a while ago, I've been trying sources directly into the power amp with mixed results. It seems like it really needs a strong signal or else it's bass shy and middy.

The idea is to have a competent tech add pre-outs & main-ins to the Teac amp and use that as my pre because that Teac amp just does EVERYTHING right. Someone let me know if I'm crazy or if that's realistic.
I'm using the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 instrument interface / preamp as a DAC for playing iTunes lossless files. Sounds very good actually!
I tried the DAC straight into the P2200, but the signal is too weak. Then I came across this 'Little Bear P5' tube preamp & buffer a few days ago and I've been very happy with it so far:
macbook pro > focusrite dac > little bear > p2200 > seemingly endless supply of speakers

The main hifi sideboard needed to grow, since the little pine bench was only big enough for the Teac kit. So I threw something really simple and affordable together while I scheme up something more elaborate:







This was my first time working with burl and raw veneer. It was brittle and wavy like a potato chip and was full of holes. It all worked out though. I had to paste two pieces together to get this shape, so I followed a natural line in the veneer with the knife and traced the other piece to the same shape.
It's Pimento pepperwood burl. I love spicy peppers anyway and I love the way this stuff looks with just the Shellac on it. The pics don't do it justice.

I veneered this Yamaha CR-620 receiver and YP-B4 turntable in zebrano wood for a friend. It's delivered already and this was the only pic I have of it:



And the new sideboard in its new home, here with my (recently sold) CR-1020 and YP-D6. The YP-D6 is about to undergo a full restoration & veneer job:







All-Yamaha system with the NS-200M speakers (about to get veneered):



^^^^ Underneath those 200s are the Tannoy PBM 6.5 I've been using for nearfield at the computer desk. Truly fantastic nearfield monitors btw.
 
Last edited:
Lots of activity / changes happening in Kraut's listening space.
First, the 3 Teac components that are very dear to me are temporarily set aside because the integrated amp's DC offset in one channel is 49mV and it's kicking in and out of protection mode. Bummer! Not sure if it just needs an adjustment or a wholesale service / recap.
I don't know of a local tech that I really trust and don't want to ship it, so it's on hold for a minute. But let's just say that we're not running out of amps quite yet :)

So recently I got the Yamaha P2200. Great power amp, been on my wish list for a long while. It works great, sounds great, only the right meter is lazy.
Since I sold the Yamaha C-2 pre a while ago, I've been trying sources directly into the power amp with mixed results. It seems like it really needs a strong signal or else it's bass shy and middy.

The idea is to have a competent tech add pre-outs & main-ins to the Teac amp and use that as my pre because that Teac amp just does EVERYTHING right. Someone let me know if I'm crazy or if that's realistic.
I'm using the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 instrument interface / preamp as a DAC for playing iTunes lossless files. Sounds very good actually!
I tried the DAC straight into the P2200, but the signal is too weak. Then I came across this 'Little Bear P5' tube preamp & buffer a few days ago and I've been very happy with it so far:
macbook pro > focusrite dac > little bear > p2200 > seemingly endless supply of speakers

The main hifi sideboard needed to grow, since the little pine bench was only big enough for the Teac kit. So I threw something really simple and affordable together while I scheme up something more elaborate:







This was my first time working with burl and raw veneer. It was brittle and wavy like a potato chip and was full of holes. It all worked out though. I had to paste two pieces together to get this shape, so I followed a natural line in the veneer with the knife and traced the other piece to the same shape.
It's Pimento pepperwood burl. I love spicy peppers anyway and I love the way this stuff looks with just the Shellac on it. The pics don't do it justice.

I veneered this Yamaha CR-620 receiver and YP-B4 turntable in zebrano wood for a friend. It's delivered already and this was the only pic I have of it:



And the new sideboard in its new home, here with my (recently sold) CR-1020 and YP-D6 (about to undergo full restoration & veneer):







All-Yamaha system with the NS-200M speakers (about to get veneered):



^^^^ Underneath those 200s are the Tannoy PBM 6.5 I've been using for nearfield at the computer desk. Truly fantastic nearfield monitors btw.
Very nice!
 
I finally painted those stands in matte black. I originally built them to exactly fit the Yamaha NS-244 speakers, but they've quickly become my go-to stands. They're balanced on hockey pucks, the platforms are mdf and the legs are poplar.
I've been playing with this set of JBL L26 speakers recently. I'm very fond of them. They're actually far from flat, yet they do so many things right! Essentially they present the music in a fun and engaging way that makes me never want to turn off the music. Drums and strings, vocals sound super real and they image really well.
On all solid state, the L26 were at first a touch midrange and treble forward, but since I put the Little Bear tube pre into the chain, they became silky smooth and seductive. I never want to turn it off.

















I've never been a huge oak fan, but those tiger stripes in the L26 veneer are just killer.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom