New member, Hello.....

Killrocks

New Member
Hi folks. New member here. I'm a drummer and musician out of Phoenix AZ, formerly the midwest. I've been stuck in 90s Chinese audio hell since my purchase of a Pioneer A/V receiver with 8" sub and 4" full range satellites for 20 years, but recently got the itch to recreate some of my Goodwill and Rummage Sale finds that I had accumulated as a teenager in the 80s. My rig back then at it's apex included a Montgomery Wards GEN 6901A - I had no idea what it actually was and have been searching for it on Ebay for about a year. Never found one - but I stumbled across a member here who posted a pic of one and said "Hey THAT'S THE ONE I HAD!" I used it to drive a pair of Sears brand two way 8"/2" speakers, with a used Soundesign cassette deck (later a Realistic), and a REALLY old Sears brand turntable that I spun my first 45 rpm record on (Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band) as well as Styx, Van Halen, and Dio records.

I upgraded my speakers to a pair of Utah Electronics 12" three ways bartered from a friend, then upgraded my receiver to a Realistic STA something or other in 1989. It was identical to a STA 115 but used small horizontal buttons instead of the large square buttons.

This rig served me amazingly well until 1998 when we "upgraded" to a Pioneer "China mart" A/V receiver package as outlined above. I set it up and cranked a CD and was terribly disappointed in the sound. I upgrade my front R/L speakers to a serviceable set of Polk Audio two ways, and while it cleaned up and smoothed out the high end and overall presence, the sound being fed to them was obviously flat and muddy, with audible distortion setting in at a stupidly low volume setting. Unfortunately, my Realistic unit is long gone, the Utah speakers as well. Although they had REALLY solid, slightly muddy bottom end, the mid and high end of the Utahs were, I thought, quite harsh and tinny.

I mix audio on Pro Tools and using Sony Sound Forge Professional on a set of Yamaha powered 8" two way studio monitors that are renowned for accuracy, power, and clarity. But listening for "fun" has been on the back burner for some time. I recently attended a concert by one of my favorite bands and they gave away vinyl copies of the record they had released in 1986. I realized that working with audio on a semi-pro level for the last 30 years has left me kind of out in the cold when it comes to actually ENJOYING music and sound. That led me to want to put together a "mid grade" at least vintage rig for my study and start accumulating some vinyl and tapes again. I am also searching for a good vintage cassette deck - magnetic tape has a warmth and sound all it's own. Looking forward to recreating some of the sounds of my teenage years and hoping that the punch, depth, and warmth that I remember, even with the volume down low late at night, wasn't just in my head, but is in some of these boxes! I picked up a Realistic STA 110 to start and am REALLY excited about that. Also just picked up a pair of "Sears by Fisher" (yeah, I know) X5000s. I know a lot of the Fisher consumer stuff was farmed out junk, but these seem to be pretty decent speakers. 10" woofers, a pair of 3" tweeters, and an attenuator in a ported enclosure. Build quality is pretty good. I've surfed this forum and the net looking for info on this particular speaker model and found next to NOTHING. The cabinets are heavy so resonance should be kept to a minimum.

Eventually, I want to start researching a decent and affordable tube pre amp and power amp set up as well.

Thanks for a great forum!
 
Welcome aboard.

Speakers are the best bang for the buck on improving any stereo. A good set of speakers can do wonders.
 
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