Old Technology

Phil_aka_Pip

It's good. Got out my Yamaha YP450 turntable today. Bought new in 1976, used nearly every day from then until I got my LP12 in 2001, then used sporadically in the music room until moving here in 2013, it's been in its box since then. Assembled the platter, plugged it in but no spin so I twizzled the shaft that turns the belt - it was a bit stiff, then it loosened up and played me a record. Not bad for an old machine.

It can be equally crap. Got out a Denon cassette machine which I probably bought 15 years ago s/h, wired that up, it played a few bars of a tape and stopped. The tape was hanging out of the cassette. Managed to retrieve it, wound on a bit, tried again. Same result. I suppose I'll have to take it apart and clean it out ...

A Denon CD machine worked perfectly well, so now I've got 2 out of 3 signal sources switchable into channels 11 & 12 of the desk in the music room.  

shrinkwrap

Usually it's the cassette that's already knackered isn't it? C120s where the roll of tape gets so many ridges it jams in the housing.
Wish I hadn't sold my LP12  - got a mid level ProJect now and not a patch on the LP12.
Teac cassette still works fine.
Cassettes are still the best choice in cars - grab a tape and jam it in - no fiddling on screens while doing 95.

VimFuego

mind you, tapes always were a shit technology, we just didn't realise at the time.

Phil_aka_Pip

shrinkwrap said:

Usually it's the cassette that's already knackered isn't it? C120s where the roll of tape gets so many ridges it jams in the housing.
Wish I hadn't sold my LP12  - got a mid level ProJect now and not a patch on the LP12.
Teac cassette still works fine.
Cassettes are still the best choice in cars - grab a tape and jam it in - no fiddling on screens while doing 95.

... and the music doesn't stop when you go over a bump neither!

This was a relatively new cassette. I've also got a Teac machine that also won't play properly and that HAS been cleaned

Phil_aka_Pip

VimFuego said:

mind you, tapes always were a shit technology, we just didn't realise at the time.

cassette tape yes, but even so the quality of my top-of-the-range Teac is unbelievably good (when it works).
Proper 1/2" tape at 15 ips you can't complain at.

VimFuego

yeah, meant cassettes. 

Sassafras

My Denon CD packed up about 18 months after I got it.
Amp's still going strong.

boogieman

Has the cassette player got rubber drive belts or is it direct drive? Any belts can stretch and perish. 

Jimbro66

This has just made me realise that you never see yards of unravelled cassette tape all along the sides of motorways any more. Good news for the litter pickers.

thumpingrug

Im still using a Technics CD player I bought in 1991.  Still sounds pretty good.

Phil_aka_Pip

boogieman said:

Has the cassette player got rubber drive belts or is it direct drive? Any belts can stretch and perish. 

My Teac is direct drive. I suspect the lower-specced Denon has drive belts.

ICBM

Jimbro66 said:

This has just made me realise that you never see yards of unravelled cassette tape all along the sides of motorways any more. Good news for the litter pickers.

Things just aren't the same when technology moves on. You never find porn mags in the hedgerows any more either.

Phil_aka_Pip

ICBM said:

You never find porn mags in the hedgerows any more either.

There's less on the top shelf too ...

Jimbro66

I'm still using, more occasionally now, a Nakamichi cassette player and Linn Basik turntable. Both bought in 1986 and still working perfectly. The Marantz CD player, while great for 1986, was replaced a few years ago with a far superior sounding modern unit. Such are the advances in digital technology.

boogieman

Jimbro66 said:

I'm still using, more occasionally now, a Nakamichi cassette player and Linn Basik turntable. Both bought in 1986 and still working perfectly. The Marantz CD player, while great for 1986, was replaced a few years ago with a far superior sounding modern unit. Such are the advances in digital technology.

I’ve got a Basik too. Gave it a mini overhaul this year with a new belt and some new oil in the bearing well and it sounds and performs perfectly again. I bought mine in 1989.  

TTony

thumpingrug said:

Im still using a Technics CD player I bought in 1991.  Still sounds pretty good.

My Sony CD player must be a similar vintage.  And still sounds good enough for me!

the_jaffa

My LP12, which I bought used in 94 and is still in daily use, is actually older than my wife. I'm about to change the tonearm and stylus and service it for a bit of a pep up

Jimbro66

boogieman said:

Jimbro66 said:

I'm still using, more occasionally now, a Nakamichi cassette player and Linn Basik turntable. Both bought in 1986 and still working perfectly. The Marantz CD player, while great for 1986, was replaced a few years ago with a far superior sounding modern unit. Such are the advances in digital technology.

I’ve got a Basik too. Gave it a mini overhaul this year with a new belt and some new oil in the bearing well and it sounds and performs perfectly again. I bought mine in 1989.  

Hey @boogieman I can't remember the last time I saw another Basik. We should start a very small Owners' Club

Where did you get the new belt? It may pay me to get a spare while they are still available.

TTony

shrinkwrap said:

Wish I hadn't sold my LP12  - got a mid level ProJect now and not a patch on the LP12.

@shrinkwrap  
LP12 ...

thermionic

I recently developed a bit of a fetish for old FM tuners. The illuminated dials, the chunky switches, the backlit moving coil meters, smooth-rolling and heavy tuning knobs... Loads on ebay, most are a little "roadworn", many are overpriced. But I picked up this beauty for the princely sum of £35. Nothing like a listening to this in a totally dark room.

https://i.imgur.com/pliya6p.jpg

Jimbro66

TTony said:

shrinkwrap said:

Wish I hadn't sold my LP12  - got a mid level ProJect now and not a patch on the LP12.

@shrinkwrap  
LP12 ...

Wow @Ttony that's highly lustworthy. I would have loved an LP12 back in 1986 but even then with a decent arm and cartridge they were well beyond my reach. Still are by the look of it

Upgrading my old Marantz CD player to a modern one had only short-term benefit. My lovely lady didn't appreciate the beauty of my precious Mordaunt Short speakers on their stands. So the stands were banished and the speakers tucked into corners behind plant pots But she does make a nice stew