Remembering the family audio system

A "Throwback Thursday" memoir

As threatened, er, promised a while back, I decided to write about the audio system my parents had when I was young. It was not an audiophile dream come true. But it had importance for me. It is the first system I remember. And it was the one that we used for many years, and made the idea of playing records a normal thing.

The system was a wedding gift. It was pretty simple: a cheap Garrard record changer (probably very low end, if not absolute rock bottom of the line), and a Panasonic stereo receiver and speaker system.

The receiver and speakers were an integrated system. One speaker actually held the receiver electronics. A lot like powered monitor speakers of today which often put the electronics inside one of the speakers. If I recall right, however, there was an option to use the receiver with totally different speakers via a jumper on the back panel.

The Panasonic was also probably very low end. There was exactly one input on the back panelm usable for tape or ceramic phono cartridge. But, even then, there were plenty of useless features included. There was motorized tuning. (Might be helpful if there was a remote of some sort, but there was no remote. It would have been faster and better to just tune manually, rather than stand by the receiver, holding the tuning button down.) There was a gauge that showed the "balance". Presumably it indicated where the loudest sound was coming from. Which you could tell by ear pretty easily.

On a plus side, though, the enclosures were pretty solidly made, and were probably real wood.

My parents apparently had the system as stock for about a year, and then upgraded. Someone they knew added a different cartridge--a Shure M44, I think--and a phono preamp. Such phono preamps were not rare--I've seen them advertised in old ads for people like my parents who upgraded to a moving magnet cartridge on a system that was too low end for a moving magnet cartridge input. But I like to think my parents were ahead of the times--they had a "phono stage" before 1970!

And that was the last upgrade that system ever saw. There never was a tape deck. (Even though I tried to sell my mother on the idea of a cool looking Panasonic 8 Track deck that looked like it was from the same era at a neighbor's yard sale!) There definitely was never a CD player. The only change that ever got proposed was a new record changer. The old changer never worked as a changer in all the years that I remember. That was probably for the best as far as preserving records was concerned. But I recall my father seeing an ad for a record changer on sale at Radio Shack. We didn't get it, and it's probably a good thing as far as record life was concerned. (Particularly since that changer was a BSR with a ceramic cartridge.)

This system probably would not win any audiophile awards, although aspects were probably better than a lot of mass market dreck of today. Certainly the build quality was better. I suspect the Garrard was also a better turntable than any cheap mass market turntable of today. It was idler wheel drive, so it would probably have had better speed stability than today's rock bottom belt drive turntables. My parents also probably did well in getting that Shure cartridge--I have to think if nothing else it was gentler on records than whatever was there originally. It would have sounded better, too, at least in absolute terms. Whether the better performance was noticeable through the Panasonic speakers is another question.

But even though the system wasn't audiophile dream, it did get used. It might have been used more if it had been a better system, of course. But my mother apparently played records pretty much daily while I was enjoying supervised play time as a small child. Later, I can remember her listening to records some evenings after dinner. And my mother started broadening her musical horizons when that system was still in service. So...as I say, that system has value in that it established the idea of playing records as a normal, every day thing.

The system lasted until I was a teenager. And then the problems started. The first problem was that my mother decided to move the system to a real stereo stand. Up to that point, it had lived on our dining room buffet. (I have no idea why it ended up there... I have to wonder if it wasn't originally a move to keep the system out of my reach.) The stereo stand looked nice--real wood!--but was not super solid. So the record player started skipping. (This was before I knew much about the care and feeding of turntables. Today I'd take one look, and at least have a pretty good guess what the problem is!) Then, not long after, the receiver picked up a hum--probably a failing power supply capacitor. So the system fell silent.

After the system was taken out of service, I had some idea of using the changer for 78 RPM records, but it was one of those projects that I never got around to doing. The closest I came was trying it one time. I think I ran it through a console mono unit I had (using the old phono preamp that my parents had used). I didn't have a 78 RPM stylus, but didn't care--the record was a battered, last survivor in a set of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. Battered record aside, however, there was something that grabbed me. Was there something in the system--the idler wheel drive turntable or the tube amp in the console--that better served the music than the 80s rack system a few yards away? (I'd speculate yes, but can't answer for certain.)

No matter...while I'm sure I'd find that system my parents had appalling to my audiophile ears of today, there is a certain amount of sentiment. I have many happy memories of listening to records on that system.

Linn Axis turntable

A "Throwback Thursday" memoir

The Linn Axis is the single most important turntable I’ve encountered on my audiophile journey. Period.

The Linn Axis was released about 30 years ago. (Typing this makes me feel old: I remember when it was a “newly released” turntable!) At that time, Linn’s claim to fame was the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable. While they were making other products, such as speakers, the LP12 was probably the first thing people thought of when they thought of Linn. And the buyers of Linn speakers almost certainly had an LP12.

There was one small problem with the LP12. Or maybe I should say big problem: the price, which was out of the reach of many people. And so the Linn Axis was born to bring Linn turntable engineering to a new, lower price point.

The Axis was sold with a Linn tonearm—a couple of versions of the Linn Basik, and then finally the Linn Akito. It was also supposedly available without arm—at least at one point—although I have never seen any Axis that had anything but a Linn arm. Likewise, I’d guess the majority of Linn Axis buyers also bought a Linn cartridge, such as the Linn K9.

The Linn Axis got good reviews, and it seemed like many buyers were happy.

As I said earlier, the Linn Axis was the most important turntable on my audiophile journey. The reason is simply because it was the first good turntable I ever heard. I frankly heard it on somewhat of a lark. A local dealer advertised Linn turntables, and even the Linn Axis cost as much as what I thought one might spend on an entire system. Could a turntable actually be worth that much? There was only one way to find out: audition it. Although, privately, I was guessing it wouldn’t offer enough to really justify the price for “normal” people. It would be suitable only for those with a Mercedes 560 SEL, top of the line Royal Doulton for daily dishes, and so on.

So I found some records. (Somehow, I’d heard one should take one’s own records.) At the time, I was still in high school, so I dragged my mother to the dealer. I figured she’d be taken more seriously than a teenager. Plus she was even half considering buying a new audio system, so we might as well start with hearing a Linn turntable system.

At the store, the demo system ended up being a Linn Axis/NAD Monitor Series amplifier system/Linn Index speakers. The sales person dropped the first record on, and within seconds of it starting, I understood the value of this system. It wasn’t just for the mansion-dwelling crowd. It simply sounded better—at lot better—than any system I’d ever heard.

The turntable demonstrated two things. First, a good turntable gets more music off the record.  Secondly, it demonstrated that LPs were still viable sources for audio systems, even in the CD era.

After hearing that system with the Linn Axis, I set two basic goals. First, I started aspiring to have a good audio system. Secondly, I decided it would be based around a turntable like the Linn Axis.

More than 25 years later, I am a much different person in many ways. But it’s interesting to note that I still strongly value quality audio. It is simply more enjoyable to listen to a good system, and one uses it more often and for more serious listening. It’s also interesting to note that my preferred source still remains the vinyl LP.

I now wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t heard the Linn Axis that day. Would I have ever discovered quality audio? Would I have become the vinyl die-hard I am? Would I even have any records today?

Unanswerable questions... All I know is that I’m glad I did hear that system with the Linn Axis all those years back.

Remembering my old Newcomb phonograph

A "Throwback Thursday" memoir.

When I was growing up, my mother and I often visited thrift shops. You never knew what great treasure might turn up, priced at next-to-zero. (A sad commentary about our throwaway society: today's expensive item is tomorrow's $1 find at the thrift shop!) One very memorable treasure I found was an old Newcomb phonograph.

The Newcomb might well have been an old school phonograph. Certainly, I remembered seeing many Newcomb phonographs at school. A Newcomb phonograph with a brown case was standard equipment on the back counters of my elementary school classes, and they were a common sight in junior high and high school. But the one I found was far older than any I'd seen before - it probably dated to the monophonic LP era, and it had a tube amp.

The tube amp was probably the selling point. I liked tubes! They seemed so neat in an old technology way. (I now wonder about my love of modern audiophile tube amps. How much of it is sound quality? How much are secondary issues, such as liking the glow of tubes?) Needless to say, the phonograph "followed me home" that day.

There was, however, one small, itsy-bitsy problem. The phonograph was equipped with a cartridge that could not play anything newer than a mono LP. (Stereo cartridges can play mono LPs, but a mono era cartridge will totally destroy a stereo LP.)

So...I knew I needed a mono LP. Fortunately, as I dug through my record rack, I found I had one. Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which had come from a used book sale. Today, I have no idea why I bought it. This was before I listened to classical repertoire - apart from a Hooked on Classics record. Indeed, as far as I can recall, I had not listened to that record, not even for a second, since buying it. But that day I was happy I had it - it was something I could play on my new-to-me phonograph!

I powered up the phonograph, and let the tubes warm up. (Back then, I was totally unaware of old electronics safety, including the thought that you don't just plug in something and turn it on. It may be a miracle I never burned our house down.) Once the phonograph amp was warm, I started the record.

And, at some point, I got hooked. I mean really hooked. While normal kids my age were playing some rock recording, in stereo, with the volume set to rattle the windows of the house across the street, I'd be playing my Beethoven record at fairly moderate volume. And so the phono gave me one gift: my first real, extended, enjoyable experience listening to classical repertoire.

In time, something went wrong, and the phonograph refused to turn on one day.

After that phono stopped working, I lost interest in the Beethoven record. I did make a couple of attempts to make cassette copies on newer stereo systems. (Back then, like many kids of the 80s, I'd typically play a record only to make a tape copy. Indeed, one big shock I gave my mother was when I told her that when I got my first good turntable, I'd actually play records. For real. No cassette copies.)

But I never really liked listening to the cassette copies. I never really felt like playing the record itself, either.

I don't know if I questioned this back then. Why did a favorite record suddenly end up collecting dust? I might have said that I'd probably just listened to it too many times, and lost interest. This is certainly possible.

But today I wonder if there also isn't another answer. Perhaps that old phonograph performed better than either modern system I had access to in the late 1980s.

Many would, of course, find this thought laughable. An old school phonograph (with who knows how many hours on the tubes?!) is better than a fairly new mass market stereo system? 

And to be sure, this phonograph was not an audiophile product. It also would seem hopeless to the average mass market system buyer. It wasn't stereo. It didn't have 100 watts of output power. It didn't have big speakers. It didn't - 

No, it didn't have a lot of that. But somehow it managed to communicate something important on that record. And it did a better job of communicating that than either modern system.

I now vaguely recall something else. I tried other classical works on the modern stereo systems. I found some things that interested me, but I seem to recall it was harder listening. It was harder getting interested in the works.

That school phonograph helped teach me an important lesson, although I didn't understand it until years later. The lesson is that a lot of technical and performance issues so important in the audio industry are really secondary issues. You can have the best transparency and stereo imaging in the world. You can have massive amounts of power. You can have many technical features that have been marketed to death over the years. But if the system doesn't convey the musical soul of the performance, then it's really no better than a cheap transistor radio at KMart.


Edited 10/23/15 and 11/7/15. Editing was minor, mostly for clarity in the last paragraph.

Once upon a Tandberg

A "Throwback Thursday" memoir

One night in early 2000, I went went through the electronics department at Goodwill. That was an almost guaranteed waste of time - that Goodwill seemed to have nothing but components from blown-up rack systems. Still, one might win Goodwill Electronics Lottery, and find a pair of Quad ESL-57 speakers. One never knows.

That night, I did find one of my rare finds: an old Tandberg TR 2025 receiver.

I recognized the Tandberg name (maybe because I'd heard of their open reel tape decks). It was clearly an older receiver - it had veneer sides, and a light up tuning dial. (Later, I'd learn the model was mid/late 1970s.)

Finding the Tandberg receiver wasn't like winning the Mega Millions, but it was at least like winning a $100 in the state lottery. Maybe more. At the time, I was having trouble with my existing amp, and maybe the Tandberg could tide me over.

I can't imagine I expected much. Indeed, I probably could have come up with a list of Audiophile Approved Reasons to expect nothing:

• It was old (1970s) and newer is better!
• Plus at 15-20 years old some components were probably worn and not performing optimally.
• It was a receiver, and we know that most receivers are compromised products!
• It had lots of controls, and we know that the simpler the signal path, the better!

But I hoped the Tandberg could allow me to play a few records. If I could listen to it - without running for the door, covering my ears, and screaming - it would be worth it.

It certainly was a better bet than the cheap receivers with integrated 8 Track players that were common at that Goodwill.

I got the Tandberg. Then started the long process of getting it installed in my system. It used DIN connectors, and so I had to craft adapters. The worst part was finding someone who had the speaker connectors. But I tracked a couple down at an old TV repair shop. They were something like half of what I paid for the Tandberg. Yikes! This was running into Big Money by thrift shop standards!

Finally, it went into service in my system. Back then, I had a late 80s/early 90s era system, with an entry point Linn LP12/Linn Intek amp/Linn Index II. Proving I wasn't Linn or die, I did have a pair of Sound Organisation speaker stands.

As I said, I did not expect much. And at first it did sound pretty bad. (Not surprising since the TR 2025 might not have been used in years.) But as I used it more, I became more impressed.

I can't remember the exact sound, but I do recall that at the best of times it was quite listenable. I seem to recall it having a warm sound. It had good enough tonal coloration that one could tell instruments apart.

The biggest failing was when the volume went up to a certain point, its control of the speakers seemed to suffer. Although I never heard outright clipping - it was, as I recall, more of confused sound. The TR 2025 was rated at 25 watts in one Tandberg catalog; I suspect it would have been its happiest with power efficient, easy to drive speakers. The sound wasn't crystal clear, either. It could be even grayish sounding.

Another thing I noted: the phono input was not as good as my Linn Intek. Using the Intek as a phono stage got a noticeable improvement. Part of that was not unexpected - when the Intek shipped, Linn was very heavily into turntables. I also have to wonder if the adapter I was using wasn't a problem. A cable from the turntable, terminated with a DIN connector, would probably be easier on the delicate signal than my flung-together RCA to DIN adapter.

Flaws aside, the Tandberg served me well. I was able to play records without cringing. And I found myself really liking the radio tuner.

Meanwhile, I was questioning whether I'd fix the Intek. That questioning started well before the Tandberg came along. However, I seem to recall that the Tandberg did so well that it added fuel to the fires of Intek discontentment. Yes, the Intek was better - but frankly I thought at times the difference should have been a lot more dramatic, given that the Intek was newer, and a more purist product.

Today, I wonder something: what would my impressions have been had I tried the TR 2025 in a carefully matched system?

Back then, I did think of the TR 2025 as a keeper of sorts. Not for the main system - I expected to get a used modern amp. However, I had a vision of the TR 2025 as the base for a second system. Indeed, one vision I had was a system in a living room. The TR 2025 could be a conversation piece, work for TV sound, and supply background if I were having guests.

Unfortunately, though, disaster struck. In order to use the radio tuner, I had a cheap rabbit ear antenna. One day, that fell down. It didn't just fall - it flew, and hit the TR 2025 AC plug. It somehow knocked it loose enough for the antenna to hit the live prong on the plug. There was spectacular electric storm inside the Tandberg. And with that, it fell silent forever.