[Vintage-Audio] Vinyl Revisited and Revived

[Duane Fischer, W8DBF]

Hi All,

My family dentist plays the guitar as a hobby. During one of our 'in my 
home', not his office, meetings, he noticed my collection of vinyl albums. 
The main console is built out of White Birch and is centered on the south 
wall of my living room. It is 72 inches long and flanked by a pair of B&W 
630 speakers that are bi-wired for improved high frequency response. About 
two thirds of the bottom front is used for album storage. They are behind 
two sliding safety plate glass doors. My late Father was a Carpenter and 
built this for me in 1972.

These are the only albums overtly visible. The others are hiding out on the 
bottom shelf of the bookcase housing the vintage 1963 H.H. Scott LK-72b 
integrated amplifier, LT-110 FM multiplex stereo tuner and Yamaha CD player. 
Others lurk in the six foot high wood storage cabinet with attractive brass 
handles and nifty trim! Once he saw the albums he began to wonder what I 
might have featuring a guitar with more focus on an instrumental 
presentation then vocal.

You guessed it, I ended up remastering some vinyl guitar albums to CD for 
the man who drilled for oil in my teeth and struck Gold! (chuckle)

I am curious as to who are considered to be the absolute top five, or ten, 
guitarists, now or ever, anywhere on this planet?

Based on your listening experience, what speaker systems favor the guitar 
and accurately present the musical notes clear and clean?

I once had a pair of B&W model 620 three-way speakers. When I wired them up 
to my integrated Sony ES series stereo amplifier and played an album by 
Floyd Cramer, I got quite a surprise. These speakers favored the piano big 
time! It truly sounded like the piano was in the room. I had never heard any 
speaker system do this so dramatically before! Now the low mid bass was 
'fair', at best, and the low bass ... It was not present. But the midrange 
and upwards frequencies were perhaps the best I have ever heard on any 
system of any price!

Unfortunately, the B&W model 620 were on a "trial basis" and did not fill my 
audio needs to serve as the main system's monitors, as well as possessing 
the ability to be phased in with the primary speakers, the James B. Lansing 
Century L-100 mounted at ceiling level and firing to ear level at the 
opposite end of the room. If I could have afforded to keep the B&W model 
620, as well as the more expensive model 630 that I traded them in on, I 
would have!

I wonder if any of you have happened upon a speaker system that fit a 
musical instrument as the B&W model 620 did the piano? If so, please share 
the story with us.

Thanks.





Duane Fischer, W8DBF/WPE8CXO
dfischer at usol.com

HHI: Halligan's Hallicrafters International
http://www.w9wze.net

HHRP: Historic Halligan Radio Project
hhrp.w9wze.net