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Allan Songer

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Everything posted by Allan Songer

  1. A pair of 1964 vintage vertical-horn Cornwalls with ALK networks (the first ones!). I'll post more pics later.
  2. Here are my humble amps and table. Old, reliable, magnificent sounding and beautiful. I love my rig!
  3. Got the snail mail! Hope your Ameperex are doing fine! Allan
  4. I was reading this with real curiosity and decided to do a little test. I un-plugged my quad of GEC KT-66 in my MC-30s that have about 10,000 hours on them and replaced them with four NOS that I've had sitting around here for more than 10 years (but from the same "batch" of 12 I bought in the 80's). Sound different? Not really--perhaps a little more strident, but so little a difference I can't really say. Am I deaf?
  5. I love the flexibility of my C-22! That's why I don't think I'll ever be able to let it go--even though I could sell it for 10 times what I paid for it. Plus it has a KILLER phono section as well as all those controls--AND a mono switch. I paid about $250 for mine oh those many years ago--don't think I could do better for $5,000 for a line and phono stage today if I had to buy "new."
  6. Here's the link for the Perkins/Lewis LP (Also, Percy Heath, Jim Hall, and Chico Hamilton) http://www.redtrumpet.com/software/item.php3?item=13502&sid=1095264505 I too love Ornette--both the 50's and the later electric stuff with Prime Time. I used to have the LP with Metheny "Song X" in that hot 100 at one time. "West Coast Jazz" is a stupid term. The hottest hard bop group ever was the Curtis Counce group, and they were based in L.A.! Ornette Coleman came out of L.A.! Art Pepper played his whole life in L.A. Teddy Edwards has spent his whole working life in L.A. Geesh!
  7. Re: Art Pepper I own every LP Art Pepper ever released--even the super-rare Jazz West, Intro and Score stuff--luckily I found these in the 70's before the prices shot up through the roof--coulnd't even BEGIN to afford them today. The Vanguard records are great if only for the way the capture the "chattiness" of Art's live shows during this period. THe playing on these dates was all over the map but Art is Art and the records are pretty much essential. I get the feeling he was trying WAY too hard and should have relaxed a bit, but he WAS trying to prove something and there's no doubt he did. I was lucky enough to hear Art live 30-40 times here in LA and SF in the '76-82 period and he was incredible every single time. He was and remains my favorite artist. I've got a reccomendation for you--try to find the classic Bill Perkins/John Lewis LP on Pacific Jazz called "Grand Encounter: 2 degrees East and 3 degrees West." An original will set you back about $100, but I just read on the Red Trumpet website that there is a new 24-bit Japanese CD out--PICK IT UP--you will NOT regret it! Here's a link to my hot 100: http://www.rjcigars.com/Mens%20Almanac/BachelorPad/bachelor_pad.htm
  8. I don't usually use the term "referece recordings" because it sounds so tight-*** audiophile, but when I try to listen for something I ALWAYS use "Art Pepper Meets the Rythym Section." I have 6 different versions of this record (original Contemporary mono, origial "Stereo Records" stereo, 1960's Contemporary stereo, Analogue Production stereo, 1983 Japanese CD, JVC XRCD). I've listened to this album at least 1000 times and know it like the back of my hand.
  9. I agree that getting into the vinyl game at this late date is a somewhat dubious proposition, but some of us weren't stupid enough to **** -can all of our records back in the late 80's and have continued enjoying them! I have somewhere between 2000 and 2200 LPs here (plus about 700 CDs), about 90% of them jazz. I have records that I bought for $2 used in Berkeley in the early 70's that are worth serveal hundred dollars each (original Blue Notes, Norgrans, Pacific Jazz, etc.). It would be really crazy to try to put my collection together at today's ebay prices. I do buy new vinyl--especially the Classic, Analogue, and Sperakers Corner jazz issues--at $25-$30 a pop they're not cheap, but the quality is superb! And you're right about the dreck available at most yard/flea sales--it's 99.9% crap. But just two weeks ago I picked up two early Stan Getz records-- the box set of "Stan Getz at the Shrine" on Norgran (1954) and "The Steamer" on pre-MGM Verve (1959) for a total of $7. It's the best find I've had in YEARS--these would ebay for $400 EASY! And I am so totally convinced that vinyl--even with the associated surface noise and occaisional tic or pop, is so far superior to CD that my response to anyone who tries to argue the opposite is that "you haven't heard a good vinyl rig in a while, have you?" As long as I can keep getting get my SPUs retipped vinyl will never die in my house!
  10. I'm in Long Beach (Belmont Heights). Drop me a line. allansonger@pacbell.net
  11. Would these be "plug and play" in an old Cornwall? I have been looking for a spare pair for a while now and these look VERY interesting!
  12. I still can't get over the terms "line-stage" and "phono-stage." Geeeeesh--for the money these guys charge for a preamp these days, they should ALL have a "phono stage!" But most folks don't listen to records any more (pity them) and don't really NEED a "phono stage," so I guess I can't blame designers/manufacturers. Anyway, any preamp that has a button that says "phono" will work--that is unless you want to use a low-output moving coil cartridge--then you'll need a "step-up transformer" as well. But if you're just going to mess around with records, you'll probably NOT be using a moving coil! You can buy a "phono stage" from Radio Shack for about thirty bucks to use between your cartridge and "line stage" if you want to get started in vinyl on the cheap, but don't expect sonic wonders! Better yet, buy a VINTAGE preamp with a dedicated "phono stage" and be done with it!
  13. Again--anyone wanting to hear vintage vinyl/vintage MAC tube gear and OLD (1964) Cornwalls in the Los Angeles area is welcome.
  14. I once got a chance to live with a pair of Cary 2A3SE mono-blocks for a little while and thought they were the bee's knees in many ways. I ran them through my McIntosh C-22 preamp and they were crisp, clean, highly detailed but not as "warm" as my McIntosh MC-30s to my ears. I know this probably sounds nuts to say the old MAC "class ab push-pull" amps were warmer, but that's what I heard. The bass from these 3-watt amps was just fine when listening to the 50's and 60's jazz I play 98% of the time, but when I put on late Miles Davis or Ornette Coleman electric bass-thumping music the low end seemed to fuzz out and lose control quite a bit when compared with the (10 times more powerful) MC-30s especially when played at the high volumes this music seems to demand. I loved these little amps, but I sure didn't think they were worth FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS! I would be very much open to hearing similar amps in my system.
  15. Vinyl is NOT dead--at least not in MY house! If I never buy another record I have more than enough great music to enjoy for the rest of my life. And there will hopefully be someone around to re-tip my SPUs and Decca London Gold cartridges (I have a few of each--just in case!). I'll bet you that in 50 years there will be more people listening to LPs than CDs--I think the CD will go the way of the 8-track, Betamax and cassette tape and hopefully be replaced by something MUCH better! You have to rememeber the CD was developed by Philips as a replacement for the cassette tape--never in a million years did they think it would supplant the LP! I don't think people will love and cherish CD collections the way many of us now love and cherish great old LPs. I'll bet in 25 years my collection of several hundred Norgrans, Clefs, Blue Notes, Prestiges, Contemporarys and the like will have more value than an acre of CDs (of course I feel that way RIGHT NOW). Most people think my preference for the LP is rather "quaint"--that is until I invite them in for a listen. I always use "So What" from Kind of Blue and begin with the CD and after about 3 or 4 minutes (after Coltrane's solo) I play them the same cut on a 40 year old original 6-eye and their jaws drop. Every single person every single time has told me the LP sounds better--more "alive" or "more like real music" or some such comment. And my analog rig cost me about 1/8 what my CD player cost! My system: (2) McIntosh MC-30 monoblocks (KT-66 outputs) Mcintosh C-22 preamp Thorens TD-124/SME 3012/Ortofon SPU GT/E B.A.T. VK-D5 CD player Klipsch Cornwalls (1964, vertical horn) and recently I've added a Linn Sizmik subwoofer--I think I like it enough to keep it! Never thought I'd say that about a sub, but this one is really something else!
  16. I have old (1964) Cornwalls and used them for years just sitting on the floor, but about 5-6 years ago I got the "tweak" bug and built what has been the best tweak "for the money" to date. I fabricated a pair or risers out of sheet-steel, walnut and sand that are the some size as the later factory risers. The walnut frame is sandwiched by the steel and the void is filled with play sand. These stands (which weigh in at about 60 lbs ea!) sit on "spikes and cones" and the Cornwalls in turn sit on the stands. The improvement in bass clarity was ASTONISHING. I can't reccomend this enough!
  17. I have a BAT CD player and I must say it is wonderful and the folks back there in Delaware have been great. I am also partial to push-pull tube amps (I'm a McIntosh fan and have been FOREVER), and can say with authority that a 60 watt p/p amp will give all the bass the K-Horn can deliver. I'm not sure you can say the same about a 3 watt 2A3 amp--I auditioned a pair of ULTRA-expensive (over 8 grand!) SE 2A3 monoblocks a while back and while I REALLLLLY liked them for their pure, liquid midrange and high end, they certainly didn't have the "ooomph" on the bottom end that my old MC-30s have. I would try to audition a VK-60 and an SE amp IN YOUR HOME and come to your own conclusions.
  18. I'll bet the farm than all the "small" tubes are OK. But you really need to find a way to get a matched quad of output tubes--mixing in a EL84 with 7189s isn't such a hot idea--they're very different (in "compatible") tubes. 7189s are super-rare and super-expensive--a NOS quad will set you back at least $100 if not more (YIKES!). I have a quad of decent used Amperex 7189s that I'll let go of for a nominal price if you want them, or buy a quad of the EI or Tungsram eastern-europe EL84s for cheap--they'll do the job just fine.
  19. What on earth is an "aquarian pump." Some sort of metaphysical/astrological device?
  20. I've been listening to MAC tube amps for over 40 years (I grew up with one!) and have owned and fiddled with every MAC tube amp and preamp ever made--with the exception of the super-exotic commercial stuff and the tube amps brought out in the last couple of years. My favorite MAC amps are 6L6 based--the MC30, MC40 and MC240. I know the common wisdom is that the KT-88 amps (MC60, MC75, MC275) are superior and that the "little" MC225 (7591) is the "best" of the stereo amps. I've owned them all and I disagree--the KT-88 amps sound ponderous and tubby when compared with the 6L6 amps--ESPECIALLY if fitted with GEC KT-66 power tubes! I think the MC225 is a wonderful sounding amp, but I prefer the 6L6 amps and genuine 7591 tubes are even harder to find than KT-66s! I've biamped MC240s to get 80 watts per side when I was driving old Quad electrostatics--and I even did this with the Cornwalls for a while! Talk about overkill! But my favorites are the old MC-30s--they have tube rectifiers and soudn a little "warmer" than the later amps--but I love them all!
  21. The whole $$$$$ still kinda gets by me I guess. I paid $125 for my MR-71 back in the mid 1980's. I bought the Fisher 500C in 1976 for $75. I guess the MR-71 goes for several hundred dollars now. Not worth that, but it's been a real fine tuner for me over the last 15 years or so! Had to have it aligned once and a tube here and there, but pretty much rock solid. The MI-3 scope was part of a custom "console" I picked up in Palm Springs a few years ago from a newspaper ad. It included a MAC 2105 amp, C26 preamp. MR73 tuner and MI3 scope. $200 for all of it in a beautiful custom walnut cabinet. I've since parted with everything but the scope--it's just TOO COOL to sell! I haven't really spent much $$$ on this hobby until fairly recently--now I have interconnects that cost more than my old MAC MC-30 mono amps! And I just received via UPS a new Linn Sizmik subwoofer to play with that cost 3 times what I paid for my Cornwalls! Time marches on and I'm another day closer to death.
  22. I listen to KLON about 95% of the time when I have the radio on (KCRW the other 5%). I live in Long Beach, so reception is not a big problem, but Multipath is! I use a McIntosh MR-71 all tube unit from the 60's and a MI-3 multipath scope. I have a roof mounted FM antennae. I wish I had popped for a remote control antennae, but after some trial and error I get pretty much perfect reception for KLON. I think FM sounds great--maybe not up to vinyl or even CD quality, but KLON doesn't compress the crap out of everything and I get to hear a bunch of new stuff there. I also listen to FM through my Fisher preamp/tuner in my second system and through a 500C Fisher in my garage. But these I listen to through simple indoor antennae and the reception is only OK. I don't know much about newer tuners, but I'm sure the Magnum Dynalab stuff is pretty good from what I've heard and read. If stereo isn't all that important to you and you don't want to mess with tubes, I think you might get away with one of the new Kloss table radios--they have output jacks and are supposed to be GREAT for the $99 they cost!
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