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Dream HiFi

Dream HiFi:

  • - Acoustic Research P315 HO speakers
  • Onkyo Integra M-508 or M-510 power amplifier
  • Onkyo Integra M-504 power amplifiers
  • - Onkyo Integra P-308 or P-304 preamplifier
  • Onkyo Integra T-9090 II (aka: Integra T-G10) FM tuner for weak station reception
  • Onkyo DX-G10 CD Player
  • Onkyo DX-7555 CD Player, CD/CD-MP3/CD-RW/CD-R player
  • Onkyo TA-2090 Cassette Deck, 3 heads, dolby B, dolby C, dbx II, dolby HX Pro, peak hold
  • Nakamichi CR-7E Cassette Deck, 3 heads, dolby B, dolby C, legendary azimuth correction deck, peak hold
  • Teac V8030S Cassette Deck, 3 heads, dolby B, dolby C, dolby HX Pro, dolby S, peak hold
  • Yamaha DSP-1 digital soundfield processor
  • - Yamaha PX-3 direct drive, linear tracking turntable
  • Technics SL-1200 MK2 direct drive turntable
  • Acoustic Research XA belt drive turntable
  • Yamaha PF-1000 belt drive turntable, very quiet, very good quality
  • Kenwood L-07D direct drive turntable
  • Kenwood L-02T tuner
  • Kenwood L-02A amplifier
  • Kenwood L-D1 cd player
  • Yamaha CX-10000 control amp and digital soundfield processor
  • Yamaha HX-10000 phono pre-amp
  • Yamaha MX-10000 amplifier
  • Yamaha CDX-10000 CD Player

History:

  • 1978 – 1983 (Westernville, Rome): Tuner, Pre-Amp, Headset, Turntable, Cassette Deck
  • 1983 – 1984 (Central NY): add Walkman, Beta and VHS, BetaMax Camcorder, CD Player
  • 1985 – 1986 (Hawaii): add Amiga, Laserdisc Player, Video8 Camcorder, VHS-HQ, Amp, stereo speakers (Polk, JBL, Cerwin-Vega)
  • 1987 – 1989 (Japan): add MIDI Keyboards, MIDI Synthesizers, Yamaha DSP-1 with Dolby ProLogic, S-VHS, more speakers, more amplifiers, and DAT Deck, rent Laserdiscs from MacLord, add Hi8 Camcorder
  • 1990 (Washington): add NewTek Video Toaster, AmigaVision, CD-R recordable CDs, rent Laserdiscs from Alexandria Video Station
  • 1995: add DolbyDigital/AC-3 surround sound and 5.1 discrete audio surround systems (new LaserDisc, new Amp/Receiver, more speakers), and Iomega Zip/Jazz drives
  • 1997: add DVD, and DTS as well as DolbyDigital Amp, subsribe to Netflix flat-rate by-mail DVD rental
  • 1998: add MP3 players (replace Walkman), MP3 formatted CDs (increased capacity), streaming MP3s to stereo (from computer/server)
  • 2004: add Airport Express with AirTunes (streaming MP3 from computer to stereo)
  • 2006: Apple Mac Mini with Intel processors all have digital optical output, can connect vis TOSLINK to 5.1 amps via adaptor
  • 2007: add AppleTV for internet video/audio content on demand and cached

Gear:

  • 1962 – 1979: Acoustic Research XA turntable ($78), one of the first belt drive turntables for amazing sound at amazingly low price; add a Denon DL-103 cartridge for audio bliss
  • 1977 – 1982: Apple II (6502) Computer ($1295) – good for software sales
  • 1978: Yamaha CT-410II FM/AM Tuner ($185) good budget tuner with signal strength meter and tuning direction guide and tape recording calibration guide
  • 1978: Yamaha C-4 Preamplifier with 1 MC and 2 MM phono inputs, grounding post, two tape input/output, aux and tuner, two pre-outs! ($595)
  • 1978: The Disk II (floppy drive) makes Apple II viable
  • 1978: Technics SL-1200 MK2 turntable with ground wire to eliminate buzz, very good for disc jockey use, direct drive
  • 1978: Pioneer CT-F500 cassette deck with Dolby B, chrome or normal (no Metal until 1979), front loading, vertical mount
  • 1979 – 1982: Nakamichi 482Z cassette deck with 3 heads, dual capstans, dolby B and C, chrome/metal/normal tape select for $975 list
  • 1979 – 1983: Yamaha PX-2 turntable, linear tracking, amazing dampening, ultra-light heads; excellent
  • 1979 – 1980: Sony Walkman TPS-L2 portable, personal cassette player with headphones
  • 1979 – 1982: Atari 800 computer and floppy drive for writing software to sell, and personal use until Amiga in 1985
  • 1981 – 1984: IBM PC 5150 ($1565) with floppy drives for writing software to sell
  • 1981 – 1985: Yamaha PX-3 turntable with MC-705 cartridge and Denon DL-103, DL-103S, DL-103D, or DL-103M cartridge
  • 1983: Apple IIe replaces older Apple II computers
  • 1982 – 1986: Commodore 64 for writing software to sell
  • 1982 – 1984: Technics RS-M253X cassette deck with dolby B and C, dbx, 3 heads (but only two motors), nice peak VU meters with persistence, chrome/metal/normal tape select
  • 1984: Onkyo Integra TA-2056 Cassette Deck with 3 heads, 3 motors, dolby B and C noise reduction $400
  • 1984: Onkyo T-9090 FM Tuner is amazing, but expensive
  • 1984 – 2000: Apple Macintosh computer
  • 1984 – 1987: IBM PC AT replaces older PC
  • 1984 – 2002: Walkman Professional WM-D6C, highest quality Walkman recorder ever made, continuous production of new ones for nearly 20 years!
  • 1985: Denon DR-M33HX Cassette Deck with 3 heads, peak hold, dolby B and C $500
  • 1985: Onkyo TA-2090 Cassette Deck with 3 heads, peak hold, dolby B and C, HXPro, dbx $950
  • 1985: Amiga 1000
  • 1986: Yamaha DSP-1 digital soundfield processor
  • 1986 – 1993: Nakamichi CR-7E Cassette Tape Deck (1988), best deck ever; 3 heads, dolby B and C, azimuth correction, auto-bias correction (metal,chromium,normal)
  • 1986 – 1988: Yamaha Centenial Series: amp, phono amp, control amp, CD, and speakers
  • 1987: Sony DTC-1000ES Digital Audio Tape recorder
  • 1988: Onkyo Integra T-9090 II FM tuner
  • 1989: Sony Walkman WM-DD9 (playback only, dolby B and C, best sounding Walkman ever)
  • 1990: Onkyo Integra P-308 preamplifier
  • 1990: Three Onkyo Integra M-508 power amplifiers
  • 1993: Sony DTC-2000ES Digital Audio Tape recorder replaces older DAT decks
  • 1994: Teac V-800S is the last of the great analog tape decks, dolby B, C, and S; extremely accurate engineering
  • 1998: Acoustic Research P315 HO speakers with integrated subwoofer and power amplifier for the sub ($1995)
  • 2008: Onkyo DX-7555 CD Player

LaserVision:

  • 1984: Pioneer introduces LD-700 (==LD-7000 in Japan) front loading laservision player with tilt server for decent tracking, stereo and composite video out (wait for digital sound player?)
  • 1985: laserdisc pressing plants fix the laser-rot causing glue problem, and Pioneer introduces PCM digital audio tracks on discs and players; it is now safe to begin collecting discs and get a player with digital stereo audio
  • 1987: replace old LaserDisc player with Pioneer CLD-1010 laserdisc/cd/cd-video player with red laser for better tracking
  • 1995: replace all older LaserDisc players with Pioneer CLD-D704 (==703 with AC-3/RF output), or CLD-79 (==D704 with gold jacks and elite finish), or CLD-99 (==79 with better comb filter); these will remain the best LD players sold into the America market for ever, so get a few if you can
  • 1996: Pioneer introduces HLD-X9 Hi-Vision player, Hi-Def and NTSC player with incredible tracking because of red laser
  • 2002: get one Pioneer LD-S9 laserdisc player and one Pioneer HLD-X9 Hi-Vision player just before they stop being made in February

VCRs:

  • 1982 – 1984: Sansui SV-R7000 and SV-R9000 VHS video recorder decks are the future. The R9000 is cable ready, can record FM stereo simulcasts, has battery to save programming in the event of power loss. Crappy VHS video quality, but sets the standard for programming and ease of use.
  • 1983: Sony Betamax BetaMovie is the first camera/recorder for consumer use
  • 1985: Sony introduces the HandyCam Video8 cassette camcorder; about 240 lines resolution (just like BetaMovie and VHS-C), but better audio quality than either VHS or Beta.
  • 1985: JVC comes out with VHS-HQ in response to Sony’s Super Beta. Helps VHS quality a little (from 240 lines to 250 lines; still poor). JVC also introduces Hi-Fi audio on VHS decks in response to Sony’s Beta Hi-Fi. Finally real stereo on both VHS and Beta.
  • 1986 – 1988: Sony SL-F30 Super slim Beta recorder is only twice as thick as a Beta tape!!!
  • 1986 – 1988: Sony SL-HF900 or SL-HF1000 SuperBeta (300 lines!) video recorders, useful for home video and private recording long after VHS takes over the marketplace. Editors prefer Beta due to flying erase heads and better quality.
  • 1987: JVC introduces S-VHS, which is a dramatic improvement in VHS quality (420 lines!) – but requires higher quality tapes.
  • 1988 – 1995: Sony EDV-9000 Extended Definition (500 lines) Beta recorder is higher quality than any S-VHS or Hi8, but too late for market success; so anything recorded in ED-Beta will need transfer to VHS or hard drive.

Camcorders:

  • 1983: Sony Betamax Betamovie
  • 1985: Sony Video8 with AFM sound, vastly better sound than Beta or VHS/VHS-C, replace Betamovie
  • 1989: Sony Hi8, with double the resolution, and PCM digital sound, replace Video8 cameras
  • 1995: Sony and Panasonic professional Digital Video camcorders come out, Sharp and JVC soon follow
  • 1999: Sony Digital8 brings digital to consumers
  • 2000: DV and DVD camcorders begins to replace tape camcorders entirely
  • 2002: Panasonic AG-DVX100 MiniDV Camcorder ($2,995) with XLR microphone and firewire ports, many pro film camera features
  • 2004: Sony HDR-FX1 1080i HDV camcorder ($3,950) with 12x optical zoom, mini DV (HDV) media, with firewire

FM Tuners:

  • upstate New York (needs signal strength meter)
  • Illinois (interior only)
  • Hawaii
  • Japan (exterior again)
  • 1976: Yamaha CT-7000B – amazing tuner for the 1970s, elegant simplicity,and function
  • 1982: Kenwood L-02T – one of the bet tuners ever made

Cassette Decks:

  • 1978: Pioneer CT-F500 cassette deck with Dolby B, chrome or normal (no Metal until 1979), front loading, vertical mount
  • 1979-1980: Sony Walkman TPS-L2 portable, personal cassette player with headphones
  • 1979 – 1982: Nakamichi 482Z cassette deck with 3 heads, dual capstans, dolby B and C, chrome/metal/normal tape select for $975 list
  • 1982 – 1984: Technics RS-M253X cassette deck with dolby B and C, dbx, 3 heads (but only two motors), nice peak VU meters with persistence, chrome/metal/normal tape select
  • 1984: Onkyo Integra TA-2056 Cassette Deck with 3 heads, 3 motors, dolby B and C noise reduction $400
  • 1984 – 2002: Walkman Professional WM-D6C, highest quality Walkman recorder ever made, continuous production of new ones for nearly 20 years!
  • 1985: Denon DR-M33HX Cassette Deck with 3 heads, peak hold, dolby B and C $500
  • 1985: Onkyo TA-2090 Cassette Deck with 3 heads, peak hold, dolby B and C, HXPro, dbx II – $950
  • 1986 – 1993: Nakamichi CR-7E Cassette Tape Deck (1988), best deck ever; 3 heads, dolby B and C, azimuth correction, auto-bias correction (metal,chromium,normal)
  • 1989: Sony Walkman WM-DD9 (playback only, dolby B and C, best sounding Walkman ever)
  • 1995: Teac V8030S Cassette Deck, 3 heads, dolby B, dolby C, dolby HX Pro, dolby S, peak hold (added for dolby S)

CD Players:

  • 1982 – 1984: Philips CD300 or CD303 uses the amazingly reliable CDM-1 mechanism, and are high quality first generation CD players, excellent sound
  • 1984 – 1986: Marantz CD-34 (aka: Philips CD104) is one of the better CD players of it’s time, built around the amazingly reliable and indestructible CDM-1 mechanism that will play for 25-30 years.
  • 1987: Technics SLP-770D Programmable CD player adds ability to scan entire disk quickly for peak volume points, then replay those peaks so you can calibrate tape recording; very useful; also comes with remote control.
  • 1986 – 1988: Yamaha CDX-10000 CD player
  • 1988: Onkyo DX-G10 CD Player
  • 1991 – 1995: Kenwood L-D1 CD player
  • 2008: Onkyo DX-7555 CD Player

Receivers:

  • 1975 – 1978: Yamaha CR-1000 receiver with FM signal and tuning meters, headphones and mic jacks
  • 1977 – 1979: Yamaha CR-1020, 2020, or 3020 receiver with FM signal and tuning meters, dual headphones jacks

Amps:

  • 1974 – 1980: Yamaha B-1 power amplifier, all V-FET, one of the best amps ever made
  • 1975 – 1983: Yamaha C-1 pre-amplifier, V-FET, 5 way phono pre-amp, excellent
  • 1978 – 1986: Yamaha C-2A pre-amplifier, dual V-FET, symmetrical design, 5 way phono pre-amp
  • 1975 – 1980: Yamaha B-2 power amplifier, V-FET masterpiece with VU meters
  • 1982: Kenwood L-02A integrated amplifier, awesome, one of the best ever made
  • 1986 – 1988: Yamaha CX-10000 control amplifier with digital soundfield processor (like DSP-1)
  • 1986 – 1988: Yamaha MX-10000 power amplifier, a real monster
  • 1986 – 1988: Yamaha HX-10000 phono pre amplifier, dual 5 way phono pre-amps

Mixers:

  • Bozak CMA-10-2DL, first commercially produced stereo DJ rotary mixer
  • Urei 1629 (clone of the Bozak rotary mixer)
  • Rane 2016a and 2016s (clone of the Bozak rotary mixer), 6 channels, s model has universal power supply
  • 2005: Soundcraft Urei 1620LE (clone of the Bozak) – 2 stereo phono (RCA) and 3 stereo line channels (RCA), and 2 microphone channels (XLR); output is XLR or RCA or mono 1/4″ balanced
  • Modern Bozak AR6
  • Modern Urei 1605 with seven full stereo channels
  • Modern Rane Empath with seven full stereo channels

Turntables, Vinyl, Tone Arms, Cartridges:

  • 1963 – 2003+: Denon DL-103 moving coil cartridge sets standard for basic high quality
  • 1974: Denon DL-103S costs a little more than a DL-103 for elliptical stylus
  • 1977: Denon DL-103D costs a little more than a DL-103S for elliptical stylus and tighter resolution
  • 1983: Denon DL-103M costs a little more than a DL-103 for elliptical stylus and tighter resolution, aluminum body; best of breed!
  • 1980 – 1984: Kenwood L-07D direct drive turntable, the ultimate direct drive turntable engineered by Micro Seiki
  • 1984: Yamaha PF-1000 belt drive turntable, very quiet, very good quality
  • 1978: Technics SL-1200 MK2, direct drive DJ table
  • 1979 – 1983: Yamaha PX-2, linear tracking, direct drive turntable
  • 1981 – 1985: Yamaha PX-3, linear tracking, direct drive turntable
  • 1980 – 1984: Kenwood L-07D direct drive ultimate turntable
  • 1962 – 1979: Acoustic Research XA or XB (floating tonearm, belt drive)
  • 1984 – 1988: Acoustic Research ES-1 (AR’s 2nd best table) about $500 with arm
  • 1984 – 1987: Acoustic Research ETL-1 (AR’s top of the line) about $700

90 minute cassettes or shorter; longer tapes stretched and do not perform
Maxell XLIIS tapes are the gold standard everything is referenced by.

Nakamichi, Aiwa, and Denon 3 head decks were pretty much the best with Akai and Onkyo coming in a close second tier.