General Chat
Q:
I just picked up a Proformance CD player made for Sears Roebuck in August of 1983. Does anyone know where I could find some info on this thing? Ill probably fire it up later on tonight.
Its silver in color, with what appears to be a front load door and the unit is probably about 18" x 12" x 3" and weighs probably 20lbs or so. Its got a huge power source sticking out the back of it as well as several highly visible radiation warning stickers and a huge black heat-sink right next to the power suppy.
any comments/info would be appreciated!
McAdam
1980 280zx with a mildly ported N47 maxima head, 60mm TB, -C- stamp 256 degree camshaft, and a 2.5inch mandrel bent exhaust. yeah, its quick, and yeah, its a 2+2. NOW with MSandS_E power!
A:
I have a Pioneer that I bought USED in 1984 while in Japan.
It still sees use in the shed, while the one I boght NEW in 1986 for $415 took a dump in 1991 and it was cheaper to buy a new one at that time than have the laser repaired in the thing!
83 is probably 2 years newer than the one I bought used in 84.
You should be able to see information on it in the Sears website under "spares and manuals" section. I forget who made their stuff back then, it's a mishmash of componentry of Japanese descent!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
Man, I didn't realize all that happened so quick back then. I remember a friend who went to the Boston Audio Society conventions in the late 70's
who came back describing how you could play music with a laser and never
have to put a needle to it! He was on the "extreme" side when it came to distortion from equipment. He played his records once, to tape onto Revox reel to reel and back to the jackets they went. I lusted (and still do) for his then Magnapan speakers, something else really cool in its day. I'd ditto
Tony's remark on research tho...be worth a look....
I kind of like that old stuff, but everytime I go to garage/estate sales I buy stuff that does what it's been doing all along----sitting!
I once went for a pair of speakers ($80), but had to talk the guy into giving
me an antique "Jordan" Battery Charger in the deal. I don't know why I did that, maybe I was more interested in the charger (which must weigh about 50 lbs but still really primitive looking!)
'73 240z, sitting 16 years in garaged storage...Spring 2005 endeavor...
Twin Cities, Mn
A:
"83 is probably 2 years newer than the one I bought used in 84."
Uh say that again Tony???......... hehe
-----------------------------------------
12.804 @ 107.26 mph on crappy street tires with Dual SU Powered 2.9L Stroker!
ZCAR.COM member since Aug 1998
A:
Hey, it ain't old until you see an eight track player mounted within the same unit.
The optomist has no brakes, the pessimist has no motor.
I need a good parts car.........
A:
Yeah, I would play my Japanese Vinyl one time, through my separate DBX noise reduction/compressor to record to my six head VHS player (higher fidelity than reel to reel!) and then copy from that to cassettes for use in the car.
That lasted as long as it took for the DAT to come out.
When my VHS took a dump, I took it in to have it repaired, the guy opened the case, and immediately said "You didn't buy this in the United States, did you?"
I got into arguments with people who never heard of recording to VHS, and once they saw my deck with it's separate recording input level controls and the separate heads for recording and playback, they conceded that it may actually be the real thing!
I did sound better than the Reel-to-Reel, and for parties was the shite because most people in any stage of drunk can pop a VHS into the deck to run a party songs tape (6 hours worth), whereas threading a reel-to-reel in the same state would usually result in some nasty swearing and people throwing drinks in the direction of the expensive audio equipment...
I digress...
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
"83 is probably 2 years newer than the one I bought used in 84."
Just what I said! When I bought that old dog, it was from someone who bought it new with almost their first paycheck on the island when they were stationed there 36 months earlier---chances are the thing was bought in atthe LATEST 1981 (making it at least 2 years older than McAdam's) and possibly bought sometime in 1980. So if it's 2 years older than McAdams, then at the same time it would mean McAdam's is two years newer than the one I bought...
Stuff comes out in Japan FAR earlier than people here in the states EVER would think...
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
This has to be one of the first commercially available for home use in the united states, I would imagine........ at least one of the first available though a major retailer!
I have an interest in old things, lol! I still have a few atari 2600's and i know someone who has a top loader vcr, HA ha! still waiting for a vac tube amplifier to pop up in the local thrift store!
Great mental image on drunks threading reel to reel players, Tony D!
McAdam
1980 280zx with a mildly ported N47 maxima head, 60mm TB, -C- stamp 256 degree camshaft, and a 2.5inch mandrel bent exhaust. yeah, its quick, and yeah, its a 2+2. NOW with MSandS_E power!
A:
man you guys are making me miss my old 8 track tape case- it was bigger than an airlinr carry on. haha
____________________________________
1980 280ZX coupe
2001 maxima
1994 F150 4x4 van works custom truck
170000 and never needed mech repairs
1996 ford explorer -they cant all be good
A:
As long as you know what you're doing with impedence you might be able to use certain modern guitar amps as a cheap alternative to an audiophile tube amp.
VHT makes power amps that use KT-88's that won't break up unless SEVERELY pushed. You could also rebias for 6550's, and those suckers won't break up.
I have a VHT 2502 I use for guitar, and it's crystal clear at low volumes. Of course, the EL34's break up pretty quickly. The other one I had with KT-88's had no power distortion until 80% on the volume knob. At that point, of course, the speakers were starting to break up and the OT was also starting to break up.
Walls were shaking and my hearing will never be the same.
Suffice to say there's plenty of headroom for home entertainment.
They're still not cheap, though.
'74 260z---NA L28 MSnS-E w/ Innovate Wideband
Already sparking, soon to be squirting.
Cogito, ergo dolorum.
A:
Yeah hi fi vhs is great for recording audio,the hifi sound uses the entire width of the tape and since the heads are spinning craming the signal onto the tape you dont need noise reduction.The effect is the same as passing the tape over the heads at high speed.