Over two decades ago, I ventured into single channel music reproduction to trace the roots of high fidelity. From that whole experience, I developed an aesthetic quest for a certain purity and honesty in sound, which runs parallel with my other hobby of black and white film photography! Sadly, I had to leave that particular mono set up in the attic in 2017.
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| GE A1-400 specs |
As stated in the spec sheet, the perforated metal grill functions as a mechanical roll off filter for the 12" driver and the non-polarized wax and paper capacitor filters frequencies below 1800 Hz from reaching the 2 3/4" cone tweeter.
I also recognized this period correct DIY tuned pipe enclosure designed for corner placement. It was built based on an article published in the May 1955 issue of Audio (go to page 18), authored by Raymond H. Bates.
Vocals are nicely rendered! The transition between the low and high frequency drivers is very coherent, as to be expected between two paper coned transducers. If I were forced to split hairs, I hear a tinge of nasal coloration in the lower region of male vocals, which I never notice with any of my Altec speakers.
I guesstimate its sensitivity to be in the high 90s/W/M because it'll boogie, driven by the 1250 mW SE triode connected 46 or 1500 mW SE10 amp. Although I can also listen to my Altec mini 757 with those aforementioned amps at respectable SPLs, it needs at least an SE2A3 for full dimensional monaural listening pleasure.
Kudos to Mr. Bates' corner loaded tuned pipe cabinet for the aforementioned impressive bass performance and my perceived easy-to-drive/high sensitivity nature of this speaker system. Kids, this enclosure was designed during the slide rule era!👍
Now I'm inspired to pursue my 285mW SE112A mono amp project.😊
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After 21 years of hunting, I finally got a satisfying taste of the GE co-ax. I've seen this on eBay between $150-175, which I believe is a fair price for a unit with intact cones and no voice coil rubbing. A couple of my Instagram contacts even expressed fondness and admiration for this speaker when they saw a glimpse of it in my posts!
I now regret leaving my RCA 501-S1 in the attic 😔 because it would have made for a very interesting shootout. If I can trust my sonic memory though, the RCA didn't have the nasal coloration in the lower midrange I noted earlier. OTOH, the top end of the RCA could be deemed more reticent or refined depending on the listener's taste.
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| I debated whether to refinish the cabinet but the patina grew on me.😊 |
In the context of my monaural hi-fi system, it shall remain second only to the Altec mini 757 because when I played a young Sinatra LP for my buddy Ding, he initially thought it was Bing Crosby.😄 Sinatra only sounds like Sinatra LIVE or on an ALTEC!👍😎
Let's see what the gentlemen at Stereo Sound thought of its younger A1-401 brother two decades ago...
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| Canon P + Canon 50mm f1.8 Foma 100 in Rodinal 1+50 |
After many decades of collecting and using classic audio equipment and film cameras, I've learned to accept that sometimes I win, sometimes I lose, but most of the time I break even. And the only reason there is that possibility of breaking even is because I learned to DIY.
This tonearm came with a KS Musicmaster Model 25B12GST idler-driven turntable, which I thought I could resuscitate. Alas, the turntable was beyond saving because a lot of important parts were missing. The tonearm had no head shell slide and the cartridge pin contact points + wiring harness were gone. For many years this tonearm was boxed up along with other parts units sitting in storage.
One day I had an epiphany - will the Karmadon head shell slide fit?
I'm happy to report that the two types of head shell slides that my buddy, Sergiy, manufactures for his Gray Research tonearm clone work on this Japanese clone as well as on my original Gray Research 108C. Above left is a solid shell and on the right is a shell with a hole to accommodate the triple play feature of the General Electric RPX and VRII mono cartridges.
Despite the carnage brought upon the Ukrainians by a deranged autocrat, my Karmadon head shells arrived in less than two weeks. We really have to admire and support these people!
I rewired the tonearm and blu-tacked 4 pennies to make up for the lost hardware.
Since the Karmadon head shell slide is lighter than the original, I used all three copper weights Sergiy provided, added 2 x 5 centavo coins + the GE VRII cartridge = 25 grams.
Voila!👍
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| For more viscous damped tonearm set up information, please click here! |
Even with my 20+ years of experience using this tonearm, it took me a while to dial-in the proper weight compensation due to the missing hardware + adapted head shell slide. Getting a viscous damped tonearm to function properly isn't for the faint of heart and requires patience. If you don't possess these virtues, I suggest you don't consider using one. But I must say the results are well worth it!😊
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| Musicmaster Model 12 + GE VRII |
Let's listen to a few monaural hifi tunes!
🎶🎻🎹🎷
The WE756A is the middle child in the Western Electric series of wide range drivers introduced in the late 40s.
I've seen and heard a couple of WE/Altec 728Bs + a dozen or so pairs of 755As, but I've never heard a WE756A and have only seen one in the metal at a radio show many years ago. Although still quite scarce, its Altec 756B brother isn't quite as elusive.
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| Back: Blonde + Mahogany Altec Melodist 700A Front L-R : WE728B, Altec 755A/pr. + Altec 756B |
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| GE "single stud" RPX + 3 mil sapphire stylus in a Karmadon slide shell |
My buddy John Piro has a knack for finding obscure vintage hifi pieces and has built up quite a collection. A couple of summers ago, he offered his spare blonde plinthed HF500.
I had just acquired my first and only genuine Gray Research 108C viscous damped tonearm and couldn't pass up the opportunity to pair them up.
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| Capstan Drive |
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| 45 + 78 rpm capstans |
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| D&R turntable drive system Courtesy of jamesvanarsdale.com |
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| Seiko-Epson drive system Courtesy of audio-heritage.jp |
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| Left = worn out motor mounts Right = fresh motor mounts |
