November HiFi Show 2023

 An event not to be missed by music enthusiasts based in or visiting Manila, Philippines 

Mark November 11-12, 2023 on your calendars.🍻

Celebrating music for twenty years!

Kutztown Radio Show Fall 2023

 What I saw...

...and heard 😊

JE Labs Choke-Capacitance Coupled SE2A3 amp

Canon P + Canon 50mm f1.8 LTM 
Foma 100 in Rodinal

Inspired by my plate choke-loaded 76 line stage preamp adventures, I was curious how a similar driver circuit configuration would sound in an SE2A3 amp. So I pulled out my Radiotron Designer's Handbook, 3rd Edition to gain a better understanding of choke-capacitance coupling (aka plate choke loading) vis-à-vis resistance coupling.

Below are highlights of relevant information I gathered.

Shoten R50 Pentax K to Leica M adapter

Inasmuch as I love music and retrotech high fidelity music reproduction, I think it's healthy to take periodic breaks from hifi. Frequent visitors know that I also enjoy photography, especially using black and white film loaded in old school manual focus cameras. 

So today's blog is about the Shoten R50 lens adapter that's designed to take a 50mm (Note: a 35mm, 45mm, 55mm or 58mm, etc. won't focus accurately) Pentax K bayonet mount lens and fully couple to the rangefinder focus cam of a Leica M body from 0.7 meters to infinity. 

Japanese Idler-Driven Turntable Part 5: Lafayette PK300

I bought this Lafayette PK300 idler-driven turntable because it looked like an improved Shield MO-19 (aka NEAT P58H) with the added feature of an eddy current pitch control as found in the Garrard 301/401 and Thorens TD124.

Shield MO-19 vs. Lafayette PK300

Comparing them side by side, the PK300 turned out to be proportionately smaller in all dimensions and lighter in weight. Hmmm🤔…let's travel back to the late 50s.

Ortofon STM-72 + Weller WTCPS repair + Hakko FX-888D

One morning, I discovered the right channel of my Ortofon STM-72 was dead. While waiting for the Weller WTCPS soldering station to heat up, I carefully peeled the foilcal to pull apart the 2-piece tubular housing so I can resolder the broken cable connection(s).