Hello all,
Without inundating everyone on a historical background regarding my audio upbringing I am a 25-yr old male who's father was born in 1961. As a result, I have acquired over the years a small collection of LP's and 8 track tapes of mostly rock albums (Led Zep, Allman Bros., The Band) and the last time I was 'into' the audio game I was around 13.
Fast Forward just as many years and I've began taking an interest on recreating a quadraphonic 'sound-room' circa 1978, complete with a singular converged point-of-listen. Ultimately, I would like to complete a full Technics quadraphonic system including receiver, 8 track, turntable, reel-to-reel, audio scope, and 4 matching speakers.
I am somewhat knowledgeable but make no claim to expertise in this vintage field. Therefore, any advice or suggestions regarding my plans, opinions, etc. would be respectfully considered. After all, I am here to tap the 'community' for their comments.
I plan to update this thread periodically as I acquire equipment, somewhat of a 'build thread' if you will. I'll begin with my first 'find' in a thrift store this weekend. I found an ad on CL for a Technics RS-858US Quad 8-track player/recorder for $75 so I called about it and spoke to a guy at a thrift store who said it was on consignment. I stopped at the store after work on Friday and asked the clerk if I could plug it in and see if she fired up. The sticker on the Technics read: "Consignment $195" so I figured it must've been dropped off in working order. After tossing in an 8 track tape to test, I noticed that when switching programs it would skip 3&4 and go from 2 back to 1. I pretended I had no idea of what the issue was, which wasn't hard, and since it was closing time the guy asked me if I would take it for $50. Needless to say, I brought it home. It's in pretty decent cosmetic shape, with some nicks here and there in the wood. It is also missing the knob for the noise suppression function, but other than that all lights come on and the motor appears to be humming along. I do notice the VU meters moving a little. I also plan to take it in for complete restoration/service in the near future.
Below are some pictures of the RS-858US. Please excuse the jank phone camera.
Without inundating everyone on a historical background regarding my audio upbringing I am a 25-yr old male who's father was born in 1961. As a result, I have acquired over the years a small collection of LP's and 8 track tapes of mostly rock albums (Led Zep, Allman Bros., The Band) and the last time I was 'into' the audio game I was around 13.
Fast Forward just as many years and I've began taking an interest on recreating a quadraphonic 'sound-room' circa 1978, complete with a singular converged point-of-listen. Ultimately, I would like to complete a full Technics quadraphonic system including receiver, 8 track, turntable, reel-to-reel, audio scope, and 4 matching speakers.
I am somewhat knowledgeable but make no claim to expertise in this vintage field. Therefore, any advice or suggestions regarding my plans, opinions, etc. would be respectfully considered. After all, I am here to tap the 'community' for their comments.
I plan to update this thread periodically as I acquire equipment, somewhat of a 'build thread' if you will. I'll begin with my first 'find' in a thrift store this weekend. I found an ad on CL for a Technics RS-858US Quad 8-track player/recorder for $75 so I called about it and spoke to a guy at a thrift store who said it was on consignment. I stopped at the store after work on Friday and asked the clerk if I could plug it in and see if she fired up. The sticker on the Technics read: "Consignment $195" so I figured it must've been dropped off in working order. After tossing in an 8 track tape to test, I noticed that when switching programs it would skip 3&4 and go from 2 back to 1. I pretended I had no idea of what the issue was, which wasn't hard, and since it was closing time the guy asked me if I would take it for $50. Needless to say, I brought it home. It's in pretty decent cosmetic shape, with some nicks here and there in the wood. It is also missing the knob for the noise suppression function, but other than that all lights come on and the motor appears to be humming along. I do notice the VU meters moving a little. I also plan to take it in for complete restoration/service in the near future.
Below are some pictures of the RS-858US. Please excuse the jank phone camera.