Remembering My Father Through Exceptional Music - Much Help Needed

[okinawa1974]

Hello everyone,

One of my father's great loves was good music. It was something that he and my mother shared. Now that he has passed (a little over a year ago), I am trying to put his kit back together.

My dad purchased most of the gear when he was stationed (Marines) in Okinawa around 1974 (hence the username). He shipped it back to my mom in the states years before they were married and I was even thought of. I don't know much about stereo equipment (especially from the early 70s before I was born), but I do know good sound when I hear it. I remember my mom and dad dancing in the living room before I was old enough for my feet to touch the floor from the couch.

It has been such a long time since the entire system was up and running as everyday life got in my father's way. Now, I hope to get it all back together and enjoy the music that my father has left to me.

I have a lot of serious kit and it is all in very good condition (my mother would not let anything unfortunate happen to it, she just didn't have room in her new set up).

I hope to work through each component and connection to get the best I can out of it all. Any and all help would be appreciated. Thank you all, in advance, for your help.

Step #1 - Receiver and Speakers
1x Kenwood KR-9940 4-Channel Receiver
4x Sonics AS-405 110 Watt 4-Way 6- Speaker

What is the best type and gauge of speaker wire to bring these components together?

Step #2 - Turntable
1x Pioneer PL-55DX Direct Drive Stereo Turntable

I've had to replace the needle for this. I have a Shibata Stylus ordered and on its way so the sweet sound of old vinyl will be sounding. Any other tips for how to get the best sound out of it?

Subsequent steps include/involve: Sansui RA-500 Solid-State Reverberation Amplifier; Technics (Panasonic) RS-676US Tape Deck (Cassette); Technics RS-858DUS (8-Track) Tape Deck; JVC SEA-10 Sound Effect Amplifier; and Akai GX-280D-SS Surround Stereo Tape Deck Reel to Reel). I've got A LOT of work ahead of me!!!

Again, I thank you all. This project brings back some of the warmest memories of my dad.

Respectfully...

 

[Snood]

:bump: for okinawa :banana:

 

[JonUrban]

Wow, sorry I missed this when it was posted.

(Thanks for the bump snood)

Well, it sounds like a classic military '70s surround set of stuff, and I can speak from experience.

In the old days, we'd use whatever wire we could get, even lamp cord! @:

I would look for 16AWG, maybe 18AWG. The better the wire, the better the transfer. You'll need a lot of patch cables to get the amp connected with the Q8, the Q4 and the cassette player. Fun ahead.

Keep us posted

 

[okinawa1974]

Thanks for the responses!

The journey continues...
I've got 2 fo the 4 Sonics hooked up to the receiver with 12 AWG. The other two will also be hooked up via 12 AWG, but the store ran out of pin connectors and the wire gauge is too large for the spring terminals on the back of that 70s receiver. No worries, next run out and I will have 4 speaker fullness.

My diamond Shibata stylus should be here tomorrow. I've also picked up some isolators, a stylus bursh, stylus force gauge and alignment protractor coming to really get the most of each album. I still have yet to truly inventory all of the albums, but I'm pretty confident Stevie Wonder's Innervisions will be my first listen.

I've got some old 16/18 gauge speaker wire that I think I will use for the ground.

It's been a fun endeavor so far, I've measured, cut and applied terminals for all the speaker cables so far. Cleaned each component and played around with the arrangement in what was once the sun round, and is now the listening room. My apartment is small and open, so this kit will be more enough to fill/rock the house and occasionally tear the roof off the sucker...

Thanks for the notes. Best!

-E-

 

[Snood]

Awesome Oki, Looks like you gonna have a blast soooooooooooon.

Keep the questions and updates coming, the people here will help you with any problems along the way. They pretty koo and helpful here. :banana:

Nice choice on the 1st listen :51banana:

 

[leevitalone1]

Wow, sorry I missed this when it was posted.

(Thanks for the bump snood)

Well, it sounds like a classic military '70s surround set of stuff, and I can speak from experience.

In the old days, we'd use whatever wire we could get, even lamp cord! @:

I would look for 16AWG, maybe 18AWG. The better the wire, the better the transfer. You'll need a lot of patch cables to get the amp connected with the Q8, the Q4 and the cassette player. Fun ahead.

Keep us posted

Yes, It's a px buy. If he was in Okinawa, there is a huge px there. Remember the scans of the military catalogs?