It was Saturday outside of Atlanta, in Woodstock GA. There must have been 50 reel-reel decks...maybe more....and some looking very clean. Some brands I didn't recognize, but most were Sony, Teac, Akai, etc. Turntables, receivers, Q8 decks, switchers, headphones. Some were really unique, too. There were those fancy turntables with loaded buttons on the front were you could choose the track you wanted to hear. (I think it was ADC?) Unbelievable. More than I ever saw in a showroom back in the 70s.
If you're on Facebook, there are some fantastic pictures here. Quadraphonic And Surround Sound Audio | Facebook
The guy who passed away was apparently a quad freak and hoarder. I would say that most of the stuff needed repair. The family and a friend who understood some of the equipment tested some of it, especially the reels and Q8s because of motors, but much was untested. I felt really bad because the family was trying to sell this stuff (rather than dump it) to raise money to help settle issues with the man's estate. They also understood that, although they didn't understand the stuff, they new that this would be valuable/important to some people and didn't want to just dump it.
I drove 3 hours to get there. Another guy that was there drove from nearby Chattanooga TN, about an hour and a half drive.
I ended up with two receivers, one CD-4 cartridge and a Johnny Mathis SQ album. (Unfortunately, they sold the lot of his quad albums (and I assume tapes) to a record store in nearby Athens GA. I was told it was a LOT, but no figure was given. Given the size of this collection, it had to be in the hundreds.) I missed out on the JVC demodulator. That was going for $50. I would have loved a backup.
Here are some photos of my "winnings."
The ride home in the Subaru Outback. The Grado F-1+ looks almost new, but I bought one of those $20 microscopes a while back on Amazon so I'll be able to check out the stylus. (I quick internet search shows that LP Tunes still sells this cartridge, new, for $199.
So I'm guessing they might have a replacement stylus if needed.) Johnny's riding on top.
A better photo, when I got home. Sony SQR-8750. Basic matrix, no CD-4 but in PRISTINE looking condition. And a Lafayette LR-5000 with SQ full logic and a CD-4 demodulator built in. It looks like it really needs to be cleaned up. The switches are a bit stiff. I ordered my first can of Detoxit.
I'm not comfortable opening up and tinkering with electronics. So the Detoxit will be my first experience since an electronics class in high school back in 1976 or so. I'm hoping things are functional and it's only minor cleaning.
Wish me luck! (FYI. I really only wanted a receiver as a backup for my QRX-9001 which seems to go in the shop these days more than sit in my mancave. But I couldn't pass up some of the other stuff.)
If you're on Facebook, there are some fantastic pictures here. Quadraphonic And Surround Sound Audio | Facebook
The guy who passed away was apparently a quad freak and hoarder. I would say that most of the stuff needed repair. The family and a friend who understood some of the equipment tested some of it, especially the reels and Q8s because of motors, but much was untested. I felt really bad because the family was trying to sell this stuff (rather than dump it) to raise money to help settle issues with the man's estate. They also understood that, although they didn't understand the stuff, they new that this would be valuable/important to some people and didn't want to just dump it.
I drove 3 hours to get there. Another guy that was there drove from nearby Chattanooga TN, about an hour and a half drive.
I ended up with two receivers, one CD-4 cartridge and a Johnny Mathis SQ album. (Unfortunately, they sold the lot of his quad albums (and I assume tapes) to a record store in nearby Athens GA. I was told it was a LOT, but no figure was given. Given the size of this collection, it had to be in the hundreds.) I missed out on the JVC demodulator. That was going for $50. I would have loved a backup.
Here are some photos of my "winnings."
The ride home in the Subaru Outback. The Grado F-1+ looks almost new, but I bought one of those $20 microscopes a while back on Amazon so I'll be able to check out the stylus. (I quick internet search shows that LP Tunes still sells this cartridge, new, for $199.
So I'm guessing they might have a replacement stylus if needed.) Johnny's riding on top.
A better photo, when I got home. Sony SQR-8750. Basic matrix, no CD-4 but in PRISTINE looking condition. And a Lafayette LR-5000 with SQ full logic and a CD-4 demodulator built in. It looks like it really needs to be cleaned up. The switches are a bit stiff. I ordered my first can of Detoxit.
I'm not comfortable opening up and tinkering with electronics. So the Detoxit will be my first experience since an electronics class in high school back in 1976 or so. I'm hoping things are functional and it's only minor cleaning.
Wish me luck! (FYI. I really only wanted a receiver as a backup for my QRX-9001 which seems to go in the shop these days more than sit in my mancave.
But I couldn't pass up some of the other stuff.)
) it's perfect. All lights working. Powered up just fine. 30w x4 with a nice warm sound. Genesis Invisible Touch DVD Audio sounds great through it! Still need to test the phono. But I'm really confident. No CD-4 and the SQ matrix decoder is basic....I think. The service manual I downloaded from HiFi Engine shows "SQ decoder with front/back and waveform comparator logic circuits."
