This is one GIGANTIC illusion.
I swear the left speaker is 4’ further into the room than the right speaker.
Nope, they’re both 51 inches out from the front wall.
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A little project that’s been brewing for a bit… The analog stack.
This is only a temporary solution until I either find a rack or build a custom “flexi-rack” to accommodate the massive Nakamichi 582. That thing is 19.5" wide! Not to mention on top of it all, I need room for a nice RTR. It will be a really pleasant corner of the room when I’m done with it.
Only power is connected for now. I need to get some kind of line driver to convert to balanced and run signal cables to the front of the room to the system. Something like the Rane BB 22 I used a bunch of years ago.
And of course, a dbx 200x or 400x.
From top to bottom…
Nak DR-1
Nak 582
Yamaha K-1020
JVC KD-A8
Monster Power HTS 5000
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I wanna know how he got the subs to levitate 
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That’s nice stuff 
I miss reel to reel - much nicer (to me) than TT, despite having potentially some of the same issues (i.e. media wear etc), maintenance is more of a ritual and big deguassers are great fun 
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Nice Naks!
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With RTR wouldn’t media availability and cost be a significant issue compared to vinyl?
Haven’t bought a reel for 20 years but I would expect so. I have a couple of half inch Ampex 456 reels here still, but I bet they would shed all over the place - tape manufactured in the 80s / 90s turned out to be very poor in terms of long life (hence all that “baking” of studio master tapes to take a digital transfer) and that was kinda the final straw for me back then. Hopefully someone is making better tape again now but I expect it would cost the earth.
1 inch ampex 456 was around 50 quid a reel (40 minutes at 15 ips) 20 years ago…
I worked with 1 inch 16 track and 1 inch 24 track formats mostly (and of course 1/4 inch half track and quarter track machines). Brilliant at the time for “ritual” tape path cleaning every morning
…so I guess vinyl turned out to be more durable!
also this quote:
" AMPEX 456 will have sticky-shed-syndrome into 1994. 1985/1986 is right in the middle of the worst time. The likelihood that your tape has sticky-shed is 99%. I leave 1% for flukes, acts of God and such.
The binder problem known as sticky-shed-syndrome (SSS) did not manifest itself in the ‘80s when the tapes were new… it took several years for tape to breakdown. It breaks down whether used or still sealed new-old-stock.
It affects all sizes of 456/457, 406/407, as well as other brands and types from ¼” to 2”.
If it’s in the worst stage of SSS it’s a mess to get the tape path clean."
This is right when I was using tape in studios and at home, so none of my stored tapes are likely to be playable now (haven’t had machines for years anyways but it is/was a nightmare scenario for archiving).
I seem to be rambling / ranting, I haven’t talked about this stuff for years 
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I bought a new PS Audio Stellar Phono and a Rega Planer 8 with an Apheta 2 cartridge. Took next to no time to unpack and install both devices. Both are really plug and play. Spinning some fresh Diana Krall pressings and her “Live In Paris” sounds really good. I’m a happy camper today. Tomorrow is a date with a cubic yard of mulch.
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Just daisy-chained the decks together minus the JVC at the moment, just to get some action shots and have some lights (and needles) bouncing around. I can’t wait until I get the rest of the gear to get these linked into the system.
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Nah - not enough cassette decks there
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That “Live in Paris” is truly special.
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@kaarmstrong Can you give a rundown of your equipment. That is a fantastic looking system.
are those tubes sticking out of the BHK preamp? or another optical illusion? (I mean, I know it has tubes, but I’ve never seen them poking out like that.)
Proper old-school “ham radio” style valves
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If it can pick up Lord Haw-Haw I’m all in.
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Twolf, thank you for the compliment. Here is a quick rundown of the system starting from the source side.
VPI Prime Signature in Rosewood with ADS speed control.
Grado Timber Series Ref 3 cartridge.
Custom Music Server running Roon
Esoteric E-03 Phono Stage
PS Audio Directstream DAC
PS Audio BHK Pre-Amp with PSVane CV181-T II tubes
PS Audio BHK 300 Amps
JL Audio CR-1 Crossover
JL Audio F212 Subwoofers
Aerial Acoustics 20T V2 speakers
Power is 2 dedicated 20 amp circuits
PS Audio P20 Regenerator
Power cables are Cardas Clear and Clear Beyond
Speaker cables and IC’s are Wireworld Eclipse 7 Gold
Rack is Mapleshade
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Your eyes do not deceive you. Those are PSVane CV181-T II tubes. Very quiet and smooth.
It appears that lack of bass is not an issue in this system! 
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