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Audio Research

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Lep

(A)

In Reply to: Re: HDTV is coming..Dont invest in DVD's posted by croft on February 16, 2004 at 19:05:04:

I also collect audio gear. I found a mint AR LS2B pre at a pawn shop in Arlington VA a couple of years ago and paid $300. Can you believe it? It still sits in my 2 Channel stereo and was by far my best find.
Now I am trying to find a way to use my 2 channel stereo with my home theatre. My plan is to mix my good stuff with moderately priced gear for the center and rear channels. Its going to be an interesting mix of Yamaha and Conrad Johnson.
My sys:
Mitsubishi 73"
Conrad Johnson MV60
Audio Research LS2B
Thiel 1.6
Rega 2000 CD

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Re: Audio Research - croft 19:40:53 02/17/04 (2)
Hi Lep,
Thanks for the post,
Wow,An LS-2 for $300 bucks,Cooool,Awsome.
I am also a collector of AV and Also audio.
I have had some crazy bargains myself Lep,
Here is my list of hi fi:
CROFT 2 BOX MEGA MICRO 14 VALVE PRE AMP WITH VALVE PSU.
CROFT SERIES 4 VALVE POWER AMP.
ORACLE DELPHI T/TABLE WITH SOUTHER ARM.
AUDIO RESEARCH DAC-1
AUDIO RESEARCH TRANSPORT
DECCA KEELY KARDIOID RIBBON HORN SPEAKERS WITH 12" DECCA MIDD/BASS.
Here is my list of cinema gear:
SANYO PLC 200PB VIDEO PROJECTOR
PIONEER THX CINEMA RECIEVER
PIONEER LASERDISK PLAYER
TOSHIBA DVD PLAYER(WAS FREE).
I like your idea of combining the audio and video in one Lep.
I also tried this with the Decca Kelly speakers and an Audio research SP9 amplifier i once had.
The results were utterly amazing,I tryed Crouching tiger hidden draggon(hong kong pressing)and the sword fight seen near the end was bewildering through the Deccas and a spare Nad 2200 power amp.
One set up i think would be awsome would be to use some Magneplanner panel speakers(5)for cinema,The soundstage would be massive.
Some of the hi fi listed was purchased at a crazy price.
The Croft pre amp was dumped in the back of a hi fi shop,Being sold due to its sheer size.
It is tottaly dual mono and hard wired throughout,I paid �200 uk pounds for it,New was over �2000.
The Decca speakers i have cost me �100,Unbelevable???????
The combination of Ribbon and conventional midd/bass is stellar.
The Dac-1 was �180 and is the best dijital product i have ever heard.
It always amazes me how if people looked around they could have such bargains instead of the new tripe thats made today.
Hope all goes well with the system,
Cheers,
Ian.
P.S. I did borrow an LS-2 myself,and it kicked ass.
- Re: Audio Research - Lep 07:58:52 02/18/04 (1)
  Very nice gear. I am very curious about those speakers you have. How well is the projector working for you? I considered one, but decided against because of expense and upkeep. Your projector must fit into your stereo very nicely without being in the way of the sound. ( Im still tring to come up with a solution for the behemoth between my loudspeakers.
  Its funny how people toss aside great gear like that when " The latest and greatest" comes around. People like us are smart enough to rake it all up. The mentality is that a great piece of gear is less great when a better one is made. ( Does it not still sound the way it did before an upgrade came around?). Meanwhile we pay pennies on the dollar for the gear,( Or pounds in your case )
  I found the LS2B in a pawn shop and went home to research it over the internet. I don't think I've ever driven so fast to get back to a store. I then layed it on thick... The salesperson told me that they couldnt believe the blue book value of the device and said at the time it was worth over 1000. I then asked if they knew how old the tube was ( All a load of BS). I told them I would give them 300 considering that the tube was very expensive to fix and they didnt know its age. The fell for it it, and I walked away with an extra $100 in my pocket. ( My top offer would have been $400).
  Lep
  - Re: Audio Research - croft 20:19:40 02/18/04 (0)
    Hi Lep,
    Great post,
    Thanks.
    Amazing story about the ARc LS-2,You did a great job with the explenation Lep.I guess its kind of like telling them you had knowledge but not too much to let any important info out.
    I would have also ran very fast down the street,I have had some similar experiences.
    I bought a Transcriptors turntable for �90($160).
    
    A set of Quad electrostatic 57 speakers for �50($95).
    Also a Neo geo videogame (veiwpoint) that was over �200 when it first came out,I paid �15 and ran faster than a fedex parcel to get home.
    The Decca Kelly Kardioid speakers are tottaly awsome Lep,I once had some Magneplanner speakers,Very good but didnt fit into a smallish room.
    As it turned out the Deccas far superseed the maggies in every way.
    The"FOCUS" of the midrange is exepmlery.
    The Decca was desighned by STANLEY KELLY in the uk.
    The concept started out as a ribbon horn speaker which employed a ribbon element held in place in a magnetic chamber,the horn was added to raise efficeny.
    The result was a legend in audio here in the uk.
    The beauty with the Decca desighn is that they can be mixed and matched to many differnt midd/bass drivers'get it right and you are in for a treat.
    I was real lucky beacuse not only did i end up with the Horns and ribbons but also a set of Decca Kelly speaker encloshures which house Decca 12"Midd and bass drivers.The Drivers are like no others i have ever seen.I have the instruction booklet and some of the desighn is bewildering,they can operate in sub zero tempritures,Be pushed very hard,And are made from redicoulusly large peices of aliminium on the rear.
    In fact a freind had just come back from the London hi fi show and had a listen to my system. He didnt say anything for ten minuites and then just said"Ian'i just saw speakers costing tens of thousands of pounds and not one of them was even close to what you have".
    The first time i tried them Lep i was awstruck at a sound that you could litteraly walk around and inside of,Its kind of like the beauty and freedom of a Ribbon element matched with the solidity and impact of a bass driver,The pair jell together like Dolly partens brarre.?
    With the Croft pre amplifiers lep it is exactly the same as you stated about old beating new,To look at they are nothing to shout home about'But take the cover of and "qwaaar" yeeer?
    Dual mono,No pcb,Hard wired,Valve regulated and extra ordinary layout.
    The thing with Croft gear is that it can be had so cheaply new or seconhand,His box desighns have also got very good lately.
    On the second hand market they can be had from �100 upwards.
    They built many models,My freind has one of the best amplifiers i have ever heard ever.
    It is a Croft OTL valve amplifier,We pitted it against some exotic amps costing in the region of �10,000---And the results,I had to walk around outside to get some fresh air,Honestly nothing at all had prepared me for its sonic onslaught.
    The sheer purity and effortlessness of its midrange was past and beyond meer hi fi and into the relms of imagination.
    He picked it up for �300 beacuse it was dumped at the back of a hi fi shop beacuse the power switch was defective???????????????
    It hails back to the Futterman desighns.
    I recall my freind burning tarmac to get to the Bank that day.
    Croft can be found at www.emminentaudio.co.uk (also in the US aswell).
    With the projector i bought it after visting my uncle in Dallas,He had a Sharp unit and projected the film "THE ABBYS" on the living room wall.
    I was hooked and when i got back to the Uk i saved up and bought the Sanyo plc 200pb after reading all the good reviews it got.The item cost an arm and a leg,Ebay hadnt been invented then.
    As for set up i have had the unit shining on a neighbours house when we had some Snow,I put STAR WARS on Laserdisk on and it was hhuugggeeee,In fact all the family where in the garden at 2 am sitting on det chairs and eating hot dogs while the Milenuim Falcon blasted across the guys roof.
    I use it mainly in an upstairs room,I get a 70 inch screen and mainly use it for video games consoles,It can go to 300 inches if you have the space.
    It has inputs for SVHS,SCART,COMPOSITE and audio,It can handle any tv system accept hdtv.
    Compared to todays modern equivlents its a little underspecified but what it does have is a fantastick filmic quality to the image.
    What i did to get the screen in front of the speakers was to fix a screen in a window cill,Then it can easily be pulled down and conceals the window up,Also blocks any daylight out aswell,I bought a projector screen on a tripod and simply took the tripod legs off and fixed it up,Great.
    Interms of reliabilty you have a very good point Lep,The bulb lasts 2000hrs which doesnt sound a great lot,But will last a long time.
    This is about average for LCD projectors,Although some have now gone up to 6000 hrs.Some really good ones i have borrowed were from INFOCUS,The LP720 was very,very good.It can handle a pc input'So the best route would be to hook up a dvd player and use a Component converter box from Infocus.
    I have had other experinecs in buting some hi fi etc Lep.I once bought huge widescreen tv and had to hire a Taxi to get it home,It didnt fit in the back of the car so i had to position it in the boot and have the lid open,Thing was we live on a very steep hill on our estate,When we arrived home i had to go behind the back of the car and 5 neighbours had to help me hold this huge tv in the bonnet whilst the Taxi driver tried to get up the hill.
    Needless to say my back felt like doormat and my neighbours thought i was nuts?.
    Great to read your posts Lep,
    Amazing whats out there,
    An Aladdins cave if ever there was one,
    Thankyou,
    Kind regards,
    Ian.

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