When Audio System Building Meets Collecting

If you're of a certain age, you'll probably recognize these audio components. It was the 80's and in the audio world, everything was big..... even when it wasn't. These guys were the Porsche of the audio marketplace. Refined, stylish, and expensive (virtually all the components were within shouting distance of $1000, 1980's dollars). By the time, I came across a mint R4 receiver in the mid-90s, they were in the last years of producing home audio, having put their eggs into the car audio basket. I know, it's bit of a sad tale. But this isn't a requiem about Analog and Digital Systems (otherwise known as a/d/s/), but of how my audio path led through this iconic company and their unique equipment. 

In my previous post, I had discussed how I went down the primrose path of sonic detail and ended up with a rather harsh sounding system. In order to correct that mistake, I sold off the Bowers and Wilkins DM550s and bought another darling of that era; a pair of NHT 1.3 speakers.

..... No; those aren't NHT 1.3s, they are Acoustic Research AR-3a speakers (of which I would own a pair). ??? Let me wax historically, in an audio sense anyway. Back in the 60s and 70s when American companies dominated the market, there emerged two camps; East Coast and West Coast (the "Bird" vs. "Magic" of audio). To pare it down to the essentials, it was more bass (West Coast), vs. accurate bass (East Coast). On one side, you had JBL, Cerwin Vega, etc and on the other, you had Advent, Acoustic Research (AR), KLH which eventually begat Boston Acoustics, a/d/s/, NHT..... you get the idea. And based on what I've just told you, you can see that I was an East Coast guy. East Coast speakers tended to use "sealed" enclosures, otherwise know as acoustic suspension, generally using soft-dome tweeters. To my ear (note that emphasis, since I'm not into telling anyone else what they should be hearing), they sounded faster and tighter, whereas the West Coast designs sounded brash and in-your-face. And after my experience of the high-end in-your-face with the badly match Adcom amp and DM550s, I didn't want any of that. Thus started my "dark" time. I don't mean dark as in "Dark Ages" or anything like that. In the audio world, "dark" means the opposite of "bright". If you've ever experienced that end of the spectrum with overly detailed highs, you know what I'm talking about. Certain models of certain brands (seamed to be predominantly British) such as Celestian, lower-end B&W and KEF tended in that direction. 

This led to quite a few years with speakers such as the NHT 1.3a and back to my original thought a few different a/d/s/ models culminating in a pair of L1290s that I bought in bad cosmetic condition. I spent well over a week taking them apart and refinishing the veneer while waiting for my job with Tulane University to come through, then they went with me to New Orleans and all through the various jobs during my 10 year odyssey in higher education administration. 

During those 10 years, I went through a rather interesting phase of my audio life. I call it the "Atelier Period". So, we've come full circle back to where I started today. It might be a little weird, but I have a bit of interior designer in me, and when you're unmarried and able to indulge your audio as well as design whims, it can "become a thing". It was completely impractical and really didn't sound as great as it should have given the cost, but hey..... it was cool.

Let me start with a quick primer on a/d/s/ from what I know about it. They were the speaker design arm (based in New England) of German electronics giant Braun (yes, the coffee maker brand) which by the 80s had bought themselves loose. During those years, they had an agreement with Braun to collaboratively design and sell the electronic components of the line in the U.S. under their own brand while it was sold in Europe as Braun. These were extremely high-end pieces, but in the "go-go" era of the mid-to-late 80s they sold well enough. Think of it was the German alternative to (and better sounding IMHO) B&O gear. It all started with a random R4 receiver that I came across at the store I hung out at. So I bought it. Now; it's kind of dumb to just have one piece of a/d/s/ gear. They aren't shaped or sized like anything else and as you might have noticed, they are made to work together electronically as well as design-wise. Before I knew it, I had the CD3 (CD Player), C2/3 (Cassette Deck), P4 (Turntable) and PA4 (Amp). Ultimately, I would have another set of the gear in my bedroom as well. It was cool looking and sounded pretty good, but let me tell ya.... it was a giant pain in the behind to tote around as I move from university job to university job all over the country. On top of that, in order to adapt it to A/V which was becoming a thing at that time, I had to add surround processor(s), additional amps, subwoofers, racks.... the list goes on. Sometimes I felt like I moved more A/V gear than other stuff!

..... and right around that time..... this happened! It's really not what you think. My new bride didn't put her foot down. I simply got tired of the pain in the neck my cobbled together A/V system was getting to be as it progressively become more "V" and less "A". It simply wasn't worth it. Plus, it wasn't as if it was audio nirvana anyway. So, my days as an a/d/s/ collector-user came to an end as the various pieces got sold off to be replaced by a system built around the Yamaha DSP-A1. I still kept my L1290s as well as some other a/d/s/ speakers such as some L200s and L300s for some time, but the days of beings more collector than user was coming to an end. Thus end'th my "Teutonic Era". I'm sure you can guess what the next post is going to be about.