So I have set up the stereos in the new house.
The first, in my office where I frankly spend the bulk of the week. I connected the equalizer and the tape deck (which I haven’t hooked up in many years) and even set out the reel-to-reel (not working properly, but looks kick ass) and finally my 3 dollar garage sale slide out component record player.
Things are a little haphazard at the moment, but it all works and I have enjoyed some splendid vinyl. I pulled the absolute essential records from the full collection to fill the top row of this more diminutive kallax… perfect for this room. The far right album in the box is the album that Allan wants me to digitize. Not only did it survive the move, I was able to FIND it.
Decorations are sparse at the moment. I just hung a few vinyl cuttings on the nails left behind by the former owners.
That’s the Van Halen II clock that I had made for Dalton years ago. Doesn’t keep great time, but had to put it up. Everyone likes the pendulum. Sorry Bowie, only 4 nails. When I paint you will find your wall home.
Originally I had relegated the old larger kallax to the storage room downstairs. The second record player I had, the Ion brand player/converter which I had used almost primarily in my music room had stopped working, so it seemed that my office was going to be the only stereo setup.
However, when I told my son Joe my sob story about the record player not working, he said he would take a look at it. Despite him being in school for engineering I had my doubts that it was salvageable. It is after all probably 10 years old and has gotten a lot of abuse from me and many many used records. Also I have been known to spin records backwards to remove skips and garbage in the grooves that the cleaner doesn’t clear.
Turns out there was just a contact mechanism that was bent and not making contact! He fixed it! Woo hoo for Joey. I owe you man.
So… with renewed vigor I brought the large kallax, which is somehow still more than 3/4 full out into the main room of the downstairs and set up a receiver, newly working again record player and another tape deck.
I stacked the speakers, but the top one has lots of speaker wire and can be moved to the other side of the room for maximum effect. That record player Allan is the one with the cord I use for digitizing. Wink wink.
Icky wanted in on the photo op.
He has become enormous.
I played the first record that came to my hands to check that all was set up correctly. It was “Rolling Stone – Sucking In The Seventies”. Sha doobie.
As the downstairs in this house is a heated floor luxurious expanse of usable space, a downstairs stereo is absolutely necessary.
Thanks for fixing the record player Joe!
The Aural Retentive 