@@DG-ie5ip that’s not really true. Mostly it’s my journey returning to hifi, learning, and trying out new stuff. I also upgrade and fix gear on occasion. I try to engage my viewers with a bit of silliness and humor.
I had a DH200. What a great amp! I paired it with an Advent 300 as a preamp. They really did sound good. I’m also a big fan of that generation of Sansui. I had a 661 and it was true goodness. I went through far too many components in the 70s. 😂
I picked up my endgame speakers, DCM Timeframe 600's, about 15 years ago. Still loving them 😍 I need a new receiver now, sub output no longer working on my old Yamaha.
I had a subscription to Stereo Review. I will say that magazine was one of the best tools for putting a good system together. Like you. I worked a minimum wage job to put together a system I could afford. My very first receiver (1977) was a 15 watt Akai. A sankyo cassette deck and a pair of EPI speakers. Of course I graduated to other gear and a turntable which I saved for a Marantz 6100. Thanks for the great review.
I don't think I have ever bought something I have immediately regretted. I have always stayed in the mid-hi-fi to expensive hi-fi range and have never been burned. I have enough gear for about 3 systems, about 20 pieces. I was most surprised by a pair of Rectilinear XIa speakers that I paired with a NAD 3020A amp. Perhaps I should own up to the fact that I own a Linn Sondek LP12 turntable that has gone through several upgrades that has kept it competitive. That being said, my last years in Florida I dealt with an audio dealer (I will leave him unnamed but now out of business) that cared until he didn't. I think part of that was Ivor Tiefenbrun who didn't provide the required support for those who had supported him when LP sales went down. Now they are back up in a fantastic way and Linn is riding the wave.
David, got to give you a big thank you for turning me on to Morphine. I'm thoroughly enjoying "cure for pain" and looking forward to checking out the other three albums. Subscribed!
Ohm Walsh 2 speakers! Fabulous! I bought a pair of Ohm F's in the '70's. Still have them now (although they need new drivers...). The Ohm F's are what got me "into" hi-fi! I got years of enjoyment from them... 10. "The last piece of equipment that made you want to re-listen to your entire music collection." -- Innuos Zenith streamer/server. I CAN'T Believe digital sounds this good!
Buena! I used to play it on my college radio station show in mid 90s and hadn’t thought a thing about it until just now. Just added it to my speaker demo playlist.
I was late to being a Morphine fan too. I'd heard a few songs back in the day and enjoyed them but didn't really give them a solid listen until about two years ago. Unusual combination. Good stuff.
I got turned onto them at Axpona two years ago in the Upscale Audio room. As soon as the needle dropped, I was a fan. I worked with a guy who has a band here in the Detroit area “Howling Mercy” they are a three piece band, the lead singer plays a trombone rather than the sax. I immediately thought of them upon hearing Morphine. Turns out I guess they have/had quite a cult following here in the Motor City. I agree, good stuff!
@@daveyurkovich9459 I grew up in your neck of the woods. Ypsilanti. I'd consider that adjacent to the Detroit area anyway. Been on the east coast for the past couple decades.
In Boston in the mid-80s I used to check out this band, Treat Her Right fronted by Mark Sandman and adored their style of playing. After Morphine formed, I was in the middle of med school but stumbled upon a copy Cure for Pain and listened to it constantly and my little, crappy Sony setup and then via even worse computer speakers. But Morphine always stood out. Devastated when Mark suddenly passed away. He was somebody who could have been a friend.
15 years with Casta B Horn Speaker Audio Space AS-i3 , Blue Sound Vault 2 digital music tidal, Pure Fidelity Encore . Belmont phono stage . Hana ML Cartridge . Wish I had a Sansui AU integrated amp
Thanks for the info on the Zu's.. I am interested in them, but they bring lots of price with them. My discovery of Morphine (the band): I was looking at vinyl placed for sale on FB marketplace. A local was showing a record collection that was at their booth at a local flea market. They had Piper At the Gates of Dawn placed separately in a glass encased display. When I arrived, Piper was gone and I saw the Morphine "Like Swimming" album that was next to Piper in the photos. Based on remembering the album cover, I recognized the CD at a local thrift store. I bought the used CD for either 1.00 or 1.99 and boy, my assumption it was good, sitting next to Piper, paid off. I think I remember learning that a Sax is an instrument of very high timbre character. The baritone is especially fun. The Sax player has continued onto other projects, you might dig that music too.
. I worked a bit (82-83ish) at Tech HiFi Salem NH. I was a customer & filled-in for sales whenever thy needed me. That was great. Acid Jazz, Funk & Brass 🔈🔉🔊
Just like there are things about Skylabs, I don't understand your love of magnepans. I used to visit a hifi store that sold them, and I spent a lot of time listening to them playing on gear I'll never be able to afford. The impression they always left me with was, "Why do these things sound like they're buzzing out music rather than vibrating them out." That ceaseless buzzing sensation ruined the Maggies. Makes them unlistenable.
@@MODAC Couple years ago. It's weird. They weren't buzzing like something was loose in their finish ... more like I was just aware that you could sense the vibration of the diaphragm... That doesn't really resolve it either. But it ruined their sound for me.
Personally I doubt Kevin set out to be pretentious or any of the negative accusations ascribed to his questions. I found them not really interesting, curious, but not to my interests. That was not interesting toll now I'll have to have a look again. Zu speakers are jot all that. They have cheesey crossover component's, the Cabinet is pretty, but lack if I remember any serious bracing, I think the full range speaker has a stamped steel frame. While I like Lp's its a Love/Hate relationship so for me its CD's period as I like to avoid aggravation. And yeah, thank you for answering.
There's a reason why you don't understand. It's called Ergonomics. Ergonomics is defined as fitting the task to the human, not the human to the task. In other words, even though we all have the same body parts, they're not all made the same. We all have ears but not all ears are the same on everyone. Thus we all hear sounds a little differently. Some folks may love a certain set of speakers while others do not. It's due to ergonomics; "fitting the human."
Can you please hold your camera steady?! I had to leave your video because it was giving me vertigo causing nausea, which in turn gave me a headache due to your Blairwitch style cinematography.
I think what keeps this whole Audio Merry Go Round going round and round is Bad Designers. Is it really that hard to build a speaker whose tonal qualities resemble real instruments? Even if it's not as clear, if they get down instruments basic tonal qualities correctly, I think they would forgive that. This going from one set of components to another or one speaker system to another back and forth, back and forth endlessly, is in many cases indicative of a general dissatisfaction with the sound. So much misinformation about the subjective qualities of gear keeps it spinning too. If some guy says such and such is a great piece of equipment; "it really kicks." Please ignore that man, will ya. Pretty much taking tone controls away from us, keeps the carousel spinning too. I was listening to a Luxman integrated amp with tone controls the other day, and just the slightest hairline decrease of the bass control, made the sound go from a little muddy to what sounded like perfect bass definitionm. Tone controls are veey important if you want to get just the sound you want. Isn't that far more important than the tiniest bit more clarity or transparency? If you ever get sound that is tonally just right, you will want to keep it, unless its really bad in some important way(s). So here's to the designers whose ears are just a notch above those who can't hear anything different between cables. Whose designs have just a few things that veer from genuine sounding. just enough not to totally like it.Whose designs have just that little bit of fatigue. We salute you, for keeping this whole merry go round spinning
I think he means about you saying his channel is a big hit and gets multiple times more views. This is America, whose bad taste is said to be something you can never overrate. When Melinda Murphy, who knows next to nothing about sound does a video on a new piece of audio equipment she gets 50k views within several weeks; while a real expert on sound ekes out a tenth of that amount of views.
Why all the vintage audio channels bowing down to this Kevin guy at Skylabs? Like mindless zombies you go along with his agenda. I'm not here for Kevin. Removing all channels I hear this nonsense. BYE!
Agreed. These videos are nice little trips down memory lane but I'm not going to hunt down an old, overpriced Marantz receiver just because it's hip. Today you can get better sound for a lot less cash and with a warranty or all your money back on a return. All I want from these channels is evaluation of what I can't go and listen to live. Nemo Propaganda, Andrew Robinson, "The Cheapaudioman" and others are still providing buying guidance as best they can. I think people will soon be tiring of chasing down overpriced and over-hyped "vintage" classics just to impress the hipster "in crowd".
Skylabs is popular because Kevin delivers fresh content in regards to vintage gear, which is not always an easy thing to do. There's a sweet spot out there for Hi-Fi veterans, aficionados, hobbyists & newcomers, and Skylabs' videos hit that sweet spot consistently. Kevin has found a way to share cogent information, as well as his personal opinions & life, in a non-confrontational way, devoid of flash and hyperbole. It's his engaging, personable style of delivery that draws such a sizable audience, even though not everyone, such as you, is going to "get it". Regardless, I assure you any content creators playing in the same arena as Skylabs would be tickled pink to have the type of following they have.
ALLISON SPEAKERS.SAE 2500 AMP,2100L PRE AMP, XII TUNER, 2800 PARAMETRIC EQUILIZER, TECHNICS SL 110 TT, SME ARM AND A MICRO ACOSTICS CART ..WITH TEAC REEL TO REEL ..IS WHAT I HAVE SINCE NEW 1976.
Still loving the SR929. Still the best packaging job I have ever seen. Gonna go grab some of those Wally tools =)
Great to hear your answers. You can thank Kevin because I’m now following you on TH-cam, I had never run across you before.
@@DG-ie5ip that’s not really true. Mostly it’s my journey returning to hifi, learning, and trying out new stuff. I also upgrade and fix gear on occasion. I try to engage my viewers with a bit of silliness and humor.
@@BobC14617 thanks! I’m a bit different than the others on TH-cam.
44years later i still have my Hafler dh 500 and a pair of ESS towers that bought new in 1980.
I'm all with understatement vs pretensions. !
I had a DH200. What a great amp! I paired it with an Advent 300 as a preamp. They really did sound good. I’m also a big fan of that generation of Sansui. I had a 661 and it was true goodness. I went through far too many components in the 70s. 😂
I picked up my endgame speakers, DCM Timeframe 600's, about 15 years ago. Still loving them 😍 I need a new receiver now, sub output no longer working on my old Yamaha.
Morphine hell ye ! Ross that dude is a legend!but that vacuum thing?I think i need one.
When something exceeds my expectations is a thrill! Bringing something back to life! Some duds as well!
I've seen a slew of reviewers take on the SkyLab Challenge, but yours is the best by far..
Wow, thanks!
Nice job. You almost cracked a smile with the hand vaccum segment. 😊
I had a subscription to Stereo Review. I will say that magazine was one of the best tools for putting a good system together. Like you. I worked a minimum wage job to put together a system I could afford. My very first receiver (1977) was a 15 watt Akai. A sankyo cassette deck and a pair of EPI speakers. Of course I graduated to other gear and a turntable which I saved for a Marantz 6100. Thanks for the great review.
I do think that is a great series of questions.
THANK-YOU FOR YOUR TAKE AND INPUT SIR !!
I don't think I have ever bought something I have immediately regretted. I have always stayed in the mid-hi-fi to expensive hi-fi range and have never been burned. I have enough gear for about 3 systems, about 20 pieces. I was most surprised by a pair of Rectilinear XIa speakers that I paired with a NAD 3020A amp. Perhaps I should own up to the fact that I own a Linn Sondek LP12 turntable that has gone through several upgrades that has kept it competitive. That being said, my last years in Florida I dealt with an audio dealer (I will leave him unnamed but now out of business) that cared until he didn't. I think part of that was Ivor Tiefenbrun who didn't provide the required support for those who had supported him when LP sales went down. Now they are back up in a fantastic way and Linn is riding the wave.
Great video. Good answers.
David, got to give you a big thank you for turning me on to Morphine.
I'm thoroughly enjoying "cure for pain" and looking forward to checking out the other three albums.
Subscribed!
They’re great. Thanks!
Ohm Walsh 2 speakers! Fabulous! I bought a pair of Ohm F's in the '70's. Still have them now (although they need new drivers...). The Ohm F's are what got me "into" hi-fi! I got years of enjoyment from them...
10. "The last piece of equipment that made you want to re-listen to your entire music collection."
-- Innuos Zenith streamer/server. I CAN'T Believe digital sounds this good!
Forgot about Sight and Sound! Did you get your CB at Buss Bros?
Great video 👌
Buena! I used to play it on my college radio station show in mid 90s and hadn’t thought a thing about it until just now. Just added it to my speaker demo playlist.
I enjoyed the video.
I was late to being a Morphine fan too. I'd heard a few songs back in the day and enjoyed them but didn't really give them a solid listen until about two years ago. Unusual combination. Good stuff.
I got turned onto them at Axpona two years ago in the Upscale Audio room. As soon as the needle dropped, I was a fan. I worked with a guy who has a band here in the Detroit area “Howling Mercy” they are a three piece band, the lead singer plays a trombone rather than the sax. I immediately thought of them upon hearing Morphine. Turns out I guess they have/had quite a cult following here in the Motor City. I agree, good stuff!
@@daveyurkovich9459 I grew up in your neck of the woods. Ypsilanti. I'd consider that adjacent to the Detroit area anyway. Been on the east coast for the past couple decades.
@@jpm5958 oh wow. I grew up downriver, left for a bit,been back for 40 plus years. Small world!
Still love my Hafler 220 amp and preamp.
That is great mag’s are fantastic. Wish to own huge mags
In Boston in the mid-80s I used to check out this band, Treat Her Right fronted by Mark Sandman and adored their style of playing. After Morphine formed, I was in the middle of med school but stumbled upon a copy Cure for Pain and listened to it constantly and my little, crappy Sony setup and then via even worse computer speakers. But Morphine always stood out. Devastated when Mark suddenly passed away. He was somebody who could have been a friend.
Yes Wally and his tools absolutely indispensable,,.Remembering the old days ,,,
I like your #5 answer. I love my Pass XA25 *without* VU meters. Just a power button. That's it.
15 years with Casta B Horn Speaker Audio Space AS-i3 , Blue Sound Vault 2 digital music tidal, Pure Fidelity Encore . Belmont phono stage . Hana ML Cartridge . Wish I had a Sansui AU integrated amp
Have you run across Sandman's first band, Treat Her Right? Fun bluesy stuff.
Wow. Lived in Japan 30 yrs. Never saw that specific turntable anywhere
Thanks for the info on the Zu's.. I am interested in them, but they bring lots of price with them.
My discovery of Morphine (the band):
I was looking at vinyl placed for sale on FB marketplace. A local was showing a record collection that was at their booth at a local flea market.
They had Piper At the Gates of Dawn placed separately in a glass encased display. When I arrived, Piper was gone and I saw the Morphine "Like Swimming" album that was next to Piper in the photos. Based on remembering the album cover, I recognized the CD at a local thrift store.
I bought the used CD for either 1.00 or 1.99 and boy, my assumption it was good, sitting next to Piper, paid off.
I think I remember learning that a Sax is an instrument of very high timbre character. The baritone is especially fun.
The Sax player has continued onto other projects, you might dig that music too.
The best part about your channel is your (quality) taste in music..
. I worked a bit (82-83ish) at Tech HiFi Salem NH. I was a customer & filled-in for sales whenever thy needed me. That was great.
Acid Jazz, Funk & Brass 🔈🔉🔊
I am a Canadian that loves to let others live in love . Anything idea they have their own options
Definitely gonna be a fun one
Nice video. Subscribed!
that was a lot of fun
I knew you were gonna say Wally Tools. I might one day....
Is that a Bryston 4B behind you? What generation is that? SST??
4B ST.
Obviously one's speaker must be their favorite component as that is where the magic happens.
You're one of the few "participants" who answered all the questions...
Just like there are things about Skylabs, I don't understand your love of magnepans.
I used to visit a hifi store that sold them, and I spent a lot of time listening to them playing on gear I'll never be able to afford.
The impression they always left me with was, "Why do these things sound like they're buzzing out music rather than vibrating them out."
That ceaseless buzzing sensation ruined the Maggies. Makes them unlistenable.
Buzzing???? No buzzing in my room. How long ago was this?
@@MODAC Couple years ago. It's weird. They weren't buzzing like something was loose in their finish ... more like I was just aware that you could sense the vibration of the diaphragm...
That doesn't really resolve it either.
But it ruined their sound for me.
Personally I doubt Kevin set out to be pretentious or any of the negative accusations ascribed to his questions. I found them not really interesting, curious, but not to my interests. That was not interesting toll now I'll have to have a look again. Zu speakers are jot all that. They have cheesey crossover component's, the Cabinet is pretty, but lack if I remember any serious bracing, I think the full range speaker has a stamped steel frame. While I like Lp's its a Love/Hate relationship so for me its CD's period as I like to avoid aggravation. And yeah, thank you for answering.
I find it hard to pick favourites too, except for my two sons..... 😂 Just kidding...
Your Stereo Is Only as Good as your Speakers. Your Speakers Are only as Good as your ears. Mac Owner since the '70s
There's a reason why you don't understand. It's called Ergonomics. Ergonomics is defined as fitting the task to the human, not the human to the task. In other words, even though we all have the same body parts, they're not all made the same. We all have ears but not all ears are the same on everyone. Thus we all hear sounds a little differently. Some folks may love a certain set of speakers while others do not. It's due to ergonomics; "fitting the human."
Haha… funny ringtone cheek response. 😂
Zu audio, Bose, and a few others appeal escape me.
And you must have beat Kevin up for that T Shirt.
Can you please hold your camera steady?! I had to leave your video because it was giving me vertigo causing nausea, which in turn gave me a headache due to your Blairwitch style cinematography.
Lousy gene pool and mental health issues...in the words of NIKE...JUST DO IT!!!
I think what keeps this whole Audio Merry Go Round going round and round is Bad Designers. Is it really that hard to build a speaker whose tonal qualities resemble real instruments? Even if it's not as clear, if they get down instruments basic tonal qualities correctly, I think they would forgive that. This going from one set of components to another or one speaker system to another back and forth, back and forth endlessly, is in many cases indicative of a general dissatisfaction with the sound. So much misinformation about the subjective qualities of gear keeps it spinning too. If some guy says such and such is a great piece of equipment; "it really kicks." Please ignore that man, will ya.
Pretty much taking tone controls away from us, keeps the carousel spinning too. I was listening to a Luxman integrated amp with tone controls the other day, and just the slightest hairline decrease of the bass control, made the sound go from a little muddy to what sounded like perfect bass definitionm. Tone controls are veey important if you want to get just the sound you want.
Isn't that far more important than the tiniest bit more clarity or transparency?
If you ever get sound that is tonally just right, you will want to keep it, unless its really bad in some important way(s). So here's to the designers whose ears are just a notch above those who can't hear anything different between cables. Whose designs have just a few things that veer from genuine sounding. just enough not to totally like it.Whose designs have just that little bit of fatigue. We salute you, for keeping this whole merry go round spinning
get over it !!!
Get over what??
How can they steal a Maxell ad and put their own branding on it?
At 3:12 I see some OA goodies behind your right shoulder...
Go Eagles!
Awww, grow up and grow a pair.
I don’t even know what you mean by that.
I think he means about you saying his channel is a big hit and gets multiple times more views. This is America, whose bad taste is said to be something you can never overrate. When Melinda Murphy, who knows next to nothing about sound does a video on a new piece of audio equipment she gets 50k views within several weeks; while a real expert on sound ekes out a tenth of that amount of views.
lol! Stop being a curmudgeon…thumbs up for Ohm and Morphine!
Zu's are garbage, agreed.
Love to get Wally stuff but usa $ kill my Canadian money 30% less buying power
Maybe instead of wearing a competing channel’s T shirt you need to start making your own channels merchandise
He's not intelligent enough to figure that out. He's just a cuk and submissive. Sells the dude his gear and promotes his channel. Total beta.
Nah !!! Everybody fell into his self promotion stunt.
This guy exudes negativity.
Just like you!
I like your style regardless.
Any retro JBL is awful.
Bose too
Do NOT agree.....JBL L100 like a MF!!
This guy obviously doesn't have a clue about music most music back in the 70s and 80s was recorded with the JBL L series...Can't fix stupid
@@oluhamilton2121 if you love boomy bass and shrill highs, then more power to you.
Really?!? Listen to them all did you? 4309s that Darko loves? L82s? L100s? That studio series with the compression tweeter...
Why all the vintage audio channels bowing down to this Kevin guy at Skylabs? Like mindless zombies you go along with his agenda. I'm not here for Kevin. Removing all channels I hear this nonsense. BYE!
Agreed. These videos are nice little trips down memory lane but I'm not going to hunt down an old, overpriced Marantz receiver just because it's hip. Today you can get better sound for a lot less cash and with a warranty or all your money back on a return. All I want from these channels is evaluation of what I can't go and listen to live. Nemo Propaganda, Andrew Robinson, "The Cheapaudioman" and others are still providing buying guidance as best they can. I think people will soon be tiring of chasing down overpriced and over-hyped "vintage" classics just to impress the hipster "in crowd".
Just having a bit of fun. Don’t be such a grouch!
I have mostly pivoted away from vintage gear as I think it’s a bit of a dead end. Look at my videos and see.
Skylabs is popular because Kevin delivers fresh content in regards to vintage gear, which is not always an easy thing to do. There's a sweet spot out there for Hi-Fi veterans, aficionados, hobbyists & newcomers, and Skylabs' videos hit that sweet spot consistently. Kevin has found a way to share cogent information, as well as his personal opinions & life, in a non-confrontational way, devoid of flash and hyperbole. It's his engaging, personable style of delivery that draws such a sizable audience, even though not everyone, such as you, is going to "get it". Regardless, I assure you any content creators playing in the same arena as Skylabs would be tickled pink to have the type of following they have.
ALLISON SPEAKERS.SAE 2500 AMP,2100L PRE AMP, XII TUNER, 2800 PARAMETRIC EQUILIZER, TECHNICS SL 110 TT, SME ARM AND A MICRO ACOSTICS CART ..WITH TEAC REEL TO REEL ..IS WHAT I HAVE SINCE NEW 1976.