Skylabs - Vintage Stereo Store Tour!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video, Kevin takes you on a tour of his vintage stereo store in West Des Moines, Iowa. People have been asking for this one for a while, and here it is!
You will get to see just about everything in the store. From the main showroom to a behind-the-scenes look at what lurks behind the front counter. You will see all of our storage areas with some amazing vintage stereos and all kinds of parts! We even show you our incredible bathroom!
There are a few surprises along the way, including a special musical performance. You will not want to miss a second.
Let us know in the comments what you liked the best. Maybe someday you can make it in to say hello. Enjoy!
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I stopped watching just in time before you got in to the toilet. Otherwise nice gear.
Are toilets a trigger for people? I know they censored the Mamas and Papas greatest hits album cover over 50 years ago. Don't they show toilets on TV? Do some people have to avoid plumbing sections of department stores?
No trigger. I just dont care that much for what your toilet looks like. Unless you have some nice gear in there. Otherwise i was just trying to say something fun. Guess that didnt work.🙄
Vinyl and vintage audio - my kind of place.
Kevin, I share your passion for the golden age of HiFi equipment and enjoy all of your videos. Thanks for this in-depth tour of the store (except the bathroom) and I look forward to many more. Cheers….
Thanks, will do!
God, this is like *the* ultimate candy store. I know that every job has its bummers, and running a business can lead to some stress and sleepless nights, but I can't in my own mind imagine anything cooler than running a vintage audio/vinyl store. That sounds like *huge* fun--especially when you're also making some fun and very informative and entertaining videos loved by many.
I feel very lucky every single day :) thank you
For me, This is "The Best" video you & Eric put out as you take us all through your shop and talk it up proudly. As well you should. Lots of love is in the shop. I wish I could get out there to see it in person. Your craftsmanship and attention to detail really stands out. Thank you Kevin for taking the time to walk us through. I can see where the urge to expand in a larger shop is tempting. But, the nostalgic feel and vibe is really cool. Man, this shop is so cool.
Thanks 👍
Good luck with your surgery Kevin. We’ll be sending good, good, good - good vibrations!
Thank you!
Hi Kevin, after watching this video today I must say that you sir are a class act! We are pretty close in age and I can tell you we are like-minded.
Although I do not know you or your father, I want to tell you to stay strong and get well soon Ken!
Fun video. Good luck with your surgery! The original idea of the Nipper ad is that Nipper is on has master's coffin and he thinks he is hearing his master's voice.
Thank you!
Love seeing a brick and mortar store selling vintage audio. Takes me back to the 70’s. Hope to stop in someday.
Nice tour, thanks. Good luck in May, take your time to recover, don't worry about us, we'll be here when you're ready.
Thank you, Craig!
Great video! Just need more cowbell and more Two Times Tony! Great guy. Never knew his name. See him at local sales searching for used gear in the wild.
Passed on an SX980 at an estate sale. Kicking myself now.
You FOOL‼️
I lived in Des Moines from '77 to '87 and was introduced to high-end sound reproduction at that time with the purchase of my Hafler amp and preamp as well as Magnepan speakers. Regret you were not around at that time. My systems now include Michi amp/preamp, Krell amp/preamp, Apogee Duetta and Magnapan 2.7x speakers. Also VPI and Pro-ject turntables. What a truly amazing and gratifying hobby this is!
Great tour, Kevin! You have a lot more gear than one would guess from previous videos. Keep up the great work, and good luck with the surgery.
The tour was cool. My parents are from Iowa, My moms side of the family lived in Iowa City, and dad's lived in Keokuk. I need to do a road trip sometime.
Your videos are amazing! I’ve been watching for some time! Your laid back style is great 😊
Your store is something to be very proud of, it's well organized and you make good use of the space available. I like it.
I hope your recovery from surgery is quick.
Thank you!
@@skylabsaudio You're welcome, and thank you for making these videos because they have been a big help to me as I dive back into audio appreciation after being out of it for so many decades. Your advice and recommendations contained within your videos have helped me do it right and avoid mistakes.
Kevin absolutely loved this tour! Hope your surgery goes well. I really hope that I can make it out to your store sometime. It is amazing how you can rattle off the parts like you do truly amazing!
I would love to visit your store in person. For now this will have to do. You need an Elvis felt painting. No no I'm Rory Gallagher, Ten years after, the Who. And blues,motown. But Elvis had an important part in rock history. I enjoyed the 2024 Skylabs tour. 👍
Really loved watching this today. I was over there a few weeks ago and saw that big ol Phase Linear amp. Wow! Thanks for the back room tour!
That Phillips turntable matches my Phillips SP39/1 speakers, love it.
Man I cried when I saw those Jbl L50's. I had set of JBL L112's that I rebuilt with original parts and redid the veneer on but shortly after hard times meant I had to sell them to make rent. Probably the saddest time in my AV hobby career. Every day I wish I still had them.
GREAT VIDEO!
I am in lust with your shop .
Good luck with your surgery and best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Thanks for the tour - well done. I won't be stopping by as I live in Cali. ✌
Excellent store, Kevin! Your videos are always enjoyable.
Who ever said you don't know Jack, Wagner? Great tour Kevin, love the shop vibe, very cool.
It's a shame that I'm too far away from you because I gladly go to your store. It looks awesome.
I got a little sick thinking about the wire management of that switcher. Woof. Great shop guys. Love the walkthrough.
I love hi-fi shop tours. Since I live in Minnesota..I'll be stopping in at some point.
I used to have a Kenwood KT-7000 tuner. (for about 25 years !) Loved it.
Wow I wish you were in Portland Oregon I really like your videos
thanks for the tour, Love your channel and the informative videos, good luck with the surgery. If I ever get to Iowa Im dropping in.
Thank you!
Completely off the charts Sir. I really enjoyed reliving an awesome blast from the past. Thank you. 👍 🎶🎵🔊🎸🎷🎛
Glad you enjoyed it!
Kevin, you have a lovely store. Thank you for taking the time to show us around. Wishing you much success and a speedy recovery.-Danny & Beth🎧🙏🏻
Thank you!
Hey Kevin... I purchased a mint AU666 with matching TU666 round dial because of your youtube channel. They still have the blue plastic protective plastic on the aluminum trim. Absolutely beautiful gear. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks for the tour Kevin! One of the things I love about going to Skylabs is that it feels like when I was a kid in the '70's going to to a buddy's house who had the coolest records and the most awesome stereo. (Usually his dad’s.) Great gear, excellent service and always a good geeky conversation. Sending lots of healing vibes for a smooth procedure and a speedy recovery!
Thank you so much!
All the best with your "intake" surgery...I had it done many years ago. Wishing you a speedy recovery!
From a 70s salesman- love your shop -
The difference was our back room was stacked with new white boxes of Pioneer- boxes of JBL, Dual and others
Great memories
Had a very bad deviated septum until age 33. Could only breathe out of one side. What a difference! Had my Roman hump removed at the same time. Girls started noticing me after that.
Kevin, your Skylabs store looks amazing and is so well organized. I envy anyone lucky enough to visit the store, let alone buy any of that cool vintage gear, media, etc.
Good luck with your septoplasty surgery and may you have a speedy recovery. :)
Thank you!
Thank you for the tour & great success in the surgery. ❤❤
Thank you!
When I was about 18 I moved from Vancouver Island to the big city of Vancouver and landed a job as the disc jockey at the “Main Connection”. one of the first bands I had the pleasure of introducing in our establishment was Loverboy. Mike Reno had a big ego, but he’s mellowed out over the years.
Great song. It's all in fun
I love how you seem to have the same energy for the kitchen as for all the equipment. I know it’s not but it’s subtle.
Thanks for the tour, great store. Good luck with the surgery. And to all you locals... someone grab those L36's!
2.75 Tony made another “cameo!” Made a great video even better.
I donated my marantz 1060 a vew years ago still working.. it was built like a tank and had good sound for 30wpc.. and also had mainin/pre out jacks..I worked after school to buy it .. fifty years ago!!
I have a Pioneer 737 looks like the 636. I had repaired and it is one of my main systems these days. It just plays nice.
The Mike Reno bit! 😂
Lol, soo goooood. It's always funny
Thanks for the tour, Kevin! Brings back good memories as a young guy checking out all the stereo shops, saving $ to purchase equipment, and getting others into audio while enjoying all the great music on vinyl and on FM. Would always wait for the audio magazines to arrive each month. Remember all the Pioneer ads in the front of the mags? Eventually I'd own a small stereo shop selling many of the brands you display. Most audio equipment of that era was a work of art: the appearance, the materials, the electronics, and the sound. An interest in electronics was very helpful to do repairs, then loudspeaker systems repair and design as well as equipment upgrades. Eventually I sold my shop and returned for an EE degree. Of course I had to design and build a stereo power amp for my EE senior design project. Hope to stop by your shop in the future. Best regards!
That was a lot of fun. Speedy recovery, Kevin!
Thank you!
Great video, I was in stitches with that singer, I don't remember his name. Anyway, all my best wishes and all the support for your surgery Kev. I'm going under the knife in August for a hip replacement so, as I said all the support for my brother in surgery. We will be having a laugh in no time. much love from West Spain as always ❤
I’m not being critical at all, but this should have been TH-cam video #1. I might have missed it, but can’t believe this hasn’t been done already. Following the channel and watching Skylabs videos over & over, a guy gets a feel for the shop's layout, but it was nice to see a full-on tour. Let’s face it. Although Skylabs provides excellent content and, spot-on vintage audio, and more information, I’m pretty sure TH-cam is not even in the vicinity of “supplemental income.” The store has to be the mothership for income and applaud showing it off and advertising it. Very cool to see! Thanks.
Thank you! Appreciate that :)
Loved the tour! I was hoping you’d do that at some point. I live in NC so I probably will never get there, but I think it’s fabulous to see a thriving vintage store. There’s one in Jamestown, NC about 100 miles away. I go there all the time.
Thanks for the shop tour Kevin was nice to see the whole place in more detail. Man you guys are so lucky to have all those spare parts at your disposal. Here in NZ there is literally nothing or very few older Pioneers/Sansui's that get parted out as we never got units in large quantities being a small country. Makes me appreciate what I do get to service/restore for customers and the models I do own. If I lived closer would be visiting Skylabs for sure! Could even help out on the bench (cheeky suggestion) as know my way around most brands including Pioneer SX models and the SX1250, fixed a few of those beasts! 👍
Great tour of a beautiful store. Thanks.
I grew up with a Philips 212 turntable! Im in the market for a TT, i wish i was in your area so I could come take a look 🙂 The green touch controls were magical to me as a kid. It was hooked up to my dad's Pioneer SX-939 and a set of JBL L100s on speaker-A living room and a set of 4311bs on speaker b in dads den. I still own the 4311s. ❤️
That is a cool store. Hope to get there. You never want to move, as you know your inventory now....if you moved it is a big learning curve. So much nice equipment,.
Great video, Kevin! I hope to get out on the bike and make the trip to DM to stop by the store sometime soon.
Good luck with the surgery. Hope you have a speedy recovery!
Thank you!
I really enjoyed the video. I appreciate you taking the time to show us around. My prayers will be with you for your surgery. Take care.
Really cool store! 😎
Your shop is even cooler than I thought. I mean, you integrated the toilet into this video, so there's that, lol. When my '78 Technics Amp and Tuner need a tuneup, I'm contacting you guys. I'm 3 hours away, but I'm sure it's worth the drive.
Good to see Crystal Gayle's face again. "Don't it make my brown eyes blue" was a great song. Best of luck with the surgery.
Thank you!
When you said you are waiting for parts, I know, I had a long list of backorder power transistors to buy. For around 5k$ from digi-key. They sold out these in a month last time.
It's funny how you mentioned the smell at the end. I love the smell of a vintage stereo receiver after playing it for about a half hour and walking back into the room to turn over the record. It's a great smell that brings back memories of the past. Flipping the switch, hearing the click, turning the volume knob,dropping the needle, and the smells are all part of the experience we love with the music.
I thought about putting a Jimmy Johns "free smells" sign on the front door, lol
Great tour. I really enjoy 80s and 90s gear. In terms of value and sound, I have picked up some great Adcom gear and Yamaha pieces for a fraction of the cost of the 1970s classic receivers.
Nice tour down memory lane Kevin
John Grado is the best in the bizz.
Every time I get my little vintage audio store (My Vintage Audio of Southern Colorado) cleaned and organized I get bombed with equipment.
The best to you music on. Sir
I own two pairs of Baby advents. Cool speakers. luv the solid hardwood.
Thanks for the great tour. So cool. Best of luck with your health.
Thank you!
I really wish there was a store like this near me. Also, I agree on Kenwood. More than most companies, they had a wide gulf between their great stuff and not so great stuff. Also, good luck on the surgery!
Thank you!
Old Knight-Pioneer-Allied trivia Nazi here: The Knight 333 or Allied 333 receiver was known as the Pioneer SX-34. The integrated amp section was the same as the Knight 935, Allied 935 or Pioneer SA-400 integrated amps: 12 thundering watts per channel RMS into 8 ohms. I had the Allied 935 back in the day. Really fine phono pre-amp. The 12 watts of tube power could drive almost anything less thirsty than an AR-3a.
We want more! Where's the hidden stash? More G Sansui and SA/SX Pioneer as well as Luxman 70's receivers. Anything embossed Kenwood is good stuff! Inquiring minds need food!
Lol!
Finally got my buddy to sell me his SX980. 🎉. Would love that pair of cerwin Vega At-15s. I got a pair of 280 SE's that do the job. In a perfect world I'd love a set of Pioneer Hmp 100s or JBL 100s. Maybe someday.
Thanks for the video always interesting, good luck with the surgery
Perfect - Just Perfect.
Thanks for the tour, be well.
19:35 I have over 3000 tubes, many are military and 2 calibrated tube testers (1 is laboratory grade : )
And I have to say, your videos over the years have helped inspire me to take that leap. As I 70`s kid I saw and knew badass audio gear-but knew it was expensive. I never saw tubes growing up, but knew tubes were "nichey" and "end game". Got EET degree and never really used it-but good background to have. Became an audiophile over past 10 years with an lust for knowledge. Happy to have a friend with 40 years experience schooling me....going to start my 1st tube amp rebuild soon-and I am SOOOO excited. Thank you Skylabs for inspiring me! Just knowing I am joining a small community of people to keep audio awesomeness alive and better than ever-HELL YEA!!
Thank you for your awesome vids bro!
Very cool!
Thank you!
Gravely Brewing Co, 514 Baxter Ave, Louisville, Kentucky has a wall of vintage stereo equipment as part of their decor. Don't know if they work or if they're wired to play but it was sure fun to look at!
I hope the surgery went well.. great videos..... Thanks..
Awesome tour of your store Kevin. I’ve always wanted to see the rest of your store. I hope to one day in the next year or so to drop by and actually check you guys out. Good luck with your surgery. Rich.
Thank you
Love your videos. Great resource for us older folks getting back into the vintage stuff. My next bucket list item is pairing two subs to the vintage tuners ( pioneer sx950 or 1250 )or perhaps the Yamaha 2010 and the baby Sansui 7070. Current speakers are infinity rslllb, kappa 6s and Kappa 5s. I have watched your speaker vids many times and just waiting for something to get posted. Also have a Concept 5.5 that's near mint .so I'm just getting started.
Kevin, great fun. It makes me wish I was closer than Seattle so I could drop in! Thanks, loved it. All the best with your surgery, may you heal quickly. Good man.🎶🙏
Thank you!
Kevin, prayers with you. I will make it sometime Lord willing.....Iowa is not that far from west Mich. Love your taste in equipment, display and lamps. Great vid man.
Thank you!
And he does sign the invoice/receipt with a “Thank you, Kevin.” Thanks for my shirt my wife bought me man! Loved the tour.
Appreciate it!
Really appreciate how you carved a business out of this niche market. Thanks for persevering and now growing. If I may, if there is one business screaming for green shaggy carpet it is your stereo demo area. A speedy recovery for the upcoming surgery.
I wish, high traffic and shag carpet do not mix :(
Thank you!
What an awesome tour and video, dont ever sell those lamps...I consonantly hunt for mid century modern lamps for my basement.. Great video tour... I hope to make it out to the shop one day... Great community!
Great video tour, great store, prayers for your upcoming surgery.
Al
Thanks so much
Great tour, I enjoyed it very much. Wish you luck in surgery and a healthy recovery.
Thank you!
Love. The. Reel. Reel
At 0:31, that turntable with the dust cover looks a lot like my old JVC VL-5 that I shall forever regret giving to my brother.
Definitely gonna be a fun one
Best of wishes on your upcoming surgery I am headed for the cutting table myself before too long
Thank you! Good luck to you as well
Thank you for the tour of your awesome store. It's amazing how much cool stuff you have in such a small space,. It's very organized. Best of luck on your surgery❤
Thank you, Karen!
Hope you recover quickly. Enjoyed this video!
Wow! Great video. Thanks.
Loved the tour. Thanks.
Thanks for the tour Kevin. The shop is a gem! Good luck on your surgery and God bless.
Thank you!
Wishing you the best of luck with your surgery 🤞🏼
Thank you!
Great store great videos
My first receiver was a 25 watt Sansui with pro linear turntable and speakers