I acquired my 63dx speakers when I got a job at Pioneer right out of high school. The first shipment to arrive in the states from Japan in 1973. We got 50% off as employees so I got a receiver and turntable also, all for around 500 bucks. A thrill I’ll never forget. People came from miles around just to marvel at the sound lol.
Kevin, a quick personal note to say Thank You for what you do, I enjoy and learn from your vids. Prayers are with Dad always, its nice to see you together and that you are well aware of how lucky you are to spend time with him everyday. With that said, I sure do miss my dad.
My first tour of duty was Clark Air Base, PI in 1970, 1971, and into 1972. Friends and I drove to Subic Bay Naval Base to purchase stereo equipment at the base store. What a fun trip that was! I traveled back with a wonderful stereo set: turntable, reel to reel tape deck, amp, speakers, and memories.
I did exactly the same Clark Airbase driving to Subic Bay 1973. Brought home the little brother of the speakers shown here the CS99’s plus an amp and a reel to reel. I had them for many years.
Around this time, 1969, the American air base in peshawar Pakistan was closing down. Great audio equipment was for sale .Still have my Akai amp,reel gx365 and speakers of the time ,turntable was -Dual. - Gary Powers flew from here and the U2 plane was shot down by the Soviets .base had to be closed and Pakistan became a target of then Soviet power.
I had a set of Pioneer HPM-100's. They needed work so I "donated" them to an audiophile friend that loved old equipment. He fully restored them and now uses them with his other 70's equipment.
Many hours were spent drooling over all the glowing dials and high tech gear! Had a buddy from High School who had a quadraflex setup. Definitely high on the cool factor chart!
The Pioneer speakers look a lot like my Sansui 5-way. I bought them from a record store after a couple Gen Z's bought it, thinking they were just "old and bulky". They sound superb; warm, big, strong in all frequencies. Big smooth bass - not blubbery rap bass - crisp highs, vocals come out strong and beautiful in the mids. No need for a sub. Putting any bookshelf speakers next to them would be a joke.
I spent so much time agonizing over a stereo circa ‘76. My budget was my ~100 hours overtime from my industrial summer job, so like $500. You bring back so many memories, and reminding me of the excitement of moving beyond basic radios. Thank you.
Holy shit, Pacific Stereo! I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and can remember when there was a Pacific Stereo in every mall and even a few stand alone corner stores in the bigger cities. I did not know they had a house brand. That's a bonafide unicorn if you can repair it. Great video. Rare finds are fun.
Me too. I'm 74 now and spent most of my life in Castro Valley. Bought a high end Sony cassette deck and Cerwin Vega 3 way " rocker speakers" at Pacific Stereo in Hayward, CA in 1979. Great times!!
Kevin I love that your dad is so laid back. He makes your laid back ways look hyper. Got my eye on a Skylabs Hoodie.😇 My breed of Werewolf looks great in Skylabs Hoodies. 🤣 The Vega speakers had the prettiest wood grain. Thanks to you I gave some lower watt integrated amplifiers and tuners a chance. I got a Pioneer SA 7500 II and a Pioneer TX 7500 Tuner pair I also got a Pioneer SA 706 Integrated Amp and a Pioneer TX 6700 Tuner. Maybe its me but the radios sound so much more clear and distinct than any of my receivers. I never thought my lame ears would hear any difference. Receivers are nice but they sound muddy to me now. It's barely noticeable but I can detect the better quality. Hug your dad for us all!
Feeling pretty honored that my Sony turntable that I sold you made it on a rarities video. Very cool to see it cleaned up and worked on by your dad. Great
My Sansui SP-3500s 66lbs. each. Still with me after 54 years and numerous moves. Still have the original boxes! Had the woofers re-coned in the 80s. Still sound great!
Nice! Sadly I didn't keep my Sansui speakers. I don't recall what model they were, but they were heavy things. I had four of them to go with my Sansui quad receiver. Moving was a production because they would fill up all the passenger seats in my Fiat 4-door, so it was either make two trips with a helper, or take them all and leave my helper behind and lug them up stairs by myself. :)
I knew that was a Sansui. When I was a pre-teen to late teen, there was music store here in Missouri where I live. It was a cool spot. He had a pair of Sansui speakers like that sitting high on top of the shelf like that. Although I heard a lot of speakers at the time, and I was young, those Sansui's had some of the best high clarity that I recall. I would walk in and anything he played sounded so good on them. I never forgot that. That was late 70s to early 80s
As usual awesome honest reviews love it! Zero bs you tell it like it is!! Also your knowledge of each piece of vintage equipment is second to none really informative and just kool to listen to. Keep up the fantastic video's and one of these Days I'm gonna hop in the car and drive from Northern Illinois out to see you great folks and checkout all the equipment!!
I have one too! Except mine started acting up a few weeks ago, sending loud static to the speakers. It's offline now, will repair it sometime next year
Hey Kevin, great video once again, thanks for the Ebay search tip, that’s great for us folks who are analog , in a digital world. I had no idea that could be done with Ebay now I can find some parts I have been looking for. Also, so good to see your dad back behind the bench., I betcha he’s happy to be back in the saddle as well. Keep up the good work, God bless you all at Skylabs
Loved my 2015 which I bought in ‘74 when I was 22. Carried it with me through many moves, a couple marriages, and finally recycled it when I was in my early 60’s when the power supply finally failed. I still have the Technics SL20 that I bought with it and still works.
Still have my Sansui DB 9090 with four Kenwood 888 speakers. Bought it when in the military in 1980 and it still works. Love the nostalgic look and sound.
My quadraphonic Marantz receiver is in the garage but the four Kenwood speakers are long gone. I’ve gone to a Dolby Atmos setup for the home theater that’s also used for music.
I have the Concept 16.5. It’s a killer unit that sounds incredible. There are very few around and very collectible. Thx for the video! Very much enjoy your channel!
Thanks Kevin for another video. That's awesome your Dads back in the shop. I have a pair of Pioneer CS 801A speakers that weight a ton! These are 3 way but didn't sound that great in my Living room so I put them in my sons garage with a Marantz 2235B and BAM!! Great combo for the garage.
I love seeing all these recievers, speakers and turntables that I lusted after as a teenager and I couldn't afford any of them. My holy Grail turntable was a Dual 1225 or a Garrard Z 100. I had a nice set up in the early eighties. I was a a Sansui integrated amp a pair of Dynacos with a passive woofer and a soft dome tweeter. The sound was so clear and defined it was like you could pick each instrument out of the air. Dynacos speakers and Bang and Olufsen two stellar brands.
Love your channel, so glad to see your dad’s back. If I ever take a trip to Iowa… By the way, recently, I watched a video where you were mentioning equipment. You don’t work on anymore. When you talked about reel to reel tape decks, and the sound that comes off of them, I did a double take. I was fortunate enough to work in a 24 track studio in California in the late 70s. I remember being in the control room for the Playback through a pair of JBL 4311’s. I had been a fan of hi-fi, and a musician as long as I could remember, but I was just floored at the sound. You’re right…nothing else compares to that layered texture of that sound.
Scott made one of the first FET receivers way before, around 1968. We have 3 Scott US made receivers and all of them are fantasitc, great build quality and sound... real sleepers! Rather have these than '70s Japanese ones, we've had those too. I'll take the Scotts.
Thanks for such a great video and a trip down memory lane (now a subscriber!). While I didn't own any of these particular pieces of gear, the references to mid-70's equipment and the military (and Pacific Stereo since I grew up in SoCal!) were so good! I was in the Navy in CT in the mid-70's when I got the chance to make an overseas purchase of my setup. Kenwood 7600 receiver, Pioneer turntable (can't remember the model but, it was destroyed on the move from CT to HI and replaced with a Bang & Olufsen Beogram 1600), Akai GXC-730D Auto Reverse Cassette player. Most of my shipmates were into reel-to-reel but, the next morning after an all night party it could be ugly! lol! Bought my speakers local so I could hear them in person and got a pair of Avid 103's. I have to admit that a lot of those speakers in those days, like the ones you presented, were very impressive looking pieces of furniture (!) but, went with the Avid's. The only issue I have is that the volume knob on the Kenwood seems to have a 'dead' spot in the low to mid volume range and it doesn't appear to be an easy fix. Thanks again...
We had a Pacific Stereo store here in Milwaukee in the 70's - early 80's I would love to just go in there and browse with my brother. It was like toy shopping.
Enjoy your channel , my older brother sent some beautiful equipment home from Germany ( US Army ) in the mid 70's . Marantz ,Akai, Sansui, Teac and more . Good times for sure!
I got my 63DX in the early 70s in college. I loved those speakers. I thought they were better than the DQ-10s my wife and I bought. To this day they are still my favorite
Hey Kevin, cool video, I'm the guy who dropped off the 2 receivers, can't wait to see what you can do with the Quadraflex! Good luck! Fyi, I love the Advanced Paris you sold me.
My parents had a set of those speakers that my uncle bought in 1968 while on R&R in Japan. He served on the U.S.S. Repose a hospital ship during the Vietnam war. One of his best friends on the ship was a guy that served with him was a country music writer, Bob McDill. I think they were in Japan at the same time shopping for stereo gear too. I think my uncle still has the Sansui 2000 stereo receiver and the Dual 1019 turntable that he bought then. A lot of guys came back with stereo gear and cameras.
Nice show, glade I caught it and subscribed. I'm going to enjoy going through your videos. I'm sure it will be a nice stroll down memory lane. As you mentioned Klipsch speakers and I fondly gazed at my pair of KG4s that I've had since '85. They definitely need some TLC as the front speaker baffles(?) are literally falling out the front of the cabinets. Thanks.
Just now discovered your wonderful channel. Very enjoyable and informative. You and your Father seem like really good people. I'm 61 years old. I have a 1985 Kenwood component system. KD-12RB Turntable, KA-32B Stereo Amplifier, KX-32B Cassette Deck, KT-42B Tuner. Two large Kenwood JL-630W 3-Way speakers, even the Kenwood brand single glass door stereo cabinet. Nothing real special but it's my baby. Still in mint condition. Have kept a towel over the turntable dust cover all these years. No scratches. I was an idiot and didn't purchase the optional CD Player back in 1985. I've done some research and I believe it would be a DP-800 CD Player. Back in 1985 CD's were getting popular but I listened to mostly Dean Martin and no Dean Martin CD's had been released by Capitol Records yet. The DP-800 has a silver colored power button. All of my Kenwood components also have silver power buttons. Most Kenwood components have plain black colored power buttons. The DP-800 CD Player controls and buttons looks similar to my other components. Same thin rectangular horizontal sellector buttons. Unfortunately the DP-800 CD Players don't pop up for sale very often. I've found repair manuals for then but no actual units. I purchased a good used Kenwood DP-850 CD Player a while back. It looks similar to my components. No silver power button though. Standard black button. If you ever run across a Kenwood DP-800 CD Player in good shape that works, try and let me know. I'd really appreciate it! I've subscribed to your channel. Looking forward to watching your other posts. Again, really nice TH-cam channel. 😊
Those speakers WERE AWESOME! We built DIY home versions in high-school wood shop made from 3/4 inches thick black walnut plywood and THICK layers of fibre-glass insulation batting used as sound deadening AND we had custom Bass, Mids and Tweeter drivers we ordered from JBL and Pioneer when they still sold drivers to end-users! We made similar speakers with dark grey or black foam fronts or used cloth fronts to make them look cool! Our wood shop teacher was a bit of an audio enthusiast so he encouraged us to build them 6 feet tall, 3 feet wide and at least 2 feet deep with LOTS of fibreglass insulation on the walls for best sound! I wish I hadn't sold my first pair to a high-school buddy's dad in the 1990's who STILL has them today! They sound GREAT TODAY even in 2024 (35+ years later!) and we made these super-speakers in the mid-1980's! I made smaller versions when I moved to another province! The first ones I made look almost the same as these but BIGGER! They would be $25,000 speakers if made today! Somebody got a GREAT DEAL and I've offered to buy them back but buddy's dad STILL says no! He likes them waaaaaay too much! He uses them for his fancy big-screen TV setup which sounds SUPERB! The cross-overs and speaker connections were custom made from high-end components and wiring by electronics students in our high school supervised and tested by diligent instructors! I could kick myself for ever selling these but I needed the money at the time! LOL! V
@ChristianPinnock-r4s I wont's bother since I was 17 at the time and while my woodshop teacher was FANTASTIC and very knowledgeable about how to build Speakers AND canoes, modern technology has significantly progressed since then. Now I can buy super-premium components, fancy inside-of-case sound deadening treatments, acoustic waveguide design and sound interferometry simulation software and new construction techniques. I will be making a NEW set of speakers which will BE the equivalent of Wilson Audio's WAMM Master Chronosonic super-speakers which are a Million+ USD a pair! I know they use Scanspeak and other custom drivers from companies I now have access to, so I can use that fancy software and company CNC machine to custom machine a set of beautifully finished Black Walnut-on-the-outside speakers that have a solid non-resonant thick multi-layer ultra high molecular weight polymer on the inside and special acoustic foams and custom machined waveguides/anechoic diffractors on the inside. I can build a monster-sized 9.2.2 Surround Sound Speaker System all for less than $15,000 USD! And for my audio playback, I will be ordering a 16-channel all-fibre-optic-digital professional-audio-studio-grade 192 KHz at 32-bits per audio sample THX and Dolby Atmos audio recording/playback sound card to be installed in a powerful 128 core AMD Epyc Terabyte-RAM-sized Workstation-class computer system for maximum lossless audio resolution and ultra high playback/recording quality. I can then set and use my custom-developed-by-me audio software filters to FULLY EMULATE ANY TUBE-AMP signal shaping and Dolby Atmos 9.2.2 surround sound output! My entire music collection is all LOSSLESS 16 bits, 20 bits, 24 bit and 32 bits pro-level audio for Rock, Classical, Jazz, Heavy Metal, Instrumentals, etc. Each song in my library has a custom surround-sound audio stage filter set that I can choose from that replicates ANY acoustic environment I want from small and quietly intimate rooms, to the great music halls of the world, to giant stadiums, plus quiet and noisy bars and even outdoors all in multi-channel 360-degree 3D-XYZ surround-sound uncompressed audio file glory! V
Couldn’t agree more on the 2015 baby Marantz. I run mine to a set of Heresy speakers and people can’t believe the sound that combo makes. At some point I hope you come across an old Lenco L75 or L85 turntable as I would appreciate your opinion on those with their heavy plate and infinitely variable speed. Love your vids, Kevin!
I have a Sansui 4000 which is a fantastic stereo amplifier and I have the Original Schematic and Manual for it too!! I bought it from a friend of mine years ago who has since passed away…He had it in the 70’s…
I had a 1969 Sherwood S-7600a that had an FET FM front end, and I remember advertising from that era that claimed Sherwood had the first FET FM receivers.
I still have 4 CS 99's & a pair of CS 06's (the round speaker that matches the CS 99"s) that I bought in 1972. Enjoy listening to them almost every day. I almost bought these CS63DX's but just didn't have the extra money back then.
I love these videos. I sold hi-fi between 1976 and 1983 - the last couple of years at Pacific Stereo in the Seattle area. I sold those Pioneer speakers and both of those receivers when I was at Pacific. FWIW, I hate, hate, hate idler drive for turntables. But that being said, a local TH-camr (Louisville, KY), Bob Bradley has a beautiful Thorens idler drive table that I seriously covet. I loved Marantz until they were bought out by Superscope. When it comes to Marantz, I'm a huge fan of anything made before they went away from the "silver/blue" styling.
I remember all these pieces of vintage audio equipment!, I would go to Pacific stereo and university stereo stores, which were the go to shops for all your audio equipment and accessories!!
Kevin, I realized that things are added and deleted from eBay all the time, but I had no trouble finding no less than 3 Quadraflex 650 stereo receivers on eBay today.(12/01/2024). Glad your Dad's back!
Love the lattice on the Pioneer speakers - so vintage 1970s. Everyone I knew with a stereo back then had speakers with the lattice look. Love you channel!!
Hi Skylabs Kevin, I very much enjoy your insight and content into the audio world.! I recently purchased a 1970's Amp and Preamp (Luxman M-2000 & C1000 ) I am fortunate to have a hand full of great repair shops in my area and just got a clean bill of health for my equipment. Very excited to jump back in where I left off years back. My dilemma is vintage amps seem to mostly deliver 8 ohm out. New speaker technology is delivering 4 ohm, 6 ohm speakers with exceptional sound quality like the Clarity 6.2 speakers. I have a small room or near field listing situation. In regards to this video... My situation might be unique but I am having thoughts of getting new equipment to solve my problem. Cheers & Happy Holidays to you and the staff!
Kevin, just so you know those Concept volume control knobs on the 5,5 are the same as the lesser models in the group. I have a 4,5 and 5.5 Concept and love the warm sound from both!
Enjoyed the video review, liked the side note legends and info! Cool seeing all the cool old gear that flew under radar. I have come across one of those Sony idler drive Ttables once before, it was a mess , although cool looking it was at best a cute but limited unit. Have had a chance the little mini marantz receivers both 2010/2015 they are sweet and very pleasant, definitely did sound well with the large lr klipsch KG 4 series, Klipsch RP 600’s ( which ever the model is) and some old Altecs high efficiency speakers. So a friend of my tech buddy repaired his friends integrated amp version of the i believe the 2010 can’t remember the model but it was 10 watts/channel. it was very nice sounding, he refuses to give it up, went through hell with that guy over that little thing lol, but when I finally heard I understood why, Peace and blessings to you and dad , good for him to be back in stride and doing better, keep up the excellent work man!!
3:14 I thought you had a Sansui 3000 there at first, but the lattice work on the Sansui is all wood without the little "beads" at the intersections. I had a pair sent home through the PX when I was in 'Nam, 1970. If I recall, they had 7 speakers in them, and a switchable crossover in back, and they were over 50 pounds each. Sadly, I no longer have them, but they sounded crystal clear. I wonder if they'd still sound that good after all these years.
Hey Kevin, I've been watching you for sometime now and enjoy your channel each week. I''ve heard you talk about sub-woofers for a home system, but never caught on to what you are using? Might be a good idea for a video and maybe a heads up on what is good; economical to high end. Thanks and Merry Christmas.
Even though my serious listening days are behind me, missing one of your uploads would be not good. Really enjoy seeing and learning about these items. And, BTW, I never heard of Pacific Audio; here on the East Coast we probably had similar businesses.
I have worked on a few Quadraflex units and they were nice. Will have to check out Concept. How fun is it to have a stereo from a place that is part of movie history. "What does it matter Stacy? He's a stereo salesman. What'd you wanna do, marry him? Have kids with him? Have this guy come home years old and bald? And have that little Pacific Stereo badge on? Come on, Stace. Hey, it's his loss." -- Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
The Concept 5.5 is an awesome receiver! Rated at 55 Watts per channel but seems way more than that. I also agree that it sounds similar to Pioneer receivers of that era.
Yeah, Pacific Stereo in Costa Mesa. Thank you for showcasing the Concept 5.5. I hope you can find the knob. PS convinced me the Concept was better than their other merch. Paired with a Dual 510 and HPM 100's. Play Dark Side of the Moon after midnight and be prepared to greet your neighbors or the men in blue. Super show and stay warm, you too.
My stepfather had the speakers, not sure which model, and the Marantz. I think he also had the Quadraflex, or something *very* similar to it. This was around 1977, give or take. The whole system was exceptionally clear, even at top volumes. He loved all the classic 70's rock bands, and to entertain, so it was a special thing for him to showcase his system.
Loved Pacific Stereo. I got that 650 in ‘77 or ‘78. It was such a great sounding receiver. We had great times for 20 years. Wish I would have gotten it repaired instead of tossing it out!
I always heard FET as a reference to Darlington configuration Front End Tuned amplifier section. There’s so much to learn about the stuff we grew up with not caring about the technical merits. The amount of diffraction in the Pioneer speaker will definitely hurt the sound stage tremendously. The lateral drivers also create comb filtering at different locations in the room. If the mids and tweets were efficient enough to match individually, then you could unhook one of each and reduce the comb filtering.
I have a concept 16.5 and love it. My favorite receiver in my collection of monster receivers.😮 I believe all the knobs are the same on all the concepts. I believe all the Pacific Stereo manuals were on micrfiche and basically few and far between now.
As a frequent visitor to Pacific Stereo back in the day I don’t remember the Quadraflex or the Concept.But I did get my Sansui 9090 and Teac X-3MKII reel to reel from them.
I brought back a set of CS63s from Japan in 1968. The advantage of being on an aircraft carrier was lots of room for the return trip. I loved those speakers and had them in service until the '94 Northridge earthquake when they detached themselves from their wall mounts and launched across the room to their untimely demise. 😢 Oh well... It was time for a new system anyway. 😂
As always you bring up very interesting subjects on vintage stereos. Yes, that Quadraflex looks very cool, I have not seen that one also. They made speakers also. That Pioneer speaker is also nice. I remember when I was in the Air Force, stationed near Tokyo back in 74-76, we bought all kinds of stuff. There was 5-6 way speakers, like this Pioneer, brand name Tamon was very unfamiliar speaker, sold cheap. The bass sounded hard. Concept is a nice sounding receiver. I had 2.0 model, made by NEC. Concept made a real big one, too. That Sony turntable is nice, but as you said, idler will get brittle. Marantz 2015 is hardly seen, like 15w/ch.? Inside is built better than 2215B.
My old roommate had the Concept receiver and it was a great workhorse stereo. However, my Pioneer SX-1010 won the receiver wars in our living room. My receiver was paired with two CX-99's and they handled the 1010 wattage quite well.
About these CS-63DX Pioneer, I think I remember seeing these at our local dealer (I lived near Québec city then) and according to Hi-Fi engine these initially had 2 "bullet" compression tweeter that seem to have been replaced by Philips generic tweeters AD0163 or something close.. I imagine you could find some spares. They sure look fantastic!
Those Pioneer speakers are super nice. See if you can get ahold of a pair of Sansui SP-5500 speakers. You’ll need help lifting them. Sounds will blow you away!
My first real hifi receiver was an SAE R-102. The look was different, the feel was quality, and the sound was excellent. Zero knobs, all rocker switches. At the time, too cool for words. Need to have local tech repair one day, but certainly rare and different.
Got MARANTZ PM 80 from 1992, sound great with my old KEF mini monitors, make me happy, no streamer needed, colection like 400-500 CD with KENWOOD DP-7090 cd player with KIMBER interconect.
I acquired my 63dx speakers when I got a job at Pioneer right out of high school. The first shipment to arrive in the states from Japan in 1973. We got 50% off as employees so I got a receiver and turntable also, all for around 500 bucks. A thrill I’ll never forget. People came from miles around just to marvel at the sound lol.
Dad's back and looking great! Glad to see that smile again.
People hold on to dad too long to a lot of people that's Grandpa now
Kevin, a quick personal note to say Thank You for what you do, I enjoy and learn from your vids.
Prayers are with Dad always, its nice to see you together and that you are well aware of how lucky you are to spend time with him everyday. With that said, I sure do miss my dad.
My first tour of duty was Clark Air Base, PI in 1970, 1971, and into 1972. Friends and I drove to Subic Bay Naval Base to purchase stereo equipment at the base store. What a fun trip that was! I traveled back with a wonderful stereo set: turntable, reel to reel tape deck, amp, speakers, and memories.
I did exactly the same Clark Airbase driving to Subic Bay 1973. Brought home the little brother of the speakers shown here the CS99’s plus an amp and a reel to reel. I had them for many years.
My brother returned from Vietnam with all kinds , the speakers look familiar but it wasn't of interest to me at the time.
that's aesome. I didn't know they payed so well back then
@@Zimmy_1981It wasn't the pay as much as it was the prices
@@robertarthurs328 oh ok, prices were more than reasonable back then? Pardon my ignorance, I don't live in NA
My dad (he’s 76) still has a pair of these speakers he bought when he was in Vietnam. They still work!
I was just going to say that a lot of servicemembers bougth these overseas and had them shipped to the US.
Around this time, 1969, the American air base in peshawar Pakistan was closing down. Great audio equipment was for sale .Still have my Akai amp,reel gx365 and speakers of the time ,turntable was -Dual. -
Gary Powers flew from here and the U2 plane was shot down by the Soviets .base had to be closed and Pakistan became a target of then Soviet power.
Same here. My dad bought a similar stereo and a China set in the Vietnam War.
I had a set of Pioneer HPM-100's. They needed work so I "donated" them to an audiophile friend that loved old equipment. He fully restored them and now uses them with his other 70's equipment.
Love the channel, man. How cool, too, that your Dad and you get to do this together.
Pacific Stereo was my "candy store" back in the 70's. I acquired my neighbor's Quadraflex 868 receiver in mint condition.
Quad was magic. People have no idea.
Man I remember Pacific Stereo . Saved up and bought a top of the line Marantz system back in 73 I think .
Many hours were spent drooling over all the glowing dials and high tech gear! Had a buddy from High School who had a quadraflex setup. Definitely high on the cool factor chart!
The Pioneer speakers look a lot like my Sansui 5-way. I bought them from a record store after a couple Gen Z's bought it, thinking they were just "old and bulky". They sound superb; warm, big, strong in all frequencies. Big smooth bass - not blubbery rap bass - crisp highs, vocals come out strong and beautiful in the mids. No need for a sub. Putting any bookshelf speakers next to them would be a joke.
I spent so much time agonizing over a stereo circa ‘76. My budget was my ~100 hours overtime from my industrial summer job, so like $500. You bring back so many memories, and reminding me of the excitement of moving beyond basic radios. Thank you.
Holy shit, Pacific Stereo! I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and can remember when there was a Pacific Stereo in every mall and even a few stand alone corner stores in the bigger cities. I did not know they had a house brand. That's a bonafide unicorn if you can repair it. Great video. Rare finds are fun.
Me too. I'm 74 now and spent most of my life in Castro Valley. Bought a high end Sony cassette deck and Cerwin Vega 3 way " rocker speakers" at Pacific Stereo in Hayward, CA in 1979. Great times!!
Hey big thank you for the "eBay safe search" tip, I had no idea about that. Love this channel, nice to see your Dad in the shop!
Those Pioneer speakers are lit.
I got 4 Pioneer CX 66’s. A pilot friend brought them back from Tokyo for me. They haven’t been used in 40 years and in storage. Beautiful wood work.
Kevin I love that your dad is so laid back. He makes your laid back ways look hyper. Got my eye on a Skylabs Hoodie.😇 My breed of Werewolf looks great in Skylabs Hoodies. 🤣 The Vega speakers had the prettiest wood grain. Thanks to you I gave some lower watt integrated amplifiers and tuners a chance. I got a Pioneer SA 7500 II and a Pioneer TX 7500 Tuner pair I also got a Pioneer SA 706 Integrated Amp and a Pioneer TX 6700 Tuner. Maybe its me but the radios sound so much more clear and distinct than any of my receivers. I never thought my lame ears would hear any difference. Receivers are nice but they sound muddy to me now. It's barely noticeable but I can detect the better quality. Hug your dad for us all!
Feeling pretty honored that my Sony turntable that I sold you made it on a rarities video.
Very cool to see it cleaned up and worked on by your dad.
Great
Someone could probably come with a heavier platter that would work if the idler wheel could handle the extra weight
My Sansui SP-3500s 66lbs. each. Still with me after 54 years and numerous moves. Still have the original boxes! Had the woofers re-coned in the 80s. Still sound great!
Nice! Sadly I didn't keep my Sansui speakers. I don't recall what model they were, but they were heavy things. I had four of them to go with my Sansui quad receiver. Moving was a production because they would fill up all the passenger seats in my Fiat 4-door, so it was either make two trips with a helper, or take them all and leave my helper behind and lug them up stairs by myself. :)
I still have mine also. Best sounding I heard back in day.
I have a pair also, bought new in 1970. Loud and clear, I love them.
I knew that was a Sansui. When I was a pre-teen to late teen, there was music store here in Missouri where I live. It was a cool spot.
He had a pair of Sansui speakers like that sitting high on top of the shelf like that.
Although I heard a lot of speakers at the time, and I was young, those Sansui's had some of the best high clarity that I recall. I would walk in and anything he played sounded so good on them. I never forgot that. That was late 70s to early 80s
Glad to see Ken back in action!
As usual awesome honest reviews love it! Zero bs you tell it like it is!! Also your knowledge of each piece of vintage equipment is second to none really informative and just kool to listen to.
Keep up the fantastic video's and one of these Days I'm gonna hop in the car and drive from Northern Illinois out to see you great folks and checkout all the equipment!!
Dummies like me learn much from this dude! Thank you!
Thanks for this mini review. I enjoy learning about these old, sometimes forgotten pieces.
I have the Quadraflex! It's a beauty! One of my favorites for looks and sound!
I have one too! Except mine started acting up a few weeks ago, sending loud static to the speakers. It's offline now, will repair it sometime next year
Hey Kevin, great video once again, thanks for the Ebay search tip, that’s great for us folks who are analog , in a digital world. I had no idea that could be done with Ebay now I can find some parts I have been looking for. Also, so good to see your dad back behind the bench., I betcha he’s happy to be back in the saddle as well. Keep up the good work, God bless you all at Skylabs
Great to see your dad back in the shop!
Loved my 2015 which I bought in ‘74 when I was 22. Carried it with me through many moves, a couple marriages, and finally recycled it when I was in my early 60’s when the power supply finally failed. I still have the Technics SL20 that I bought with it and still works.
Kicking myself for decades now as I got rid of my Marantz 2015 from 1976 - it was spectacular!
I feel the same about my marantz system i had!! I used to open all my windows and use my house as speaker box!!
Still have my Sansui DB 9090 with four Kenwood 888 speakers. Bought it when in the military in 1980 and it still works. Love the nostalgic look and sound.
My quadraphonic Marantz receiver is in the garage but the four Kenwood speakers are long gone. I’ve gone to a Dolby Atmos setup for the home theater that’s also used for music.
I had a set of trip 8s & 9s in the Marine Corps . Pretty cool in the day
They were impressive@@1Drgnrydr
I have the Concept 16.5. It’s a killer unit that sounds incredible. There are very few around and very collectible. Thx for the video! Very much enjoy your channel!
Thanks Kevin for another video. That's awesome your Dads back in the shop. I have a pair of Pioneer CS 801A speakers that weight a ton! These are 3 way but didn't sound that great in my Living room so I put them in my sons garage with a Marantz 2235B and BAM!! Great combo for the garage.
I love seeing all these recievers, speakers and turntables that I lusted after as a teenager and I couldn't afford any of them. My holy Grail turntable was a Dual 1225 or a Garrard Z 100. I had a nice set up in the early eighties. I was a a Sansui integrated amp a pair of Dynacos with a passive woofer and a soft dome tweeter. The sound was so clear and defined it was like you could pick each instrument out of the air. Dynacos speakers and Bang and Olufsen two stellar brands.
Those are some nice Pioneers !
Love your channel, so glad to see your dad’s back. If I ever take a trip to Iowa…
By the way, recently, I watched a video where you were mentioning equipment. You don’t work on anymore. When you talked about reel to reel tape decks, and the sound that comes off of them, I did a double take. I was fortunate enough to work in a 24 track studio in California in the late 70s.
I remember being in the control room for the Playback through a pair of JBL 4311’s.
I had been a fan of hi-fi, and a musician as long as I could remember, but I was just floored at the sound.
You’re right…nothing else compares to that layered texture of that sound.
The first receiver. That's handsome! Man! It's a beautiful all around!
Glad to see Dad. Thanks Skylabs
Scott made one of the first FET receivers way before, around 1968. We have 3 Scott US made receivers and all of them are fantasitc, great build quality and sound... real sleepers!
Rather have these than '70s Japanese ones, we've had those too. I'll take the Scotts.
The coolest thing ever 😎 you get to work with your Dad. Priceless doing great work" keep it up. 😊😊🎉
Cool video. Thanks for taking the time.
Thanks for such a great video and a trip down memory lane (now a subscriber!). While I didn't own any of these particular pieces of gear, the references to mid-70's equipment and the military (and Pacific Stereo since I grew up in SoCal!) were so good! I was in the Navy in CT in the mid-70's when I got the chance to make an overseas purchase of my setup. Kenwood 7600 receiver, Pioneer turntable (can't remember the model but, it was destroyed on the move from CT to HI and replaced with a Bang & Olufsen Beogram 1600), Akai GXC-730D Auto Reverse Cassette player. Most of my shipmates were into reel-to-reel but, the next morning after an all night party it could be ugly! lol! Bought my speakers local so I could hear them in person and got a pair of Avid 103's. I have to admit that a lot of those speakers in those days, like the ones you presented, were very impressive looking pieces of furniture (!) but, went with the Avid's. The only issue I have is that the volume knob on the Kenwood seems to have a 'dead' spot in the low to mid volume range and it doesn't appear to be an easy fix. Thanks again...
We had a Pacific Stereo store here in Milwaukee in the 70's - early 80's I would love to just go in there and browse with my brother. It was like toy shopping.
Enjoy your channel , my older brother sent some beautiful equipment home from Germany ( US Army ) in the mid 70's . Marantz ,Akai, Sansui, Teac and more . Good times for sure!
I got my 63DX in the early 70s in college. I loved those speakers. I thought they were better than the DQ-10s my wife and I bought. To this day they are still my favorite
Hey Kevin, cool video, I'm the guy who dropped off the 2 receivers, can't wait to see what you can do with the Quadraflex! Good luck! Fyi, I love the Advanced Paris you sold me.
Awesome thank you!
My parents had a set of those speakers that my uncle bought in 1968 while on R&R in Japan. He served on the U.S.S. Repose a hospital ship during the Vietnam war. One of his best friends on the ship was a guy that served with him was a country music writer, Bob McDill. I think they were in Japan at the same time shopping for stereo gear too. I think my uncle still has the Sansui 2000 stereo receiver and the Dual 1019 turntable that he bought then. A lot of guys came back with stereo gear and cameras.
Happy to see your dad back Kevin!
In 1976 at age 15 I bought a Marantz 2215B receiver. Still have it. Cool video!
Nice show, glade I caught it and subscribed. I'm going to enjoy going through your videos. I'm sure it will be a nice stroll down memory lane. As you mentioned Klipsch speakers and I fondly gazed at my pair of KG4s that I've had since '85. They definitely need some TLC as the front speaker baffles(?) are literally falling out the front of the cabinets. Thanks.
While in the service in 1970 I purchased a Sansui Amp/receiver, teac reel to reel 4 track, a dry of 4 Warfdale speakers and a dual turntable.
I absolutely love your content.
Just now discovered your wonderful channel. Very enjoyable and informative. You and your Father seem like really good people. I'm 61 years old. I have a 1985 Kenwood component system. KD-12RB Turntable, KA-32B Stereo Amplifier, KX-32B Cassette Deck, KT-42B Tuner. Two large Kenwood JL-630W 3-Way speakers, even the Kenwood brand single glass door stereo cabinet. Nothing real special but it's my baby. Still in mint condition. Have kept a towel over the turntable dust cover all these years. No scratches. I was an idiot and didn't purchase the optional CD Player back in 1985. I've done some research and I believe it would be a DP-800 CD Player. Back in 1985 CD's were getting popular but I listened to mostly Dean Martin and no Dean Martin CD's had been released by Capitol Records yet. The DP-800 has a silver colored power button. All of my Kenwood components also have silver power buttons. Most Kenwood components have plain black colored power buttons. The DP-800 CD Player controls and buttons looks similar to my other components. Same thin rectangular horizontal sellector buttons. Unfortunately the DP-800 CD Players don't pop up for sale very often. I've found repair manuals for then but no actual units. I purchased a good used Kenwood DP-850 CD Player a while back. It looks similar to my components. No silver power button though. Standard black button. If you ever run across a Kenwood DP-800 CD Player in good shape that works, try and let me know. I'd really appreciate it! I've subscribed to your channel. Looking forward to watching your other posts. Again, really nice TH-cam channel. 😊
My uncle had that speaker.....loved them.
Those speakers WERE AWESOME! We built DIY home versions in high-school wood shop made from 3/4 inches thick black walnut plywood and THICK layers of fibre-glass insulation batting used as sound deadening AND we had custom Bass, Mids and Tweeter drivers we ordered from JBL and Pioneer when they still sold drivers to end-users!
We made similar speakers with dark grey or black foam fronts or used cloth fronts to make them look cool! Our wood shop teacher was a bit of an audio enthusiast so he encouraged us to build them 6 feet tall, 3 feet wide and at least 2 feet deep with LOTS of fibreglass insulation on the walls for best sound! I wish I hadn't sold my first pair to a high-school buddy's dad in the 1990's who STILL has them today! They sound GREAT TODAY even in 2024 (35+ years later!) and we made these super-speakers in the mid-1980's! I made smaller versions when I moved to another province! The first ones I made look almost the same as these but BIGGER! They would be $25,000 speakers if made today!
Somebody got a GREAT DEAL and I've offered to buy them back but buddy's dad STILL says no! He likes them waaaaaay too much! He uses them for his fancy big-screen TV setup which sounds SUPERB! The cross-overs and speaker connections were custom made from high-end components and wiring by electronics students in our high school supervised and tested by diligent instructors!
I could kick myself for ever selling these but I needed the money at the time! LOL!
V
You could've bought them back with the money
@ChristianPinnock-r4s I wont's bother since I was 17 at the time and while my woodshop teacher was FANTASTIC and very knowledgeable about how to build Speakers AND canoes, modern technology has significantly progressed since then.
Now I can buy super-premium components, fancy inside-of-case sound deadening treatments, acoustic waveguide design and sound interferometry simulation software and new construction techniques.
I will be making a NEW set of speakers which will BE the equivalent of Wilson Audio's WAMM Master Chronosonic super-speakers which are a Million+ USD a pair!
I know they use Scanspeak and other custom drivers from companies I now have access to, so I can use that fancy software and company CNC machine to custom machine a set of beautifully finished Black Walnut-on-the-outside speakers that have a solid non-resonant thick multi-layer ultra high molecular weight polymer on the inside and special acoustic foams and custom machined waveguides/anechoic diffractors on the inside.
I can build a monster-sized 9.2.2 Surround Sound Speaker System all for less than $15,000 USD! And for my audio playback, I will be ordering a 16-channel all-fibre-optic-digital professional-audio-studio-grade 192 KHz at 32-bits per audio sample THX and Dolby Atmos audio recording/playback sound card to be installed in a powerful 128 core AMD Epyc Terabyte-RAM-sized Workstation-class computer system for maximum lossless audio resolution and ultra high playback/recording quality.
I can then set and use my custom-developed-by-me audio software filters to FULLY EMULATE ANY TUBE-AMP signal shaping and Dolby Atmos 9.2.2 surround sound output!
My entire music collection is all LOSSLESS 16 bits, 20 bits, 24 bit and 32 bits pro-level audio for Rock, Classical, Jazz, Heavy Metal, Instrumentals, etc.
Each song in my library has a custom surround-sound audio stage filter set that I can choose from that replicates ANY acoustic environment I want from small and quietly intimate rooms, to the great music halls of the world, to giant stadiums, plus quiet and noisy bars and even outdoors all in multi-channel 360-degree 3D-XYZ surround-sound uncompressed audio file glory!
V
I love these videos .....The experienced Dad in the back room..First Class operation!~!!
Couldn’t agree more on the 2015 baby Marantz. I run mine to a set of Heresy speakers and people can’t believe the sound that combo makes. At some point I hope you come across an old Lenco L75 or L85 turntable as I would appreciate your opinion on those with their heavy plate and infinitely variable speed. Love your vids, Kevin!
Just found your channel tonight. Really great and informative stuff. You’re unique on TH-cam. Wow what a great find. You’ve earned my sub.
Absolutely love old turner
I have a Sansui 4000 which is a fantastic stereo amplifier and I have the Original Schematic and Manual for it too!!
I bought it from a friend of mine years ago who has since passed away…He had it in the 70’s…
Really appreciate your channel. A friend had a pair of 63's he did indeed bring home from Germany when discharged.
I had a 1969 Sherwood S-7600a that had an FET FM front end, and I remember advertising from that era that claimed Sherwood had the first FET FM receivers.
CS-63DX - Still have the pair bought Vietnam 1971 - recapped and still going strong today . . [Heavy suckers to move around]
I still have 4 CS 99's & a pair of CS 06's (the round speaker that matches the CS 99"s) that I bought in 1972. Enjoy listening to them almost every day. I almost bought these CS63DX's but just didn't have the extra money back then.
Dad looks GREAT!
I remembered those Quadraflex receivers...they were the mid line house brand of Pacific Stereo...Concept was their TOLT components !
I've had Pioneer speakers for a long time and you got a pair from me I've never seen that pair you got there😮😮
I love these videos. I sold hi-fi between 1976 and 1983 - the last couple of years at Pacific Stereo in the Seattle area. I sold those Pioneer speakers and both of those receivers when I was at Pacific. FWIW, I hate, hate, hate idler drive for turntables. But that being said, a local TH-camr (Louisville, KY), Bob Bradley has a beautiful Thorens idler drive table that I seriously covet.
I loved Marantz until they were bought out by Superscope. When it comes to Marantz, I'm a huge fan of anything made before they went away from the "silver/blue" styling.
I have a 2215 & 2215b. Both are amazing. I have had a few of the higher watt Marantz in the past and sold them all. I am keeping the 2215s.
I remember all these pieces of vintage audio equipment!, I would go to Pacific stereo and university stereo stores, which were the go to shops for all your audio equipment and accessories!!
Kevin, I realized that things are added and deleted from eBay all the time, but I had no trouble finding no less than 3 Quadraflex 650 stereo receivers on eBay today.(12/01/2024).
Glad your Dad's back!
Love the lattice on the Pioneer speakers - so vintage 1970s. Everyone I knew with a stereo back then had speakers with the lattice look. Love you channel!!
Hi Skylabs Kevin, I very much enjoy your insight and content into the audio world.! I recently purchased a 1970's Amp and Preamp (Luxman M-2000 & C1000 ) I am fortunate to have a hand full of great repair shops in my area and just got a clean bill of health for my equipment. Very excited to jump back in where I left off years back. My dilemma is vintage amps seem to mostly deliver 8 ohm out. New speaker technology is delivering 4 ohm, 6 ohm speakers with exceptional sound quality like the Clarity 6.2 speakers. I have a small room or near field listing situation. In regards to this video... My situation might be unique but I am having thoughts of getting new equipment to solve my problem. Cheers & Happy Holidays to you and the staff!
Nice presentation. Very easy and enjoyable to watch.
Kevin, just so you know those Concept volume control knobs on the 5,5 are the same as the lesser models in the group. I have a 4,5 and 5.5 Concept and love the warm sound from both!
Enjoyed the video review, liked the side note legends and info! Cool seeing all the cool old gear that flew under radar. I have come across one of those Sony idler drive Ttables once before, it was a mess , although cool looking it was at best a cute but limited unit. Have had a chance the little mini marantz receivers both 2010/2015 they are sweet and very pleasant, definitely did sound well with the large lr klipsch KG 4 series, Klipsch RP 600’s ( which ever the model is) and some old Altecs high efficiency speakers. So a friend of my tech buddy repaired his friends integrated amp version of the i believe the 2010 can’t remember the model but it was 10 watts/channel. it was very nice sounding, he refuses to give it up, went through hell with that guy over that little thing lol, but when I finally heard I understood why, Peace and blessings to you and dad , good for him to be back in stride and doing better, keep up the excellent work man!!
3:14 I thought you had a Sansui 3000 there at first, but the lattice work on the Sansui is all wood without the little "beads" at the intersections. I had a pair sent home through the PX when I was in 'Nam, 1970. If I recall, they had 7 speakers in them, and a switchable crossover in back, and they were over 50 pounds each. Sadly, I no longer have them, but they sounded crystal clear. I wonder if they'd still sound that good after all these years.
Nice video! The good old days.
Very cool, I have a 2230 Marantz i bought in 1973, still works great, with oak Cabinet...
Hey Kevin, I've been watching you for sometime now and enjoy your channel each week. I''ve heard you talk about sub-woofers for a home system, but never caught on to what you are using? Might be a good idea for a video and maybe a heads up on what is good; economical to high end. Thanks and Merry Christmas.
I still have, and use my in perfect shape CS77A's that I bought in Nam 1972. Beautiful solid walnut cabinetry.
Even though my serious listening days are behind me, missing one of your uploads would be not good. Really enjoy seeing and learning about these items. And, BTW, I never heard of Pacific Audio; here on the East Coast we probably had similar businesses.
I have worked on a few Quadraflex units and they were nice. Will have to check out Concept. How fun is it to have a stereo from a place that is part of movie history.
"What does it matter Stacy? He's a stereo salesman. What'd you wanna do, marry him? Have kids with him? Have this guy come home years old and bald? And have that little Pacific Stereo badge on? Come on, Stace. Hey, it's his loss." -- Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
If you ever run across Concept CE/CM series speakers in good shape/ good price - grab 'em. They're re-badged ESS speakers.
The Concept 5.5 is an awesome receiver! Rated at 55 Watts per channel but seems way more than that. I also agree that it sounds similar to Pioneer receivers of that era.
Used to have a Fisher quadraphonic and four Rectalinier speakers. Superb!❤
CS63DX, I have a pair I bought in the PI back in my Navy days in 1973. Works great for me.
Yeah, Pacific Stereo in Costa Mesa. Thank you for showcasing the Concept 5.5. I hope you can find the knob. PS convinced me the Concept was better than their other merch. Paired with a Dual 510 and HPM 100's. Play Dark Side of the Moon after midnight and be prepared to greet your neighbors or the men in blue.
Super show and stay warm, you too.
My stepfather had the speakers, not sure which model, and the Marantz. I think he also had the Quadraflex, or something *very* similar to it. This was around 1977, give or take. The whole system was exceptionally clear, even at top volumes. He loved all the classic 70's rock bands, and to entertain, so it was a special thing for him to showcase his system.
Loved Pacific Stereo. I got that 650 in ‘77 or ‘78. It was such a great sounding receiver. We had great times for 20 years. Wish I would have gotten it repaired instead of tossing it out!
I always heard FET as a reference to Darlington configuration Front End Tuned amplifier section. There’s so much to learn about the stuff we grew up with not caring about the technical merits.
The amount of diffraction in the Pioneer speaker will definitely hurt the sound stage tremendously. The lateral drivers also create comb filtering at different locations in the room. If the mids and tweets were efficient enough to match individually, then you could unhook one of each and reduce the comb filtering.
I have a concept 16.5 and love it. My favorite receiver in my collection of monster receivers.😮 I believe all the knobs are the same on all the concepts. I believe all the Pacific Stereo manuals were on micrfiche and basically few and far between now.
The 16.5 is the favourite of my collection as well! Fantastic unit!
As a frequent visitor to Pacific Stereo back in the day I don’t remember the Quadraflex or the Concept.But I did get my Sansui 9090 and Teac X-3MKII reel to reel from them.
I worked there in 70’s concept was great gear especially their cassette deck. Great sound
Hey Kevin, nice to see you and your dad back together... One day I'd appreciate some of your deeper input on Empire Turntables. Thanks.
I brought back a set of CS63s from Japan in 1968. The advantage of being on an aircraft carrier was lots of room for the return trip. I loved those speakers and had them in service until the '94 Northridge earthquake when they detached themselves from their wall mounts and launched across the room to their untimely demise. 😢 Oh well... It was time for a new system anyway. 😂
my folks had that 2015 in their livingroom running a set of Pioneer speakers !
As always you bring up very interesting subjects on vintage stereos. Yes, that Quadraflex looks very cool, I have not seen that one also. They made speakers also. That Pioneer speaker is also nice. I remember when I was in the Air Force, stationed near Tokyo back in 74-76, we bought all kinds of stuff. There was 5-6 way speakers, like this Pioneer, brand name Tamon was very unfamiliar speaker, sold cheap. The bass sounded hard. Concept is a nice sounding receiver. I had 2.0 model, made by NEC. Concept made a real big one, too. That Sony turntable is nice, but as you said, idler will get brittle. Marantz 2015 is hardly seen, like 15w/ch.? Inside is built better than 2215B.
My old roommate had the Concept receiver and it was a great workhorse stereo. However, my Pioneer SX-1010 won the receiver wars in our living room. My receiver was paired with two CX-99's and they handled the 1010 wattage quite well.
About these CS-63DX Pioneer, I think I remember seeing these at our local dealer (I lived near Québec city then) and according to Hi-Fi engine these initially had 2 "bullet" compression tweeter that seem to have been replaced by Philips generic tweeters AD0163 or something close.. I imagine you could find some spares. They sure look fantastic!
Those Pioneer speakers are super nice. See if you can get ahold of a pair of Sansui SP-5500 speakers. You’ll need help lifting them. Sounds will blow you away!
I saw a bunch of BML speakers in the home of the nephew of the owner/inventor last week! Amazing sound!
My first real hifi receiver was an SAE R-102. The look was different, the feel was quality, and the sound was excellent. Zero knobs, all rocker switches. At the time, too cool for words. Need to have local tech repair one day, but certainly rare and different.
Got MARANTZ PM 80 from 1992, sound great with my old KEF mini monitors, make me happy, no streamer needed, colection like 400-500 CD with KENWOOD DP-7090 cd player with KIMBER interconect.
Knew a kid back in High School in the 90's who had a pair of Pioneer CS-63DX, they were given to him by his dad!~