IPOD in Phoneroom

[Doug Rose]

Two years ago just before Christmas, my white IPOD died, 30 gig and I had to delete to add all the time. PITA!

Janet gave me 160 gig IPOD and I have never been happier. I love music and take this in my bag to listen to on the train into Boston.

The best function is in the Phone Room. When I redid the room, all stereo equipment was moved out but a receiver. More phones! I had two Infinity Floor Speakers and added two Boston Acoustic Speakers on the back wall.  I always had a four speaker setup until the Original phone room was built in 2001. Back in time. Nothing beats the sound of four speakers.

I have a phono mini split into the Receiver, plug it in and I have my favorite Artists and CDs sitting on the arm of my chair. This is by far the best thing I have ever done. Receiver is next to my chair and out of sight. 

Phones and Tunes....a good combination....Doug

[Jim Stettler]

I use an old cell phone as a mp3 player. I hook it up to a small pair of USB powered speakers and it is my portable stereo. I have a dual wall usb charger for powering both devices, I also use a 12volt dual adaptor and a vehicle jump box for in the yard. It isn't as impressive as Doug's setup but it works for me.

JMO,
Jim S.

[19and41]

I use an old laptop with XP for the same purpose.

[Mr. Bones]

Sounds like a great setup, Doug!

What kind of speakers, receiver, etc. are you using?     

     I use several Sansa Clip+ throughout the house, and in my truck for mp3 playing. Many are split out into, via rca stereo>mono adapters, to  Thomas BD109's, or 110's. Great for listening to oldies, or my extensive collection of OTR shows. I prefer either to most of what passes for tv shows, nowadays.

     In the living room,as well as the BD109, it also goes to my Pioneer VSX 3600, which feed 4 hidden Bose 201's for mains, as well as a pair of RS Minimus 7's for the surround speakers. The home theater also goes through the receiver, makes for a great setup.

     Guests are always looking all around when we watch a movie, trying to figure out where all the sound is coming from!

Best regards!

[Doug Rose]

Hey Bones....two existing Infinity Floor speakers and two Cambridge Soundworks added to the back wall (I had Boston Acoustics before). Sound is really nice. The receiver is an old Sony that I have had for years. Come home from a hard day at work and snap the IPOD in and relax with phones and tunes....and maybe a beverage...or two...Doug

[Fabius]

I play my iTunes through a 1970s Pioneer tube receiver/amp (SX-626 and SX-580). Love the tone of a tube amp. The Pioneers have an aux plug which is 1/4 inch so I use an adapter that allows use of the smaller Apple 3.5mm plug. Also play streaming audio (Pandora, radio stations etc.) from the iPhone 5 that I now use as an iPod since we upgraded to the iPhone 6s Plus.

[Mr. Bones]

Doug, Tom...

Sounds like we all have some SWEET 'Happy Places' to decompress! Absolutely mandatory for stress relief, and Quality of Life assurance.

I think your speakers are most likely better than mine, Doug.

I wholeheartedly agree (know, for a  damn fact), Tom, that tube amps definitely sound warmer (=better!!!). I made much of my income with them, for many decades--->>>
Fender Deluxe reverb, Twin Reverb, Bassman, even Vibro Champ in the studio. Crate Vintage Club 30. Sears Silvertone Twin 12 (THE Ultimate Pawnshop Blues Amp, despite the carppy reverb ((curable, outboard, btw )) More too numerous to list here, but know I also have Gibson GA 7, GA 9, off the balding top of my head.

The lil' fellers are great for wailin some harpoonicus through, anywhere from Little Walter clean on up to Sugar Blue, and beyond, an' howlin some great vox at the same settings, for the song being performed.

Still have all the git-fiddle amps, but my ol' tube stereo stuff is gone, have to restock, ah reckons!

Still have some tube radios, 30's-50's, maybe 60's. Still use several of them.

They have a 'life' to them, they breathe, they interact with the input. Best of all, they have a warm, cheery glow, and the irreplaceable, intoxicating aroma of tubes, especially when 'in heat'! If Febreze would just recreate tube amp / radio scent, I'd buy a  case frequently. It's a major part of the tube experience, at least for me. Just coined a term: "Electron Aromatherapy"

Tom, I downloaded aftermarket software that allows me to place any of MY music collection, be it from 78's, OTR, rips of my archival CD's, etc, onto my iDevice. I have no iToonz account. Po' is as Po' does, hee hee... was taught one of Murphy's Laws of Combat: If it's stupid, but it works, then it isn't stupid!

What are you using for speakers, Tom? I'm interested in hearing how you get the tone and 'warmpth' out of your sweet Pioneers...

Thanks for sharing to the both of you.

I encourage other members to jump in and participate....

Best regards!

Have a great weekend!

[Fabius]

What are you using for speakers, Tom? I'm interested in hearing how you get the tone and 'warmpth' out of your sweet Pioneers...

Here's a picture of my system with speakers.

[Fabius]

The post with the speakers is just something I found on the internet. 

Right at the moment I'm listening to a cassette of Gladys Knight and the Pips played on a JVC KD-V44 cassette deck through a BSR graphic analyzer into a Pioneer SX-580 receiver to Realistic Optimus 5B 4 way speakers. The SX-580 is rated at "only" 20 wpc (watts per channel) but I had it blasting and when Gladys Knight hit her first high note of the evening I about jumped out of my skin. In my earlier post I mistakenly listed the two Pioneer receivers/pre-amps as tube sets. In fact they are both solid state mid 1970s and early 1980s. Made in Japan when Japan made most of the best stereo equipment. My tube receivers are two Grundigs from the 1950s.

Below are stock photos of the speakers and the Pioneer.

[Mr. Bones]

Thanks for your responses, Tom.

Your first pic immediately put me in mind of Nathan 5-chimes... 't would be loud, indeed!

Your setup is great, and highly envious!

I have destroyed so many of the 'great' tower type speakers of the day, found a pattern, after enough times, and hard-earned $... Robin Trower, Greatest Hits. Dimed. Don't do this to your cool vintage stuff, please. Trust me.

20W is MORE than enough to bring any living thing to it's knees, or render incredible beauty. Depends on the gear.

The later trend towards mega wattage has no bearing whatsoever upon the Quality of the output, only the decibel level.

I used to have a 77~ish Luxman receiver.  20 watts. 20 VERY clean watts. It would kill all the giant stereos n speakers my buddies had. Their call, not mine. I would wail it until they begged 'mercy'. B&O speakers, at one point, Harmen-Kardon, anotherIIRC, it had like .01 THD, when the mainstream had ~.1-.25,50, or worse; as quality decreased / wattage increased in mainstream stuff.

Damn,

Reckon I don't wanna see what that receiver will cost to replace!!

Thanks for sharing your toys, Tom!

Best regards!

BTW: Playin' Gladys on cassette? CRO2? Still have the cassette deck contemporary to my RX, don't spin many cassettes anymore. Have hundreds in storage, including many original masters / unmixed recorded on my Yamaha MX 100, a while back.

Best regards!

[19and41]

Here is the setup I have been listening to the last couple of months.  It puts out 22 watts through two 10 inch field coil speakers.  It didn't have a turntable and I probably wouldn't listen to 78s much on it anyway.  I do use one of my old laptops as the music library.  It can rattle the windows and reproduce as well as the quality of the recording.  The only thing missing is the stereo separation.

[Mr. Bones]

That is a great Magnavox console you have there, and I'll just bet it really does sound great!

Very, very cool, indeed!

Have you posted any info on it, over at the Radio &TV board of the forum? If not, I'd love to see more, learn about it.

EDIT> Never mind, found it at http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=15337.msg159301#msg159301

By the looks of it, I would have to guess you have the XP laptop plugged into the console, via either an Aux or Phono jack? Super Sweet!!! I love sitting in my recliner and listening to music coming out of my vintage stuff, very therapeutic!

Thanks for sharing, and best regards!

[19and41]

Thanks!  I do have it up in the antique radio section under Magnavox 153b Hepplewhite.

[twocvbloke]

All I have is a couple of Sony mini-hifi system speakers, a cheap amplifier from china, my Samsung Galaxy S5 (for the music) and a bunch of wires...

The amplifier's not bad, ain't great, but ain't bad, it's not of "audiophile quality" but makes sound come through the speakers, which is what matters to me...

Amplifier for sale here, the "brand" name varies it seems:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161895928260

[19and41]

I keep a copy of my library on my S4.  The only thing I don't like about it is that it will only access it by a list of the song titles.  Not handy for 300 odd CD's.