Component(s) you would induct into a "Hi-Fi Hall of Fame"?

[mhardy6647]

Rubber on the woofer, but foam on the MR, in the case of mine.
I am, truth be told, not 100% sure they were SuperCompact II, but that's my best guess.
They were, in full disclosure, dump finds -- in excellent condition other than a chunk of edge missing from one of them (the one shown in the photo, in fact).

 

[Mart68]

View attachment 462495
Rubber on the woofer, but foam on the MR, in the case of mine.
I am, truth be told, not 100% sure they were SuperCompact II, but that's my best guess.
They were, in full disclosure, dump finds -- in excellent condition other than a chunk of edge missing from one of them (the one shown in the photo, in fact).

Last time I was at the dump they had half a container full of electronics to go for 'recycling' but they don't allow you to pick from it.

Years ago I had a pal who worked there which is the only way to get stuff from a UK dump. He got some fantastic things like a mint condition Fender guitar amp. Why anyone would skip that I can't imagine. My vinyl of 'For Those About To Rock' came from that dump. 'NM' sleeve and disc.

 

[007Shorty]

If an integrated circuit for hi-fi applications, introduced in 1979 is still part of modern audio components today (46 years later!), then you have to call it a stroke of genius. So, here is my nomination:

NE5532 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[mhardy6647]

Last time I was at the dump they had half a container full of electronics to go for 'recycling' but they don't allow you to pick from it.

Years ago I had a pal who worked there which is the only way to get stuff from a UK dump. He got some fantastic things like a mint condition Fender guitar amp. Why anyone would skip that I can't imagine. My vinyl of 'For Those About To Rock' came from that dump. 'NM' sleeve and disc.

Many New England "dumps" (these days, they're actually typically "transfer stations" for waste and recycling) in small towns function as de facto town centers. As such, some of them still feature "Yankee Swap" tables (the ancient forerunner of "Freecycle"!) to take or leave interesting/useful quasi-junk (one person's trash is another person's treasure). Our long-time home town, Harvard, MA, has (I hear) discontinued the practice but it is a cherished memory -- not to mention the source of more than a bit of the clutter that's accreted at my house -- and (just to be clear and to hold my spouse blameless) on my watch.

A long view of the swap pile at the Harvard, MA town transfer station on a lovely summer Saturday morning more than a decade ago.

 

[xanalog]

imo; It wins the HoF Granddaddy award.

 

[Esprit]

INFINITY IRS-V Specifications Infinity

 

[Count Arthur]

If an integrated circuit for hi-fi applications, introduced in 1979 is still part of modern audio components today (46 years later!), then you have to call it a stroke of genius. So, here is my nomination:
View attachment 462498

NE5532 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Good call. I have a fair few in the signal chain of my current set-up:

There may be more of them lurking in other components, that I'm not aware of.

 

[Ken1951]

INFINITY IRS-V Specifications Infinity

One of the greatest systems I've ever heard.

 

[lini]

I'd also include the Sony WM-D6C - and also the Audio Technica AT91 (or respectively the AT3600 family).

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[mhardy6647]

Post in thread 'Component(s) you would induct into a "Hi-Fi Hall of Fame"?'

Jul 10, 2025

If an integrated circuit for hi-fi applications, introduced in 1979 is still part of modern audio components today (46 years later!), then you have to call it a stroke of genius. So, here is my nomination:

NE5532 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

• 007Shorty

• 

Good call. I have a fair few in the signal chain of my current set-up:

View attachment 462640

There may be more of them lurking in other components, that I'm not aware of.

So... I mean... OK... vis-a-vis the NE5532... but I was an adult in 1979!

The 2A3 direct-heated power triode was introduced in 1933.
They're still doing fine in terms of their use in modern hifi products, even if not in ASR-friendly applications, and as far as I can tell the tube type itself has been in continuous production ever since it was introduced. 1933 was ninety-two years ago.

I have a new (-ish) pair of JJ 2A3s in my 2A3 amplifier, e.g.
They're quite nice, albeit not inexpensive.


In full disclosure, the pair of JJs shown above were a) used and b) a very kind gift.

Best of all, you only need two to make a stereo power amp -- four, tops!

 

[mhardy6647]

The Altec (currently GPA, if they are in fact still a going concern) Duplex and the Klipschorn, both mentioned in

Post in thread 'Component(s) you would induct into a "Hi-Fi Hall of Fame"?'

Feb 19, 2025

Altec Duplex
Quad ESL-57
Klipschorn
Acoustic Research AR-3
harman/kardon first integrated receiver (cannot remember model number ATM)

The pentode
Columbia LP records
Mono-compatible stereo (all formats, including FM MPX)
Ultralinear output stage

• mhardy6647

• 

were both introduced in the 1940s (ergo, perhaps something to do with aliens and flying saucers, like the transistor*?) and, albeit with modifications (nominally improvements) have also been in more or less continuous production ever since.

_______________
* Obviously there's another ASR thread for these topics!

'All About UFO's'

Jun 10, 2023

https://www.foxnews.com/us/crashed-...-foot-creatures-in-his-backyard-100-not-human

This thread is for anything pertaining to UFO's. It can be news articles like above, speculation or even satire.

• Ron Texas
• Replies: 5,834
• Forum: Member Area

• 

 

[RetroStereo]

I always thought the Tandberg cassette decks edged out the Nakamichi ones. I'd nominate their TCD-300 and TCD-440A as their first and last consumer models and their TCD-3014A and TCD-910 audiophile and studio professional models.

 

[xanalog]

ADD: The following historical factoids are provided by some chatBot:

*The KT66 significantly influenced early guitar amplifier design, particularly in shaping the iconic Marshall sound.
*Initially used in the JTM45 and Bluesbreaker models, the KT66 provided a warm, creamy tone with a smooth, bell-like overdrive that became central to blues and early rock music.
*Its use in Eric Clapton’s “Beano” album and early The Who recordings helped define a new era of guitar tone.
*The KT66 offered more linearity and less distortion than the American 6L6, contributing to a richer midrange and a more nuanced breakup when driven hard.
*Though later replaced by the EL34, the KT66’s sonic character laid the foundation for British amplifier voicing and remains highly sought after for vintage tone.

 

[Sal1950]

Klipsch La Scala
I ran a pair for 30 years with upgrades over that time.

 

[tineared]

I nominate the Oppo DV-980H DVD player. It weighs less than a loaf of bread, is all plastic and the buttons are somewhat mushy.
I paid $169 at Amazon for it, but it had the best sound (and as good a picture) of any DVD or CD player that I ever heard. It was a true hi-fi bargain and it bettered my $900 Rega Apollo CD player (which has been in its box in my closet ever since)

 

[mhardy6647]

View attachment 519577
ADD: The following historical factoids are provided by some chatBot:

The crusty, superannuated members here doubtless know that the KT in these tube's "names" (KTnn family) refers to Kinkless tetrodes.
This does not (necessarily ) mean that such power tetrodes would not be popular choices at an online dating site , but it does mean that the design (adding beam forming electrodes) was meant to do away with a "negative resistance" anomaly ("kink") in the curves of ordinary power tetrodes.

source: https://electronics.stackexchange.c...bi-gridtetrode-tubes-with-negative-resistance
Plate curves for a 6FV6
source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure...hat-appears-in-the-curves-for_fig18_319877861

Typical family of curves of a tetrode. Notice the 'kink' that appears in the curves for low values of anodic voltage. The cause is the secondary emission caused by the impact of high kinetic energy electrons at the anode, which end up in the screen grid, causing a decrease of the anode current. When the anode reaches a sufficiently high voltage, the electrons from the secondary emission are attracted back to the anode and the undesirable effect disappears. Importantly, the place of the curve where the elbow appears depends on the screen grid voltage display. In this figure it is connected to a DC source of 80 volts. The effect of "negative resistance" (for a small portion of the curves, the higher the anode voltage the lower the anode current) disappears when the anode voltage is higher than the screen grid. Source: datasheet of the tetrode 6FV6 from the Tung-Sol brand.​

KT88 Plate curves per wikipedia

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KT88

 

[Mort]

Genelec 8030c
BMR monitor

 

[Sal1950]

The crusty, superannuated members here doubtless know that the KT in these tube's "names" (KTnn family) refers to Kinkless tetrodes.

Damn thanks Mike. I'm pretty crusty but I didn't know why the KT was in these tubes names.
I tried to look it up in my RCA tube manual but it's from around 1963 so -------------------

 

[xanalog]

The crusty, superannuated members...

I object, your honor!
I was going to nominate the KT88 (a la MC275) so as to not give away my age, but I had to give homage to its kinky daddy!

 

[EJ3]

Here is an article about it which talks also about the differences to the Technics design (someone can use the browser to translate it into English)

hifimuseum.de - Sie sind im Bereich : Der RabcoSL-8 (1970)

From product hierarchy (and drive motor and price) several SP models were above it but those didn't have tangential arms with its advantage and disadvantages, still today a good TT.

I am fluent in German, no need to translate:
They are talking about the linier tracking mechanism on the lesser Technics TT's. While they worked well enough for the built to a price point Technics TT's:
This is NOT one of thos.
The (servo controlled?) linier tracking mechanism it is equipped with is a
unique
linear tracking arm that can make tracking error, which causes distortion during playback, and inside force, which causes channel imbalance, close to 0.
The tracking error angle is within ± 0.05 ° by detecting the arm deflection angle with an optical sensor and obtaining a high-precision detection signal.