Pioneer Kinda Week, End of an Era, HPM40s, PL560

A buddy of mine has told me a coupla times that another friend of ours had an old turntable sitting in his garage. One evening last week we buzzed over there, and it's a Pioneer PL560. Not a highend Pioneer model, but other than some gouges in the dust cover, in virtually perfect shape. From examining it, I don't know how the dust cover got gouged, because the rest of it seems to be unused. Amazing how good a brand new table with a new stylus sounds, regardless where it is in the model line. He was generous enough to give it to me. So, it came at the cost of a twelver of beer.

Then, I stopped at the Goodwill, and because they were still there, picked up a pair
of HPM40s. I did not need another pair of speakers (How many times have you heard someone, like say, yourself, say that.) I figured from everything I had heard, and from looking at the condition, even if something were blown, I'd have some quality replacement parts. But everything is intact, and they sound really good. I understand why they have the reputation for very clean, uncolored sound. $45 is about as steep a price as I would pay, but I figured that was a cheap, belated selfbirthday present. And I rationalized it with getting the TT for free.

HOWEVER, this is the end of an Era.
I'll refer to it as the "Years of Hoarding."

Stopped by today to pay for my space in this weekend's US50 Yard Sale.
Most of my sales stuff will be audio gear, esp. speakers.
My longterm goal has been to have 4-5 pair of speakers, 3-4 amps, 3-4 turntables, and a few CD-DVD players. And I'd be good with one GREAT system and one very good system, plus an auxiliary system in case something goes down for the count.

I'll load up the truck a coupla times and see how much I can clear from my collection. I'll try to post a listing here in the next coupla days of any stuff that might be of interest here.

Dennis

do you got a pict of the "horde"

elroy

ah the end of an era ... beware, some learned behaviors can be difficult to overcome. hope everything goes well with the sale.

Yup. I'm aware of the pitfalls. I will have to stop going to places where I might accumulate "stuff." One of my strategies is to reward myself large for stopping myself small. I don't need any more gear that isn't as good as the gear I have. If it's something I can buy for 5 bux and sell for 55, I'll do it. Otherwise, excise five mediocre pieces, pick up one gem. I will inventory and take pictures of everything, so you guys can posit your own pathology.

As I told my last girlfriend, the pediatrician, I did it because I didn't have a wife around to stop me. She not only remembered that, she quoted me when we were doing a post mortem on our relationship a couple of days ago. Turns out she didn't dump me because I'm not Catholic, but at least partially because of the hoarding. Her parents apparently had that problem, so it's also about pushing buttons.

There was that and the me getting back into a carbon copy (for all of you old timers) situation of the one I was in for 3.5 years with the two young daughters, and her "impatient heart" and need for instant fulfillment.

Anyway, I could make an argument it had something to do with audio gear, but if the mod wants to move it to another heading, feel free. It's not quite off color, and it may be off topic. It's certainly off something...

sounds like things worked out for the best then.

I have a theory that things work out because we keep trying to make them work out, Scott. But yeah, I look back on only one woman I've dated and think I shoulda made the leap on that one...
So that leaves a hundred-plus I wouldn't go back to revisit, if I could snap my fingers and, as our man Picard likes to say, "Make it so."
A coupla others were perfectly nice, but no finger snaps...

TUESDAY:
Here's what I have heaped out under my carport for preloading onto my truck, and I've only gotten as far as speakers:
-AR TSW 100 (small titanium bookshelves, poor cosmetics)
-Sansui S500S (system junk with small wires)
-Scott 2way bookshelf (1989. fused, nice construction, so so sound)
-Scott S17 (vintage 60s stuff with orange tweed grilles, great walnut cabs. I really like these little dudes, esp. for vocals, but they are nothing compared to the AR 18s, sonically)
-KEF C55 (like a weightlifter when he actually tries to do something athletic: so much cone packed into those little cabs, and it sounds like someone is playing the speakers in a closet. incidently, got them at US50 sale three or four years ago.
-AudioJunque X95 SuperDeDuperWhiteVandersteens. (These may not sound worth a crap, but they have swell spinners for treble and mid, and I bet they could be left out in the rain and still work.)
Yamaha NSA 635A. (GAve my first pair of these to my son years ago. Sweet little threeways that handle 10 to 140W.)

That's for starters, boys. The list will drone on.
Really like these HPM40s. Haven't disappointed me on anything I've played, yet. Oh and the only thing I tested tonight that made me say WOW! was the AR 18s....

i remember the AR18 from the 2007 Affordable Audio gathering. i was quite impressed by the big sound the little 2-ways delivered.

the little kef's I have seen advertised for surround sound systems, I wonder if they would sound good in that setting

elroy

if you have a set of PIONEER DSS-9s to get rid of, i'd be interested...