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ukbobboy
Legend

Old Hi-Fi System

@caseyb1993 @Andy @GraphiteGB @mark_suff  @commanda6

 

Hi Guys 

 

I was bouncing around YouTube when I came across this video, it shows the Thorens turntable and SME tone arm I used to use back in the day.  Before marriage and children, I used to be (well) into Hi-Fi (high fidelity) systems and the Thorens turntable combo used to be the head/start of my system.

 

I know this has absolutely nothing to do with NowTV etc. but I'm sure there are a few older fans out there that still remember the days when Hi-Fi was king.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaMn20oJ4Bc

 

 

UK Bob

 

Pink Floyd - Time from the "Dark Side of the Moon" 180 Gram LP Thorens TD 160 Super / Audio Technica AT440MLa / Shure SME 3009 Series 2 Improved tone arm / Pioneer VSX-9500s (Pre-Amp) / White Oaked Phase Linear (WOPL) 1000 Power Amp (530 watts per channel into 8 Ohms), 108.7 Volts on the Main ...
310 REPLIES 310
4268
Legend 5
Legend 5

@ukbobboy when I was a kid I liked using these record player with stacker

Please take a moment to click thanks or marked as solution if this answered your question. I am a community contributor and pop on when I can.
ukbobboy
Legend

@4268

 

Hi 4268

 

Yes, I remember these stackers, when I was about 5 years old my parents had, what was called at the time, a Radiogram.  It was a standalone piece of furniture with a mono radio, amplifier and one mono speaker. Along with a 4-speed stacker turntable which was mainly there for playing 45 and 78 rpm vinyl records in stacks of between 2 - 8 records. BTW, the 4 speeds were 16 rpm (which was a 10" record, although I only ever saw one in a record shop and they were on the way out then), 45 rpm (7"), 33 rpm ( 12" which was really 33.3 rpm) and 78 rpm (which was made of a slate-type material that was relatively heavy for it's size, easily chipped and always broke when dropped at a height of more than 24").

 

For me, I used to enjoy watching my parents record player playing those stacked 78 rpm records, especially when one record finished and the machine had to get ready for the next record.  The tone arm would go racing back to it's out-of-the-way position, the next 78 would come crashing down the centre spindle, shaking the whole player in the process, which was on sturdy springs, and finally the tone arm would come racing back, position itself above the record's run-in grove and drop down to start playing the new record.

 

This process repeated itself until all the records in the stack were played, as a 5 year old I found this all very fascinating.

 

The following picture, which I borrowed from yours, closely resembles the record player, installed in the radiogram, my parents used to have.  The main difference is that the centre spindle resembles the type that was sold in the US, you see 45 rpm records in the US were sold without centres while in the UK 45's had centres.

 

                             Stacker Turntable.jpg

 

 

This certainly brings back memories.

 

 

UK Bob

 

ukbobboy
Legend

@4268

 

Hi again 4268

 

This is exactly the turntable my parents used to have:

 

     Labelled Turntable.jpg

 

 

You know, it's been over 50 years since I've seen this type of turntable.

 

 

UK Bob

 

ukbobboy
Legend

 

Guys

 

Going down memory lane again, these were the Goodman Hi-Fi speakers I used to have:

 

   Goodmans (Vintage 1975) Magnum SL 3 way Speakers.jpg

 

 

UK Bob

ukbobboy
Legend

Rotel RA-611 Stereo Amplifier 01.jpg

 

Rotel RT-622 Tuner 01.jpg

 

My old amplifier and tuner.

 

 

UK Bob

 

ukbobboy
Legend

Thorens TD 160 Super Turntable with SME 3 Tone Arm 02.jpg

 

Turntable and tone arm.

 

 

UK Bob

ukbobboy
Legend

My Thorens TD 160 Mk2 Turntable (without Tone Arm).jpg

 

SME 3009 Mk2 Tone Arm.jpg

 

Ortofon VMS20E Mk2.jpg

 

My Old Turntable, Tone/Pickup Arm and Cartridge.

 

 

UK Bob

Andy
Legend 5
Legend 5

I don't have any old hifi stories to share but having perished the photos in this thread  I must admit 

 

 

image.jpeg

 

 

 

 

Andy
Legend 5
Legend 5

After a quick bit of random searching I've managed to find my very first sound system, man I really rocked the neighbourhood as a kid #rebel

 

 

image.png

 

 

Someone's trying to flog one for £20 on Gumtree the cheeky monkey!