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NAME SOME RARE AUDIO ITEMS THAT DID NOT TAKE OFF BUT SHOULD HAVE & WHY.HERE'S MY LIST

I thought that this would be a good one to post, since I am a new member and hopefully it will be interesting and give some background.

 First off let me say that I first became fascinated with audio as a pre-teen.A relative of mine called me over.His brother was in the service overseas and he was able to get both he and my relative a great deal on some brand new stereo equipment at favorable country of origin prices..He turned it on and I didn't even know what it was.I had heard a few stereo rigs before.The ones where the speakers fold out on hinges and revealed the record player and the amp inside the box.But this was something completely different.Each piece was separate.It sounded like the floor was moving.Voices sounded like they were in the room.I didn't know what to make of it.Very impressed and intrigued.My first job was only a temporary summer job but I did make enough money to make my first major purchase; a component stereo.A Sherwood receiver,a turntable and a pair of (2 tone grill) Jensen Speakers.Had a nice few months listening and eventually traded it in for a Yamaha guitar.I wanted to become involved with the music,not just listening.To this day I have musical instruments around the house; it helps me in my modding stereo equipment.It helps to know exactly what sounds a guitar,banjo,sax really make and just as importantly what sounds they don't make.My first true high end speaker was the Goetz Systems GMS 1.They were a beautiful floorstanding speaker which looked similar to the KLH Scxa.Perhaps KLH's  most exotic offering ever along with the model 9 panel speakers.The Goetz were not well known.A beautiful 3 way made in Georgia with beautiful imaging & a beautiful crossover which made them sound effortless on conveying transient detail.They did some shows,took out some display ads in the old Audio magazine,but never quite made it in the market.One of their dealers put in some line ads for them,proclaiming them "Speakers made by Hillbillies".That might be what did it.I heard a Koetsu cartridge for the first time through the Goetz,and I Don't think I will ever forget that wonderful experience.Many people liked them better than the Thiel,Celestion,Spica models of that era (early 1980's).Goetz later came out with pre and power amps which through the grapevine might have easily been the best sounding SS amps on the market,but the market was not there for them.These are among the rarer items out there.I have never seen Goetz on ebay or Craigslist.

 Another item from around the same era (a few years earlier)that was really interesting were Watson Labs speakers.The model 7 through 10 had separate cabinets for the woofers & the cabinets were filled with lighter than air hexaflouride gas.Their bass speed,authority and definition surpassed even transmission line speakers like IMF,and from my still vivid memory they would still be a marvel in that way today.They were designed by Dayton Wright,(actually same company)and they might have been the first speaker with dynamic drivers and an open baffle dipole arrangement that reminded you of the clarity of good electrostatics.The local dealer for a long time demo-ed them alongside Dahlquist DQ10's,and they sounded better in every way to the DQ10,which were a really good speaker themselves.Mike Wright the owner,stopped production and the company after a few years when Audax stopped making the tweeter they used.I have never seen Watson Labs for sale used on ebay or Craigslist.Don't know if deterioration factors would make them worth seeking out,but their sound was something I had never experienced before and will always remember. It would be interesting to know if their bass modules still retained the hexaflouride lighter than air gas after all these years.

Mod Squad phono cartridge tiptoes.Circa early 1980's.This was a flat black thin piece and on the top it had 3 sunk in b b size balls,made of what looked like ping pong ball material which made contact on the three points against your headshell with the cartridge underneath it.This amazing gizmo actually made my dismally tracking moving coil track like a champ.The sound was incredibly faster,cleaner,clearer and more open.Wish someone still made it.Tiptoes for your cartridge.I used too much torque on the cartridge screws one day and one of the b b size ping pong balls caved in giving it an uneven tilt and made it unuseable.

Finyl CD spray.Really liked the stuff .Unplayable scratched cds would start playing again with improved sonics.

Eon pod LP disc clamp.A light as a feather plastic clamp that exerted downward pressure on the record label by gripping the spindle and lunar module type feet putting pressure on the record label.Impressively better transients and detail.Was made in Canada.
 
What's on your list?

 

supertweak
trombonist's avatar
trombonist
28 posts
 
Hey Supertweak .. gotta agree w/your initial post. A buddy and I were introduced to Tom Goetz back in the 80's. We were privy to auditioning many pair and new designs he came up with. They were characterized by a wide sound stage, great detail, very musical for the price, easy to drive and fun speakers.

Over the years I have accumulated 2 pair of the larger speaks (3's & 4's), 1 pair of the newer short tower design and 1 amp that has recently undergone some recapping and upgrade inputs/posts by Musical Design. Unfortunately the foam surrounds need to be updated  .. or I would invite you over to reminisce!
trombonist's avatar
trombonist
28 posts
 
I might add the Rapaport amplifier. when paired with its matching pre-amp, and hooked to its intended speaker of choice (Snell type A) it was heaven. As an added bonus, due to its class A design, you could almost roast marshmallows with it. Beautiful, large, heavy, made the lights dim to power on .. real audiophile testosterone. Incredibly poor reliability.
Came across something called Coconut Audio RCA input terminators. Filled with this crystalline goo the maker claimed improved RF rejection and internal circuit quieting. I cant verify the technology, but they do seem to do something more than traditional RCA caps.
My favorite is the Bedini disc clarifier. I am just amazed the pre & post detail discovered in untreated discs. Unfortunately John Bedini is no longer around to bring more technology to audio.
lewm
13,006 posts
 
 I thought this thread was about great vintage products that never quite made it in the marketplace. In that vein, I would add the acoustat10 electrostatic speaker that was direct drive. I heard it once in an audio store. It probably failed as a product due to unreliability but it sounded spectacular for its day. The plasma tweeter idea comes and goes over time.

servocharge
5 posts
 
lewm is partly correct regarding the Acoustat early ESLs.  The original was the X, a 3 panel speaker with the tube OTL amps built into the speaker bases.  The successors were 3 and 4 panel ESLs labeled the Monitor 3 and 4, a bit taller and wider with more rigid frames and tilt adjustment.  The 4's made plenty of bass, typically very clean and quick.  These early designs also had all panels driven full range with no crossover and thus no distortion in parts of the frequency range.  Probably a major reason further development of these systems was not undertaken was the desire of many audiophiles to use different amps (esp solid state), and Acoustat accomodated them by creating the MK interface electronics for use with the ESL panels.  No further work that reached retail sales was done on the original amps by Acoustat but Joe Curcio developed tube based mods that greatly improved the sound and lowered the noise floor of the amps dramatically.  We have heard that Dan Fanny also had mods that placed these systems in the highest echelons of sonic accuracy and rhythmicity.  The ESL panels have held up well over 40 years in my pair but we have no idea how many may still be around.  Jim Strickland and his associates were onto something with these designs, and the torch could be picked up by modern designers.
supertweak OP
90 posts
 
Thanks all for adding to my post..I very probably will not be doing anything further on Audiogon.Maybe I just can't stand jerks, and in just over a week there have been so many already.Being contradicted by flawed logic and then feeling compelled to explain and explain just isn't fun and its time consuming.Some of these creeps on here they could easily get rid of, who try to make Audiogon a "not fun experience" right from the start for new people, knowing that,once someone senses they don't like something they are not going to continue on with it.They probably get a giggle out of it and say something to themselves like,"well I doubt if they'll be on Audiogon very long, which will be who knows how many thousands of bucks down the drain and not going to  Audiogon over time.Some of them may be closet Audiogon haters.I don't hate it,I just disagree with how they handle some things.Geoff Kaitt was constantly jagging me and trying to contradict me.Maybe he was worried that as a tweaker I'd go commercial and be competing with him.I have enough money;.90% of my ideas I would have kept to myself,because I like knowing that nobody does this or that like me.I've forgotten more things than he knows about tweaking.Let the old geezer have his way.I just got a look at him,there are pics on the net.Oh my. Anyway Thanks.

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