More Crown in the House....!

[MyPal]

Pete...Where do you find this stuff?! I'm totally floored. Congrats!


Unfair advantage....There's something your not telling us.

[tdelahanty]

Pete I love Watco's Danish Oil!!! I use it on all my woodworking projects.

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by chessman

Pete, that looks outstanding. Congrats!

Thanks Randy....it's a work in progress, but it's definitely getting there.

Pete

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by chops-tube

Great gear throughout, Pete! Wow! And the shelving you put all the gear on is just as beefy and massive as the gear itself.

It would be really neat to take a walk through your house with all those systems and beefy system furniture. It would be like a time-warp back into the late 70's, early 80's, meaning it would be taking me back to my childhood years with my father's and brother's growing systems. I still expect to see shag carpeting in one of your pics, but it never shows up! LOL

BTW, I had the pleasure of owning one of those little D-75A amps for a couple of years (in mint shape). I took a gamble and got it for 50 bucks because the original owner said the power switch was broken and he didn't want to spend the time and money getting it fixed. When it arrived in the mail, I pulled the lid off only to find that the nut and tooth washer had worked loose. A simple 2 minute fix and it was up and running. I ended up selling it a couple years later for $350! It sounded excellent on my Altec 511B horns and dead silent.

Anyway, sorry for the little off topic spew. And again, great looking gear!

Charles....thanks for the kind words. I started building the furniture about 20 years ago, when I got my Crown Reel to Reel machine. I built a table/stand/shelf
unit at that time for the tape machine and so the TV would go on top. Since then, as I started new systems in different rooms, I've basically built different variations
of that design. Prior to that first build however I had long previously designed a large piece of furniture to accommodate a JBL B460 Subwoofer. The trouble was,
I couldn't find a B460 sub until 2002 and at that time I built the big boy. I don't know if you've seen my living room system before, but both the original build and
the largest build are both shown in this photo:



The one thing that is really important, as you say, is that it is strong and beefy; and I've made sure that's the case with each piece of furniture. They're not perfect-they
all have their little flaws but they've worked out pretty well, they have harmony and I've been pretty happy with them.

I've really reached the point where I have nowhere to build anything of any size. I built most of the furniture before I added the Florida room at my patio area. Once that
room went in, I built the furniture for that room in the empty room before the rest of the furniture and carpet went in.

I have more plans for the office system. I'm looking for the final component to complete the Crown Distinction series system in that room. This is a large, two-chassis component
and once that arrives I will need a larger, taller main rack. Since I will want to retain harmony, I'll be facing a significant challenge in finding a place to construct it. It will be worth
the trouble, however....

I'm not exclusively a "vintage guy"...my main system is a blend of both present and classic gear. I like to have the "best of both worlds"...try to keep up with current trends, but still
retain proven, old-school concepts as well.

As to your taking the tour here, you aren't that far away. If you plan to come down here some weekend, give me a shout in advance. If the timing is right we can arrange it...


Pete

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by MyPal

Pete...Where do you find this stuff?! I'm totally floored. Congrats!


Unfair advantage....There's something your not telling us.

Steve....thanks. I love the time machine!

Honestly, there really isn't a big secret. I just keep a close eye on eBay, for the most part. Despite whatever faults eBay may have and yes you do have to be careful, it is a venerable gold mine. I just watch for the things I need/want and when they appear, I bid...finances allowing, of course. My ebay wins and purchases have made a very significant contribution to furthering my hobby.

If there is something you really want, it will turn up there. It may not be tomorrow or even next week, but it will turn up.

Pete

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by tdelahanty

Pete I love Watco's Danish Oil!!! I use it on all my woodworking projects.

tdelahanty...Watco is the best!

Pete

[chops-tube]

Pete, I don't think there's a member on this fine forum that hasn't seen your beautiful living room system, including the extensive wiring upgrades you did a while back. The first time I saw the pic above when I first joined here, I admired all of the solid equipment furniture and noticed how it closely matches the McIntosh cabinets.

Like you, I'm a firm believer of mixing good new gear with good vintage gear. It's funny you have an interest in vintage Crown equipment as I have always had a thing for old Crown stuff as well, mainly for their looks as I've never heard any of their older equipment except for that D-75A, which wasn't all that old.

Thanks for the invite to come tour your humble abode. True, I'm not too far down the road from you, but used to be closer when I was in St Pete. Oh well. One of these days, I'd gladly take you up on that offer for sure.

[bostown]

The SA2 is one of few amps I regret selling last year. It had some serious competition at my place. in the end it was the a McIntosh MC7300/ C38 that ending up in the primary system. I blame it on the fact that i couldn't find a DL-2 pre-amp.

Yours is stunning. love the case. I'm in the middle of building a natural hardwood case for my Accuphase P-300. I can only hope that it will look as good as your SA-2 when it's all finished.

[Vintage Pete]

Originally Posted by chops-tube

Pete, I don't think there's a member on this fine forum that hasn't seen your beautiful living room system, including the extensive wiring upgrades you did a while back. The first time I saw the pic above when I first joined here, I admired all of the solid equipment furniture and noticed how it closely matches the McIntosh cabinets.

Like you, I'm a firm believer of mixing good new gear with good vintage gear. It's funny you have an interest in vintage Crown equipment as I have always had a thing for old Crown stuff as well, mainly for their looks as I've never heard any of their older equipment except for that D-75A, which wasn't all that old.

Thanks for the invite to come tour your humble abode. True, I'm not too far down the road from you, but used to be closer when I was in St Pete. Oh well. One of these days, I'd gladly take you up on that offer for sure.

Charles...I've been a Crown fan for many, many years...in 1974 I was lucky enough to acquire an original IC150 preamp and an original DC300 amp. In 1977 I upgraded the IC150 preamp to the more refined IC150A. I still have the original DC300 amp boxed up in a closet. The IC150A preamp that I purchased in 1977 is the preamp you see in my office system today. It has had only one repair incident in 36 years, and I replaced the front panel in 1992.

I like my two D-75A's a lot, they are really the only amps that Crown still produces today that can be considered aimed at the audiophile market, as well as the professional market. The rest of their current products are aimed at pro sound reinforcement, and aren't the type of product I would put in my living room.

It's a shame in my opinion that Crown didn't keep their line focused on the home audio market, or at least a portion of their line. I believe if they had, they would really be a strong contender against some the other big names of today i.e. McIntosh, Bryston ,etc.

Attached are a few photos from around 1977 or 1978 that are really the beginnings of my living room system of today.

Incidentally, my purchase of the Crown Power Line Four now puts the number of Crown amplifiers I own higher than the number of McIntosh amplifiers I own. Crown 6, McIntosh 5.


Pete

[tweet]

Pete,

You are my Crown hero. I love everything about your beautiful Crown equipment and setups, but more importantly, I admire your enthusiasm for all things audio. If anyone here deserves to be known as an Audio Aficionado, my friend it is you. Reading about your latest adventure is always a special treat.

Congratulations on an outstanding collection of Crown components. It is spectacular in every detail.