pete_mac

I think most people would have gone for either the SL-1200 with the factory fitted tonearm, or the SL-120 which is identical apart from having no tonearm. The SL-120 is the model which was commonly fitted with the 3009 back in the day.

Gieseler already sells a high quality, stand-alone headphone amp - I’d wager that your best bet would to be to add one of those to your Gieseler DAC of choice. Edit. D’oh - this was covered in the post above.

Depends what you're budget is for replacement caps, but these Kemet caps are basically the modern equivalent of the originals: https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/aluminium-capacitors/3397931/ about $100 delivered for all four.

Sheesh, I’m sucking at reviewing threads via the iPad tonight! Sorry, I missed the pic of that dead filter cap. iIt needs to be replaced anyway, so it makes sense to tackle that first and seen what the outcome is.

I should have listened to that audio clip before posting! I’ve never heard amp amp making that kind of sound due to faulty filter capacitors.

Don’t buy electrolytic caps from eBay... too many fakes going around. You’re much better off buying from RS Components, Element14, Mouser etc.

They are pretty cool looking bits of kit! This CD/Minidisc combo is also pretty cool:

Yep, that's where I bought my wheelbase. As a decent entry-level setup, the Thrustmaster TX base is a good thing. The TS-XW/TS-PC are better yet again, with more torque. The T3PA pedals are also pretty decent when the supplied conical brake mod is installed, although a load cell upgrade and spring swap is worth doing. You can only really upgrade the pedals if you have a rig to bolt them to... they simply won't stay in place on carpet etc if you go for more realistic pedal feel. I also rate the TH8A shifter, although I've also modded mine for a bit more resistance and have installed a shorter shifter from Russia (DimSim) who also make superb steering wheel adaptors. I've never used Fanatec gear, nor had a crack on a proper direct-drive wheelbase, but I've found the Thrustmaster setup to be damn good. I've accrued a few fastest lap times on the global XBOX leaderboard for Project Cars 2, including the fastest outright time around Mt Panorama in a F1 car

A quick update re: the System La Mac... A Sansui AU-alpha 907MR has usurped the AU-Alpha 907XR for the time being, with freshly recovered side panels. She looks and sounds fantastic! 33kg of Sansui's finest. However, I did notice that this amp exhibited a slight channel imbalance at very low volume levels, which is typical of many analogue pots at the extreme end of their range. To address this, I've made up some -12dB attenuated RCA links for installation between the processor send and return connections on the amp (the short loops at the bottom of the photo, below the lovely Aurealis Dragon silver and copper litz RCAs). These can be switched in or out of circuit by pressing the 'processor' button on the front panel. The RCAs are the great AECO star RCAs with tellurium copper and silver plating, and the cabling is Van Damme. Silver solder was used for extra audiophile cred. The result is that I can wind the volume pot up a bit higher whilst achieving the same dB level via the speakers, and the channel imbalance is eliminated entirely. I'm a very happy camper indeed.

Agreed 100%

I went a little bit silly a while back and took over the kid's toyroom, much to their disgust. This started out as a way of getting them used to driving, whilst also giving me some thrills from time to time... After buying the Thrustmaster TX Leather setup, I whacked a WRX bucket seat on a moveable base, hard-mounted a TX wheel and T3PA pedals onto a piece of Sweden's finest furniture, hacked into a USB keyboard to create a brain centre which controls a button box, DIY handbrake and sequential shifter, and carbon-fibre magnetic paddle shifters from Ascher Racing installed on one of my DIY OMP steering wheels (thanks China via ebay!). There's also the TH8A H-pattern gearbox with shorter shifter, and the pedals have been extensively modded with different springs to give more realistic feel, and a load cell on the brake pedal which turns the brake pedal into a pressure-based setup, rather than travel-based. Ironically, it's getting to the point where the kids can't use it - the brake pedal is too firm for little legs! Bad Daddy... I desperately need a better TV in there to make the most of the XBOX One . The old Hitachi plasma has since gone, and there's a freebie Soniq 42" 1080P LCD in its place which looks surprisingly OK. A 55" 4K is on the wish list.

Ah, the good old DAI-1CHI replacement woofers! They have been thrown into all sorts of speakers when the woofers are blown or the foam surrounds have been crumbled. It's the cheap way out. I once bought a pair of Electrovoice speakers which had been fitted with the 8" version of the above. Thankfully, the seller had the originals stashed away in a box and I was able to repair them. The DAI-1CHI is on the left, and the refoamed EV is on the right. Similar in looks, very different in performance.

Unfortunately these aren't a particularly desirable or collectable speaker, and the lack of originality is a further set-back in my opinion. They may well sound OK-ish (hence the party/shed speaker suggestion) but it will be MUCH harder to convince someone to part with their hard-earned cash for speakers with non-original drivers. It's difficult enough selling desirable/collectable speakers with non-standard drivers, let alone non-desirable/non-collectable speakers. Regarding the sound with the replacement woofers, it all depends upon how close their design parameters are to the originals. Unfortunately, when drivers are blown (or more commonly, when the foam woofer surrounds perish), many people throw in non-standard replacements with scant regard for specs (apart from diameter and impedance).

The Dynalab speakers are what are termed 'white van' speakers and are have little value, but the rest of the gear is quite nice! If you have any interest in good quality music reproduction, it's certainly worth keeping. It should also be fairly easy to sell on the second-hand market.

They aren't particularly desirable nor sough-after speakers, and the lack of original woofers means they won't sound exactly like Technics/Matsushita originally intended. Regarding value, you might be lucky to get $50 for them from someone who is after a pair of shed/party speakers.