The Million Yen, 40 / 25 / 70 kg club

[lindsayt]

This thread is dedicated to components that cost over one million Yen when new and have the following minimum weight requirements:

Over 40 kgs for sources

Over 25 kgs for amplifiers

Over 70 kgs for speakers

Ideally costing about £150 now.

Trouble is, with many of the models in the Million Yen Heavyweight club, you could wait a lifetime and still not see one for c£150. For me personally, I am happy to invest a lot more than £150 if the example I'm buying is about £1000 below current market rates and has a good chance of appreciating over time, as all I'm doing is converting my liquid assets (cash) into non-liquid (hi-fi equipment).

You can find the historical exchange rates here: http://fxtop.com/en/historical-exchange-rates.php?

Anyway, onto the equipment. Starting with...

 

[lindsayt]

These cost about the same as a Volkswagen Golf when new and weigh 75kgs.

There were possibly more of these made than any other component that will make it into our Million Yen Heavyweight club, with their main market being Radio stations.

There are stories of these being fetched out of skips outside BBC sites in the 1990's.

I paid £2250 for mine - about 5 years ago.

 

[lindsayt]

1,200,000 Yen in 1984. 120kgs.

 

[lindsayt]

1,200,000 Yen in 1993. 145kgs.

 

[Infiniteloop]

Do all these components have to be so Fugly too?

 

[lindsayt]

2,880,000 Yen in 1982. 147 kgs.

 

[lindsayt]

1 million yen in 1997. 50kgs.

 

[ellisdj]

1,200,000 Yen in 1984. 120kgs.

I am sure I have seen a video on you tube where a company restore these speakers - huge things

 

[davedotco]

A couple of players that I have been lucky enough to have had hands on experience.

Sadly I do not think you are likely to find any at the required price.

Fond memories of the Goldmund, I was able to spend some time helping with a substantial upgrade/refurb to a Reference back in the early '90s.

 

[Vladimir]

Oh mama...

Hi-Fi Choice Article | Product Page | In Action

Any meth heads who own these? I have 150 quid in my pocket right now!

 

[Vladimir]

I was working, I have a deadline, why FFS I had to see whats new on the forum!!! *dash1*

A full Synthesis setup...

 

[matt49]

Any meth heads who own these? I have 150 quid in my pocket right now!

I know someone who has a pair, though he's no meth head. He drives them with a Devialet 400.

They're on my to-do list.

EDIT: Credit to LindsayT: this thread could be a great resource for s/h kit that might pop up one day on craigslist in your parish.

 

[ID.]

Great thread. Never going to buy this stuff, but love seeing and reading about it.

 

[steve_1979]

JBL Everest DD66000

I don't usually like big horny speakers but those JBL's look nice.

 

[lindsayt]

3,350,000 Yen. 140 kgs.

I'm not sure how well the ribbons last on these, which might make them borderline suitable for purchase by bargain hunters.

 

[lindsayt]

Esclusive C5 pre-amp. 780,000 Yen in 1983. 17kg.

Exclusive M4a power amp. 430,000 Yen 1981. 27kgs.

 

[lindsayt]

1,200,000 Yen in 1997. 47kgs.

 

[lindsayt]

Altec A4. 1,650,000 Yen in 1985. 290 kgs.

Cinema refurb / closing down watchlist.

The A4's are lifestyle models compared to the A2's...

A4 back left. A2 back right.

A2's were 2,680,000 Yen 1985. 528 kg!

 

[7760]

Infinity IRS V:

 

[lindsayt]

5,000,000 or 7,000,000 Yen in 1991, depending on veneer. 150 kgs with 25 kg power supply.

 

[lindsayt]

1,000,000 Yen in 1982. 61kgs.

 

[lindsayt]

Infinity IRS V's were 12,000,000 Yen in 1988 and 681 kgs!

 

[davedotco]

Martin Logan Statement system with woofer towers.

I was lucky enough to have heard thes back in the '80s as part of one of the best hifi systems I have ever heard.

Amplification was ARC, front end a (relatively) modest Oracle/Black Widow/Koetsu setup. My first real taste of 'proper' high end hifi, the sound stays with me to this day.

 

[Al ears]

Altec A4. 1,650,000 Yen in 1985. 290 kgs.

Cinema refurb / closing down watchlist.

The A4's are lifestyle models compared to the A2's...

A4 back left. A2 back right.

A2's were 2,680,000 Yen 1985. 528 kg!

I can clearly see why the A2's are displayed in a barn..... The A4's are obviously designed to you to build a house around rather than fit in a room.

 

[davedotco]

Altec A4. 1,650,000 Yen in 1985. 290 kgs.

Cinema refurb / closing down watchlist.

The A4's are lifestyle models compared to the A2's...

A4 back left. A2 back right.

A2's were 2,680,000 Yen 1985. 528 kg!

I can clearly see why the A2's are displayed in a barn..... The A4's are obviously designed to you to build a house around rather than fit in a room.

Speakers of this type were pivotal to the developement of hi-fi speakers but thet were built for the cinema, not for the home (or barn).

The advent of sound in cinemas at the end of the 1920s was the single most important driving force in sound reproduction. The demand was enormous and the requirements of the cinemas were what drove the industry. Power amplifiers, valve of course, were fairly modestly powered and the bandwidth of the cinema soundtrack was not wide. This lead to the kind of speakers shown in Lindsayt's post, Altec being the market leaders in the '30s and '40s.

Despite their size, they were not built for bass extension, rather for mid bass efficiency which could easily surpass 100dBw and lead to the classic 'bin and horn' loudspeaker systems that held sway in professional applications through to the end of 1970s.

High sensitivity and controlled directivity were the order of the day and of course form follows function. With the advent of 'music in the home' after the second world war these were the starting point for home speakers. Systems were mono in those days so the developement of corner horns by Paul Klipsch and James Lansing were some of the first speakers designed specifically for home use.

The advent of stereo was the first factor to drive down size to something more useable, horn loading the bass drivers gave way to more compact reflex enclosures and the latest versions of those designs can be seen in the JBL Everest models shown above. Back in the mid '70s I owned several JBL 15 inch and horn systems, most notably my 4332 studio monitors.