Modern Classic
Featuring tech, audio/video, computers, games and gadgets that stand the test of time. Not simply a retro or nostalgia channel, I'll be featuring new products that I consider game-changers too. I am a pilot, so I like flight sims! New videos whenever I can.
Check out my new secondary podcast channel! youtube.com/@ModernClassicChatbox
Who am I? I'm just a guy who flies for a major airline. In past lives I've worked in marketing for a major game publisher (you've seen my stuff), the same at a major TV channel, used to write for a major video and PC game web site (it's defunct now), and years ago sold home electronics and computers for a living. I hopefully know what I'm talking about most of the time, although I make no guarantees!
I also play guitar and bass, if you're looking to start a band and need someone.
Modern Classic
I've shot and am almost done editing the results video for my CD player listening test. Once I post it, I'll be closing the poll itself and will publish the results (as well as going through them in the video). Should hopefully just be a couple days!
2 months ago | [YT] | 24
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Modern Classic
One thing I've thought about doing is a video just following up on some past projects and how they're working for me now (if they still are). You might be surprised by what's going on now with some of my past video subjects.
This case is not all that surprising - I had my PDM-900 opened up again because it started doing *weird* things to the sound of some discs, and not playing others at all. Turns out it just needed a full servicing (disassembly, cleaning and new grease) and some adjustments to focus and tracking. When I first got it and made that video, I opened it up and checked stuff but I didn't really do anything. After servicing, it even plays CD-R's, which is the only reason I didn't include it in my CD comparison video. I'll definitely find a way to do a quick follow-up, probably on my secondary channel.
I suspect this is the case with a lot of old CD players that are "broken" - they probably just need some basic maintenance and then they'd be fine. But also, it does go to show that the sound of a CD player isn't just binary - it doesn't either work or not. This thing just sounded really strange before I opened it up, and as I altered tracking and focus while a disc was playing, I could audibly hear the sound change. (I originally did it following the service manual instructions, but that ended up with *no* discs being playable!) Ran some sine wave tests off a burned CD afterwards just to verify it was reproducing them properly, and now it is, all the way up to 20khz (which I cannot even hear). It's back in the rack now in my office; it is, and will be for the foreseeable future, my office CD player.
So before you judge the sound of any CD player, make sure you're listening to one that's actually properly adjusted. I have not done this with every CD player I own, so it is possible that not all the CD players in my ongoing listening test sound as good as they could. But I think that's still a valid test, since it's unlikely any used CD player you buy today (regardless of quality) will have been serviced in any way, and the main reason I'm testing this is because of how many people I see recommending one player over another to people solely based on sound. CD player sellers have not caught up to tape deck sellers in this regard - most people just don't realize that servicing a CD player might be needed for them to sound their best. So if you buy one based on its sonic reputation, especially a vintage one that's a "good deal", you very well may be disappointed.
By the way, we're *almost* up to my 385 vote goal in that listening test poll: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9lHL...
2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 31
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Modern Classic
Hey all, I'm back from my latest work trip and we're getting pretty close to my initial target of 385 votes in my poll! (That's for a 95% confidence level and 5% margin of error.) Currently at 319, so I'm doing what I can to try to put it over the top. If you still haven't watched/listened, please do so and then take the poll in the description!
I'd also love to get *more* than 385 votes the way things are shaking out. The results are definitely not quite what I expected - I'll talk about that in the results video! But the more votes, the better to try to get that margin of error down a little more. (Only one vote is allowed/counted per person for obvious reasons, but I'm just trying to reach anyone who hasn't yet voted.)
2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 9
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Modern Classic
A semi-interesting thing. I'm getting a few comments on my most recent listening test video to the effect that the test is pointless because everybody just watches YouTube on their phone. Well, here's some actual data. The majority of hours watched on my channel are on a TV or computer, both of which are devices easily capable of very good sound (most albums are mixed and mastered on computers these days). Mobile phones are a distant third. This has actually been a trend with YouTube in general for a while - believe it or not, YouTube is the #1 streaming service on *TV's* in the US! Yes, it's bigger than Netflix.
3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 34
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Modern Classic
I don't know if you've all seen my latest video yet but we are up to 72 votes so far in the poll! My goal is to get to 385 for a 5% margin of error, so if you're not getting notified or just haven't watched yet, here's another link. Take a listen and then vote! Even if you don't watch the full video, you can just watch the intro and then skip ahead to 26:32. Let's get to 385 votes!
3 months ago | [YT] | 5
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Modern Classic
In my video about my Pioneer PDM-900 CD changer, I mentioned I had a photo of my old library changer somewhere but couldn't find it to include in the video... well, I found it! This was half of my A/V system circa 2001. Sony STR-DA30ES receiver, Pioneer CLD-E2000 laserdisc player, Onkyo TA-2200 cassette deck (did not think I still had that in 2001! I had had it for about 17 years at that point), Teac P-595 turntable, and unfortunately I do not remember and cannot read the model number of the CD player. I only had it for a short time; I never really bonded with it. To the left of this photo would have been my Sony CRT TV, some sort of cheap no-name region-free DVD player, and my JVC HR-S7500U SVHS VCR.
Of all that, it may surprise you to know that all I still have are the LD player and VCR - the two analog video components. The receiver broke. The turntable just wasn't good enough, so I replaced it with something better. The TV got replaced with an HDTV (originally a CRT HDTV!), while I gave the old TV to my mom. It eventually literally fell apart and had to be junked. The DVD player broke and was replaced with a series of other cheap players, then eventually Blu-Ray (which I do not need to be region-free). The CD changer was sold. The tape deck... sigh. Like my JVC CD player that I just made a video about, I sold it at some point and have always regretted that. I think the goal was to eventually buy a better deck, but I never really did. Eventually I got back the deck I had bought my mom in the late 80's, and of course I have the Sony deck I just spent months repairing (check out those videos if you haven't). But I still would love to own a real top of the line deck from the early to mid 80's at some point; there are a few specific ones I have dreams about sometimes.
The VCR is broken and I keep wanting to try to fix it, but it's not an easy job. The LD player still works fine. I intentionally bought it because more complex LD players were known to be problematic; this is about the simplest one I could get. The strategy paid off... it's the only component out of this entire A/V system still in my possession and still working. I don't really use it, but I did test it out just recently, and I *may* drag it out for my upcoming CD player test video. It's in my closet right now.
4 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 38
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Modern Classic
For those of you who watched part 1 (or those of you waiting until a part 2 was available), the repair/resto of my TC-K96R cassette deck is finally finished! Now the editing, which will take a little bit... I took it down from 3 hours to 1 in a single night, so I'm really taking a hatchet to it. But there's still a lot more to do. The hard part is done, though!
5 months ago | [YT] | 59
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Modern Classic
Hey all, I could use your help. I'm fixing up my old Sony TC-K96R tape deck and I'm trying to troubleshoot what seems to be a power issue. There is no DC voltage getting out of the bridge rectifier, which is the first thing after the the main transformer. The rectifier itself tests fine. I looked at the waveform coming in from the transformer and that's image 1. Looks weird, right? What could cause that, and could that kill the output from the rectifier? Do I have a bad transformer? Image 2 shows the DC output from the rectifier, which also looks weird (for DC) and is way too low voltage.
6 months ago | [YT] | 1
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Modern Classic
Added Bluetooth to the office stereo. Recently discovered Sea Lemon; listening to her while filming my next video. (It’s potentially gonna be a long one.)
6 months ago | [YT] | 12
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Modern Classic
Well *there's* yer problem! I've talked about how my next video is taking forever to finish, and I've talked about some of the problems I've had with it on my second channel. But ya think a 54 minute runtime might have something to do with it? Good news is I'm pretty close to having all the gaps filled in. But I do need to cut this thing down to size. It's coming, though!
11 months ago | [YT] | 13
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