TVK News Log

TVK news on April 2017 #1

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TVK news on September 2012 #1

Sony CDP-X7 series
Sony DAS-702ES
Sony DAS-703ES
Sony PS-F9
Sony XL-44 & XL-44B
Sony XL-33L & XL-44L

Marantz Music Link
Nakamichi 1000ZXL Limited
Nakamichi Dragon CD
Yamaha B-3

Added two nudies for the GT-CD1, from an october 1992 Stereoplay (DE) review.
Added one Sony STR-V7 image, from an A5 NL (or DE) general 1979 catalog.
Changed the Luxman DX-104 's main image, from the xxx-rare original USA catalog.
Added one november 1977 JP ad for the Luxman Laboratory Reference Series.
Added one nudie on the Sony PS-6750 page in the "USER" section.
Better nudie for the JVC JP-S7, from the october 1975 cover of Radio Technology (JP).
Changed the main image of the Rotel RZ-8, with the original JP catalog cover.
Changed all the Technics SB-M1 images with the dedicated december 1981 JP catalog.
Corrected the DAS-R1 image #2 (the previous one belonged to the DAS-R1a - too many pages and images in my head !)
Changed the main CA-1000 image with the original september 1973 JP catalog.
Added one underside USER image of the TA-E86B.

Corrected description and completed specs of the APM-66ES and APM-66ESG.
Corrected and re-corrected the bias info for the JM-S7 V-Fet amp.
Major update for the Luxman PD121 !
Added more precise specs for the PM-99SE.
Split the old CD-99SE / CD-99DR page into... two.
Split the old DP-100M / DP-100 page into... two.
Found the manufacturing source for the Luxman PX-101.
Corrected some blatant mistakes in the Scott T33S text.
Corrected the Philips LHH700 / Marantz CD-11 texts.
Corrected the SS-G9 listprice and production run data.
Completed the Marantz sc-5 / sm-5 specifications.
Revised (upward) the production run estimate of the APM-4.
Revised (upward) the production run estimate of the APM-6.
Revised (upward) the production run estimate of the TA-N7B.

TVK news on February 2012 #3

Aiwa AD-1500 & AD-1800
Akai GX-747dbx
Audio-Technica AT727
Braun audio 308
Denon PMA-350Z & PMA-500

Luxman C-06 & C-06a
Luxman DA-07 & DP-07
Luxman E-06 & E-06a
Luxman L-80, L-80 V & L-81
Luxman L-114, L-30 & L-31
Luxman CL-40 & MQ-50
Luxman L-550X & L-560
Luxman L-570X's & L-570Z's
Luxman M-06, M-06a & M-07
Luxman PX-101
Luxman T-310 & T-33
Luxman T-2 & T-4

Marantz PM-80 & PM-88SE
Marantz PM-80a & PM-88aSE
Micro DD-100 & DDL-120
Micro DDL-150 & DDL-150Z
Micro SX-8000 II

Philips RH832
Pioneer Exclusive C5
Pioneer PLC-1700 & PL-7L
Pioneer SX-1280
Revox B710
Rotel RZ-8
Rotel RD-20 & RT-824
Sansui QD-5500S
Sansui G-33000

Sony APM-6
Sony CDP-337ESD & CDP-338ESD
Sony CDP-R1a & DAS-R1a
Sony CDP-X55ES
Sony DAS-R10
Sony MTL-10 & TC-K45
Sony SS-G5a
Sony TA-3120 & TA-3060
Sony TA-F60
Sony TA-N901
Sony TC-161SD & TC-204SD

Technics 10000
Technics RS-DC10
Technics SB-1000 & RS-279US
Toshiba SR-510 & SB-514
Wega Modul 42V
Yamaha NS-10M PRO & NS-10M X

Updated the Luxman C-08, L-570 and L-540 images
Updated the Yamaha NS-10M images

Clarified the pre-Esotec / ESOTEC transition.

Corrected the technical details about the Micro DDX-1000 / DQX-1000.

Corrected descriptions about the three CD-95 and four CD-99SE versions.

Added a bit about Luxman's late 1990s "reference" speakers at the end of the NS-1000x text.

Added the VELD-1 prototype mention on the LD-777 page.

Corrected release dates for the NS-10M versions and added individual pages for the NS-10M PRO and NS-10M X

Updated the Kyocera 900 Series page with the name of the PL-901 / PL-910, A-710 and A-910 designer : Junji Kimura, former... Luxman engineer :)

Corrected the launch date of the PX-1 : october 1977.

Corrected the TA-3200F launch date.

Corrected some chronology points in the ESPRIT page.

TVK news on September 2011 #1

Kyocera A-710 & A-910
Luxman D-700s
Luxman CL-38 & MA-88
Luxman C-7, C-08 & C-10
Luxman M-7, M-08 & B-10
Luxman L-580, L-500 & SQ-38s
Marantz CD-63B
Marantz PM-90 & PM-99SE
NAD 1300, 2600 & 3300
Sony PS-X800 & TA-E80ES
Sony TPS-L2
Teac Z-7000
Technics RS-M95
Technics 10000

Added five user images for the Sony 88 system.
Added four user images of the RZ-8 to the RC-5000 and RB-5000 pages.
Added nudies for the Marantz Sc-8 and Sm-8.
Added nine user images to the CD-95 page.
Added nine user images to the Nec A-11 page.
Updated the Sony APM-77W images.
Added two more USER images to the Sony SS-8150 : multi-magnet woofers !
Added a "silver stack" image to the Pioneer RT-707 page.
Upgraded all Kenwood L-D1 images with the 32x32cm september 1993 EU catalog.
Updated all Kyocera 900 Series pages (B-910, C-910, DA-910, PL-910, T-910)

Added precise date for the APM-8 "civilized" pre-production sample.
Added details about the Kenwood L-D1 mechanical description.
Added mention of the Supreme 20 cartridge to the Supreme1 page.
Updated the Sony APM-77W text.
Updated all Kyocera 900 Series pages (B-910, C-910, DA-910, PL-910, T-910)
Added 1979 DM list prices for the RS-M85, CT-F900, TC-K60 and TC-880-2.
Added source of the attenuators used in the Exclusive C7 and A-09 (Tokyo Ko-On Denpa).

TVK news on July 2011 #3

JVC QL-V1
Kenwood KT-1000
Kyocera CX-S1
Luxman PD-310 & PD-350
Luxman R-1120A & SQ38D
Marantz CD-80 & CD-60
Marantz CD-95 & CD-99SE
Marantz Pm-4
Mission 776 & 777
Philips LHH700
Pioneer C-21 & U-24
Pioneer PL-1800 & MU-1800
Sansui PC-V1000
Sony PS-X800
Yamaha YP-D71

Marantz PM-95 : nudies and specifications added
Marantz Pm-6 : first image changed and Heat-Pipe added
Marantz Pm-5 : first image changed

Sony TA-E88B : added a better first image
Sony PS-X555ES : added the only worthwhile image, from a november 1983 japanese catalog.

Pioneer D-23 & M-22 : good images and nudies added from the original Series 20 japanese catalog.

Technics SV-DA10 : added a proper image of the RAA1001 mechanism and specifications from the original japanese catalog.

Fisher MT-6360 : japanese T-tag lore added, between CEC and TNS.

Rotel RC-5000 and RB-5000 : added in the main text, the existence of the optional RZ-8 mixer/rythm/echo box.

Marantz Sights : added a portrait of Michael D. Custer, designer of the original ESOTEC series...

TVK news on December 2010 #2

Fellows,

A bit more time now until december 23rd so three extra-rare Kyocera, three equally rare Samsung this week plus two all-time favorites and a couple of rarities.

Alpine DAT-8200
Denon DP-70M & DP-70L
JVC TT-801 & TT-81
JVC TT-101 & QL-10
Kenwood Model 700T
Kyocera B-901, C-901 & PL-901
LuxKit A522
Luxman C-300, M-300 & CL-34
Marantz CD-12 & CDA-12
Marantz CD-94 & CDA-94
Marantz PM-84 & PM-84II
Marantz Model 6300 & Model 4025
Philips CD104
Philips CD960 & DAC960
Pioneer A-80 & D-1000
Revox B790, B791 & B795
Samsung C-01, M-30S & SP-01
Sony APM-9
Sony CDP-MS1
Sony SS-5GX
Sony TA-ER1 & TA-N1
Sony TTS-3000 & TTS-4000
Sony TTS-8000 & TTS-6000
Technics RS-7500
Yamaha C-2 & C-2a

+ twenty-two Sony Sights

Kyocera DA-01 : added two images from the 1983 USA catalog
Pioneer SPEC-1 & SPEC-2 : added a two-page february 1976 USA ad
Kenwood Model 600, Model 600T & Model 500 : added team shots (500 + 600T, 600 + 600T etc)
Marantz PM-94 : added a Blue Moon image and a view of the entire MC/MM phono board

Akai GX-77 : added the Saitama bit of (valuable) info in the main text.
Teac AE-200 : added a bit about the possible Sansui origins of it.
Sony Sight #5 : added a google maps link

TVK news on December 2010 #1

Fellows,

Not much this month because I have a lot of work outside TVK but three worthwhile pieces nevertheless made it online !

Otherwise, there aren't enough Knobbers so far so TVK is now clearly in danger of vanishing.
The server is already paid for a full year (until november 20, 2011) so TVK will not vanish, literally, but... I won't be there. (except for the Knobbers of course).

If you value content above looks or 6-year old habits and wish to see all of what I have gathered since 2004 posted online, you have to act now : take your Knobber Pass.

What I have gathered so far is visible here for the catalogs and here for the magazines.
That's 140 pages and 22 pages, respectively, plenty of hours just looking at the covers, and these preview pages do NOT include what is still in Japan nor what I have access to here in France !

Do you want to see this content online ? Thousands and thousands of pages ? Yes ? So take your Knobber Pass NOW !

Akai GX-255
Acoustic Research AR9
Pioneer Exclusive C7

Luxman L-530
Luxman M-05
Kenwood Model 700T
Kenwood Supreme 1
Pioneer D-1000
Sony TTS-4000

TVK news on October 2010 #4

Dear future Vintage Knobbers,

Apart from the return of the Sony Sights section (25 zoomable Sights posted so far !) if you have voted yes to the poll to support TVK, or if you have voted maybe and in the meantime decided that yes was the answer, you'll have to take your Knobber Pass NOW : not in two months, not in six months, not next year but now.

It is now I need your help : now, maintenant, jetzt, cera, ahora, sekarang, nu, ngayon, anois and not when the new TVK will have ben filled with even more pages.
Without enough Knobbers now, there won't be any TVK in a year !

I know I am being pushy about this, but the push on my bank account during the past six years and especially this one last year was far more than a 28€. So, if you like the content of TVK, you have to SUPPORT IT NOW !

For those who already have their passes and are Knobbers therfore : thank you and thank you again and again !

JVC LE-5
Kenwood KA-7002
Kenwood KW-5066
Luxman AD8000
Luxman K-03
Luxman PD444
Sony APM-4
Sony RM-50
Sony SA-20F
Sony TA-1630
Sony TA-F5
Sony TC-788-4
Sony TC-K88B
Yamaha CR-1000
+ twenty-five Sony Sights !
+ twenty-three PinUps !

Phonocord proton 3055K quadro :
Added a really great november 1975 german ad (image #2)

Sony PS-X6 & PS-X7 :
Added underside nudies from a july 1978 review and a july 1978 ad

Technics SH-9010 :
Added one july 1978 ad

Reverted to orthodox Luxman naming for the PD555, PD444, PD441, PD121 and SQ202.
Nitty gritty indeed but that's the way it was so that's the way it should be written.

AR AR9 & AR90
JVC LE-5
JVC MCA-104Z
Kenwood Model 700T
Kenwood Supreme 1
Luxman L-530
Sansui C-2301
Technics SL-1200
Technics SU-7700

For those who have lost their password, follow the " I forgot my password " Link.

TVK news on October 2010 #3

Dear future Vintage Knobbers,

If you have voted yes to the poll to support TVK, or if you have voted maybe and in the meantime decided that yes was the answer...
you'll have to take your Knobber Pass NOW !

Not in two months, not in six months, not whenever but now, it is now I need your help : now, maintenant, jetzt, cera, ahora, sekarang, nu, nunc, ngayon, anois !
Without enough Knobbers now, there will not be any TVK in a year !

I know I am somewhat pushy here, but the push on my own bank account during the past six years and especially this one last year was far more than 28€.

So, if you like the content of TVK, you have to SUPPORT IT NOW !

Altec BIAS 550
Luxman L-510
Marantz CD-23
Panasonic SV-3900
Panasonic SV-4100
Radford HD250
Sansui SC-1110
Technics SH-9010 & SH-9090P
Technics SL-1350
Technics SL-1900 & SL-2000
Technics ST-8600 & SU-8600
Yamaha CR-1020
Yamaha CR-2020

Sony PS-X75 : added a january 1981 AUDIO (USA) review

AR AR9 & AR90
JVC LE-5
JVC MCA-104Z
Kenwood Supreme 1
Luxman L-530
Luxman PD-444
Sansui C-2301
Sony APM-4
Technics SL-1200
Technics SU-7700

For those who have lost their password, follow the " I forgot my password " Link.

TVK news on October 2010 #2

Fellows,

The TVK Knobber Pass application is now up and running !

It is a simple PayPal path accessible from your account settings ; the cost of it is of 28€ per year and will allow you to access the entire TVK content, visual & editorial.
The Knobber Pass is not meant to make me rich but to allow the continuing developments of TVK which have been all on me for the past six years and which so far do amount to a fair set of multiple thousands of euros.

Your money will not go into a luxurious Bahamas trip but will be used to fund part of the development of several upcoming sections, the translations necessary for the Timelines sections and the dedicated TVK server which so far holds 3,7Gb of data.
Not 3,7Gb of mere "stuff" but only high-resolution images, meticulously scanned and cleaned up, plus the properly documented comments attached to each image.

The Timelines section will be detailed rewinds of major brands' histories, almost always month-by-month, starting from the brands' founding years : 1953 for Marantz, 1925 for Luxman, 1938 for Pioneer, 1927 for originally US-based Victor etc.

The EE section will contain technical papers and tutorials written by Curt June, Mirko Essling, Patrick Koman, John Richardson and Diego Nardi.
These papers will deal with restoration of classic components and basic subjects such as classes of operation, transistors, capacitors, circuit types etc.

Although the details aren't set yet, TVK might offer starting 2011 a spare parts service for two major but vanished brands ; this would go for the related service manuals as well - more details soon.


Reminder °1 :
If you are willing to take a Knobber Pass, and I thank you in advance for your active and generous help, you have to do it NOW : not in two months, not in six months, not next year - now.

I know many of the old TVK pages haven't made it yet to the new site but this will be done gradually throughout the coming months, alongwith many new pages, all enhanced as much as possible when compared to their "old TVK" versions.
There is only one fellow doing all this, me : I am not a company nor a shop and I only have one brain, two hands and, triple alas, days which have normal 24H duration.

Reminder °2 :
Not enough Knobbers means The End : if you like the content of TVK, SUPPORT IT !

Aiwa HD-X7000TC
Akai GXC-325D
Hitachi HT-L303
JVC A-X9, VL-5 & VS-5399
Kenwood Model 500
Klipsch Klipschorn
Luxman C-1000
Marantz CD-16, CD-16SE & CD-15
Marantz Model 2252B
Pioneer Exclusive C3
Pioneer Exclusive M3
Sanyo PLUS 10
Sony PS-5550 & STR-V55
Sony TC-FX6 & TC-777
Sony XL-55 & XL-55Pro
Teac AE-200
Teac V-95RX & V-90R
Technics SL-P10
Toshiba XR-P9

Sony PS-8750 : added exploded views and complete schematics
Eumig FL-1000 : added a march 1980 USA ad
Thorens TD-125 : added a spring 1975 japanese ad from (Sansui distrib.)
Wharfedale Dovedale 3 : added a spring 1975 japanese (Sanyo distrib.)

Denon DP-900M
JVC LE-5
Luxman L-510 & L-530
Luxman PD-444
Marantz CD-23
Panasonic SV-4100
Radford HD250
Sansui C-2301
Sansui Model 250
Sansui SC-1110
Sony APM-4

For those who have lost their password, follow the " I forgot my password " Link.

TVK news on September 2010 #4

Fellows,

The TVK Talk is at last reorganized !
Four main sections, two of which are divided into sub-sections (Vintage Audio and Present Audio) plus three brands with their own special spots : Luxman, Pioneer and Sony.

You can now post anywhere you want (in the related sections, please ;-) and we moderators will manually link your threads to the TVK Museum pages.
For example : all the TVK Talk threads related to the SA-9900 will be readable right off the SA-9900 museum page which is a good way to find everything in one single spot.

Convenience-wise, a new feature has been added for the future Knobbers : the possibility to see images in full-screen.
Full-screen will naturally depend on the ratio between the images' and the displays' respective sizes but this will nevertheless allow wider viewing, sans text or frame(s).


On the construction side, here below is a dual snapshot of most of the 83kg of japanese literature scouted throughout the past fourteen months : a lot of new TVK pages there :) and also countless facts, figures, nudies, tests, reviews and ads !

kg of catalogs and magazines" />

I won't tell you how much cash these boxes represent but inside also "are", among other components, my last NOS CDP-X777ES, my TA-E80ES and my ST-A7B, all sold to cover a little part of this. That's dedication to the cause allright !

The good literature is getting rare and pricier by the day even in Japan so it was time to conjugate the (prospective) success of the Knobber Pass and the "last in a lifetime" appearance of some of the most elusive documentation available...
These boxes should land in Paris around november and, as you can guess, shipping will be quite expensive as well. Then will come a million hours in scanning, cross-referencing and posting online :)

I also bought forty-three AUDIO (USA) magazines, including mid 1950s and early 1960s issues which all abound in very interesting ads, articles, tests & reviews.

The goal of this one-year continuous scouting and that of the v2 of TVK itself is to be able to make the richest, most beautiful and most properly documented vintage audio website.

TVK isn't meant to be a portable zapper boom-box but really a full-fledged V-FET amplifier with encyclopedic power output and GHz accuracy !
And that is costly.


Reminder
Please VOTE : it is imperative I know how many of you will take a Knobber Pass : there are 905 registered members, I should see 905 votes !

The Knobber Pass will cost at 28€ per year with subscriptions opening in the next few days and not enough Knobbers means The End.
If you like the content of TVK, SUPPORT IT !

JVC JVC-3
Kenwood KA-907
Kenwood KL-777D
Kenwood KR-6140A & KR-6160
Kenwood KR-7340 & KT-7000
Kenwood L-01A
Kenwood Model 600
Luxman L-100
Pioneer SPEC-1
Pioneer SPEC-2
Rotel RHB-10
Rotel RHC-10
Rotel RHQ-10
Sony DTC-ZA5ES & MDS-JA50ES
Sony ST-A6B & STC-7000
Sony TC-FX7
Thorens TD-125

For those who have lost their password, follow the " I forgot my password " Link.

TVK news on September 2010 #2

Fellows,

Now that the final navigation system is online, the image loading process has been changed as well : the default image loads first and all others load only when their related thumbnails are clicked. This makes navigation faster for those who have slow DSL.

We are working now on the reorganization of the TVK Talk forum's sections.
As the programmation of the bi-directional function proved to remain too complex to be fully functional, the TVK Talk will be reorganized like a normal forum, distincly from the TVK museum section.

Threads will however remain mirrored into the components pages but as "read-only" which is still a very useful functionality.

Once all of this will be done, TVK will be out of its Beta Test period and I'll be able to start adding more pages : components, PinUps, Miscellaneous, Timelines etc.


Reminder
Please VOTE : it is imperative I know how many of you will take a Knobber Pass : there are 845 registered members, I should see 845 votes !
The vote banner is now on every page so it is very easy to spot and very easy to use, too.

The Knobber Pass is planned at 25€ per year with subscriptions opening late september and not enough Knobbers means The End.
If you like the content of TVK, SUPPORT IT !

Denon DP-3700
JVC 4VR5436
Kenwood KT-8300 & KR-9600
Marantz SLT-12
Scott Stereomaster 637S
Sonic Frontiers SFT-1
Sonic Frontiers SFC-1 & SFL-2
Sonic Frontiers SFD-2
Sony TA-AX6
Sony TC-399
Tandberg TCD 310 & TCD-300
Teac A-2300 & A-1250
Teac A-4010SL
Technics EPA-100 & RS-1030US
Yamaha CA-1000 & YP-700

Sonab R4000 : added a june 1972 ad,
Luxman SQ-202 : added an october 1972 ad,
Kenwood KA-7300 : added the extra-rare CB-21 and CB-31 wood cabinets.

Even if the following pages are already online, their editorials aren't : HT-860, EPA-100, LV-105, RC-5000, PL-630, C-6 and TC-880-2.
This will be done shortly for the first five but I am waiting on translations and more technical details to be cleared for the other two.

Until the Account Settings page is redone, use the User Control Panel of the TVK Talk forum to change the settings of your account - avatar, birth date, city etc.

For those who have lost their password, follow the " I forgot my password " Link.

TVK news on September 2010 #1

Dear vintage knobbers,

The final TVK navigation system is now online !

All in one window with three selection columns, the last containing the thumbnails and links ; all columns work with mouse-wheels so this should work for everybody.

Alongwith the Home page, the layout of the pages has also been reshaped accordingly : larger viewing areas and mouse-wheel-friendly lifts everywhere.
The Map icon, lower left of the pages, shows or hides the Map on each and every page - very easy.

Not yet updated are the Utility pages (News, FAQ, Links etc) and the TVK-777 sample page but this will be done shortly.
We'll work next on the image loading system for those who have slow DSL and the reorganization of the TVK Talk forum's sections - TVK will then be out of its Beta Test period at last.



Reminder
Please VOTE if you haven't done so already : it is necessary I know how many of you will take a Knobber Pass : there are 787 registered members, I should see 787 votes !
The vote banner is now on each and every page so it is very easy to spot and very easy to use, too.

The Knobber Pass is planned at 25€ per year with subscriptions opening mid september and not enough Knobbers means The End.

If you like the content of TVK, SUPPORT IT !

Clarion Stereo Machinegun
Denon DAP-5500
Denon DR-M4
Eumig FL-1000
JBL Paragon
JVC LD-777SA
Luxman C-02
Luxman M-02
Sony PS-X75
Sony ESPRIT TA-E900
Sony ESPRIT TA-N900

Marantz Sm 1000 : added an april 1982 saxy italian ad.

TVK news on August 2010 #4

More pages added online : lots of Luxman this week, including, yesyesyes, and yesyesyesagain, the über-rare XM tapes !

Jérôme is a father since monday evening, so there might be a slight delay in extending the new navigation system and page layout to the entire website ;-) It should nevertheless be done In a week or so.

Until then, six pages already have this new layout and the fully functional navigation system.
Once the page is loaded, click the Map icon (lower left) and there you are :

Sony DTC-2000ES
Sony TA-F7B
Sony TC-377
Accuphase C-280
Aiwa dX-1000
Akai CD-D1

TVK's homepage will be completely redesigned to hold this system.

These pages also have the TVK Knobber Pass poll banner so you can VOTE if you haven't done so already.
It is imperative I know how many of you will take a Knobber Pass : there are 722 registered members, I should see 722 votes !
The Knobber Pass is planned at 25€ per year with subscriptions opening mid september.

Luxman LX33
Luxman L-308 & L-309
Luxman C-12, M-12 & B-12
Luxman C-120A & M-120A
Luxman 5K50 & K-8
Luxman XM tapes

Teac C-1 : added an august 1978 USA ad,
Kenwood KA-1000 : added a february 1981 USA ad,
Technics SL-10 : added a february 1981 USA ad,
Sony CDP-555ESD : added a very detailed july 1987 AUDIO (USA) 5-page review,
Altec Model 19 & Model 9862 : Tangerine images upgraded with much better sources.

TVK news on August 2010 #3

32 pages added online !
Lots of 1960s Wharfedale and 1970s Luxman, including, yes, the... M-6000.

Most of the Luxman pages were done or enhanced with the first stack of literature I have received from Luxman Europe.
This is just the beginning : there is much more Luxman waiting in the wings from this first loan, and the others, AND the 77kg of magazines and catalogs which should be shipped from Tokyo to Paris very soon, funds allowing.

The definitive navigation system is in the works : it will echo the section system of the old TVK and should be up within a week or two at the most.
All the auto-scrolling will be replaced by normal lifts working with regular mouse-wheels, too.

The image loading system will also be fine-tuned after that so people with slow DSLs can access images faster and one by one.



Reminder
For all registered members :
do answer the mini-poll which is on the TVK-777 sample page ("poll" banner to the right).

It is imperative I know how many of you will take a Knobber Pass : there are 674 registered members, I should see 674 votes !

The Knobber Pass is planned at 25€ per year with subscriptions opening mid september.

Wharfedale Dovedale
Wharfedale Teesdale
Wharfedale Airedale
(and many more...)
JVC VN-900 & QL-F6
Luxman L-58A & L-45A
Luxman MS-10, MS-11 & MS-20
Luxman C-03 & M-03
Luxman SQ-202 & CX-1
Luxman L-550
Luxman L-430

Luxman PD-121 : (again) one shot found in the 1975 Stereo Sound "bible" which shows the guts of it.

Nakamichi Dragon CT : december 1983 USA ad added - until the original japanese catalog (currently in the abovementioned 77kg...) finally lands in Paris.

TVK news on August 2010 #2

A few more new pages online, either transfers from the old TVK (all much more complete than their old versions, of course) or entirely new ones - many more coming in the next two weeks.

Catering to popular demand, soon added will be a different navigation system which will clearly echo that of the old TVK : all in one window, structure, thumbnails and all.
Navigation will therefore be possible with either this (new) Map or the Wheel plus the Search and Random - old style, new style, salad for everybody.

This old-style system will also allow to enlarge quite a lot the main viewing areas of the pages so all is going fine.

Btw, the new TVK just passed the 3Gb mark on the server, 90% of this being high-resolution images !


Reminder
For the newly registered members and also those who have received the previous TVK newsletters but haven't yet voted :
do (re)read the previous newsletter (july #1),
do answer the mini-poll which is on the TVK-777 sample page.

It is imperative I know how many of you will take a Knobber Pass : there are 615 registered members, I should see 615 votes !
Take your time, read all and answer the poll - yes or no but answer it :)

Harman/Kardon HK2000
Sony ESPRIT TA-D900
Sony ESPRIT FW-90
Optonica SM-4646
Onkyo TX-2500
Sony PS-X6
Sony PS-X7
Onkyo A-7

Luxman PD-121 : text addition regarding the very close vicinity of the Micro Seiki DD-10.

Among other rare items, I finally got my hands on a japanese book I have been looking for since 2006 : a big schematic "bible" holding a lot of american and japanese electronics !
The schematics are very well printed in large 2- or 3-page spreads (like those from the japanese MJ magazine) and range from the Dynaco, H/K, Leak and Heathkit classics to the Denon PMA-850 or Pioneer A-0012.

This was quite expensive at 246$ (...see why TVK is expensive and why after six years on my own I now need a bit more active help ?) but will be worth every page and penny and still cheaper than buying the related service manuals separately.

TVK news on July 2010 #4

This week sees only three new pages - but all far more complete than their old-TVK versions !

The technical development of the TVK v2 will start again in a few days : already added are mouse-friendly lifts for the TECH, USER and SPECS sections ; another one for the main text area will follow as well.
Soon transfered to the new site will be some of the most visited pages that were in the Miscellaneous section of the old TVK, plus the Pinup, Monthly Music and Sony Sights sections.

Also started in The Pub section of the TVK Talk is a thread called "Where was your hi-fi heaven ?" : where did all the hi-fi shops go and what replaced them ?
I'll be feeding this thread throughout august but it would be nice if some of you were to participate !


Reminder
For the newly registered members but also for those of you who have received the previous TVK newsletters :

do (re)read the previous newsletter (july #1),
do answer the mini-poll which is on the TVK-777 sample page.

It is imperative I know how many of you will take a Knobber Pass : there are 511 registered members, I should see 511 votes ! Put very directly : if there aren't enough Knobbers by late october, TVK will simply close down.

Take your time, read all and answer the poll.
Yes or no but answer it :)

JVC GB-1E
Yamaha A-1
Sony CDP-X7ESD

Kenwood Supreme 600T : added a french 1977 ad
Teac A-3340S : added a may 1975 4-page french test/review

TVK news on July 2010 #3

Dear TVK visitors and registered members,

... still adding pages and making them as rich as can be - I've never scanned and cleaned up as many images as I did during the past year and a half !

And there is still so much more yet untapped in my own archives and waiting for me at Luxman's, at Brand X's (not telling yet - surprise) and in Japan !
More of that long-term eye-popping activity in view :)


The LINKS page is now online, split into six sections ; I still have links to add and will do so in the coming days, gradually.
Also, the TVK Talk forums really are OPEN !


Reminder
For the newly registered members but also those of you who have received the previous TVK newsletters :

do (re)read the previous newsletter (july #1),
do answer the mini-poll which is on the TVK-777 sample page.

This is not an optional thing : it is imperative I know how many of you will take a Knobber Pass.
Put very directly : if there aren't enough Knobbers by late october, TVK will simply close down.

So - take your time, read all and answer the poll.
Yes or no but answer it :)

JBL S119
Sony ST-A7B
Rotel RB-5000
Rotel RC-5000
Denon PRA-6000
Technics SU-8080
Marantz sc-5 & bb-5

We've added an "elevator" to scroll through the SPECS, TVK Talk, TECH and USER sections of the pages.

As of today in very basic form (black&white) but it will soon be visually enhanced so that it remains clearly visible on each of the pages' background colors.
We'll also be adding it to pages that have a lot of text like the FAQ or some of the text-rich sections of the future Miscellaneous section.

TVK news on July 2010 #2

Dear TVK visitors and registered members... the TVK Talk Forum is now open !


TVK Talk Forum
You can access it by the wheel : lowest level, to the right of the Timelines thumbnail.

Remember that the TVK Talk forum is split into two sections :
- relevant to what is already posted on TVK on one side (TVK Museum),
- everything else on the other (The Vault).

This is what allows to acces the threads and posts on the actual components pages so it is important.
The other five sections are also accessible from the wheel.
After that, it is like any phpBB internet forum :)


TVK Map
The TVK Map navigation help is now functional although, like everything else on the TVK v2, it still is in beta.

The TVK Map is a small layer which can be grabbed, moved around, and expanded to see the entire TVK structure, complete with thumbnails, links and topics/posts on each page!
An augmented sitemap if you will.

It is opened by clicking the "M" button which is on each and every page, and closed by clicking on the same "M" button. Very simple.


Reminder
For the newly registered members and those who have received the previous TVK newsletter :
do read the FAQ (all of it, yes), do (re)read the previous newsletter (july #1) and do answer the mini-poll which is on the TVK-777 sample page.

This is not an optional thing : I urge you to do this as it is imperative I know how many of you will take a Knobber Pass in september.

Put very directly : if there aren't enough Knobbers by late october, TVK will simply close down.

So, take a bit of time, read all and answer the poll.
Yes or no but answer it :)

JVC M-L10
JVC P-L10
Onkyo P-388
Kenwood KA-7300
Phonocord proton 3055K quadro

TVK news on July 2010 #1

Dear TVK visitors,

This a long newsletter.
But you have to read it all.

Take your time and read it all just as you have to read the FAQ, entirely, if you haven't done so already : it is very important you understand clearly how this new TVK works and why it it is organized like it is.

Also, do vote to the poll which is on the TVK-777 page, also after having read all the texts attached to each image.

As of today, july 1st, 2010, the only way to finance TVK and its new features is the Knobber Pass ; I must therefore know as precisely as possible how many of you will take one. Otherwise it will be like driving with a blindfold and I cannot afford to do that anymore.

The Pass is planned to be (tentatively) priced between 25 and 50€ per year.
That's between 2€ and 4€ per month - really not much compared to the thousands of euros spent by me alone since 2003.



1. TVK v2 is still a beta !
As you may have seen, there are many functions and modes that are not yet optimized or fully developped. While experiencing these slight problems, do remember that TVK v2 still is a beta : it is a very ambitious development made by a team of only... two !

The way images are pre-loaded for instance will probably soon change : we'll set up even for regular users (ie. non-Knobbers) an image pre-loading option : all images at once or no pre-loading at all, depending on respective DSL connection speeds. This system is already in place on the TVK-777 page, in beta as well.

The local TVK Talk still has bugs and some conveniency functions missing, too.


2. Navigation
There are now four ways to navigate within the pages : with the Wheel, with the Search function, with the Random function and with the Map.

The Map will be implemented within a week : it will make a small layer appear, user moveable, which will hold an augmented sitemap.

Do remember that the old TVK had in excess of 2500 html files, pop-ups included ; the new one will, in time, hold three times as much, with even more info, even more images and sans pop-ups !
The navigation system therefore has to be flexible, powerful and easy to update - I can't bend the laws of physics.



3. The Global TVK Talk forum will soon open !
There is no other forum on the internet that is linked directly and "hooked" to a museum section ; this makes TVK a very structured ensemble in need of a few (easy) rules which need to be followed.
That is mainly why this new TVK took so long to appear because this "bi-directional" forum was very complex to develop...

The structure of the TVK Talk mirrors exactly that of the TVK Museum : both sections are even named alike, one for chatting, one for getting the info and images.
Therefore, posting in that section is restricted to what is already online in the TVK Museum section.

The thing to keep in mind is that all the content of the museum section and the forum must remain perfectly linked. Therefore, whenever I bring a component online, a new sub-forum is automatically created in the TVK Museum section of the TVK Talk forum, the mirror of which you see in that component's page.

To post about anything else, like a component not already on TVK, you must use the The Vault section of the forum - the schematic below will help you visualize the system :



In the example above, the Pioneer Exclusive P3 is already is posted on TVK : therefore, exchanges between the Forum and the P3 TVK page can happen.
The Pioneer M6, however, isn't yet posted on TVK : it is therefore "outside" the bi-directional structure of the TVK Museum / Forum.
If you start a thread about the M6, it will remain in the The Vault section of the forum until I do bring it online on TVK.
Then and then only will the M6 thread(s) be moved to the TVK Museum section of the Forum because the link between Forum and Museum will then exist and the path will be equivalent.

It sounds complicated but isn't, really :)


3. Other forum sections
The other sections of the TVK Talk forum open to posting are :

Music
Any kind, any style, any timeframe.

Present hardware
Hi-fi of this here modern times.

The Pub
Anything from films to mowing engines if you wish.

Trainspotting
If you have seen an auction for a very rare component or heard of an upcoming sale which sounds interesting, post it there !

Links
To complete the TVK list of links (reseved to Moderators but you can submit the links you find interesting to them).


Now, take your time, familiarize yourself with the new TVK and the local TVK Talk forums, use the zoom tools, the Random function, the Search function, see how the updates work and imagine what this new TVK will be when it will hold all of the old one, enhanced as that content can be by what the new interface allows, and augmented by all the literature that's awaiting to be scanned and brought online.

Kenwood LS-1000
Kenwood L-02A

Sansui AU-919 : added a january 1980 AUDIO (USA) ad
Pioneer PL-630 : added a january 1980 AUDIO (USA) review
Pioneer HPM-150 : added a 1978 USA 5-page ad
Marantz Ad-6 : added a march 1982 japanese ad
JVC Zero-10 : added "nudies" from a 1982 japanese test

TVK news on June 2010 #3

The beta of the TVK v2 is online at last !

This is likely to be your first visit to the new TVK : browse around, do read the FAQ, see the Pioneer TVK-777 sample page. Then browse around again :) and vote to the mini-poll which is on the TVK-777 page.

Sony CDP-557ESD : the first and most lavish of the X7s...
Sony CDP-XA7ES : ... the ultimate version of the x7s.
Marantz Sm 1000 : end of the Marantz "A"-line.
Yamaha PF-1000 : what the japanese didn't get (for once :)
Teac R-10 : broadcast Alpine in disguise.

Added the RC 430 remote image & description to the CD-73 page.
Added the "Esotec vs. Esoteric" image to the Sm 1000 page.

Corrected the date of the Marantz abandon of the Esotec name on the Tt 1000 page.

TVK news on June 2010 #1

Adding new pages and finishing the technical development of the TVK v2 : image display, database tweaks etc.

Sony CDP-X5000 : high-end in a flat shoebox
Sony TA-F5000 : high-end in a flat shoebox, too
Sony TC-880-2 : THE 1/4" recording masterpiece
Sony TC-640A : cute and solid (and in many versions)
Primare Little 16 : yes, the real Primare also did loudspeakers !

Added a 1980 ad for the Pioneer Exclusive F3

TVK news on April 2010 #4

This week mainly sees nitty-gritty work on the remaining functions of the TVK v2 that need to be fine-tuned.

Also added is a sample page showing all the features and functions of the new TVK : Pioneer TVK-777 - a fictional loudspeaker with a nice name and so many features one may wonder why the designers didn't get it to make coffee as well.

Accuphase C-280 : the topper which still is
JVC LX-3000R : the most beautiful rack from the 1970s
Sansui AU-919 : aka AU-D907, first of the D9s

Sony TA-E88B : added the AudioLab USA 1980 ad (Knobber image #4) and a french blue shot (Knobber image #5).

Biniou swap bug fixed at last in accounts' settings page !
Please check now that your biniou IS your own Biniou.

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