Featured Old School Cool

[RobGMN Premium Member]

My name is Steve and I'm an audioholic. It's been 40 years since my first foray into this addiction, 48 hrs since my most recent endeavor, my story is as follows:

With no regard to how I was going to pay for it or live without it, I purchased the Concord PL-515 and it was the absolutely best hi-grade $hit (deck) you could buy at that time and it was damn expensive, lke $650, and I was hooked.

Made in the US, one of the only decks with Dolby B and C noise reduction circuitry, DBX adapter for dbx recorded playback, Sen-alloy triple heads, RCA pre-outs, and the only deck that would take the vaunted TDK metal alloy case/metal tape cassettes.

I purchased it and two Linear power 100 amplifiers, two 8" 4 ohm Philips/ADS woofers, and a pair of Cricket 4" two way coaxial drivers for a one of a kind 3 way front end for my 83 Toyota longbed SR 4x4.

Even though I knew next to nothing at the time about car audio, I had a hunch which ended up being the coolest/baddest/loudest system in the neighborhood!

That was the system that created my audio addiction - thanks for letting me share, my name is steve and I am an audioholic.

Man, you just created some more flashbacks. Linear Power! I used to mix them up with Phase Linear.
Kricket. The green ones?

 

[Doxquzme Premium Member]

Man, you just created some more flashbacks. Linear Power! I used to mix them up with Phase Linear.
Kricket. The green ones?

Yup!

Had them mounted in the upper doors. One of the many benefits having wing windows!

 

[BP1Fanatic]

Powered a set of Boston Acoustics fronts in my Prelude, then my RX7.

View attachment 64523

I had 1 of those amps!

 

[BP1Fanatic]

Old school JBL, getting my daughters Saturn ready for college!
Attracted a lot of audio dudes, what was I thinking!

View attachment 64538

View attachment 64537

 

[BP1Fanatic]

My Crown was on a pair of JBL 12's. This setup is the one that made my eyes dance.

Still got the Crown with 8 JBL's!

 

[RobGMN Premium Member]

OK gang, who had one (or two). Who'll ADMIT to having one? lol

 

[Deiimos]

OK gang, who had one (or two). Who'll ADMIT to having one? lol

View attachment 64771

I think I still have three of the really old SAS Bazooka 6.5 passive tubes, I got them free many, many years ago. I believe mice may have eaten the cones in storage since then, but probably still have the things. I put two of them in a car my sister had for a bit nearly 20 years ago, they sounded okay for small woofers and actually filled out the low end pretty well, but they were pretty weak if you wanted trunk rattling bass. I swapped in an old Autotek Street Machine 12 from the late 90’s / 2000 (4 spoke cast basket sub, not the Maxxsonics stuff). But, the Autotek was a terrible sounding sub no matter what box I tried it in, though it at least had more output than the Bazookas.

I'd be curious how the larger modern Bazooka tubes perform, but not at the price. I suspect they are decent enough for a basic install to fill out the low end.

I loved playing with audio gear, so didn't care even if it was products people would crap on, I still liked testing the stuff if I had the chance.

 

[Doxquzme Premium Member]

OK gang, who had one (or two). Who'll ADMIT to having one? lol

View attachment 64771

Never owned one but installed on, the big active 12" in a roomates car and have to admit, was pretty decent.

 

[RobGMN Premium Member]

I think I still have three of the really old SAS Bazooka 6.5 passive tubes, I got them free many, many years ago. I believe mice may have eaten the cones in storage since then, but probably still have the things. I put two of them in a car my sister had for a bit nearly 20 years ago, they sounded okay for small woofers and actually filled out the low end pretty well, but they were pretty weak if you wanted trunk rattling bass. I swapped in an old Autotek Street Machine 12 from the late 90’s / 2000 (4 spoke cast basket sub, not the Maxxsonics stuff). But, the Autotek was a terrible sounding sub no matter what box I tried it in, though it at least had more output than the Bazookas.

I'd be curious how the larger modern Bazooka tubes perform, but not at the price. I suspect they are decent enough for a basic install to fill out the low end.

I loved playing with audio gear, so didn't care even if it was products people would crap on, I still liked testing the stuff if I had the chance.

I was swayed by the reviews of the Hsu tube home subs. I figured it was the next new thing in car audio, too.

 

[RobGMN Premium Member]

When you're a broke college kid, you scrape together what you can ( and maybe incur a little debt, too). I wanted it to look pro without spending much.
Rockford amp on the right, Alphasonik in the middle, no idea on the left.
Six-disc changer, CV 8" subs in the tubes, Boston Acoustic up front, Rockford in rear deck.
If I knew then what I know now...

 

[Old_Slapper]

OK gang, who had one (or two). Who'll ADMIT to having one? lol

View attachment 64771

LOL...
I had 4-10's in my Bronco.

 

[Old_Slapper]

Holy crap man. I read this post when it was first put up, but I had not time to reply. I was a audio junkie who lived at the swapmeet. I was always looking for the tweeker who was trying to sell stolen equipment for cheap. I would sell them and install them in friend's cars and however else was willing to pay.

Of course I dealt with all the major current brands, but here is a list of brands that I played with that are no longer considered "good."

• Sansui
• Crown
• Redline
• Pro Pyle
• Jensen
• Sanyo
• Blaupunkt
• Kraco
• Of course the MTX Blue Thunders
• Petras
• Linear Power
• OZ Audio
• Boston Acoustics
• Power Acoustics
• Cervin Vegas, of course
• There's more, but I can't remember them right now.

I know I don't have any pics from the early 90's, but I'm sure I might have some from the early 2000's. I'll have to look for them. Taking pictures was hard to do before it was a standard feature on cell phones with a lot of memory.

 

[1aespinoza Premium Member]

OK gang, who had one (or two). Who'll ADMIT to having one? lol

View attachment 64771

First time I heard these was in my BIL's single cab flat face F150. They were so loud I thought he had 12s. They are (yes, he still has them) the 8" old metal mesh screen with binding posts (not push clip). MB Quarts on the doors and IIRC Autotek amps all around. I would ask him to go to drive thrus where friends worked and all were awed by the punch for the size of them. I liked them SAS' since then.

 

[BP1Fanatic]

OK gang, who had one (or two). Who'll ADMIT to having one? lol

View attachment 64771

I tested a 6.5" bazooka tube at a car audio shop in the trunk of a 1983 Mercury Grand Marquis in the early 2000's. It was definitely a no go.

 

[RobGMN Premium Member]

I tested a 6.5" bazooka tube at a car audio shop in the trunk of a 1983 Mercury Grand Marquis in the early 2000's. It was definitely a no go.

LOL. Might have been a good match with a set of Walkman headphones.