The Technics SL-P1 was my first CD player. I had the version with the black case. I git mine around 1985 as well. I was in the Air Force at Pope AFB in Fayetteville, NC and bought the player via mail order with the extra money I earned on a temporary duty assignment in Panama. I remember around December '85 getting the player shipped to me, but I had no CDs yet to play in it. I spend Christmas that year with my folks down in St. Simon's Island, GA and bought my first 5 CDs there: (which I still have: Pink Floyd -"Dark Side Of The Moon", Thomas Dolby - "The Golden Age Of Wireless", Dire Straits' first album, David Bowie - "Ziggy Stardust", and Pete Townshend - "Empty Glass".
The player served me faithfully for several years, even making it to Italy, and back to the States again to New York, then Germany, then England where it finally gave up the ghost in the mid 90's. It was beyond my patience or capability to fix or to have it fixed, so I replaced it with a Pioneer 5 disc carousel model. A couple years ago I had to get another one on line as the original stopped working properly and I was unable to use the videos I found on YouTube to fix, so I bought a replacement with a dodgy optical deck and wound up putting the deck from the original machine into the replacement one and it works fine.
I can definitely sympathise with your plight. I still have my very first computer, an Atari ST (1988), as well as my first PC, (1994) both still in perfect working order. Also an Atari 2600, Jr. I bought in 1986. Hard to let stuff go.
I love the detail of buying the CD player without opening any CDs. It really gives you time to consider and anticipate what you will get next. I am pretty sure my first 2 CDs were gifts from my family. One was Genesis "ABACAB" and the other was Devo's first album. I can still remember hitting play and hearing the sound of the disc spinning.
I remember the stereo system my family had in the 80s was like a giant activity centre for me. I often slowly moved the radio needle to see how far away I could pick up stations, like obscure community radio. I used to also tape songs from the radio (and from LPs and other tapes). And I’d record my voice between each song like I was a radio announcer. Later I got a stereo of my own with a built in CD player. It was an all in one, not components like yours. But I loved the physical medium. When I listened to a CD, I’d often look at the album artwork and thumb through the booklet inlay. Some people might think I’m talking nonsense but I think the album artwork actually coloured the music I was hearing. If it was a good album cover (Nirvana Nevermind being a good example) it made the music sound better.
I agree 💯 about the physical medium. The art, the lyrics, notes, credits, etc, all combined to make listening an experience. I feel so passive when I listen to music on streaming. It converts even my favorite music into background music.
It is exactly why I keep this stereo system going. I want to force myself to make a choice on my listening and when I do so, to make it more of an experience in the hope that I can get lost in it just a little. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it is very rewarding.
Yeah, the brand was Expo. From what I can work out, it was a brand made exclusively for K-Mart Australia. But I’m not sure if it’s the rose coloured glasses talking but I remember it sounding excellent (despite what I assume was a low price) and it lasted years.
My rule with streaming music is to stick to the album format rather than a bunch of individual tracks. That gets me part of the way there but still not close. I’ve thought about collecting CDs as they’re like what retro computers were in the 90s and early 2000s - cheap and no one wants them. They’re also technically the pinnacle of good sound, and their jewel cases look like mini LP sleeves.
I had never heard of Expo, but found a few pieces online from the 70s and 80s. I like the look of all of them. The speakers I saw looked pretty solid specs wise.
It is a good time to collect CDs. People are still getting rid of them so the price on older stuff is very low.
Gorgeous player! I've also been clearing stuff out slowly, in anticipation of an eventual move. It's hard to let some things go, but I'm also recognizing that some electronics are simply gone for good - or at least well beyond my limited repair capabilities. Great video by Techmoan this past week in which he's unable to fix a cassette deck and acknowledges that many older electronics are now more for display than actual use - unless you're a true repair expert. It's sad that many pieces are simply aging out of useful existence, but good to know in advance before collecting something with a potentially limited lifespan.
I just watched the video you mentioned. I need to play catch up on his stuff. He is right on about the attitude people need to take with these things. I can only imagine the deluge of unwanted advice he must get when he posts.
Yeah - I found it refreshing. Having watched his earlier videos, I know he's far more skilled at repair than I am. I also know that some people will spend a huge amount of time getting something repaired - and I respect that. But for many, it's simply not worth the time and effort - even for a YouTube channel. A nice reminder.
Sadly, the price for working pieces keeps climbing and pricing people out of collecting them. CD and Laser Disc players have been a real challenge for me. I have another Technics CD Player, but I fear it is also on its last legs. Since it is portable, I do not hold up much hope for fixing that one either.
That's a gorgeous machine, thanks for sharing a bit of your departing collection with your fans, hopefully this will make letting it go a little easier. I admire that you have written policies that govern your collecting practice. If my mother had had such policies, she might have prevented her house from becoming hoarded with stacks of books so high and deep that the best pieces of the collection are no longer accessible.
I hope you find something sweet to fill your recently cleared space. Happy hunting! The quest is the best part of collecting! 😃
I've gone through the same thing over the years, and setting rules has definitely helped curb the accumulation. Like with my toy collection, I have a display case in my office that holds my entire accumulation. Any toys I get have to be able to fit into that display, and if they don't, I have to make room either by selling or giving away something else. I've also set a price limit for whatever I pick up, usually around $20. I mean, we're talking about something that's just going to be standing on a shelf, so I can't see spending too much money on it. Another thing I try to do is avoid impulse purchases. If I find something I like and want, I wait 24 hours before making the purchase. I figure if I'm still thinking about it the next day, then I'll allow myself to get it. I know that it's not always possible to give yourself that kind of waiting period if you come across something in the wild, but all I know is that I tend to regret my impulse purchases at least 90% of the time. This also works when I find a new hobby that interests me. If I hold off and research long enough, I almost always lose interest in a day or two. It definitely saves me some money, time and space.
The Technics SL-P1 was my first CD player. I had the version with the black case. I git mine around 1985 as well. I was in the Air Force at Pope AFB in Fayetteville, NC and bought the player via mail order with the extra money I earned on a temporary duty assignment in Panama. I remember around December '85 getting the player shipped to me, but I had no CDs yet to play in it. I spend Christmas that year with my folks down in St. Simon's Island, GA and bought my first 5 CDs there: (which I still have: Pink Floyd -"Dark Side Of The Moon", Thomas Dolby - "The Golden Age Of Wireless", Dire Straits' first album, David Bowie - "Ziggy Stardust", and Pete Townshend - "Empty Glass".
The player served me faithfully for several years, even making it to Italy, and back to the States again to New York, then Germany, then England where it finally gave up the ghost in the mid 90's. It was beyond my patience or capability to fix or to have it fixed, so I replaced it with a Pioneer 5 disc carousel model. A couple years ago I had to get another one on line as the original stopped working properly and I was unable to use the videos I found on YouTube to fix, so I bought a replacement with a dodgy optical deck and wound up putting the deck from the original machine into the replacement one and it works fine.
I can definitely sympathise with your plight. I still have my very first computer, an Atari ST (1988), as well as my first PC, (1994) both still in perfect working order. Also an Atari 2600, Jr. I bought in 1986. Hard to let stuff go.
I love the detail of buying the CD player without opening any CDs. It really gives you time to consider and anticipate what you will get next. I am pretty sure my first 2 CDs were gifts from my family. One was Genesis "ABACAB" and the other was Devo's first album. I can still remember hitting play and hearing the sound of the disc spinning.
I remember the stereo system my family had in the 80s was like a giant activity centre for me. I often slowly moved the radio needle to see how far away I could pick up stations, like obscure community radio. I used to also tape songs from the radio (and from LPs and other tapes). And I’d record my voice between each song like I was a radio announcer. Later I got a stereo of my own with a built in CD player. It was an all in one, not components like yours. But I loved the physical medium. When I listened to a CD, I’d often look at the album artwork and thumb through the booklet inlay. Some people might think I’m talking nonsense but I think the album artwork actually coloured the music I was hearing. If it was a good album cover (Nirvana Nevermind being a good example) it made the music sound better.
I agree 💯 about the physical medium. The art, the lyrics, notes, credits, etc, all combined to make listening an experience. I feel so passive when I listen to music on streaming. It converts even my favorite music into background music.
It is exactly why I keep this stereo system going. I want to force myself to make a choice on my listening and when I do so, to make it more of an experience in the hope that I can get lost in it just a little. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it is very rewarding.
Do you remember the system you had?
Yeah, the brand was Expo. From what I can work out, it was a brand made exclusively for K-Mart Australia. But I’m not sure if it’s the rose coloured glasses talking but I remember it sounding excellent (despite what I assume was a low price) and it lasted years.
My rule with streaming music is to stick to the album format rather than a bunch of individual tracks. That gets me part of the way there but still not close. I’ve thought about collecting CDs as they’re like what retro computers were in the 90s and early 2000s - cheap and no one wants them. They’re also technically the pinnacle of good sound, and their jewel cases look like mini LP sleeves.
I had never heard of Expo, but found a few pieces online from the 70s and 80s. I like the look of all of them. The speakers I saw looked pretty solid specs wise.
It is a good time to collect CDs. People are still getting rid of them so the price on older stuff is very low.
Gorgeous player! I've also been clearing stuff out slowly, in anticipation of an eventual move. It's hard to let some things go, but I'm also recognizing that some electronics are simply gone for good - or at least well beyond my limited repair capabilities. Great video by Techmoan this past week in which he's unable to fix a cassette deck and acknowledges that many older electronics are now more for display than actual use - unless you're a true repair expert. It's sad that many pieces are simply aging out of useful existence, but good to know in advance before collecting something with a potentially limited lifespan.
I just watched the video you mentioned. I need to play catch up on his stuff. He is right on about the attitude people need to take with these things. I can only imagine the deluge of unwanted advice he must get when he posts.
Yeah - I found it refreshing. Having watched his earlier videos, I know he's far more skilled at repair than I am. I also know that some people will spend a huge amount of time getting something repaired - and I respect that. But for many, it's simply not worth the time and effort - even for a YouTube channel. A nice reminder.
Sadly, the price for working pieces keeps climbing and pricing people out of collecting them. CD and Laser Disc players have been a real challenge for me. I have another Technics CD Player, but I fear it is also on its last legs. Since it is portable, I do not hold up much hope for fixing that one either.
That's a gorgeous machine, thanks for sharing a bit of your departing collection with your fans, hopefully this will make letting it go a little easier. I admire that you have written policies that govern your collecting practice. If my mother had had such policies, she might have prevented her house from becoming hoarded with stacks of books so high and deep that the best pieces of the collection are no longer accessible.
I hope you find something sweet to fill your recently cleared space. Happy hunting! The quest is the best part of collecting! 😃
I've gone through the same thing over the years, and setting rules has definitely helped curb the accumulation. Like with my toy collection, I have a display case in my office that holds my entire accumulation. Any toys I get have to be able to fit into that display, and if they don't, I have to make room either by selling or giving away something else. I've also set a price limit for whatever I pick up, usually around $20. I mean, we're talking about something that's just going to be standing on a shelf, so I can't see spending too much money on it. Another thing I try to do is avoid impulse purchases. If I find something I like and want, I wait 24 hours before making the purchase. I figure if I'm still thinking about it the next day, then I'll allow myself to get it. I know that it's not always possible to give yourself that kind of waiting period if you come across something in the wild, but all I know is that I tend to regret my impulse purchases at least 90% of the time. This also works when I find a new hobby that interests me. If I hold off and research long enough, I almost always lose interest in a day or two. It definitely saves me some money, time and space.