Sweet Soundcraftsmen Score

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10-02-2008, 04:04 PM
Titanium Dome

Sweet Soundcraftsmen Score

I couldn't resist the lure of a Soundcraftsmen A100 MOSFET amplifier and P100 preamplifier still NIB. So today I drove over to Anaheim, next to Santa Ana, CA the old home of Soundcraftsmen, to take a look and make the deal.

$234 later I was on my way back home with the boxes in the back of the Sorento. I took them straight home to open them up to see what I'd bought.

No, I didn't want to open them before taking them home, and yes, I have an agreement for a full refund if they don't work.

The annotated pictorial follows.
10-02-2008, 04:07 PM
Titanium Dome

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These are just two old Soundcraftsmen boxes, but they've been sealed and waiting for me since 1992. They came out of the back room of an old audio dealer.
10-02-2008, 04:10 PM
Titanium Dome

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As I wrote, I paid $234 for both. The original price tags were still on the boxes. Though they were curled and ready to fall off, I got them to stick open long enough to get a couple of shots.

First the amp:
10-02-2008, 04:11 PM
Titanium Dome

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Next the preamp:
10-02-2008, 04:13 PM
Titanium Dome

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These were shipped on April 7, 1993. UPS was quite the bargain back then.

(April 7 is my mom's birthday.)
10-02-2008, 04:17 PM
Titanium Dome

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Upon opening, it was like going back in time fifteen years. Everything looked good. The A100 looked like it had been packed last month.
10-02-2008, 04:18 PM
Titanium Dome

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The P100 packaging was similarly in excellent condition inside the box.
10-02-2008, 04:21 PM
Titanium Dome

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Both out of the box, they look like they could've been currently shipping products. They look like they will be excellent!

Only the slightly yellowing tape gives away the age, and, look, a free patch cord!
10-02-2008, 04:25 PM
Titanium Dome

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Freed from their plastic shrouds of fifteen years, they stack up very nicely from the front.

What a clean, sweet little package they are. That brand new phono stage inside the P100 will be nice.
10-02-2008, 04:28 PM
Titanium Dome

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A shot of the back reveals the simplicity inherent in well-designed stereo equipment from a bygone era. This will be the basis of a spellbindingly simple two-channel set up.
10-02-2008, 04:33 PM
Titanium Dome

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Every Soundcraftsmen amp that left the S. Richey St. facility in Santa Ana got a check up and certification from a Soundcraftsmen inspector. This A100 is no exception, and, as expected in my experience, the published ratings were conservative compared to the actual.

On the box, on the unit, in the manual, and even on the test sheet, every Soundcraftsmen product was "Built With Pride In The U.S.A.."

The actual build date was on or before December 21, 1992.
10-02-2008, 04:39 PM
Titanium Dome

Next Steps

This weekend I'll power them up and see how they fared during their nearly 16 years of hibernation. Fingers crossed, I'll mate them up with some JBLs from the same era, maybe the L5s or the XPL160s. It should be quite a treat!
10-02-2008, 04:59 PM
BMWCCA

Nice grab! Very cool time capsule.

All the best from another Soundcraftsmen fan. I was actually surprised to see the MTX-labeled stuff Made in USA. My Pro PT Two isn't and it has no MTX label on it at all. All the rest are "Proudly Made in USA".

PE2217
DX4200
DX4200
DC2215
CX4100
ProTuner Four
ProControl Four
Pro PT Two
10-10-2008, 11:50 AM
Regis

Ti,

I am totally envious! Gawd, what a great score and in the original boxes even! Better yet, original plastic, cords and everything else. Jealosy rages through me:D. But seriously. I just love their gear. The M-5002, the big LED amps. Best of all. IT WAS MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! BY AMERICANS, FOR AMERICANS. For God's sake, let's bring back U.S. Manufacturing. We can make wa-aay better goods than the Chinese!
10-10-2008, 01:16 PM
pmakres1

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Me too

I too am a Soundcraftsmen fan from way back...in particular their Equalizers and Analyzers. Here's my two best examples...I have three additional Soundcraftsmen equalizers in other sytems, and one spare. It's really a shame Soundcraftsmen disappeared.

Pete
10-10-2008, 01:24 PM
Regis

oooooo! Lotsa LED's!!! :rockon2:
10-10-2008, 06:04 PM
boputnam

Doug, congratulations - that is amazing! I'm glad it was you - your pedantic attention to photo-documentation was perfect, right down to the age-faded tape on the packaging!! Hilarious! :D

I too, just migrated to a pre-amp with separate power supply. I am very impressed with the improved sound. Getting that power supply positioned away from the audio signal path has material positive impacts.

Waiting for your reports...!!
10-10-2008, 07:00 PM
BMWCCA

Kinda sad the first thing MTX got rid of were the grounded outlets. Though I guess they started that on their made-in-Japan pre-receiver lineup even before the MTX buy-out. Crown did the same thing on their "consumer" lines of amps and preamps, too. Even more strange for them.
10-10-2008, 08:02 PM
Titanium Dome

Quote:

Originally Posted by boputnam

your pedantic attention to photo-documentation was perfect,

It was a rare chance to see a long discontinued product line as it appeared when brand new. Documentation was critical.

You may not know (or care) but I was the VP of the Board of a County Historical Society for a number of years and even authored a book (The History of Van Buren County), and did an oral history project accompanied by volumes of photographs.

History in any form has value and deserves some notice. Old JBls, Altecs, and Lansings are included (even if I do make fun of them from time to time) and so in this case are Soundcraftsmen electronics that drive them.

Call me a pedant if you must, but I like to think of myself as a visual preservationist. :p
10-10-2008, 08:35 PM
Doc Mark

Evening, TiDome,

Outstanding score, my Friend!!! Well done!!! :applaud::applaud::applaud: The only Soundcraftsmen goodie I own is an AS1000 Scan-alyzer RTA. I need to get it back out and use it, just for fun. Got mine with it's original microphone, too, which is nice. But, I'd sure like a nice EQ from them, one of these days, to match my black-faced AS-1000.

Again, you got a wonderful deal, and I'm really happy for you, Mate!! Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc
10-10-2008, 09:52 PM
pmakres1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Mark

The only Soundcraftsmen goodie I own is an AS1000 Scan-alyzer RTA. I need to get it back out and use it, just for fun. Got mine with it's original microphone, too, which is nice.
Every Good Wish,
Doc

Sure wish I could find an original Mic for my AS1000! :(

Anyone know where I can find one? I've looked and looked....

Pete
10-11-2008, 06:20 AM
Doc Mark

Hi, Pete,

Do you need the model numbers, or any other information about the original mic? If so, I can drag mine out and send along whatever you might need, information-wise. Just let me know. It's a battery-operated jobby, and works very well, indeed. Take care, and God Bless!
10-11-2008, 07:12 AM
Titanium Dome

That'd be the SAM II (Sound Analyzer Microphone, version two), an omnidirectional electret mic.
10-11-2008, 11:06 AM
boputnam

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titanium Dome

Call me a pedant if you must, but I like to think of myself as a visual preservationist. :p

It was well done!
11-05-2008, 02:09 PM
BMWCCA

While not new-in-box or as historic, I did receive today a Soundcraftsmen Pro-Power-Four power amp and Pro-Control-Four pre-amp in their original boxes with original owner's manuals and certificate of performance. The matching third-octave Pro-EQ-44 will be arriving soon. The Pro-Power performance is listed at 215 WPC at 8-ohms and 357 WPC at 4-ohms. They're in great shape, arrived from Canada via the post office incredibly well-packed. As far as I can tell, these are some of the last Soundcraftsmen models made in USA that don't carry the MTX logo. These were sold directly by Soundcraftsmen in May of 1991. By serial number, the Pro-Control-Four appears much earlier than my other one, but looks identical. I look forward to my first experience with a Soundcraftsmen amp, though these will put me at ten pieces of Soundcraftsmen equipment, including one RP2217 I've owned since new back somewhere in the '70s.

No price stickers on these boxes that I can see but, according to a 1989 price list Soundcraftsmen sent to me back then, the Pro-Power-Four listed for $849 and the Pro-Control-Four for $699 at that time. While I paid a bit more than T-dome for my purchase, I did get three items (used) for a bit more than twice what he paid, including shipping from Canada. I may be a bottom feeder but even I get tired of waiting to steal something I've always wanted, and sometimes you just have to say, "What the heck!"
:cheers:
11-05-2008, 03:29 PM
Regis

Great score nonetheless! I love the Soundcraftsmen equipment. Smooth MOSFET sound, a ton of headroom and built-to-the-hilt. It is a shame they are gone. The Santa Ana company was a paragon example of American Manufacturing of great quality at a reasonable price.
11-05-2008, 06:04 PM
BMWCCA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Regis

Smooth MOSFET sound, a ton of headroom and built-to-the-hilt.

Great kick in the bottom but I'm chasing what to me sounds like a bit of inaccuracy in reproduction of some female voices. I'm swapping amps back and forth like crazy. I'll have to swap pre-amps next but, after years of lusting after a big Soundcraftsmen amp, I'm pretty much convinced the Crown PS-400 knocks it off the pedastal. I'm guessing it'd make a dyn-O-mite sub amp though. It's a gut-buster on the kick drum. Too bad I don't have a sub!
11-05-2008, 06:11 PM
hjames

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWCCA

Great kick in the bottom but I'm chasing what to me sounds like a bit of inaccuracy in reproduction of some female voices. I'm swapping amps back and forth like crazy. I'll have to swap pre-amps next but, after years of lusting after a big Soundcraftsmen amp, I'm pretty much convinced the Crown PS-400 knocks it off the pedastal. I'm guessing it'd make a dyn-O-mite sub amp though. It's a gut-buster on the kick drum. Too bad I don't have a sub!

Sounds like a good amp for the bottom of a biamped setup ...
Your best amp goes on the high split where you can hear distortions more easily ..
11-05-2008, 07:05 PM
BMWCCA

Quote:

Originally Posted by hjames

Sounds like a good amp for the bottom of a biamped setup ...
Your best amp goes on the high split where you can hear distortions more easily ..

I'm thinking I've got too many amps . . . or is that not enough speakers? :)
11-05-2008, 07:24 PM
hjames

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWCCA

I'm thinking I've got too many amps . . . or is that not enough speakers? :)

If you have spare amps you are not using,
it would be not enough speakers ...

You need Horns my friend ... we should find you a pair of cheap L200s, 4333s or similar ...
11-05-2008, 07:42 PM
BMWCCA

Quote:

Originally Posted by hjames

You need Horns my friend...we should find you a pair of cheap L200s, 4333s or similar ...

More power to you. I've got enough spare Crown PS-Series to bi-amp two pairs. Heck, I've even got cabinets! So, don't need crossovers (pair of VFX2As), don't need amps, don't need cabinets (4320s from Heather, badges from HP), what's keeping me? Oh yeah, about $2000 in components?
11-17-2008, 07:37 PM
clmrt

Ti -

Any pics of the final installation?
11-17-2008, 10:53 PM
clmrt

Who's thread is this, anyway?:blah:

I want to see *TD's* minimalist rig.
11-17-2008, 11:35 PM
Titanium Dome

Quote:

Originally Posted by clmrt

Who's thread is this, anyway?:blah:

I want to see *TD's* minimalist rig.

I'll get some shots this weekend.
11-17-2008, 11:36 PM
Titanium Dome

More?

OH yeah, I picked up a Soundcraftsmen 3000A receiver for a song and just scored a really nice DX4200.
11-18-2008, 05:56 AM
BMWCCA

Quote:

Originally Posted by clmrt

Who's thread is this, anyway?:blah:

I want to see *TD's* minimalist rig.

Sorry. I guess I'm just starving for some Soundcraftsmen community spirit. Didn't see your stealth "Ti" appellation. :o:

I'm sure I'm the first on this site to walk on someone's dormant thread. ;)
11-18-2008, 06:41 AM
clmrt

Oh yes you are!:D
01-04-2009, 03:20 PM
Titanium Dome

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Took a while

Okay, here it is finally. Right now this gear is driving the L5s. It's a nice match with the L5s easy load and the Soundcraftmen's conservative ratings.

I definitely need to dust, and someday I'l hook up that VCR, I swear.
01-10-2010, 06:00 AM
JBL 4645

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titanium Dome

Okay, here it is finally. Right now this gear is driving the L5s. It's a nice match with the L5s easy load and the Soundcraftmen's conservative ratings.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...1&d=1231107614

I definitely need to dust, and someday I'l hook up that VCR, I swear.

Nice Panasonic DVD player and wow an RCA I haven’t seen that name since I was in Florida back around February 1981 at Space Mountain, Disney World had all these RCA TV all over the place.

Looks like you got spot of dust there as well.:D
01-10-2010, 09:18 AM
BMWCCA

Quote:

Originally Posted by hjames

You need Horns my friend ... we should find you a pair of cheap L200s, 4333s or similar ...

An interesting aspect of dredging up these old threads is we find how prescient some observations back them really were. Sort of. :applaud:
06-07-2010, 11:18 PM
Titanium Dome

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Back from the dead

I found a NIB DX4200 for a hundred bucks. Obviously it was taken out once, but it's labeled for 220V, so the original purchaser stuck it back in the box, stuck it in the garage, and there it sat for 15-20 years. After examining it and asking around another thread, I think it's really a 110V unit.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbullet...l=1#post289313

Here's a few unpacking shots prior to possibly blowing it up. :crying:
06-07-2010, 11:26 PM
Titanium Dome

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The record was still in its recessed slot.

The enclosure is in pristine shape. Some of my Soundcraftsmen gear looks pretty ratty, but not this. :)
06-07-2010, 11:30 PM
Titanium Dome

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The front and rear panels are mint. The only evidence of age is a fine dusting of paper fibers from the aging cardboard.

The bright glare from the stickers on the back obscures the Caution 220V legend that covers the normal 110V lettering.
06-07-2010, 11:34 PM
Titanium Dome

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I opened it up to do the 220 to 110 conversion, but it looked like it had always been 110V. :confused: :dont-know:

Anyway, it's a very orderly and clean interior.
06-07-2010, 11:36 PM
Titanium Dome

Despite all the labels, it's got the typical US 110V three-prong plug, so :wtf: I guess I'll just plug it in. :)
06-08-2010, 06:27 AM
BMWCCA

I saw no smoke cloud off to the West, so I assume all went well?

I'd be curious to know how sticky the slide pots are after all those years of dormancy. My DX4200s that get fairly constant use are often tough to budge off their positions for minute adjustments. They move fine, once moving. That's why I've come to prefer the pots on the later stuff like the Pro-EQ-44, but I still love all my old Soundcraftsmen stuff all the way back to my original (bought new) PE2217. Still sounds great after all these years. Bought it to replace a Mac C-20 I still have, too. Just stepped up from adjustable record compensation controls and variable loudness to the built-in EQ while losing the tubes.

Nice to see one in such nice shape go to a good home for a reasonable price! :applaud:
06-08-2010, 10:43 AM
Titanium Dome

The pots were VERY firm.

Nothing blew up (yet), but I simply powered it up, tested the receptacle outputs, then hooked up a DVD player and headphones. The result wasn't promising, but it might just be the headphones or jack. I'll need to do more experimentation.
06-08-2010, 05:16 PM
BMWCCA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titanium Dome

hooked up a DVD player and headphones. The result wasn't promising, but it might just be the headphones or jack. I'll need to do more experimentation.

Should get ample headphone volume as low as 9 o'clock on the volume pot. Both headphone jacks should sound the same though I think one cuts the pre-amp-out to the power amp. I'm sure you know how the rest of the switches operate to make the noise come out the right hole! NIB probably means a manual, too, right? Don't think I ever had one for that model.
07-30-2010, 09:54 PM
BMWCCA

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Was this the beginning of the end for Soundcraftsmen??

Saw this and thought of this thread; shouldn't this have signaled the end of the revered brand?

Attachment 46845

It's bad enough when they take your company over and add their name to yours, but couldn't they at least spell yours correctly??? :dont-know:

What's next?

Attachment 46846
07-31-2010, 07:06 AM
JeffW

That last bit should read

"JLB by Harmon" :D
08-01-2010, 10:06 AM
Titanium Dome

What unit is that?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWCCA

Saw this and thought of this thread; shouldn't this have signaled the end of the revered brand?

Attachment 46845

It's bad enough when they take your company over and add their name to yours, but couldn't they at least spell yours correctly??? :dont-know:

What's next?

Attachment 46846
08-01-2010, 07:54 PM
BMWCCA

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Titanium Dome

What unit is that?

CD100 Pro

Attachment 46885
08-01-2010, 08:05 PM
Titanium Dome

Ah, yes. Thanks.
05-26-2013, 12:13 PM
racinoffrd

Just saw

I just saw your pics of the Soundcraftsmen units you got a few years ago and I'm very jealous. What a fined it was.
05-26-2013, 12:48 PM
racinoffrd

Pro CD 750

The pic of your CD 100 Pro looks a lot like my Pro CD 750.
05-26-2013, 12:49 PM
racinoffrd

I hope someone still looks that this thread.
05-26-2013, 12:52 PM
hjames

Quote:

Originally Posted by racinoffrd

I hope someone still looks that this thread.

Folks do - but its a holiday weekend and Lansing Forums aren't the most high-activity site on the web -
Patience - and give it a few days!
05-26-2013, 07:31 PM
BMWCCA

Quote:

Originally Posted by racinoffrd

I just saw your pics of the Soundcraftsmen units you got a few years ago and I'm very jealous. What a fined it was.

Not sure to what part of this four-year-long thread you refer to. I posted the photos of the CD 100 but I don't own one. That's one SC piece I can do without. I would love a Pre-Receiver with remote control though; the Pro-PT 5. I have the PT-3 in my kids' room.
02-19-2014, 05:38 PM
racinoffrd

Here I am again in 2014. I think the Pro CD 750 looks much better than the Pro CD100. It's all black on the face and it doesn't have handles. If you would like to see it, I have a pic. of mine in the photo gallery. I love mine and it sounds great. I just hope I don't have any problems with it. Soundcraftsmen equipment is hard enough too get fixed, I would fate to any problems with it. By the way if there is anyone out there with an owners manual. I would love a copy. I misplaced all my manuals. BTW BMWCCA I was referring to the Soundcraftsmen equipment (I believe it was a P100 and a A100) that someone bought still in the original boxes. That was amazing.
02-19-2014, 07:40 PM
BMWCCA

Quote:

Originally Posted by racinoffrd

Here I am again in 2014. I think the Pro CD 750 looks much better than the Pro CD100. It's all black on the face and it doesn't have handles. If you would like to see it, I have a pic. of mine in the photo gallery.

Thanks but no need. I'm not wedded to Soundcraftsmen other than what they do well. The CD never impressed me and they seem to have more than their fair share of problems, but then what old CD players don't? Now that I have a stand-alone DAC I find I can run just about any transport and love the sound. I have a $57 new Sony universal player with coax output to my Emotiva DAC and a new $150 TEAC single-disc CD player with USB iPod interface that works very well, far beyond its price point. :dont-know:
02-20-2014, 07:39 PM
racinoffrd

I hear ya. I bought my CD player years ago and don't think I will be in the market for awhile. When I bought it CDs where a big thing. Things change to fast to keep up. I probably won't buy another until my Soundcraftsmen brakes ( cross my fingers that it doesn't ). Then I don't know what I will do. As far as brand and what it does. How knows what they will do in the future.
03-18-2014, 07:02 PM
tomt

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titanium Dome

... but I was the VP of the Board of a County Historical Society for a number of years,

and even authored a book (The History of Van Buren County), and did an oral history project accompanied by volumes of photographs.

would that be,

Iowa,

tennessee,

michigan,

or arkansas ?

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