[Mag]

Stopped in at Pulsworks today for about 45 minutes. We introduced ourselves, told Dave I was a Bryston fan, and was thinking of getting a BDA-1. But I have other priorities I need to take care of first, so I'm resisting the temptation to buy at this time.

Dave then showed me into the listening room where I was wowed by equipment. Bryston was racked and on display, as well as MacIntosh gear, Dali speakers and Snell speakers.

Dave first demo-ed the vinyl rig with MacIntosh and Dali speakers. Not being familiar with vinyl and tube gear I didn't want to comment. I think I needed the volume louder to better access the nuances. There were no ticks or pops from an older record which surprised me. The imaging was dead center, and when Dave prompted me I said it sounded flat.

Dave then demo-ed on the solid state MacIntosh with Snell speakers. The music was a female Jazz vocalist, sorry I forgot the name. I was totally wowed again, the imaging was dead center and sounded smooth and life like and had the vitality that I thought was missing from the tube vinyl rig.

Then a brief demo of the small PMC speaker with Mac gear and Velodyne sub. Again the imaging was dead center and pleasant sounding.

Dave said it was okay to drop by again with a reference rock cd of my own. So sometime in the near future I'll stop in for another demo.

I left wondering if I should re-think my multi-channel stereo system. For a dedicated two channel system. I would just need the Bryston pre-amp and I would be good to go. Also the Dali speakers interest me which I could work into my system if I stay with multi-channel.

Hmmm, Xmas is just around the corner.

[vegasdave]

Why didn't you listen to the Bryston?!?

[Mag]

Why didn't you listen to the Bryston?!?

Well, because I am already familiar with Bryston. I have 4 Bryston amps, BCD-1. I heard Werd's 14B SST/2 system. Dave at Pulsworks did have the 28's and I would like to hear those, as well as the B26 pre-amp.

So now that I'm interested in the Dali, I think it was the Mark V, at approx. $10,000, I will demo that speaker with Bryston, with my own cds on hand.

[vegasdave]

Ok, that makes sense I guess. haha. Good luck with the speakers. I hope the sound justifies the price!

[Johnny2Bad]

On 2nd Ave, I think that was called the Harmony Center. That's where I bought my first Bryston 2B, Hafler Pre-amp, Technics TT, Eos Model 10 speakers and Stax headphones. It think that was the summer of '79.

Then the store move across the street and became the Sony Store, then moved to the Mall on 1st ave..

I don't recall an audio store on Broadway, it may have been Long & Maquade or H.E.L on Broadway and merged, moving to 43rd st.. They sell music instruments and may have sold audio gear as well.

That was Custom Stereo, not Harmony Centre. Harmony Centre was one of the oldest resellers in Saskatoon; although I don't know exactly when they opened, it was originally a store that sold vacuum tube radios, later branching out in to the newfangled craze, the television (hence the name).
By the mid 1970's Harmony was a big Yamaha/BOSE dealer; their big power amps were S.A.E. If you wanted a DD turntable from Harmony Centre you could also look at SONY or J.V.C. They did convert to a Sony store at some point, I believe in the 1990's, after the original owner passed on.
In '79 there were two Custom Stereo locations on 2nd Avenue, one at 122 2nd Avenue North (across from the Bank of Montreal) and another in the 200 block 2nd North, across from the Bay. CS sold mostly Technics, Thorens and REGA turntables, although you could also look at a Kenwood, Luxman or Oracle unit if you wanted.

[Johnny2Bad]

I can't remember the name of the place....on 2nd Ave I think. I still have my Lenco TT that I got at that place...just a few weeks before it closed. 1979?

Custom Stereo closed on or about 1984. The assets were purchased by Krazy Kiley's and the store continued under the Custom Stereo brand at a new location on 8th Street East, with most of the 1984 staff re-hired, up until about 1990, but that store was not related to and did not carry the same lines as the original Custom Stereo.
There was also a Custom Stereo in Regina, SK. It was an independently owned and operated store and not really related to the Saskatoon store but had licensed the name from the Saskatoon company and shared some product lines, I believe including Bryston.

[Mag]

That was Custom Stereo, not Harmony Centre. Harmony Centre was one of the oldest resellers in Saskatoon; although I don't know exactly when they opened, it was originally a store that sold vacuum tube radios, later branching out in to the newfangled craze, the television (hence the name).
>>By the mid 1970's Harmony was a big Yamaha/BOSE dealer; their big power amps were S.A.E. If you wanted a DD turntable from Harmony Centre you could also look at SONY or J.V.C. They did convert to a Sony store at some point, I believe in the 1990's, after the original owner passed on.
In '79 there were two Custom Stereo locations on 2nd Avenue, one at 122 2nd Avenue North (across from the Bank of Montreal) and another in the 200 block 2nd North, across from the Bay. CS sold mostly Technics, Thorens and REGA turntables, although you could also look at a Kenwood, Luxman or Oracle unit if you wanted.<<

You are right, I found the receipt for that purchase. Custom Stereo 204 2nd ave. north.

I honestly don't recall walking into a stereo store at that location. But apparently I did. I purchased in Aug. '79 a 2B Byston-amp, Hafler DH 101 pre-amp, Stax 3R-44-headphones, Technics SL D2 TT, and ADC Q602 equalizer. Most of which was stolen from me, I thought I bought my speaker there too, but that's not on this receipt.

[1oldguy]

That was Custom Stereo, not Harmony Centre. Harmony Centre was one of the oldest resellers in Saskatoon; although I don't know exactly when they opened, it was originally a store that sold vacuum tube radios, later branching out in to the newfangled craze, the television (hence the name).
>>By the mid 1970's Harmony was a big Yamaha/BOSE dealer; their big power amps were S.A.E. If you wanted a DD turntable from Harmony Centre you could also look at SONY or J.V.C. They did convert to a Sony store at some point, I believe in the 1990's, after the original owner passed on.
In '79 there were two Custom Stereo locations on 2nd Avenue, one at 122 2nd Avenue North (across from the Bank of Montreal) and another in the 200 block 2nd North, across from the Bay. CS sold mostly Technics, Thorens and REGA turntables, although you could also look at a Kenwood, Luxman or Oracle unit if you wanted.<<

You are right, I found the receipt for that purchase. Custom Stereo 204 2nd ave. north.

I honestly don't recall walking into a stereo store at that location. But apparently I did. I purchased in Aug. '79 a 2B Byston-amp, Hafler DH 101 pre-amp, Stax 3R-44-headphones, Technics SL D2 TT, and ADC Q602 equalizer. Most of which was stolen from me, I thought I bought my speaker there too, but that's not on this receipt.

Thieves get my goat....Cut off their hands I say.No Kidding.

[Johnny2Bad]

That was Custom Stereo, not Harmony Centre. ... You are right, I found the receipt for that purchase. Custom Stereo 204 2nd ave. north. ... I purchased in Aug. '79 a 2B Byston-amp, Hafler DH 101 pre-amp, Stax 3R-44-headphones, Technics SL D2 TT, and ADC Q602 equalizer. Most of which was stolen from me, I thought I bought my speaker there too, but that's not on this receipt.

What kind of speakers?

[Johnny2Bad]

Since this is pretty much the only "Saskatoon" thread on AudioCircle ... maybe anywhere ... I'm going to go off-topic a bit. Hopefully I'll be forgiven.

Anyway, I've got a hot tip for people in Saskatoon who do occasional work on PCBs, DIY, cables, etc., and in particular rework, especially if you are expecting to do any lead-free soldering in the future ... trust me when I say you can't expect your 35~50 watt iron to pull that job off, unless lifting traces from PCBs is your idea of fun.

The Gold Standard for decent, affordable soldering tools, the HAKKO 936-12 temperature-controlled ESR-safe iron, lists for $179 in Canada. Ever since Cooper Tools bought Weller, with a rather noticeable drop in overall quality soon following, your options are either a Hong Kong knockoff, a Weller, which is in my opinion, at least if you're talking a new-in-box example, about the same as the Chinese made units on eBay, or the HAKKO. If you do buy a HAKKO, you'll notice the label says "Made in Japan" ... you don't see that much anymore.

This unit is either discontinued now, or soon to be, or won't be for export markets (depending on who you ask). In any case mine has a build date of July 2010. It's apparently no longer available in Japan, but is in North America. It's hard to say which is the direct replacement; they sell the 937 in Japan (same unit, digital readout) but seem to be pushing the FX series (eg FX-888) as the direct replacement. There does not appear to be much difference in build quality or actual operation between those and the 936; although the 888 is a bit faster in temp recovery, you can't buy it in North America yet. It sells for $180 in Australia, which is pretty much par with $C right now.

Having said all that, there's nothing wrong with it as a functional tool, and HAKKO supports it's products well. You might say they are "Bryston-like" in that regard. If you register your warranty, they extend it from 90 days to 2 years; not exactly "Bryston-like", but pretty good compared to your other options.

B&E Electronics (Saskatoon, Calgary, Regina) has the 936-12 on sale for $99. I happened to be in-store for some flux remover when I asked about the unit on the shelf ... I'd been looking to get a decent iron and had been checking out prices online, and I bought one on the spot. That's cheaper than it would cost you to pick one up on eBay from the US (typically about US$80 discounted (MSRP $US94), plus $25 shipping, plus UPS's blood money). B&E also stocks many of the various tips in-store.

You can't go wrong with the HAKKO. I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few around the Bryston benches. Get 'em while you can. If anyone does buy one, go next to the HAKKO USA site and read or download a few PDFs ... the ones on tip care and selection, there's another about ROHS solders, and another on fluxes are recommended.