Headphones at Target

Tonight we walked around in Target and looked at the premium headphones.  There were Bose and there were Beats hooked up for customers to sample. But, there were no Sony or Skullcandy headphones to sample.  I wondered why? Perhaps, the Target Gods don't want you to find an affordable substitute for Beats? Perhaps they don't want you to find an affordable substitute for Bose?  I'd suggest plunking down $19.99 before you plunk down $199.99.

Thrift Store Audio: Pioneer S-HTP55 Center Channel Speaker

Thrift stores are consistently filled with cast off speakers from surround sound systems.  Sometimes you'll find satellite speakers.  Sometimes you'll find center channel speakers. Sometimes you'll find whole speaker systems with a subwoofer, a center-channel speaker, and several satellite speakers.

Pioneer S-HTP55 Center Channel Speaker

Since my latest Sony receiver can handle one or two center channel speakers, I picked up a lone Pioneer S-HTP55 Center Speaker on a recent thrift store run.  I figured that the 50 watt 8 ohm speaker would be a good match for two 50 watt Sony speakers currently attached to this system.

Pioneer S-HTP55 Center Channel Speaker (Back Panel)

 Unfortunately, I wasn't impressed with the resulting sound when listening to music.  The center channel speaker on my Sony 2.1 channel stereo seemed to really weaken my right and left speakers.  I'll have to try again with a movie in the DVD player.

Here is a more contemporary center-channel speaker from Pioneer.  Today's speakers seem to be designed for higher efficiency receivers.

Thrift Store Find: Vintage GPX Stereo

Everyone has seen GPX brand consumer electronics in retail stores.  They make inexpensive stereos, alarm clocks, radios and the like.  You would never think of them as a long-lived brand.  You would never think of them as a maker of products that become vintage.  Yet, I recently came across this vintage GPX Stereo in a thrift store.  It has an AM/FM receiver, turntable, cassette deck, and 8-track cassette player integrated into one convenient system.

Vintage GPX Stereo

According to the GPX website, the company was founded in 1971 and originally imported electronics and sold them under the Grand Prix brand name.  They started using the GPX brand name in 1986.  Since this stereo has an 8-track, it's a little hard to believe that this GPX stereo was created that recently.  Nevertheless, it was surprisingly well-preserved.

I walked on and left it to be discovered by a family who need a stereo for a kid's bedroom.  GPX stereos are great for that and this one looks cool!

Today, you can still get a nice little GPX stereo for a bedroom or dorm room.  I have this one below and it's can do quite a bit for a very low-priced stereo unit.

Thrift Store Vinyl: Victory at Sea

Victory at Sea is one of the greatest documentaries ever made for television.  It chronicles the U.S. Navy's fight against Imperial Japan during World War II.  It also has one of the best sound tracks ever created.

Over the summer, I score two of my holy grail albums on vinyl.  I found Victory at Sea and Victory at Sea - Volume II.  The only one I still need is Victory at Sea - Volume III.  Of course, that is the one worth all the cool sound effects.

Of course, if you want to make your quest a little easier, Jasmine Music is releasing a digitally remastered 2-CD set containing all three volumes of "Victory at Sea."  The set is available for pre-order now on Amazon.com.  The release date is set for October 10, 2014!  It really is the greatest soundtrack ever!