Thrift Store Vinyl: Music from Peter Gunn

Peter Gunn was a TV series that ran from 1958 to 1961 on NBC and later ABC.  The main character was Peter Gunn, a private detective, who enjoyed cool jazz music.  According to wikipedia, 114 episodes of the show were made. 

While the show lives on in late night reruns, it is best known for Henry Mancini's theme music.  Like my all time favorite show, Miami Vice, Peter Gunn made music an integral part of the show.  However, I first heard the Peter Gunn theme playing the SpyHunter arcade game in the early 1980s.  I was really excited to find this Peter Gunn sound track album at Goodwill for about 79 cents.

If you'd like to hear a bit of the music, check out this YouTube video:

If you'd like to see the TV series, you can find it on Hulu or order the DVD set:



Overall, it's a really cool addition to my vinyl collection.  It was a fun Goodwill find.  However, if you can't wait to strike thrift store gold, you can get the Peter Gunn soundtrack music, Amazon has it in MP3, CD, and Vinyl formats.

Value Priced Speaker Options: JBL ES20 and JBL Loft Speakers

One alternative to dirt cheap speakers is to buy value-line speakers from a company that is known for excellence. My very first set of stereo speakers was from JBL. Sometimes I still kick myself for giving them up.  They were good three-way speakers.

Now, as I get back into stereo gear, I find that JBL is still going strong and is still in the forefront of the stereo speaker business.  In looking for something similar to my old speakers, I found that JBL currently offers the JBL ES20 bookshelf speakers which are high quality speakers that are recommended for a maximum amplifier power of 125 watts.  They are 8-ohm impedance speakers with a dynamic range of 60 Hz to 40 kHz.  Of course, 40 kHz is a higher frequency than humans can hear.  But, some people say that the higher range can still make a difference.  I figure that if our dog is ever going to truly appreciate classical music he'll appreciate the higher range.



They also make some good solid value speakers that fit my--married guy with bills--audio budget.  The two-way JBL Loft 30 speakers are well reviewed and are recommended for amps producing 10 to 100 watts of power.  They have a 4-inch woofer and a more normal human dynamic range of 70 hz to 20 khz.  They are also 8 ohm impedance speakers.  Here you can read the JBL Loft 30 specifications. Here you can check them out on Amazon:



For just a little more, the JBL Loft 40 speakers offer a 5 1/4-inch woofer. They are recommended for slightly more powerful receivers (up to 125 watts).


While there are less expensive options out there, the JBL name and reputation for quality makes these speakers worth looking at!

Thrift Store Albums: Levant Plays Gershwin

The great thing about thrift store vinyl is that for only 79 cents you can take a chance and listen to something you've never heard before.  For example, I recently picked up this vinyl album entitled "Levant Plays Gershwin."

From the album cover, I thought that Levant was a chick!  I wondered if she was the first of the one name celebrities ... like Madonna or Seal.  But, it turns out that Levant was Oscar Levant. Levant was a close friend of George Gershwin and a very interesting show business personality.  He was a composer, he played piano, he acted in movies, he was a comedian, and he was a larger than life personality.  He also battled addiction and mental health issues.


On the musical scene, he was known as one of the best interpreters of George Gershwin's music.  Indeed, he plays it well.  But, I would have never discovered Levant or any of this if I wouldn't have plunked down less than a dollar at Goodwill.

Cheap Bookshelf Speaker Options: Dayton B452 and Dayton B652

I decided to re-donate my Sony bookshelf speakers.  They were old Sony SS-D201 units and they were connected to my bedroom stereo by a thin tenuous set of wires that emanated from deep within the speaker.

One of those wires was loose and I was having intermittent speaker issues.  So, I donated them back to Goodwill and decided to switch to a set of 30 watt Philips micro stereo speakers  The Philips speaker is shown on the right.

So far, the Philips speakers work quite well.  However, these speakers don't sound quite as nice as the Sony speakers once did.  That puts me back into the bookshelf speaker market.

There are a number of contenders to consider.  For example, Dayton Audio offers well-regarded B652 speakers for less than $50.  I'm also intrigued by their smaller and more budget friendly B452 speakers.  Steve Gutenburg of CNET gave them a positive review saying that "Dayton Audio B452 Speakers Pack A Punch at a Bargain Price."



A more technical Dayton B452 review by Average Joe Audiophile showed similarities between the two speakers but a real performance drop off after 1.5 Khz.  That might be o.k. because I experience hearing issues above that frequency, too!  If nothing else, the Dayton Audio Speakers might be an interesting addition to one of my stereo systems.