Speakerholic, Google Ads and Seva Canada

There has been a slight change in the looks of my blog as Google has threatened me with de-monetization of my blog without pointing out what I was doing that was in violation of their policies.

 

In reality, I use Google Ads with their preferred layout in the back end of blogspot, the crazy thing is this ad revenue amounts to about $100.00/year or $0.30/day. Somewhere, someone has decided that I am in violation of something without pointing out what this is. It is kinda like someone telling you that you broke the law and they do not cite which law it is.

All I can think is it cost Google more money to flag my blog than I will ever get paid, I guess some new intern or employee needs to meet a quota of violations and my blog just happens to be one that day.

The $100/year this blog generated went to my favourite charity Seva Canada, where they can do cataract operations in Nepal for $50.00 per eye, and over 90% of the funds are used on the ground.

 I have added a link in this post and in the column on the top right if you feel inclined to help out the less fortunate.

I thank everyone for their support of this blog and the emails I get in regards to your own personal HiFi journey's.

BTW I never really did like the Google ads on my blog and I think it looks cooler now that they are off the site, so I thank you Google for whatever your notice was about, this site is too cool for your ads.

If you do make a donation, let me know in the comment section.

 

Akai SW-7ii Speakers

 Another super cool speaker presented itself to me yesterday, the Akai SW7-ii speakers. These little gems from 1980 are super rare to find and pack a huge punch, they are great for tube amps as near field monitors.

Rated at 92db at 1 watt, they work exceptionally well with a single ended tube amp, which I am running them with. These speakers measure 9 inches high and about 5.75 inches wide and 5 inches deep with a 4.5 inch woofer and 1 inch dome tweeter, they do not do bass very deep but they are smooth throughout the mids and highs.

The white cone looks like the same as a Yamaha NS-10 where they cut a flat white paper cone curl and glue the edge together. I have had other Akai speakers that use Foster drivers, but I am not sure if these are Foster drivers.

They have a super cool look to them with the wire mesh and silver ring and they are mirror imaged, something that you do not see much in such a small speaker. I opened them up and added more insulation and the woofers have huge magnets.

 

There is little information on these on the internet and from what I see on the market the still command a decent premium and for good reason. The midrange vocals are crystal clear and they are super efficient so you get to hear everything.

Akai does not get very much acclaim in the vintage audio world and I have had a few of their products grace my blog, these speakers I think will be around for a bit in my collection, I really like what I am hearing from these Mini Speakers that pack a huge punch.

Super sweet little speakers.......

Sept, 7th.....A little update, I have been running these little speakers in a near field setting with a Single Ended tube amp and these speakers disappear, the sound stage is phenomenal, not deep on the bass but they are super smooth in the mids and highs. These are incredible little high efficiency speakers, I would love to match them with a sub woofer.

Paradigm Mini MK2 Speakers

A speaker that is always welcome into my collection is the Paradigm Mini Mk2. This little gem of High Fidelity is the second generation of the Paradigm 3SE Mini that I have had many pairs of in the past.

This little speaker sound way larger than its' size and I am happy to have another pair of these.

 

This pair of Paradigms are in pretty good condition for their age and the foam surrounds are in great condition, almost as if they have been refoamed already. 

I can not say enough about these little speakers besides they need to be auditioned to hear how good these speakers are. I originally bought a pair of these in the late 80's and sold them, I always regretted selling them back then and I am always happy to re experience these speakers.

Rotel RA-820 Amplifier

On my audio journey, in the early days I went through many Japanese amplifiers and receivers, including a Sansui (not the sought after versions), a JVC, then I bough a Harmon/Kardon (HK330i) receiver, finally bringing me to a Rotel AR-840BX that I bought in 1985.

I came across this little gem, a Rotel RA-820, from early 1980's. This was from a time of hi quality amplifiers for less money, and this amp competed against the NAD 3020, which has it's own cult following. There is a little history on the early Rotel series here.

Rated at 25 watts per channel and very much a minimalist amplifier that does not get in the way of the sound. Like the NAD and my earlier 840-BX these Rotels punch way above the rated watts per channel when turned up, lots of head room, easily doubling their rated RMS per channel.

This unit I picked up is in awesome condition from a guy downsizing his audio system. 

I currently have this running with the Dynaco A25's and this is a great combination for Hi-Fi. I always like the low watt entry level units, that are less complicated and offer great value. This Rotel was a great score and rare to come across in such great condtion.