The 'I Did a Thing' Thread

[Russ I]

I can share some of it. My wife is a self-employed artist, she paints portraits of people she finds interesting, usually "celebrities" or musicians. A lady we met bought one of her paintings, and we got talking - she runs an estate sale company. We've gone to a few of her house sales, bought stuff. I sold a bunch of laserdiscs for her on consignment - she often doesn't have the time or know-how to deal with some stuff.

She messaged me a few weeks ago about a potential record collection - her friend sold me some records so she knows I collect and re-sell a little. She said it's an odd situation, an older guy and his out-of-state daughter. He's in poor health and his living space reeks of urine. He's on oxygen and probably wears adult diapers. Sad situation, his son lives nearby and doesn't help much. She told me I best wear a mask to cut down the odor.

One Monday I took off work and went to eyeball the collection. All in the basement, except for some Beatles they brought up to the dining room. I flipped thru the pile there, then looked in the basement. Did a rough count, flipped quickly thru the shelves to get an idea of what was there.

Mind you, I have never done this - it was my first buy of this nature. I've gone on digs, even bought records from her open house sale. A friend sold me a bulk lot of 600 back in 2022 because he can't set up at record shows any more. I still have a lot of the basic bin filler that was his. So in this case, I just estimated the count (around 3000) and told her I'd think about an offer. I am not one to lowball, but I knew I didn't want to offer $1 each. It's a lot of work and some risk, and she realizes that too. I did not check condition except for a few. I spied some good titles (to me).

I asked a few people who deal in bulk buys. They advise not to lowball too much because nobody likes a cheapskate. Fair offers bring repeat business. One person said 1000. My daughter & wife said let's offer 1500 and she if they counter. Our rep bumped the offer to 1600. There was some back & forth, they agreed and said OK, but if the guy asks tell him it was 1800.

To reiterate, I am a hobbyist music fan who sells to offset my collecting habit. But the past couple years have been tough, my wife's health isn't good and household costs are a struggle. The aftermath of COVID shut down her business of 15+ years. So this was a financial decision to help us buy heating oil and pay down some credit card debt. I wish I didn't have to do this, but it's a side hustle I can handle. I give up weekends for shows, spend too much time doing the pricing and cleaning, just to keep up. I'd much rather have a well-paying job so I can just listen to records and quit selling. I don't have much time for eBay. I barely list on Discogs. And I never sold a PIF or took advantage of anyone here where the vibes are great and the music love is real.

This may be the only time I do something like this. I hope I can share some of my fortune with others.

I hope it works out for you.

 

[Kris]

I know I just did a thing, but I just did another thing.

 

[Joe Mac]

I too have done a thing. Or the start of a number of things over the next few months anyway…

 

[yukbon]

…what things did you guys do?!

 

[Joe Mac]

Cables

Audiophile Silver UK Mains Plug to Locking C13. TRUE 13amp Cable

Sleek and affordable Audiophile grade mains cables, made with quality components and by skilled technicians.

www.designacable.com

Mogami Twin RCA Lead. Low Capacitance 75ohm Audio Coax Cable. Straight Connectors

These are 'High Defition' audio interconnects. Mogami 2965 is a low capacitance coaxial cable boasting 65pF/m. This super low capacitance value reduces high frequency attenuation, delivering more clarity and sparkle to your music.

www.designacable.com

Mono Switch

Stereo to Mono RCA Switch - HANDMADE IN THE USA-RCA-2-2

sweetfootpedals-com.3dcartstores.com

MM Tube Phono Stage

Ear PhonoBox Standard MM

Tube MM Phono Pre Amplifier

www.technologyfactory.eu

Tubes

ECC83/5751-PHILIPS

The Jan Philips 5751 is a superbly made American made military specification 5751 The 5751 valve has a lower amplification of 70 mu as opposed to a 100 mu of a ECC83/12AX7. This makes it harder for the valve to distort and therefore an ideal choice when the best clean sound is required. The...

www.watfordvalves.com

SUT and maybe speaker upgrade to come
In Q1 2025

 

[Kris]

…what things did you guys do?!

They come with white gloves but they’re not Wharfedale. I should have them in a week or so.

 

[Krampus' #1 Diaper Baby]

Cables

Audiophile Silver UK Mains Plug to Locking C13. TRUE 13amp Cable

Sleek and affordable Audiophile grade mains cables, made with quality components and by skilled technicians.

www.designacable.com

Mogami Twin RCA Lead. Low Capacitance 75ohm Audio Coax Cable. Straight Connectors

These are 'High Defition' audio interconnects. Mogami 2965 is a low capacitance coaxial cable boasting 65pF/m. This super low capacitance value reduces high frequency attenuation, delivering more clarity and sparkle to your music.

www.designacable.com

Mono Switch

Stereo to Mono RCA Switch - HANDMADE IN THE USA-RCA-2-2

sweetfootpedals-com.3dcartstores.com

MM Tube Phono Stage

Ear PhonoBox Standard MM

Tube MM Phono Pre Amplifier

www.technologyfactory.eu

Tubes

ECC83/5751-PHILIPS

The Jan Philips 5751 is a superbly made American made military specification 5751 The 5751 valve has a lower amplification of 70 mu as opposed to a 100 mu of a ECC83/12AX7. This makes it harder for the valve to distort and therefore an ideal choice when the best clean sound is required. The...

www.watfordvalves.com

SUT and maybe speaker upgrade to come
In Q1 2025

Nice! I made a stereo to mono switch a few years back and used the exact same case (unpainted).

 

[Joe Mac]

Nice! I made a stereo to mono switch a few years back and used the exact same case (unpainted).

Nice! I think I saw @HiFi Guy had got this one a few years ago and even with shipping and customs it was cheap enough to dissuade this clumsy fool from DIY!

 

[Krampus' #1 Diaper Baby]

Nice! I think I saw @HiFi Guy had got this one a few years ago and even with shipping and customs it was cheap enough to dissuade this clumsy fool from DIY!

I dont even use it as my phono has a mono switch but I wanted a project and to practice my soldering.

 

[Joe Mac]

I ended up buying this SUT…

Same brand of transformers as the pro-ject but higher up the range of their transformers, cheaper, I don’t need balanced with the mono switch and phono I’ve bought and the smaller footprint suits me better.

Got the 18dB that’s switchable to 24dB internally and 100 ohm that suits my AT cart and the Hana SL Mk2 I want to try next.

They only had silver but a silver SUT between a black mono switch and black phono could look pretty sharp.

The cables arrived, as did the mono switch, my dad has my tubes in England so just waiting on the phono and SUT now!

Lundahl Moving Coil SUT Preamp

Movning Coil Step Up Transformer Preamps built with Lundahl transformers, high quality RCA connectors, gold plated PCBs, built, tested and matched to your cartridge.

www.orso-audio.com

 

[Joe Mac]

Depending on trade ins I’m hoping for the Super Lintons to be in my system by the end of January too…

I’ll look into that once Christmas is out of the way!

 

[Joe Mac]

I ended up buying this SUT…

Same brand of transformers as the pro-ject but higher up the range of their transformers, cheaper, I don’t need balanced with the mono switch and phono I’ve bought and the smaller footprint suits me better.

Got the 18dB that’s switchable to 24dB internally and 100 ohm that suits my AT cart and the Hana SL Mk2 I want to try next.

They only had silver but a silver SUT between a black mono switch and black phono could look pretty sharp.

The cables arrived, as did the mono switch, my dad has my tubes in England so just waiting on the phono and SUT now!

Lundahl Moving Coil SUT Preamp

Movning Coil Step Up Transformer Preamps built with Lundahl transformers, high quality RCA connectors, gold plated PCBs, built, tested and matched to your cartridge.

www.orso-audio.com

So I got an email from the SUT company. They’ve offered me a prototype of their new model. Same SUTs and gain options but now multiple loading options. Bonus!

 

[Angsty]

I ended up buying this SUT…

Same brand of transformers as the pro-ject but higher up the range of their transformers, cheaper, I don’t need balanced with the mono switch and phono I’ve bought and the smaller footprint suits me better.

Got the 18dB that’s switchable to 24dB internally and 100 ohm that suits my AT cart and the Hana SL Mk2 I want to try next.

They only had silver but a silver SUT between a black mono switch and black phono could look pretty sharp.

The cables arrived, as did the mono switch, my dad has my tubes in England so just waiting on the phono and SUT now!

Lundahl Moving Coil SUT Preamp

Movning Coil Step Up Transformer Preamps built with Lundahl transformers, high quality RCA connectors, gold plated PCBs, built, tested and matched to your cartridge.

www.orso-audio.com

This is the same brand of SUT that Bryston uses in their phono products. I’ve been very happy with mine.

 

[LiamGallaghersBucketHat]

Depending on trade ins I’m hoping for the Super Lintons to be in my system by the end of January too…

I’ll look into that once Christmas is out of the way!