Darkroom soundsystem

[ic-racer]

I have been doing some minor construction in my darkroom and have not been developing or printing. I had a little water problem when the 3 year old put the whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet right above the darkroom. Wow, an overflowing toilet is really a mess. A LOT of water comes up and over! Luckily I keep trash bags over the 4x5 enlargers to keep the dust off. This also kept the water off! I cleaned it all up quickly and fired up the de-humidifier, blow dryer and a space heater. Things dried up very quickly and there was no damage.

Because I had everything moved out of the way I decided to paint some of the walls and install a sound system.

I have been restoring my vintage audio gear (and hanging out at AudioKarma.org). Just like you can't have too many cameras, you also can't have too many HiFi amplifiers. I decided to put one of them to work in the darkroom.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/ic-racer/Speaker2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/ic-racer/SA-800.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/ic-racer/Buss.jpg

[Eric Woodbury]

Looks good. If you do film in there, you need a black curtain in front or black tape over all the lights.

[ic-racer]

That amp, BTW, is a Pioneer SA-800. The 1973 SA-800 price was $240 USD ( this translates to $1,177 today). I found a place that had NOS output transistors and replaced those and replaced some noisy preamp transistors. I did a few other component replacements and set the DC offset and bias and is sounds pretty good.

[ic-racer]

Looks good. If you do film in there, you need a black curtain in front or black tape over all the lights.

Good point. I also had a Pioneer SA-6700 to use, but it has two meters that are green. I actually replaced the burned out bulbs and made new green filters for the bulbs out of rosco filter (the same green I use for split grade printing). This was to match the original exactly. I should have used some rosco RED!! (its kind of a pain; I'm not going to take it apart and re-do it)

Anyway I choose the SA-800 because its only light is the power indicator which is orange. Not sure if I'll keep that CD changer, but if I do, it gets a little mask over that display.

[Bruce Barlow]

Looks really nice!

I bought a sweet little compact system for my new darkroom years ago. Then my pre-teenage son saw it.

Now I have an OK boom box. Does the job, but not luxurious.

Feel my envy! What do you listen to while dunking negatives?

[fuegocito]

:) I have always had some sort of sound "system" in my various experiences with darkroom. When i was using a communal darkroom, I had Grundig portable radio. Eventually I had my own darkroom and I went through several incarnations of boom box to bookshelf setups...and now I have this big-ish bookshelf system that rattles everything if I crank it up too high.

The one bonus thing about plying music, specially with tape or CD's, was it sort of keeps track of time...but now I plug in my old ipod and let it "randomly" go though it many gigs of music.

[mikebarger]

I'm using a marantz 2285 with a pair of marantz 7 speakers

mike

[Kevin M Bourque]

I like to keep music in the darkroom, but I also find it distracting at times. My favorite is when there's a Braves game on the radio. Baseball on the radio can be better than baseball on TV.

I've got a pair of hand-me-down Infinities on the wall. The room is too small to place them properly.

I solved the "lights on the amplifier" problem by putting the stuff in a cabinet with doors. Works well. Rock on!

[jeroldharter]

That looks great. the darkroom is a great place for vintage components.

I wonder if some red acetate filters would fit over the lights on the stereo by static?

I put my stereo in the adjacent workroom and have just the speakers in my darkroom. I was tempted to get nice big speakers, but I worried that the base might cause subtle, random vibration in my enlarger so I bought smaller speakers that still sound OK and I avoid the temptation to crank it up. I agree that sports on the radio is a good darkroom pastime. Breaks up the monotony of music and sometimes music is hypnotizing while rocking a tray in the dark.

[neil poulsen]

. . . I put my stereo in the adjacent workroom and have just the speakers in my darkroom. I was tempted to get nice big speakers, but I worried that the base might cause subtle, random vibration in my enlarger . . .

That's a good point. Maybe I need to curb my base desires.

Halfway kidding, you could plug your stereo into your enlarging timer's safelight plug, so that the stereo turns off when you start the timer.

[Allen in Montreal]

Nice!
I have a small set of book shelf speakers mounted to the wall hard wired to the main stereo in the house. This has draw backs, so I also have a Bose ipod dock, which lately I tend to use more often.

Sorry for the crappy digi ultra wide pix.



......

I've got a pair of hand-me-down Infinities on the wall. The room is too small to place them properly.

I solved the "lights on the amplifier" problem by putting the stuff in a cabinet with doors. Works well. Rock on!



....... What do you listen to while dunking negatives?


Mostly Jazz, some classical.

[Andrew O'Neill]

A cheap, CD, cassette, radio player from Canadian Tire is about all the space I have. No lights on it to bugger up film.

[mikebarger]

Kevin, I think baseball is ALWAYS better on the radio than TV.

I grew up listening to the Cards on the radio, long before the current triple AAA club playing in KC hogged the airwaves.

Mike

[Winger]

I have a Harmon Karden receiver and CD changer with Cambridge Soundworks Model six speakers in my darkroom. I haven't had problems with vibrations, though I tend to keep it quieter during exposures (other times, not so quiet).
I have pieces of the bags from paper hung across the front to block the lights (there are many).

[p_markowski]

it looks good! I used to have a kickin' system in my darkroom but went to my Iphone/Ipod and Bose over the ear head phones. Magic! No water gurgling wash noise, no fan noise, no anti-dust machine drone. I have three children under the age of 7yrs and the noise from my music was an issue. I process film before they get up in the morning or I print after they go to bed and silent to the outside word. It does not hinder my actions nor do I feel cheated with the audio quality, and I can access (through WI-FI) internet radio. A different world than even 4 years ago. Thankfully I only shoot analogue.

[Eric Rose]

I use a Quad 303 paired with a Quad 33 preamp. The speakers were custom made for a studio in Vancouver and when they renovated I got them. The cd and radio are just some stuff I picked up used. Sounds great!!

[walter23]

I use a small set of computer speakers & an ipod. No bass vibration ;)

[Tracy Storer]

Cambridge Soundworks "PC-Works" computer speakers (with sub-woofer) and an ipod...simple, but works, a fancier system would be nice. Some of you guys have pretty nice audio set-ups. I don't usually listen to music when tray-developing film or "serious printing", but do when proofing.
In the shop I sometimes listen to internet radio or the iPod with earbuds under my hearing protection. (and I can keep them nice and quiet thanks to using good hearing protection earmuffs)

[Mark Sawyer]

I put my stereo in the adjacent workroom and have just the speakers in my darkroom. I was tempted to get nice big speakers, but I worried that the base might cause subtle, random vibration in my enlarger so I bought smaller speakers that still sound OK and I avoid the temptation to crank it up.

Another reason to contact print! :rolleyes:

[p_markowski]

Just a side note: Does the type of music you listen affect your printing contrast? Classical seems less contrasty in printing, than something more edgy. Is it just me? Is this better for another thread? What music do you listen to for printing portraits? Landscapes?

[John Kasaian]

Cool set up, Ice-racer! :)

[Vaughn]

Ic-racer...

Noticed your set-up...

I have an old Scott receiver (tubes) and I had my cassette player stacked on top of it. For years I put up with a bit of background hum, figuring it was just the old tube amp feeling its age. Lo and behold, one day I moved the cassette player off the receiver and the hum stopped! (I had moved and had more space to spread things out.) Just a heads-up, but probably not a problem with your set-up.

In general, I prefer no music in the darkroom (and for ten years I drove a VW Bug with ony an AM radio that I rarely listened to -- even driving all around the Western US on my photo trips.)

Vaughn

[walter23]

whaddayalistento

My ipod on shuffle which means, as it does for a lot of us I guess, pretty much any genre imaginable from bluegrass to Finnish power metal to ambient drone music.

For some reason I tend to put on Arcade Fire when I'm in the mood for a long printing session... I guess it's because I 'discovered' the band just after I set up my first darkroom so the association is strong.

[jeroldharter]

I wish I still had my Magnavox 8 track to listen America or Peter Frampton. I think an 8-track belongs in the darkroom. None of this iPhone nonsense.

[ic-racer]

I wish I still had my Magnavox 8 track to listen America or Peter Frampton. I think an 8-track belongs in the darkroom. None of this iPhone nonsense.

These!

[Allen in Montreal]

I wish I still had my Magnavox 8 track to listen America or Peter Frampton. I think an 8-track belongs in the darkroom. None of this iPhone nonsense.

Blast from the past, :)

I was a teenager at a Frampton concert the night Elvis died. He came out, gave a speech about the magnitude of what had just happened to the music world, sat down, played his heart out, got up and left!

It was an amazing night.

[Kevin M Bourque]

"Starless and Bible Black" on eight track. Now that brings back (somewhat hazy) memories. Please tell me you have "Red" and "Lark's Tongues in Aspic" as well.

[ic-racer]

"Starless and Bible Black" on eight track. Now that brings back (somewhat hazy) memories. Please tell me you have "Red" and "Lark's Tongues in Aspic" as well.

No, but I also have the live album "USA" on 8 track. I remember seeing these two and buying them in 1980 in a $1.00 bargain bin.

[eli]

I had a combo RCA cd/radio/cassette play with rather large speakers that kept getting in the way so I gave this away on Freecycle.com (local) and went to the local Goodwill Computer Store where they have lots of good working pc speaker systems for cheap.

I paid $14 for a very nice two small speaker and bass unit and love it. I use my iPod, md player and Grundig multi-band radio with this and couldn't be happier, especially when playing my favorite Yes Songs remastered or U2 or Frankie goes to Hollywood or .....

Eli