Hard-Off, Tower Records, and Yodobashi store in Japan

[malloy]

Hi folks!

Saw lots of interesting audio stuff on a recent trip.

Vintage audio speakers, tape machines, and records at second-hand store Hard-Off (hardware off)

Altecs, Bozaks, Sony, Denon, JBL. etc:









Didn't make it to the main, 9-storey Tower, so made do with a visit to a smaller one. Two storeys of music stuff!



A new cdplayer from Tower!



Nagaoka cartridges inside Tower.





Inside the AV floor of Yodobashi. Lots of audio gear here. Spent some time in the Luxman/Focal room.

Verrryy easy to blow through all your cash and credit here!











Paul

[mresseguie]

Excellent find!

This makes me want to hop on a plane and fly there. Are amps set up for 120 or 100 volts ac? I seem to recall seeing amps in Osaka last year that looked interesting, but were all 100 volts.

[S Clark]

I use a 100V JVC turntable.  No problem with a $50-75 converter.   Made the error of using a Variac (and not noticing when the Voltage got changed  )... a costly mistake.
Some of those prices are very tempting... based on 100 dollars to 15,800 yen. 

[Nick B]

Hi folks!

Saw lots of interesting audio stuff on a recent trip.

Vintage audio speakers, tape machines, and records at second-hand store Hard-Off (hardware off)

Altecs, Bozaks, Sony, Denon, JBL. etc:









Didn't make it to the main, 9-storey Tower, so made do with a visit to a smaller one. Two storeys of music stuff!



A new cdplayer from Tower!



Nagaoka cartridges inside Tower.





Inside the AV floor of Yodobashi. Lots of audio gear here. Spent some time in the Luxman/Focal room.

Verrryy easy to blow through all your cash and credit here!











Paul

What a great selection of items. Can't say I have seen that many speakers in one place. Thanks for all the photos, Paul. Where  did you travel to and how long did you stay? I am assuming that Beth traveled with you.

Nick

[malloy]

Excellent find!

This makes me want to hop on a plane and fly there. Are amps set up for 120 or 100 volts ac? I seem to recall seeing amps in Osaka last year that looked interesting, but were all 100 volts.

Unfortunately 100V. Tempted to buy Luxman, as they are much, much cheaper than in the US.

Interested to know how buyers of Japan voltage gear solve this problem. Transformer?

[P.I.]

Very col!

[malloy]

Hi Nick,

Went to Manila for a week for some business and to see friends. Another week in various cities in Japan. Yes, Beth was with me. It was her idea to go to the second hand store, but I dragged her to the Yodobashi electronics store. Mind boggling what they have there. Very overwhelming, but fun.

Paul

[Nick B]

Hi Nick,

Went to Manila for a week for some business and to see friends. Another week in various cities in Japan. Yes, Beth was with me. It was her idea to go to the second hand store, but I dragged her to the Yodobashi electronics store. Mind boggling what they have there. Very overwhelming, but fun.

Paul

Sounds like a lot of fun, Paul. That reminds me of some of the record shops and audio places that I used to go two years ago when I lived in Southern California. Many of those stores are gone nowadays.
Nick