---
author:
email: mail@petermolnar.net
image: https://petermolnar.net/favicon.jpg
name: Peter Molnar
url: https://petermolnar.net
copies: []
lang: en
published: '2025-11-04T18:54:00+00:00'
summary: Thanks to a vintage receiver that came with the cassette deck, which I got
because I had to deal with my box of cassettes from my childhood days, I upgraded
my office desk speakers.
title: The tiny office, the compact cassettes, and the speaker upgrades
---
## My tiny home office desk
At the end of 2019 we moved into THE average UK house: the mythical
semi-detached, as a friend referred to it. *He was brought up in Bath,
which, apparently, lacks these omnipresent dwellings, so when he moved
out from there and was presented with them - as these were often
mentioned as the national average - he greeted them as a beast of myths
and legends.*
It's a mid 50s Laing Easiform, one of the non traditional
constructions - concrete in the UK is non-traditional, given a meagre
100 years of these being built doesn't add up to tradition yet - that
was not deemed faulty in the '85 incursion into prefab houses. Possibly
because it's not prefab[^1].
Saying that this house is 3 bedroom is overselling it a bit: there are
two large-ish bedrooms, and one \~2.4x2.4m, which became my office and
our guest room. Because of this, my desk is rather cramped: it's whole
25 + 80 cm wide, 80cm deep, a now discontinued IKEA Ivar drop down desk,
so it can be closed when the room acts as a guest bedroom. I'd
definitely love a stereotypical hacker basement[^2] but I'll work with
what I have.
In 2020, when the world was told to stay at home, we bought
floorstanding speakers to bring a bit more of the world home. The
Panasonic micro bookshelf speakers, SB-PM500 that I got for about £20
when we moved to the UK in 2012 moved up with me. I tried to play with
their placement, but you can see, there aren't many good options. I was
driving them with a £15 class-D micro amp, a ZK-502T.
*Sidenote: for me, it seems like that with cheap class-D amps one needs
a lot of luck with speaker pairing. As I wrote before[^3] moving from a
Topping MX3 to a NAD C 316BEE V2, which is still a budget amp, for the
Dali Oberon 5 pair we have was an insane difference. Maybe higher end
class-D is good, but in my very limited experience, the cheap ones are
prone to speaker pairing, so consider getting a used AB class amplifier
instead.*
*Another sidenote: some years ago I had the chance to bring my
beloved-as-teen speakers from home - just the speakers, as the CD player
of the base unit was dead already (SA-AK18). Since then I learnt the
phrase "black plastic crap[^4]" - and once I heard those old,
space-grey, futuristic speakers against the small ones, I understood why
the term. The smaller ones were better in every possible way, and I
ended up donating the old ones. The lesson here: looks are deceiving for
an untrained eye, especially for young, untrained eyes.*
Ever since the Oberons I've been after better speakers for this small,
limited, super near field listening space (LOL) for years. I think what
was holding me back was knowing that the amp not up to driving real
speakers so I kept putting the topic off.
I was very close to buying and AudioEngine A1, tiny, active pair, that's
discontinued now. Not the A2 - the A1 still had the power supply in the
box, as I'm getting very tired of external power bricks. It turned out:
the A1 doesn't have grills, which is a must with a 3.5 year old in the
house. The longer he doesn't know there's something behind the cover,
the better. I also started reading up on the Adam Audio D3V, but the
inner voice was telling me I wouldn't like them. And it also has a power
brick.
Recently, however, things got shaken up a bit because of a box of
cassettes.
## The Revenge of the Box of Compact Cassettes
We were back at home in Hungary recently, where my father keeps giving
me my own boxes filled with my own things that I still have at their
place.
It's entirely valid, but it's not always simple to move my things via
commercial airplanes: to make it worth it I need to pack an extra,
exactly 20kg luggage. This time I managed, and I ended up with a large
set of cassettes - which are apparently making a comeback to mainstream
media?!
To at least have some vague idea what's on them I also brought my
Panasonic walkman and my Aiwa dictaphone - both dead.
The Panasonic needed new belts: they were just crumbles at this point.
It was playing too slow, but this was a relatively easy fix, though not
measured yet, as I don't have an oscilloscope.
Regardless, it's left channel is partially dead, possibly a head
alignment problem, and I couldn't yet get to it.
The Aiwa looks full on dead, and it's not the belts. One day I'll start
working on it. Hopefully.
## So I bought a cassette deck
To overcome the problem of not having something to play the cassettes
with, and because I never had a proper one, I started I looking on eBay
for a cassette deck. I ended up bidding on a whole stack of JVC:
receiver, phono, tape deck, and ITT speakers, and I won them - for
£13.38 the whole, with a 20 minutes driving. And with the promise of "it
worked when I put it away".
**When people tell you to be really aware of thing sold as "it worked
when I put it away" you should listen - unless you know how to or want
to learn how to fix things, like me.**
The cigarette home smell from the equipment was ruthless. I let them air
for some days, didn't work. I bought some Neutradol spray, sprayed them
let them air many more days, that finally did the job, but they still
puff occasionally. This is despite the fact that they are basically
spotless: barely any dust or anything. Way too many people smoked in
their back in the 'olden days, and it just soaked into everything.
The JVC KD-A11[^5] Stereo Cassette Deck is gorgeous. It has VU meters,
large, physical buttons. It's not high end, as it's a 2 head system, but
it's already much more complicated mechanically, than I was expecting it
to be.
Nearly everything works, except fast forward. Unfortunately it doesn't
seems to be a belt issue, so my desire to learn how to repair these
things will soon come true - once I find the time. *Does anyone have
time for sale?*
It sounds absolutely amazing compared to what I remembered about the
sound of cassettes. Not my old recordings from VIVA through the TV,
recorded by another black plastic crap system; those are miserable
compared to streaming, or even against low quality mp3-s. But the
genuine, store bought ones, those are actually quite nice, so I'm not
entirely stunned about their comeback. I could even do a decent
recording on a Type IV (metal) tape as a test.
## But I also bought a turntable?
Because it was the full stack from 1980, it had turntable. I was told
that the JVC L-A11[^6] got a new belt, and that it's fixed now. Well...
no.
The belt was indeed replaced, but that was far from the only problem:
- completely, rock solid stuck spindle
- warped and twisted stylus
- misaligned cartridge
Now the rest is also fixed - thanks to @12voltvids on youtube[^7] for
the idea to heat the spindle to pull it apart, though it did take a
frightening amount of heating from a heat gun. Unfortunately I scratched
it with the pliers despite the layers of cloth between them, but I was
able to polish it out in the end.
I bought a new stylus that fits the original cartridge[^8], aligned the
cartridge, configured the counterweight. I now have a working phono -
without vinyls, because I bought the stack for the cassette deck.
So in order to be able to at least test it bought a Vivaldi: Four
Seasons for a whole £1 in a charity shop - and I was overjoyed with the
sound. Seems like there's definitely a lot of truth about old mastering
quality, because that Vivaldi recording from the 70s packs some
unbelievable detail compared to super-duper hi-res quality whatever in
the streaming services.
For anyone wondering, it's connected to the NAD, it has a phono preamp.
No, I'm not going to go down the cartridge rabbit hole, it's too deep,
and it's for people with vinyl, which I still don't have, and I don't
really intend to have - it's too expensive.
## And I now have a vintage receiver?
The receiver, JVC R-S11[^9], is mint. Apart from two dead bugs that were
inside the display - cleaned now -, it's in perfect condition. No dead
capacitors, barely any dust inside.
There were spots I thought are leaking capacitors, only to learn that
some capacitors are glued down.
It does have a low volume, high pitched hiss, but this wasn't designed
for the modern, high sensitivity, cheap speakers (see the Panasonics
above) that I first hooked them up to - it could easily fry them with
it's 25W. The pots and meters needed cleaning, those made a lot of
cracking sound, isopropyl alcohol was my friend here. All the contact
sprays contain terrible things, I'll try to stay away from them.
*Sidenote: that high pitched hiss was my main issue with the Topping MX3
I used to have, and an early '80s Rotel RA-1010 which I briefly tested;
both were louder, than the JVC. l The NAD doesn't have it.*
Anyhow, the receiver is a beauty, and it sounds amazing for it's age.
## And late '60s speakers?!
**I ended up selling the ITT KS 665 speakers on eBay already - I don't
have the space for them**. I hope someone is going to be extremely
happy, given they got it for £0.99 plus delivery.
I need to be realistic about restoring something that I need to learn
how to do from scratch, considering my free time scarcity. It would be a
waste to store these in the shed for a decade, only to let them rot
away. Considering their age, they sounded surprisingly nice in vocal and
high range, so they'd probably made acceptable studio monitors, given
they are sealed cabinets, but they are hard to drive.
## Different, small speakers, however...
As told in the beginning, I have been eye-ing upgrades for the
Panasonics for quite a while now, but various things kept holding me
back.
During the summer I went to a bar, Flakon[^10], in Budapest, with
friends - only to be greeted with 4, very Dali-looking speakers inside.
*People, please, PLEASE put audiophile speakers at more venues, bars,
cafés. They can deliver music at much lower volume, so people can hear
each other. It's a wonderful experience.* It kept bothering me because I
couldn't find them in the lineup, but their appearance and sound was
telling me they can't be old, and that they are for sure Dali. After
some luck I found them: they were Zensor 3-s.
*It's very hard to find information on discontinued lines, even if they
are from 2015, when the internet was already omnipresent and in
everyone's pocket, which is quite annoying. It'd be great to have a
dedicated sections, corners, on manufacturer websites, that act like
museums for old products. I'm also looking at you, IKEA.*
When looking at Zensor 1-s, Oberon 1-s, coughing at the price of Menuet,
I came across a surprise: the Dali Zensor Pico. This thing is the same
size as my Panasonics!
| | Width | Height | Depth | Frequency range | Sensitivity | Nominal Impedance | Weight |
|-----------|-------|--------|-------|-------------|---------|-----------|--------|
| Panasonic SB-PM500 | 145mm | 224mm | 197mm | 74 - 27000 Hz -10 dB | 80.5 dB/W | 6Ω | 1.9 kg |
| Dali Oberon 1 | 162mm | 274mm | 234mm | 51 - 26000 Hz +/- 3 dB | 86 dB/W | 6Ω | 4.2 kg |
| Dali Zensor 1 | 162mm | 274mm | 220mm | 53 - 26500 Hz +/- 3 dB | 86.5 dB/W | 6Ω | 4.2 kg |
| Dali Zensor Pico | 145mm | 232mm | 196mm | 62 - 26500 Hz +/- 3 dB | 84 dB/W | 6Ω | 3.08 kg |
*Giving specs at -10 dB, Panasonic, sure, not cheating at all. No wonder
it sounded so boxy.*
I found 3 of them on eBay, and won the bid at £83 + £20 delivery - they
were probably satellites in surround system.
The balls under the speakers are cheap o' juggling bean bags, which are
ideal to experiment with angle, height, etc. In a ideal world, these
should be lifted to head level, with stands, and set vertically - albeit
the Zensor Pico was sold as a 5.1 set, with one as a center speaker,
horizontally, which makes me believe that the setup is actually OK.
*Yes, it was called Vocal, the logo was in the middle, and the speaker
terminals were horizontal, but it was the very same speaker by every
other mean.* One day, if I figure out how, I'll get stands.
``{=html}UPDATE``{=html}
Speaker positioning makes a frightening difference. I put them on two,
currently unused cork yoga blocks, and it would be better to get them
even higher, but due to the options available, that's not yet possible
(the monitor arm on the left is in the way).
They were alredy magnificent horizontal, but I have to admit, they sound
better vertical. It also looks better, than the juggling balls.
I love them with the JVC now, they sound absolutely wonderful, and they
fit the unforgivably small space.
``{=html}UPDATE``{=html}
I made a mistake: I hooked up the Zensor Picos to the NAD downstairs. It made me realize how thin and treeble heavy (aka bright) the JVC is with them.
Eventually I hunted down a NAD C 326BEE for £99 on eBay for downstairs - it's beefier on bass, and the Oberon 5 will be happier - and moved the C 316BEE upstairs. I'll keep the JVC for now, but mostly for ornamental purposes.
Yes, I'm aware of the potential overheating issues with the C 326BEE. I opened it up, there are minor signs of heat under some of the heatsinks on the other side of the PCB, but other, than that, it's in an incredibly clean condition.
I'll go through some electrical alignment with it soon that are described the Service Manual, because it has one, with wiring diagrams & all, but the point it: it was £99. With delivery. 3-4 meals restaurants in Cambridge. Even if it only lasts a few years, this is not a painful amount of money. I simply need to come to terms that not everything will outlive us, me, or even this year, regardless of care.
For me, these AB class NAD amplifiers sound and work amazing for their price. I like the motorized volume knob, that they are without DACs and fanciness. There is no hiss, no hum, it has incredibly low total ingtegrated noise, and I have nothing against the look of most BEE ones. _The 3020 is painfully ugly though, so it doesn't matter how good it might be, I'll never be able to look at it in my home._
Maybe one day I'll find a vintage or vintage looking amp, that fits my tight spaces, looks amazing, is composed without SMD, built to be repairable, and sounds as good as the NADs, with as low noise as the NADs. _I wonder how a Technics SU-7300K sounds, it has the looks for sure[^14]._ Given how the world is going towards D class amps with complicated filters this might be quite challenging.
## Some closing thoughts
Music has been important for me as long as I can remember, much more,
then equipment, but once I stopped going to loud music parties I started
missing them. *I tried playing guitar, but it's not for me, so I'm
thankful to those who can and do play anything.*
I always thought live music or at least from speakers is a whole level
of different experience, then music from headphones, and a recent
study[^11][^12] seem to finally back it up that resonance, music, etc
reaches our cells. Obviously not limited to musical frequencies, which
is probably why Chinese medicine says the food for the Pericardium
Meridian is sunlight.
All of those healing with sounds things that many people think is bogus
might finally be proved. Cats know this, their purr heals them, and
possibly us as well. I dislike how people think of senses: one for
seeing, one for hearing, etc, when, for example, our whole body feels
heat, yet it's all different wavelength energy. Experiencing with our
whole body should be important.
If you're like me, and can't go to parties any more, treat yourselves
with some music that reaches your whole body[^13], not just your ears.
It's important.
##
[^1]: https://nonstandardhouse.com/laing-easiform-cast-in-situ-house/
[^2]: https://www.flickr.com/photos/68008792@N00/514058709/
[^3]: https://petermolnar.net/article/music-center-chromecast-dlna/index.html
[^4]: https://www.reddit.com/r/blackplasticcrap/
[^5]: https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/jvc/kd-a11.shtml
[^6]: https://www.vinylengine.com/library/jvc/l-a11.shtml
[^7]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqKBFDvCsYw
[^8]: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251625841580
[^9]: https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/jvc/r-s11.shtml
[^10]: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nAiqwcyLxudCRM548
[^11]: https://scitechdaily.com/your-cells-can-hear-how-sound-waves-rewire-the-body-at-the-cellular-level/
[^12]: https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-07969-1
[^13]: https://archive.is/kUyBC
[^14]: https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/1orkv9g/finally_reached_my_modest_end_goal_this_technics/