The acquisition of my current Technics RS-1506 came about from a desire to own one of these engineering marvels. Having acquired a number of decks from other makers, and thoroughly enjoying them, there was still something about this deck (and its related variants) that had me hooked.
I came across an ad for an RS-1500 being sold from a very large collection from an audiophile in Richmond. The price was decent, and having communicated back and forth with the fellow, I knew I was likely getting a reasonably decent item owned by someone whose taste in equipment was well beyond my own.
Turns out, the fellow was downsizing due to a terminal illness. The fellow invited me into his home, he took me into his music room which happened to be his living room which he had spent years and over a million dollars assembling over many years. It was beyond words. It was beyond imagination. It was stunning. This fellow, Ken Fritz, poured his heart and soul into this venture, and it showed. He took time to allow me the joy of listening to this amazing setup, and I could’ve been there for hours. The equipment powering these floor-to-ceiling speakers was hand-selected, and in some cases, handmade. He became well-known for his efforts. Written about by all the major magazines and newspapers, you can read his story from The Washington Post. Click here.
When I got the RS-1500 home, I realized it needed some attention. Having been on several FaceBook groups dedicated to r2r for a number of years, I knew who I wanted to work through this machine for me. Jody Boykins. He grew up around this equipment. His dad was a long time DJ in South Carolina, and Jody currently does VoiceOver work, but always has several decks on his work bench he’s fixing for others, or readying for sale. We had several long discussions on the project, and during that conversation I discovered he had an RS-1506 which had been recapped and revamped and was soon to be his personal deck. Because the 1506 played/recorded 4 track, as well as played 2-track tapes, it was better suited to my desires. The RS-1500 played/recorded 2-track and played 4-track (just the opposite of the 1506). So, we worked out a deal, and I became the owner of his 1506, and he took on my 1500 to recap and ready for sale.
Once I received his deck (now mine), I discovered it had a minor flaw. It wouldn’t power up. Despite my best personal efforts, I could not get the unit to power up, so I took it to my guy in Williamsburg. He went through it and initially couldn’t find anything amiss. He, too, could not get it to power up. He finally had to start from the beginning and work through the power circuit where he discovered in Jody’s re-assembling, he slotted a board in incorrectly, and it was shorting out. Once seated correctly, it powered right up and worked beautifully. While he was inside, he tested and measured and fine tuned things. Since then, it has worked like a new machine.
Here’s a video of the unit in action. Burt Bacharach’s “Paper Mache”: