HI-FICOLLECTION - OWNER'S HOBBY
(Interview from Playboy magazine, number 263 / August 2019)
Former DJ, owner of disco clubs and radio host Franjo Turk - Frenki from Zabok fell in love with top sound already in his teenage days when he first met the first portable radio cassette recorders, which motivated him to all 17 years (DJ from 1979- In 1996, when he closed his last disco club 'FLASH' in Stubičke Toplice, which was visited by more than 2,000 guests every Saturday), he strives exclusively for top sound. Of course, top sound is only possible with top devices, so what was unattainable for him due to his youth and financial situation at the time, has now become his everyday life. From the first meeting with tape recorders in radio stations where he hosted the program, he had a desire to own at least one tape recorder, but today he is a proud owner of over 30 tape recorders and has over 100 audio devices in the entire collection. We are in his special room, the so-called The ‘HI-FI empire’ where he enjoys the superior sound and devices he has collected over the past 40 years on a daily basis. It is well known that at that time (70's, 80's) it was very difficult to get top devices due to import problems and lack of market in our area, professional devices could only be purchased from abroad, for example from Germany, Switzerland, America , England and were extremely expensive and reserved only for sound studios and radio stations. Few private individuals could afford a home performance tape recorder with top performance.
From his 'HI-FI empire' he singles out the following tape recorders:
- Technics RS 1700 4-channel tape recorder, whose sound completely fills a room whose price at that time was equivalent to the annual salary, and two pieces of Technics RS 1500 2-channel tape recorder with the legendary 'U' tape guidance and the ability to play with two or four channels
- 2-channel tape recorder Studer PR 99 MK III from the well-known company Studer, which was synonymous with the production of tape recorders used on radio stations where they are still used today for digitization of analog recordings
- The Teac X 2000 M tape recorder, a professional tape recorder, used in studios and radio stations, whose frequency range 30 to 45,000 Hz 30 years ago still exceeds CD dynamics and has a dbx system that cleans all noise and irregularities tapes, rare and highly sought after as the latest model from Teac's production tape
- He points out that he is the proud owner of the 'Blue line' collection of the company Pioneer, which has been known as the wish of every audiophile ('must have') since its release. Their 4-channel Pioneer PR 909 'auto reverse' tape recorder was ahead of its time at the time with a full 27kg weight and timeless aluminum design.
- A special place in the collection has a 4-channel tape recorder AKAI GX 400 DSS for the so-called. 'quad recording' with a frequency range of 20 - 30 000 Hz. It has been produced in only a few hundred copies for the whole world and according to the available information in the world there may be only 40-50 copies that are in excellent condition, fully functional and look as if they have just arrived from the production line. In such a state is his who has been pampered and cared for for so many years since it is a model from 1973 and even then he had (glass) ferrite heads that last forever and his reproduction still sounds like the first day. A special feature of the model are the blue VU meters, which makes it a rarity and sought after among collectors / audiophiles due to the small amount of series produced.
- Among the seven ReVoxes is the 2-channel ReVox C 270 tape recorder, the latest Revox model from 1988, which already used the highest audio technology.
- The collection also includes AKAI tape recorders GX 635 B (black edition) which is a rarer model in black and GX 646 which records up to 30,000 Hz and is the predecessor of the legendary model GX 747. Real audiophiles still give it an advantage over GX 747 because they are it used top quality materials while in the GX 747 they were already saving on component quality
- The tape recorder of the Norwegian manufacturer Tandberg model TD 20 is a 2-channel tape recorder that was the only one that could compete with the Japanese manufacturers and was even better than them in some things, so it is still highly valued and sought after in audiophile circles.
- Tascam BR 20, the 2-channel tape recorder last in the Tascam series with ultimate performance and today one of the few to present good sound at trade fairs and exhibitions
He's a proud owner of the so-called Sansui's 'monster receiver', the G-33000 with its respectable 45 kilograms and 2 x 300 W at 8 Ω is also the most powerful model of that series in the world known as 'the king', then the G-901 DB, G-8700 D , G-6000 and QRX-8001 from the 70s. The G 901 DB has been his pet owned since 1981. Its true 2 x 160 W sine at 8 ohms completely makes the 200/400 W speakers (handmade by a Swiss manufactory) faithfully reproduce from bass, midrange, treble and treble ranges from 20 to 35,000 Hz. In addition to the receivers, the collection also includes about 20 ('high end') cassette recorders manufactured by Teac, Akai, Pioneer, Marantz, Technics, Sansui, Nakamichi and Aiwa.
The complete collection was serviced by experts and after changing the necessary parts, they were all brought and calibrated to the factory condition for many years of work. He adds that each of the models can be part of the exhibition lineup because they are in perfect condition. They pay special attention to the nature of their appearance, so they really look like they arrived from the production line. In order for the sound to be reproduced to be excellent, it is necessary to have quality tapes and devices that will reproduce it. For this purpose, Mr. Turk has top-quality tapes such as Maxell, Sony, TDK, BASF and the like.
He also mentions the interesting fact that Japanese manufacturers near the end of production (late 80's) or before the cessation of work, produced many devices for the purpose of prestige - who will make the best and highest quality tape recorder and even at the cost of loss on the product. It was imperative to make a better device than the competition, fortunately for us because after 40 years they work as if they left the production line yesterday (which speaks of the quality of production at the time) with minimal service and replacement of some rubber parts, several transistors and electrolytes, etc.
He is a fan of music in the 70's, 80's (because those were his favorite days of DJing) and rock music and in the last 10 years also blues. He is happy to have had the opportunity to be at the recent concert of world-famous rock, blues and jazz singer, composer and musician Beth Hart in Zagreb, where he received her autograph on two aluminum reels from the collection.
Since he was one of the first in the area to use video technology in addition to music, since 1996 Mr. Turk has started recording cameras and video projection services (it is convenient to note that his video screen contributed to the first promotion of 'Playboy' in Croatia 1997). With the arrival of LED technology, he reoriented his company Video Profesional (www.video-profesional.hr) to the service of renting LED screens, so as such it is synonymous with top LED screens both in Croatia and in Europe, and LED screens are an integral part of all major events and concerts. world-famous artists, including Pet Shop Boys, Bryan Ferry, Anastacia, Stereo MC's, Simply Red, Deep Purple, Anna Oxa, FatBoy Slim, James Brown, Carl Cox, and most local artists.
In 2014, at the 21st Porin Record Award, he won the award as a director and video producer in the category 'Best Video Program' for the live concert 'Mothers in the Factory' released by Croatia Records. The statue of Porin has a special place in his collection.
He is sorry that readers cannot feel the quality of the sound that reigns in this room. He owns the master tape of the English band Hunters Moon's album 'Life after life' (Time Track Records) recorded in December 1983 at the Abbey Road studio in London and when he puts them on a tape recorder an incredible sound fills the room after so many years. They often host many friends and celebrities in their studio, they are simply delighted with the sound coming from these devices and say they hear something they have never heard in a song before, they discover a new dimension that is a feature of analog sound to surprise with performance. He spends a lot of free time with his HI FI collection, so sometimes he spends seven hours without even realizing it. The sound of these devices never gets on the listener's nerves. He does not want to compare the magic of that sound with today's digital sound, which the younger generations have been taught.
Collecting such an impressive collection is a hard work, sometimes associated with high costs because they come from all over the world. It is very difficult to find a device that meets Mr. Turk's criteria because he tends to make them look like they came out of the factory. Of course such devices are usually well guarded because everyone who came across it had to give a large amount of money. He usually buys from private collectors who use the devices for up to 100 hours a year, which is why they are in such a state - like new on the outside and inside. Although the collection is already impressive, there is still a desire for some devices.
He is happy to have the support of his family, his wife Suzana and their daughters Dunja and Jagoda, and he is sure that his collection will relax and live in his family for years to come with music.