tube stereo

[zimmy]

I am looking for a tube receiver or amp. Preferably Scott, but I would consider others like fisher, etc. Throwing it out there in case someone has one in an attic or something.

[JohnR]

Oooohhhhh - Going to the Dark Side

Read through AudioKarma and some other tube sections/places.

Vintage stereo gear is addicting. I decided NOT to go down that road

[BigBo]

My buddy just scored a sweet deal on a vintage MacIntosh receiver plus preamp off craigslist.

[Sundowner]

Thanks for reminding me! I have to car amps somewhere I should put up here.

[zimmy]

Originally Posted by JohnR

Oooohhhhh - Going to the Dark Side

Read through AudioKarma and some other tube sections/places.

Vintage stereo gear is addicting. I decided NOT to go down that road

Problem is I grew up with a Scott 340b as our family stereo. It then became my stereo in college. About 10 years ago I put it in my dad's basement since I couldn't afford to have it restored and I won't do cap jobs. A couple weeks ago I told my dad to bring it up so I could get it restored. He tells me it fell off a shelf in the basement this fall and the glass cracked so he threw it out. I can't get over it... I have been on Audio karma not stop since and can't stay out of thrift shops, but it is needle in a hay stack since they apparently became hot stuff recently.
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[bobber]

whats a cap job?

[BigBo]

Originally Posted by bobber

whats a cap job?

Capacitors. ie; solid state tech

[zimmy]

Originally Posted by bobber

whats a cap job?

There are a couple different capacitors. The ones that often need to be changed are electrolytic capacitors. Among other things, they filter out dc voltage coming from the power supply. They are chemical based and wear out kind of like a battery and the amps performance is greatly diminished. The fun with the caps is that they store a charge. Some of them as much as 500v or so even when the amp is unplugged. You have to intentionally/carefully/knowledgeably/safely discharge them or they can discharge to you. Not my cup of tea. Besides it is a lot of un-soldering/re-soldering and I find much soldering to be a tedious pain.

[JohnR]

I picked up an old early 70s Marantz 2240, serviced, and a pair of 1980s Klipsch Heresys. Sounds spectacular, tubelike but not quite tube sound. I showed my son how rock is supposed to be listened to, not through earbuds from an iPhone. He is only allowed to go to 5 on the volume knob

[piemma]

Check this guy out

http://www.oaktreevintage.com/Stereo_Tuners.htm

[spence]

Replacing capacitors on big amps can be dangerous. I've got an early 60's Ampeg bass amp and hardly anyone even wants to work on them any more.

[1dozenraw]

Originally Posted by spence

Replacing capacitors on big amps can be dangerous. I've got an early 60's Ampeg bass amp and hardly anyone even wants to work on them any more.

That old hippie that had a shop on Broadway in Newport worked on my Fender a while back... I think he's still there. Not sure. Heck I'm not sure if I'm still here sometimes!!

[Nebe]

He's still there.. Right next to Pour Judgement. Ahem.
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[spence]

Originally Posted by 1dozenraw

That old hippie that had a shop on Broadway in Newport worked on my Fender a while back... I think he's still there. Not sure. Heck I'm not sure if I'm still here sometimes!!

Those are the people you need.

I remember I bought it from a workmate who's dad played in a country band back then. Was in excellent shape but the electronics needed some love. When I went to pick it up the guys at the shop couldn't stop smiling it had such incredible sound. I still have the original tubes and I'm pretty sure all the old parts they replaced somewhere...

Now if I only played bass anymore

[1dozenraw]

Yup... he works on old stereos too. I think he tuned up an older Pioneer early solid state for me. I don't think capacitors scare him too much.

[zimmy]

I was planning to take the Scott to this guy http://www.urban-antiqueradio.com/Pr...01/repair.html
That is how I found out it was sent to purgatory in a PA landfill. I have my turntable connected to an old Realistic and it is great, but I miss the warm glow. I was going to hook it up to a HiWatt amp, but i read that phono through guitar amps is terrible.

[jeffsod]

Another option to consider If you don't need to listen to radio really loud then you can try checking out the 50's German table radios. Fantastic sound and many do have hookups for phono. I might know someone too with sets available. The names to check out are Telefunken, Saba, Nordmende and Grundig. The higher end sets sell pretty reasonably. As noted you really want to find one that has been restored. The sound is very good.

Edit- also I would highly recommend Terry Dewick for amp repair. I have used him for some tube radio recaps and he was very reasonable and turn around time was very good too.

http://www.mcintoshaudio.com/dewick_repairs.htm

[ProfessorM]

that is cool

[zimmy]

I came across an old westinghouse record console w/ a small tube amp at a goodwill. I am going to suck it up and recap it. I got some info that makes the job less intimidating. It is a cool little amp with a copper plated chassis so it should look good cleaned up and mounted on a nice plank.

[jeffsod]

Very cool project! What does it have for output tubes? 6BE6's? Those are pretty common. Some of the bigger tubes are getting pricey.

[zimmy]

It has two 6cu5's and a 12ax7 for the pre-amp.

[Jenn]

ok you guys have inspired me to get my Pioneer amp fixed. Emailed one of the suggested repair places and the guy wont give me any sort of rough idea as to $$ I cant bring myself to bring it to him to fix without SOME sort of idea. For real....a little disappointed because of this I am afraid it could turn into worst case scenario....what if he fixes and calls me up and says "oh by the way the bill is $1,000"!?

Anyone actually have experience getting an amplifier repaired/restored that can offer any advice or any idea of what kind of bill I COULD expect? couple hundred, thousand? I have no clue and now I am a little irritated that I can't get any sort of ballpark figure. I need to know something in order to make my decision and sorry I have no intention of selling. It has too much sentimental value to me even if if doesn't work right!

Thanks.

[1dozenraw]

Originally Posted by Jenn

ok you guys have inspired me to get my Pioneer amp fixed. Emailed one of the suggested repair places and the guy wont give me any sort of rough idea as to $$ I cant bring myself to bring it to him to fix without SOME sort of idea. For real....a little disappointed because of this I am afraid it could turn into worst case scenario....what if he fixes and calls me up and says "oh by the way the bill is $1,000"!?

Anyone actually have experience getting an amplifier repaired/restored that can offer any advice or any idea of what kind of bill I COULD expect? couple hundred, thousand? I have no clue and now I am a little irritated that I can't get any sort of ballpark figure. I need to know something in order to make my decision and sorry I have no intention of selling. It has too much sentimental value to me even if if doesn't work right!

Thanks.

It's pretty hard for a tech to give a price until he determines what part is not working. The guy in Newport was reasonable when he fixed mt Fender Super 60 and a Kenwood or Pioneer that I had, but I can't remember what the charge was. Seems like there were weak capacitors or something and he tuned it. I was pleased with his work. I think most techs willl charge for an examination and not do the work until you get a total and he gets an OK.

[zimmy]

Very minimum is probably $150 for a repair. Expensive parts or complete restoration goes up and up from there... What is the model of Pioneer and what are the symptoms?

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by zimmy

Very minimum is probably $150 for a repair. Expensive parts or complete restoration goes up and up from there... What is the model of Pioneer and what are the symptoms?

Thanks Zimmy. The rec. is a Pioneer TX 9500 II and the amp SA 9500 II. I am fairly certain the issue is in the amp. I did have someone look at it probably 15 years ago now and it seems like it was "fixed" for a little while but the problem soon came back. It seems to "cut out" to the speakers. Both speakers will work, then one (or the other) will cut out, sometimes both or both will cut to partial power. That is the best way can describe it. I did notice my husband hooked up both speakers and had one hooked up as "A" and the other as "B". Per the manual it said if you only have the 2 speakers it should all be hooked up under the "A" ( there are 2 sets of outlets for a and b in the back) After I did this the problem did not seem as bad but still there. If the symptom of say one speaker only working is happening I can toggle a switch or tweak a dial a few times to get both working again but it may or may not last.

Just frustrating emailing back and forth with the guy. Basically I just emailed him back and said I would have to forget about brining it to him. After a few emails back and forth he finally said it would be a minimum $250 but could not give me any sort of idea on max price. Sorry but I cant drop it off not knowing if when I go to pick it up I would owe him $250, $500, $1,000 or god knows how high it could go. I KNOW it's complex and I know what I have cannot be replaced in todays day and age but if you cant guesstimate and give me ant sort of price other than "min $250" than I cant commit and that's unfortunate! This has major sentimental value to me on top of it sounding great (when working of course) so I have no intention of ever getting rid of it. Just wish it weren't an act of god to get it repaired!

[Nebe]

Call the guy in newport on Broadway. He's honest and does a great job.
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[jeffsod]

Tough for techs to give you a cost without seeing it. As mentioned most will look at it and quote you before doing the work but there is usually an hours labor charge if you decide not to go forward. The guy in Newport might be a good option If you can drive down and drop it off and he is willing to give you a quote. I think I spoke to Urban years ago and found him high. Terry Dewick repaired a radio for me for a very reasonable cost even when factoring in the shipping. I have also had work done by the techs at John's TV in Taunton. They fixed a Panasonic receiver for me. Cannot recall the cost exactly but believe it was around $120. Sounds like your issue is the switch. A friend who I discussed a similar issue with and knows electronics said the a/b switch can be the culprit. Might just need a good cleaning with deoxite. I have also used the services of Atlantic Systems in Hanover but that was too long ago to give you a referral but the fact they are still in business says something - http://atlantic-systems.com/ This gives a breakdown on what you asked about -http://atlantic-systems.com/policies/