My weekend garage sale finds

TNHNDYMAN

I always enjoy seeing what others are picking up at thrift stores and whatnot and just wanted to show some of my new toys from this weekend's hunt.
I found the AR-5 at a Salvation Army, but unfortunately it is a single not a pair. For what they wanted for it, I had to bring it home just to hear it since I've seen alot of AR-3's go for crazy money on ebay.

My last stop on Saturday yielded the most gear-- A Carver A-220 amp, Onkyo TX-SV545 AVR, pair of JBL62 bookshelf speakers, pair of Pyramid Gold 4080 monitors, a junk KLH center, and an ok Infinity CC1 center. Paid $50 for the whole lot. I love the VU meters on the Carver.

Finally my new main TT came from Craigslist local and is a Denon DP-30L w/ a AT cart. It is quite a bit sturdier than the Technics SL-QD3 I have been using and I'm hoping it will be a significant upgrade after finding a nicer cart.

The small Advents are a little beat up but sound great, especially for $2.00

thsmith

The Carver and Denon look like nice scores.

quadzilla

I was just thinking the same thing. Congrats.

TNHNDYMAN

Thanks guys, I know the Pyramid Gold Series and JBL are nothing speacial, but I should be able to sell the extra spkrs on CL and basically keep the Carver for free. I'm comparing the Carver to a recently acquired Rotel 981 amp and think I prefer the Rotel but I do love seeing the VU meters bounce.
On another note, the Onkyo did not come w/ a remote and from my google searching the only way I could use it as a pre/switching source to the Carver would be using the Zone B preout and unfortuately you can only control volume thru the remote.... I was able to connect a small portable cd player to the tape input and tape output to the Carver amp and adjust volume w/ the cd's built in volume control but no dice for any other inputs such as phono or tuner (vol is maxed). Any ideas of a work around?

mhardy6647

The AR-5 is a very nice loudspeaker; hope you find a mate for it and/or it gives you some leverage in another transaction!

TNHNDYMAN

Mr. Hardy- Yes the AR-5 is very cool. If it had the mate I'd gladly paid 50-75 for a pair but I'll keep my eyes open and I'm sure someone needs an extra if I can't find another. On the back there is 3 knobs labeled 1, 2, and T could someone clarify for me the proper speaker wire hookup ie pos and neg please? Thanks, Travis

Joe08867

I hate you sir. I never see stuff like this anymore.

EndersShadow

That Carver is a pretty good score. I agree its fun to watch the meters bounce

Here is some info on the Carver: http://www.carveraudio.com/index.php/amplifiers/a-220

The manual can be found here: http://www.carveraudio.com/index.php/manuals/carver-manuals

cnh

Nice pick ups! You're right those AR3s are bringing ridiculous prices on ebay. But to tell you the truth I saw something on ebay the other day I couldn't believe as I own the sister unit (Pioneer SX-3900). A SX-D7000 (same amp section as my unit but with 'digital' features but not really that different inside except for the analog tuner secton).

OK, the guy had a NOS in the original box of the 7000 (mine sold for 800 MSRP in 1980--I don't think the 7000 sold for much more--maybe even the same amount?).

So the bidding went to $1400! For an, admittedly 'new', 30 year old Pioneer Receiver 120 w x 2. Are these guys mad, or just spectacularly wealthy and have nothing better to do with their money.

In any case, great pieces above. Hope you find a mate for the lone speaker at a 'reasonable price'.

cnh

TNHNDYMAN

Thanks for the links ES- I saw the site but had not registered yet to download before you posted. I'm going to show a few more pics of what I've been accummulating this summer thru garage sales and thrift store finds. My goal is similar to Cayuga who has opened a vintage hifi store ( albeit on a much smaller scale). I'm not ready to open a brick and mortar yet; but I am looking into renting a few spaces in a couple of consignment stores in the local tri cities area as well as moving some things on CL. At this point my wife is either going to call the TV show hoarders or a divorce lawyer if I don't pare down a little-- at the least having dinner at the kitchen table would be a nice goal. :biggrin:

EndersShadow

No problem man. Maybe if you get that small place together I can drop by on one of my trips to NC. Just take 81 farther north and then 23 straight down to Hendersonville, NC.

Monster Jam

I like the JBL find. Versatile speakers that can be used for most casual applications.

Tony M

Congrats on the Carver amp mainly!!!!
I love a great, great, great, great DEAL:biggrin:



You've unknowingly have just sparked a nationwide search of Carver amps at all yardsales each SAt. from now on..

Thanks for the competition:mad:

TNHNDYMAN

Hey I'm just doing what I can for the local underground economy I find alot more Colby DVD players for $25 and boxes of Firestone Christmas albumns than these few gems, but that's what makes the hunt for good gear so fun and a thrill when you actually get a great deal. I don't know if you noticed the Kimber Kable 8PR speaker wire in the Denon and AR-5 pics, but the lady whom I bought the Paridigm 3se's from gave about 30 ft of it to me :biggrin:

mhardy6647

Hey, the Firestone Christmas albums are great man!
Jim Neighbors. Julie Andrews. Steve and Edyie, man.

EndersShadow

tony millard wrote: »

You've unknowingly have just sparked a nationwide search of Carver amps at all yardsales each SAt. from now on..

LOL.... just sparked?? Heck I been scouring CL for MONTHS looking for a couple specific pieces of gear lol....

Just waiting on the funds to pop on one of em

mhardy6647

Some of [Bob] Carver's earlier products were better known for flames than for sparks. Just thought I'd mention that.

EndersShadow

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Some of [Bob] Carver's earlier products were better known for flames than for sparks. Just thought I'd mention that.

Your talking about Flame Linear's :biggrin: (i.e. Phase Linear). He should be fine with that amp assuming its in functioning order.

ViperZ

Amazing finds... It seems that my area is all covered by scavengers who pick up everything that looks even remotely valuable. The only good audio I found this summer were a pair of Energy Pro 22 speakers with blown tweeters. Reference speakers, but had to sell them since I couldn't afford almost $400 to rebuild the tweeters.

supertec

dude take me shopping with you next time.

TNHNDYMAN

Thanks for looking guys. I'm putting my list together now for my shopping trip this weekend. Scouring the local CL for garage sales as well as the local newspaper for all sales and address-- google map the one's I don't know offhand and get my driving order put together from start to finish (but have to allow for the occasiional odd sales not advertised- usually bright posterboard signs nailed to utility poles). I'll start at around 7 and finish up around 3:30-4pm both Fri and Sat. Add to the mix the usual stops by my 2 favorite thrift stores. If I find anything worthy, I'll post some pics.

Joe08867

I still don't like you!!!!!

TNHNDYMAN

Well Friday didn't net alot, but I did find a couple of interesting items. Picked up a Pioneer PD-F1006 101 disc cd changer that seems to work fine. The interesting find of the day was a vintage Fisher console circa 1964. Its a Philharmonic IV P-29 in Italian Provincial style. The console is rough with 2 broken legs and otherwise prob no worth refinishing. Its very dirty inside w/ a Garrard AT-6 turntable w/ removable headshell and working but worn out flippable stylus. The turntable needs a belt I believe, but it does seem to be mechanical ok considering the arm will move, lift up and return to holder when platter spun by hand. The cool part is that it actually works-- the reciever. Both AM and FM come in nice and clear with a nice warm tube sound. Appartently this model has some highly reguarded Telefunken 12AX7 tubes (6) and a couple of others. 14 tubes total. 6AU6, 6HS6, 6BA6, 6AQ6, and a 6BE6. I know NOTHING about tubes so for anyone out there that would like to help educate me a little I'm open to learn. For a bit I may just keep it to listen to the radio, but feel like restoring the console and TT are beyond my abilities so I would be willing to sell the tubes if anyone has any interest just let me know via PM. I'd be happy to put an ad in the FS thread when the time comes but for now I have no idea what I really have so I'm just going to research it for a bit.

mhardy6647

Based on the date and tube complement, it sounds like your find may be a hybrid, with vacuum tube tuner and solid state power amplifier.

There's a guy at AK who is a connoisseur of Fisher consoles. Nose around there and you'll find threads on the topic, catalog scans, and photos. I know next to nothing about them myself.

TNHNDYMAN

Mhardy-
It's not like you not to have knowledge on just about everything. Seriously you amaze me with your wealth of knowledge and helpful advice to so many on this forum and others. It's also a wise man who knows what he doesn't know... Anyways I did find a few links last night on ak and a whole catalog of Fisher consoles. Apparently this particular model is all tube because it was a lower tier product for 1964. The TOTL models were hybrids in 64' but this one is actually liked better by those who are into consoles apparently because it is only tubes. The telefunken tubes report is info I found on AK and have NOT verified as of yet. I did sit out on the carport last night late and just enjoyed listening to it. It has an aux input on the back, and I am hoping to plug a portable cd player in it later tonight just for fun. What I need now is someone into tubes to walk me thru the basics of how to remove them from the socket so I can verify what types they are. I do not have a tube tester nor a thing a ma jig to bring it up to power slowly as I read about how I should have tested it last night. Thankfully just turning it on seemed to work with no ill effects -hum ect as of yet. Maybe heiney or one of the other tube experts might see this thread and offer some advice. I'll post a few pics later tonight.

mhardy6647

I don't doubt it, but if it is all tube, what are the output tubes it uses? None of the tubes you identified is an audio power tube.

TNHNDYMAN

Here's a few shots of the unit as well as a decent pic of the tube layout so maybe someone can let me know what is decent or usable in other pieces.

TNHNDYMAN

Today I got lucky at an estate sale. Nothing really outstanding in this lot, but quite a bit of gear for a decent price. I've heard good things about the EPI speakers but have never listened to any so I thought I'd try them out. Both sets of speakers will need the woofer surrounds repaired. I'm hoping the Sony turntable turn out to be a overachiever but haven't had the chance to listen yet as it needs a belt. (I'm hoping that's all it is, powered on but that was all) Here's the list--

Sony STR-V45 receiver
Technics SA-110 receiver
EPI Model 100V speakers
Pioneer CS-G201WA II speakers
Sony PS-X45 turntable w/ Shure 5x cart

mhardy6647

The EPIs are quite nice.
The EPI woofers are very easy to refoam...

cnh

The EPIs, alone, are worth it. I have a pair and they are a very nice 8" two way with that inverted dome airspring tweeter (one of my favs).

In, fact, a friend of mine owns some EPI T/E 360s (big tower models--and one of the very best speakers I heard in the 80s--if you see a pair of these somewhere don't hesitate). They were just before EPI started to disintegrate.

http://www.humanspeakers.com/e/epi-te360.htm

cnh

TNHNDYMAN

Glad to hear the EPI's are worth it. There is a EPI 200 or 250? single @ Salvation army near me for $7. It does need the woofer surround repaired as well. Anyone got a use for it and I'll go pick it up and we'll find a way to get it to you at some point. Where would you recommend getting the refoam kit for the EPI's and I need some for Pioneer and Advent as well? Parts Express, ebay, or Orange County Speakers.. open to suggestions.

The Fisher Console was bought for $15 plus I paid a friend from church $10 for gas to haul it home to me. The estate sale gear from Saturday was $50 for all of it so I figured @ $10 an item I couldn't go wrong. Thanks for looking.

Travis