This joint needs some more vintage hifi

BlueFox

Looks like a good deal. Hope everything works.

tramp59

Noice

audioluvr

You should have stuck around to see if she had any old (gold) coins laying around.

Tony M

Brought it down and brought it back to life after an hour of fidgeting with the controls and buttons a lot. I hooked it up to the Cerwin Vega's and whoa...what a treat I heard.









In quad mode. No speakers were hooked to the rear though. It was nice to see all 4 beams pulsating to the sound again.

soundfreak1

Denon DP-1200

tratliff

soundfreak1 wrote: »

Denon DP-1200

Very nice!

jdjohn

A family friend is preparing to sell her parents' estate items, which include an Onkyo TX-4500 MkII receiver. I offered to do some testing and TLC to the unit. It is a real cherry of a vintage receiver

It really only needed some DeOxit on the pots and switches. Next will be the Dual CS-1268 turntable...I think it needs a new stuerpimpel. The speakers are HED/Cerwin-Vega two-way speakers (perhaps L-9), and the surrounds look just fine...I think the surrounds must have already been replaced at some point along the way; the cabinets and grills are in perfect condition; I still need to check the exact model number. Say what you want about CV speakers...but, the cabinets are SOLID. The drawer on the Technics CD player is stuck (will not eject), so not sure I will spend a lot of time on that; it's an SL-PG440 'MASH' player. The Christmas CD currently stuck in the player does sound quite lovely

Tony M

I've really enjoyed the Cerwin Vega's I've had here. I like BASS.

That receiver looks GREAT.

Where will the sale be held?

joebass3

I picked up some gear and am setting up a vintage system in a small area in my basement. Found an old butcher block counter top and turned it into a rack to house everything. Walls are still bare but at least it's a start.

Looking for advice on the 7b's. The cabinets are rough so I was contemplating putting veneer on them. Not sure if I want all the wood matchy matchy. What wood and color should I stain them?

jdjohn

Tony M wrote: »

I've really enjoyed the Cerwin Vega's I've had here. I like BASS.

That receiver looks GREAT.

Where will the sale be held?

Hi Tony,

The sale will be here in Nashville... probably in Oct. The Onkyo receiver is certainly shippable...the HED/CV speakers, not so much. Those are quite big and DEEP. I can take pics of them if needed.

mhardy6647

joebass3 wrote: »

I picked up some gear and am setting up a vintage system in a small area in my basement. Found an old butcher block counter top and turned it into a rack to house everything. Walls are still bare but at least it's a start.

Looking for advice on the 7b's. The cabinets are rough so I was contemplating putting veneer on them. Not sure if I want all the wood matchy matchy. What wood and color should I stain them?
...

I mean... I'd suggest painting it all black... but... well... you know...

https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/29186/where-to-buy-black-paint/p1

soundfreak1

Is black paint back on the market????

mhardy6647

soundfreak1 wrote: »

Is black paint back on the market????

I think it's still embargoed.

SeleniumFalcon

You can always find it on the black market.

joebass3

[/quote]

I mean... I'd suggest painting it all black... but... well... you know...

https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/29186/where-to-buy-black-paint/p1




[/quote]

Actually joking aside that's not a bad idea! Already enough wood in there. Maybe I'll try a black vinyl wrap on them.

mhardy6647

SeleniumFalcon wrote: »

You can always find it on the black market.

Rolling...
on...
floor.

Keyboard
is ha
rd to r
each.

invalid

I'm picking this up for free sometime next week thought you guys might know a little more about it than me. I know it has at least 12 tubes, I'm not sure if this model has the electrostatic tweeter or if it has the separate stereo amp which could be added when bought new back in 1959.

mhardy6647

Nice! It will need some rehab -- you probably know that already.
I've never seen electrostatic tweeters in a Zenith (which isn't to say there weren't any!) -- they were relatively common in Philco and (West!) German components of the late 50s/very early 60s, though.

When you get it, get the chassis number (or numbers, if the add-on stereo amp/speaker is also included) and I'll check to see 1) if it is in Sams (it should be) and 2) if I have the Sams folder (I very well may). The chassis number is usually stamped on the back (or top) of the chassis. It is different than the model number (which is probably on a tag on the back of the console). Sams uses chassis numbers for indexing rather than model numbers. https://www.samswebsite.com/en/aboutus

... and it's got the "Cobramatic" changer, cool!!! Note the eyes on the "headshell"



Zenith in the 1950s used several different versions of a 12 inch "extended range" AlNiCo driver that are held in rather high regard in certain circles... prices of those drivers on the open market testify to this popularity I am just sayin'.

invalid

I know it will need some work, I read that some people got a shock when trying to power these things up, which is a bad idea even if you don't get a shock. It either has the dreaded death capacitor or the chassis is hot when the line cord is not plugged in the proper polarity. I did click on the sam's link on another audio forum, the model number showed up, but it wasn't highlighted to click onto.

mhardy6647

It is very unlikely that your Zenith has a hot chassis (so-called "AC-DC" design, with no power transformer). It looks to be a considerably higher-end unit. Yes, the death cap may need attention. More of a concern is the condition of the electrolytic capacitors in it (particularly the power supply caps, and particularly the first filter cap, which gets the most abuse, so to speak) and the interstage coupling caps.
You might want to consider building a "DBT" (Dim Bulb Tester) if you don't have one or investing in a Variac to bring it back to life slowly and gently if it's not currently in regular use and/or if it hasn't been rehabbed in the last decade or two. It is possible to "re-form" electrolytics (sometimes), but it's also possible that they're too far gone already. Dealing with capacitor replacement is straightforward and even relatively inexpensive, although HV caps of appropriate "form factor" are getting harder to find.
I am guessing (!!) it's got a push-pull EL84 ampifier of - likely - pretty decent quality.

As an aside (and FWIW, which ain't much) I do have a small stereo Zenith single-ended EL84 amp here someplace -- the design which that ol' rascal Steve Deckert ripped off (by his own admission, although he used nicer language to describe it!) for his "Zen" SE84 amplifiers.

mhardy6647

Looks like it is in Sams set number 448 folder 16. I will check and see if I have it... anon.

invalid

Thanks mhardy6647. I planned on recapping it before I power it up, I doubt it has been used in years, the lady who bought it new (or her husband) is in her 90's. She gave it to my sister-in-law, who takes care of her.

la2vegas

Bitter sweet day today. I sold my Sansui AU-717. I purchased it on a visit to SinCity last July. It sat most of it's brief time with not being utilized.

This morning a ran an ad on OfferUp where I listed it along with some other Sansui components. Not surprisingly the AU-717 gathered the most attention. 3 hours after the ad came out a buyer gave me 500 clams for the Sansui, and off it went.

Bitter sweet indeed.

la2vegas

3 hours after my previous post^
Bye bye to my Yamaha CA-2010
the sell-off continues...

soundfreak1

That's gotta suck, but should be a real nice chunk O change!

la2vegas

soundfreak1 wrote: »

That's gotta suck, but should be a real nice chunk O change!

It feels like a punch in the stomach, but in reality I have way too many components that I don't use on a routine basis.

When I'm finished purging my audio obsession I'm hoping to transfer the funds into another hobby that perhaps I'll get more use out of.

Now if only I could sell some speakers...

joebass3

I've had a blast over the past year putting together a vintage system in a small area in my basement. I've met some really nice folks along the way as I was buying and selling gear. Every piece seems to have a story behind it. I tried out a few speakers, but obviously in the end the Polks won out!

pumpkinman

Fisher X-101-ST integrated amp. Sounded terrific but throws off way too much heat for the summer months.

la2vegas

A couple of months ago I sold a Yamaha CA-2010 and my minty Sansui AU-717. I immediately suffered from seller's remorse. While having the funds was good, I really felt bad about selling both, especially the Sansui.

So I immediately started looking around for something that would take a bit of the sting away. My newest acquisition.
A Sansui AU-919.

jdjohn

Finally pulled this 8-track player out from my dad's collection.

I love the look, and love the music from Flatt & Scruggs, but that crosstalk, ugh...the struggle is real!