Thrift store score
agingboomer
Posts: 35
My local upscale thrift store has an online shop, and they have an end-of-the-month sale every month. I checked out the site for the July sale and found an amazing ReVox B 795 linear turntable newly listed at $99.99. They have an early-bird code for 30% off on the Friday before the Sunday sale and 40% off on Saturday and Sunday. I jumped on the 30% off, so I got this for about $75. Saved on shipping since I live about three miles from the store. Currently on eBay are similar tables offered for as little as $400 (including shipping) for a non-functioning one for parts only to close to $900. ReVox currently sells completely overhauled and refurbished and repainted B 795s for €2680 (about $2920).
Thrift store's description: "This high-end German turntable dates from the 1970s. It powers on and off and the tone arm controls work. The dust cover hinges are broken, so the dust cover has to be manually removed. There's no sound coming from the output cable, and it needs cleanup. We have not been able to determine the type of cartridge that's installed. Definitely a refurb project, but if you put in the time, you'll have a great piece of equipment.”
When I got it home, I confirmed that no sound was coming through the output cable even though I could see that the cartridge was correctly dropping onto the record and tracking precisely with the grooves. And all the up-down-left-right-on-off-stop functions functioned as designed.
So I unmounted the cartridge to check it out on another table.
To my surprise, it turns out the cartridge is an Ortofon OM 30 and the stylus looks to be in very good shape. On eBay this combination used is offered for about $350. A new 30 stylus alone costs about $350 on Amazon and elsewhere. So SCORE!
I mounted the cartridge on another turntable and it produced remarkably clear and accurate sound. [And there was great rejoicing.]
So I started taking the turntable apart to see if there were any obvious loose connections in the output circuit. Couldn’t find any problems. Did some online investigation and ran across someone who said the pins in the RCA cables were too long and would not fit in their receiver tightly. Another someone suggested that they use a Dremel tool to shorten the pins and put some solder over the tip. Apparently, the previous owner of this table did a hack job on the pins without the solder.
This is what they looked like:
I started playing with the connection to my receiver and after jiggling and bending the plugs I finally got some static-y sound out of one channel and curiously could get two channels of mono sound with more jiggling and bending. Concluding that the hacked pins were shorting out, I looked at replacing the whole cable, but the internal connection would have required soldering (which I am not good at and prefer to avoid). So I clipped the old plugs and replaced them with new screw-mount and crimp plugs (shiny! and only a couple of bucks.)
And, voila!, brilliant sound abounds.
The arm on this machine is that chunky block thing that pivots from the off position (first photo) to line up across the platter. Pivoting to center starts the platter rotation and lines up the cartridge at the record edge. The cartridge hangs on a rail and tracks precisely along the center axis. When it reaches the run-out groove, the inward acceleration triggers the shut-off; the stylus lifts and the cartridge returns to home.
The platter motor is a quartz-locked direct drive. It is completely silent and spins up in less than one second. Buttons for 33 and 45 have an LED that lights up when the speed is locked in. The motor is strong enough to maintain speed on the very heavy platter while using a Discwasher brush on the record; doesn’t even waver.
The plinth is coated in Nextel textured paint that apparently was supposed to look like suede. Unfortunately, it ages into stickiness and butt-ugliness. I cleaned it up as best as I could, but it is still not beautiful. I was thinking about stripping the Nextel and painting it in black enamel, but that would be a lot of trouble and its current state is starting to appeal to me.
The flanges on the dust cover that grip the hinges are both broken; I am trying to figure out if I can fabricate something to replace them. A replacement cover can be obtained for about $200 shipped from European sources.
This thing is built like a rock. It doesn’t bounce when I walk past. It has a certain German aesthetic of precision and competence without frills or bells and whistles (which would just be annoying). It looks cool. It plays beautifully with a clean and neutral sound.
I think I have a winner.
Thrift store's description: "This high-end German turntable dates from the 1970s. It powers on and off and the tone arm controls work. The dust cover hinges are broken, so the dust cover has to be manually removed. There's no sound coming from the output cable, and it needs cleanup. We have not been able to determine the type of cartridge that's installed. Definitely a refurb project, but if you put in the time, you'll have a great piece of equipment.”
When I got it home, I confirmed that no sound was coming through the output cable even though I could see that the cartridge was correctly dropping onto the record and tracking precisely with the grooves. And all the up-down-left-right-on-off-stop functions functioned as designed.
So I unmounted the cartridge to check it out on another table.
To my surprise, it turns out the cartridge is an Ortofon OM 30 and the stylus looks to be in very good shape. On eBay this combination used is offered for about $350. A new 30 stylus alone costs about $350 on Amazon and elsewhere. So SCORE!
I mounted the cartridge on another turntable and it produced remarkably clear and accurate sound. [And there was great rejoicing.]
So I started taking the turntable apart to see if there were any obvious loose connections in the output circuit. Couldn’t find any problems. Did some online investigation and ran across someone who said the pins in the RCA cables were too long and would not fit in their receiver tightly. Another someone suggested that they use a Dremel tool to shorten the pins and put some solder over the tip. Apparently, the previous owner of this table did a hack job on the pins without the solder.
This is what they looked like:
I started playing with the connection to my receiver and after jiggling and bending the plugs I finally got some static-y sound out of one channel and curiously could get two channels of mono sound with more jiggling and bending. Concluding that the hacked pins were shorting out, I looked at replacing the whole cable, but the internal connection would have required soldering (which I am not good at and prefer to avoid). So I clipped the old plugs and replaced them with new screw-mount and crimp plugs (shiny! and only a couple of bucks.)
And, voila!, brilliant sound abounds.
The arm on this machine is that chunky block thing that pivots from the off position (first photo) to line up across the platter. Pivoting to center starts the platter rotation and lines up the cartridge at the record edge. The cartridge hangs on a rail and tracks precisely along the center axis. When it reaches the run-out groove, the inward acceleration triggers the shut-off; the stylus lifts and the cartridge returns to home.
The platter motor is a quartz-locked direct drive. It is completely silent and spins up in less than one second. Buttons for 33 and 45 have an LED that lights up when the speed is locked in. The motor is strong enough to maintain speed on the very heavy platter while using a Discwasher brush on the record; doesn’t even waver.
The plinth is coated in Nextel textured paint that apparently was supposed to look like suede. Unfortunately, it ages into stickiness and butt-ugliness. I cleaned it up as best as I could, but it is still not beautiful. I was thinking about stripping the Nextel and painting it in black enamel, but that would be a lot of trouble and its current state is starting to appeal to me.
The flanges on the dust cover that grip the hinges are both broken; I am trying to figure out if I can fabricate something to replace them. A replacement cover can be obtained for about $200 shipped from European sources.
This thing is built like a rock. It doesn’t bounce when I walk past. It has a certain German aesthetic of precision and competence without frills or bells and whistles (which would just be annoying). It looks cool. It plays beautifully with a clean and neutral sound.
I think I have a winner.
Everywhere is within walking distance if you have enough time.
Comments
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Vinyl is dead! I'll give you $29 and a jar of mayonnaise for it.
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Nice deal! Before you go too far with that table, you should should probably take it apart and check/replace power supply caps. There is at least one prone to failure right where the mains comes into the back. It's so bad, they call it the death cap.For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
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Congrats on the trift store find.
I went all the time to see what was being put out on the floors all around town. Yard sales and Pawn shops too. I had a little money each week but the prices were dirt cheap too.
I learned a lot about different brands during those years.
I had/have neck (pain,eh) and finding great deals made me forget all about it for a day or more.
That was before the internet and eBay.
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
@agingboomer,
Glad you found and rescued the ReVox B 795.
You have a wonderful way with words... and probably cats."Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"
Harry / Marietta GA -
What is the brown-ish enclosure material made from and what does the little brush do?Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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On most the brush swipes the needle on its way by.
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The plinth and independently-sprung subchassis appear to be steel and aluminum. The deck is covered in grey/brown Nextel suede coating textured paint. The little brush cleans the stylus as the arm pivots. The hole the brush sits in can be used by the impossible-to-find alignment tool that slips over the center spindle and rests in the brush hole; the tool provides a radial axis line for precise alignment of the tonearm and stylus touchdown position. I used graph paper as a substitute for that tool.Everywhere is within walking distance if you have enough time.
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How would you restore the suede coating?Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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Nextel is interesting rubberized paint. May have been selected because of anti-static properties when applied over metal surfaces, so it's functional. The ones in top condition I see on Ebay appear to still be dark gray. You may have seen this already, regarding removal of the coating if it has been damaged. Looks like a lot of work!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPgGqMgYfic -
Nextel was very popular with Revox, they used it to cover reel tables and some enclosures. The Revox/Studer guys on FB have threads about how to recover worn areas. Polk experimented with something similar on the front baffles of their speakers.
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Wasn't Nextel a communications company years back? I recall they had the push to talk phones, which seemed to be popular for some companies, especially those with bosses that liked to micromanage. They were never more than a push button away from scrutinizing!For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
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I had a Nextel flip phone with push to talk, it was pretty cool. Looked like this:
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Nextel phone is now Sprint.....
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For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore...
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Yuuup
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SeleniumFalcon wrote: »Nextel was very popular with Revox, they used it to cover reel tables and some enclosures. The Revox/Studer guys on FB have threads about how to recover worn areas. Polk experimented with something similar on the front baffles of their speakers.
Probably a good call for Polk to not use it on speakers. Imagine the forum conversations that would still be going on if Polk had decided to paint the baffles of SDAs with Nextel. Why's it sticky now? Why's it turning brown? How do I remove it? Can I spray paint over it? Can I modify it with something better? -
Would be interesting if it were the same type rubber compound our classic MW surrounds are made of, that often turn brownish color.Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
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Nextel is interesting rubberized paint. May have been selected because of anti-static properties when applied over metal surfaces, so it's functional. The ones in top condition I see on Ebay appear to still be dark gray. You may have seen this already, regarding removal of the coating if it has been damaged. Looks like a lot of work!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPgGqMgYfic
Do you know what solvent are they using? I think Acetone would be a good choice since the coating is over metal.
My Harmony remote had a rubberized suede coating on the back, which became a sticky mess. I removed it by scrubbing with Windex as the case is plastic.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
My Harmony remote had a rubberized suede coating on the back, which became a sticky mess. I removed it by scrubbing with Windex as the case is plastic.
Oh yeah, been there too. Luckily, my later 700 model (which I am still using) didn't have that coating.For rig details, see my profile. Nothing here anymore... -
…My Harmony remote had a rubberized suede coating on the back, which became a sticky mess. I removed it by scrubbing with Windex as the case is plastic.
Did you try alcohol? That tends to work better than something like Windex on that soft touch coating stuff without damaging the plastic, and there’s also less risk of liquid penetrating behind the buttons if you’re careful (evaporates much faster than Windex).Alea jacta est! -
You have quite a gem there, so congrats! I want to encourage you to find a better, and more permanent, solution for those RCA connects. The absolute best scenario would be to replace the entire cable length and RCA plug portion. But, even if you focus only on the RCA termination plugs themselves, please consider replacing the 'screw/crimp' plugs for proper solder connections at that critical juncture. Upgrading those plugs/connections should not cost very much, but it will give you more confidence in the connection.agingboomer wrote: »I started playing with the connection to my receiver and after jiggling and bending the plugs I finally got some static-y sound out of one channel and curiously could get two channels of mono sound with more jiggling and bending. Concluding that the hacked pins were shorting out, I looked at replacing the whole cable, but the internal connection would have required soldering (which I am not good at and prefer to avoid). So I clipped the old plugs and replaced them with new screw-mount and crimp plugs (shiny! and only a couple of bucks.)
And, voila!, brilliant sound abounds."This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
…My Harmony remote had a rubberized suede coating on the back, which became a sticky mess. I removed it by scrubbing with Windex as the case is plastic.
Did you try alcohol? That tends to work better than something like Windex on that soft touch coating stuff without damaging the plastic, and there’s also less risk of liquid penetrating behind the buttons if you’re careful (evaporates much faster than Windex).
Isopropyl usually leaves a white haze on plastics, which will ruin a shiny surface.
Denatured can be corrosive to plastics and should not be used around electronics.
Windex is the safe bet on plastics and had no problem removing the faux suede coating.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk
