Quote from: Buffalo Budd on December 13, 2021, 09:21:31 PMNot sure if this would be considered vintage but I wanted to just ask if anyone has experienced this. I recently upgraded my amp and got some decent speakers (Angstrom circa 90s) but I find it picks up every little speck of dust or nuance in the record. I'm still using that Nagaoka MP-110 cart from when I bought my TT 5 yrs ago. It has made me already flip 2 jazz favourites that I really can't do without in my collection due to defects. I have cleaned all my records and continue to do now that I've gone to this setup but sometimes, it still takes away from the listening experience.
Did I do something wrong? Suggestions?

I mean, if there is dust on your record, any cart is going to pick it up, so I would take a hard look at your cleaning protocol.  Also, manage your expectations.  I play 50+ year old records all the time, and expect the kind of surface noise that comes with the territory. That said, if it is affecting playback and the records don't look like they should be skipping, check your tracking force.  And skipping could also be due to dirty records as well so I'd scrub those fuckers.

Replaced all of the electrolytic capacitors in my SP-5000 speakers today.

Took me a couple of weeks to get up the nerve to do it, cause instead of a board, like I'm used to in receivers, these were point to point soldered, and on my first try, I couldn't get enough solder out of the terminations to extract the capacitors whole.

This morning I had an idea to just clip the capacitors right at the junction between the body and the lead, and just solder the leads of the new capacitor to the leads of the old capacitors using J-shaped junctions.

And by golly, it worked. I've breathed a whole lot of life back into these old speakers.

Is it a night and day difference?

No

But it is noticeable, especially in clarity and detail. Since the capacitors are almost like a filter for the electricity which dictate which drivers fire at which time, it's not surprising that things are working better in there now and the right drivers are firing at the right times.

Of course I forgot to take after pictures. I took before as a reference, but what fun would that be to look at without the after.

Moving on to a complete re-cap of the Sansui 771 next.

I'll take pictures this time.   

Caps supposedly have a break-in period, so look out for your speakers to start sounding nicer.

i think i read you sell these to a local shop.
would you be comfortable shipping? 
i know most of them are beasts.

Quote from: mbw on December 20, 2021, 01:31:43 PMi think i read you sell these to a local shop.
would you be comfortable shipping? 
i know most of them are beasts.

Well, if you're interested in something like that, you might be a good opportunity for me too.

I could make a lot more money offering shipping, but I need some practice runs with someone who won't run up a bad review on me in FB marketplace or ebay because they are a pissy unreasonable shit or a scammer. I'd take the packaging serious, but it wouldn't be cheap. No extra for my labor, it's just heavy and needs to be packed well and insured. 

But the lead times would be months, while I source new units and fix them. And they'd be limited to what I could get my hands on locally, especially during winter when I'm less adventurous driving, cause shit is icy and far away here.

In the stable in order of likelyhood of being fixed without major issues right now:

Pioneer A-60- Integrated amp with a Moving Coil setting. No major issues. I've used it as a back up amp many times, sometimes for months. Problems: Expensive to re-cap. The large filter capacitors alone would run over $100. Works, but unrestored.

MCS 3233- Underrated receiver put out by JC Penny in 1978. Problems: broken speaker selector switch. All the parts are there, just won't stay engaged. No restore done yet except for new lamps. No service manual so it's waiting on me to get better to be able to figure more out on the fly without a guide. But no motivation like pressure, right?

Marantz SR1000- Featured in this thread toward the beginning. Stable but still running too hot. Getting close to done. I have some ideas.

JVC R-S33- Also featured in this thread. This is a different unit of the same model, so it has the advantage of being the second unit of this type I've worked on. It has the disadvantage of being much more damaged by the corrosive glue famous in late 70s through mid 80s Japanese units. I worked through it on the Marantz (also in this thread), but I'm avoiding it for now.

In the bullpen:

Kenwood KR 5400- Currently using this in the living room. I plan to get this restored as soon as I work up my own Sansuis. Restore on 1 0f 2 Sansuis will happen this week.

But if you're open to this opportunity, I can keep you in the loop.         

Quote from: jam> on December 20, 2021, 10:11:27 AMCaps supposedly have a break-in period, so look out for your speakers to start sounding nicer.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this, but like a lot of things "burn-in", I'm skeptical about the scientific benefit vs. "just getting used to the sound".

That said, they do sound a little better after running all day today.

But then again, I was listening to them all day too. 

Quote

Quotei think i read you sell these to a local shop.
would you be comfortable shipping? 
i know most of them are beasts.

Well, if you're interested in something like that, you might be a good opportunity for me too.

I could make a lot more money offering shipping, but I need some practice runs with someone who won't run up a bad review on me in FB marketplace or ebay because they are a pissy unreasonable shit or a scammer. I'd take the packaging serious, but it wouldn't be cheap. No extra for my labor, it's just heavy and needs to be packed well and insured. 

But the lead times would be months, while I source new units and fix them. And they'd be limited to what I could get my hands on locally, especially during winter when I'm less adventurous driving, cause shit is icy and far away here.

In the stable in order of likelyhood of being fixed without major issues right now:

Pioneer A-60- Integrated amp with a Moving Coil setting. No major issues. I've used it as a back up amp many times, sometimes for months. Problems: Expensive to re-cap. The large filter capacitors alone would run over $100. Works, but unrestored.

MCS 3233- Underrated receiver put out by JC Penny in 1978. Problems: broken speaker selector switch. All the parts are there, just won't stay engaged. No restore done yet except for new lamps. No service manual so it's waiting on me to get better to be able to figure more out on the fly without a guide. But no motivation like pressure, right?

Marantz SR1000- Featured in this thread toward the beginning. Stable but still running too hot. Getting close to done. I have some ideas.

JVC R-S33- Also featured in this thread. This is a different unit of the same model, so it has the advantage of being the second unit of this type I've worked on. It has the disadvantage of being much more damaged by the corrosive glue famous in late 70s through mid 80s Japanese units. I worked through it on the Marantz (also in this thread), but I'm avoiding it for now.

In the bullpen:

Kenwood KR 5400- Currently using this in the living room. I plan to get this restored as soon as I work up my own Sansuis. Restore on 1 0f 2 Sansuis will happen this week.

But if you're open to this opportunity, I can keep you in the loop.       

cool. how much for that Kenwood or Marantz? I can provide a shipping label.
Oh, but if it breaks I will go scorched earth on your ebay and Marketplace the likes of which you have never seen. 

Quotecool. how much for that Kenwood or Marantz? I can provide a shipping label.
Oh, but if it breaks I will go scorched earth on your ebay and Marketplace the likes of which you have never seen. 

As I stated, the Marantz still has some overheating issues I have to fix. It is fourth in line right now for fixing. So it won't be any time soon.

It is also the lowest quality of the units I've got, despite the name. By this time Marantz was owned by Phillips and there were a lot of cost cutting measures. But it still has a pretty decent sound that does a good job of replicating the 70s sound. I'll probably let it go for around $100 when all is said and done. It's also the lightest of the units and will ship the cheapest. 

As for the Kenwood, it's third in line for repair. I can't let it go until I fix the other two because of how it works in my system and the need to have something good to replace it. It is the heaviest of the units listed, but probably my favorite for sound among them. I was planning to sell it locally for $300 with a phono and power board recap. I'd let it go to a pauger for $200 though. That number could go up depending on what you want done with it though, those were just my plans.

Right now it is in working but unrestored order, and I'd let it go for $125 in that condition. But it's still got to wait for it's turn to rotate out of my use either way. 

Both are realistically months from being done though. It's just my side gig.

In the spirit of taking on more projects, one landed in my lap that will take me at least a year to complete on and off.

A Sansui 1000A tube amp. This is a serious piece of Sansui history, the last tube receiver they produced before going all solid state. 40 w per channel, which will be more than enough to power the efficient speakers I have, and not too shabby for a tube receiver.

Here's a couple pics in it's semi-cleaned state (yes, it was dustier).

Hoping a nice day will come this week so I can take it outside and really give it a clean. But this is some delayed gratification here. It'll have to wait until I can completely re-cap it in order to even put power in it safely.

 

Quote from: nab on December 21, 2021, 10:09:50 PM

Quotecool. how much for that Kenwood or Marantz? I can provide a shipping label.
Oh, but if it breaks I will go scorched earth on your ebay and Marketplace the likes of which you have never seen. 

As I stated, the Marantz still has some overheating issues I have to fix. It is fourth in line right now for fixing. So it won't be any time soon.

It is also the lowest quality of the units I've got, despite the name. By this time Marantz was owned by Phillips and there were a lot of cost cutting measures. But it still has a pretty decent sound that does a good job of replicating the 70s sound. I'll probably let it go for around $100 when all is said and done. It's also the lightest of the units and will ship the cheapest. 

As for the Kenwood, it's third in line for repair. I can't let it go until I fix the other two because of how it works in my system and the need to have something good to replace it. It is the heaviest of the units listed, but probably my favorite for sound among them. I was planning to sell it locally for $300 with a phono and power board recap. I'd let it go to a pauger for $200 though. That number could go up depending on what you want done with it though, those were just my plans.

Right now it is in working but unrestored order, and I'd let it go for $125 in that condition. But it's still got to wait for it's turn to rotate out of my use either way. 

Both are realistically months from being done though. It's just my side gig.

cool and totally understood.  no rush.  let me know when some of those units are ready to roll. 

In the vein of the ongoing saga of bringing my own units into compliance so I can get mbw something...

I've been working with kit from ebay on my 771. This is very much against the advice of a lot of people in the know that suggest you should always buy things separately. This is mainly because transistor matching is such a delicate subject and the capacitors are always more expensive than they would be alone.

But a took a "trust but verify" approach with this kit. I figured the matching of the capacitors was fairly easy and that I'd verify the transistor choices as I went. This kit came with a majority of the transistors needed, all the capacitors (the type/brand checked from the photos), the main filter capacitors, new trim pots, and a new relay. It was also cheaper than the capacitor only kits that many warn against.

Gotta say I'm impressed so far. The capacitors are all high grade and matched well.  I ventured into researching the transistor choices today and replacing the ones that matched. I haven't found a dog in the batch yet.

I've finished the power, driver, and phono boards, and replaced the main filters and relay. This really good sounding receiver is starting to sound spectacular. Replacing one transistor in the power board took away a hum and an echo I was hearing before.

Here's the kit I used for this receiver. Worth checking out for other models this seller carries.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124495376544

I should be working on finishing the 771 restore this weekend, but I decided to take a four hour drive today instead.

A listing for a Technics SA200, with a Technics RS-M6 tape deck, and pair of Advent 1 speakers popped up two hours from home this morning.

So I took the drive with my youngest daughter, who just wanted to get out of the house.

The speakers will need some serious work, but I need practice there anyway.

The tape deck is "working" and quite minty on the outside and with a quick look under the cover.

But the receiver is the real gem, and why I took the journey in the first place. I've never seen something so new looking on the inside this old. It looks like someone played it for a week and kept it in a box, in just the right place, for the last 40+ years.

So I'm just geeking out now.This is with no cleaning other than a quick shot of air.

I bet those Advent 1's are similar to the KLH Model Six's I had. Both 2 way speakers with 10" woofer designed by Henry Kloss. I absolutely loved the sound of the woofer but tweeter wasn't as nice as other speakers I had. I sometimes think of getting another pair and installing a different tweeter that has the same efficiency, impedance and crossover point... like these: https://www.parts-express.com/HiVi-RT2C-A-Planar-Isodynamic-Tweeter-297-406

Quote from: jam> on January 16, 2022, 09:14:28 AMI bet those Advent 1's are similar to the KLH Model Six's I had. Both 2 way speakers with 10" woofer designed by Henry Kloss. I absolutely loved the sound of the woofer but tweeter wasn't as nice as other speakers I had. I sometimes think of getting another pair and installing a different tweeter that has the same efficiency, impedance and crossover point... like these: https://www.parts-express.com/HiVi-RT2C-A-Planar-Isodynamic-Tweeter-297-406

Here's a shot of the speakers. They're Advent/1 models with wood veneer and the metal woofer housing. So the later, more compact model.

The woofer I have exposed for the picture is actually the "good" one, cause it still has some fragments of the foam surround present.

I'll refoam them both and redo the capacitors inside eventually.

Got the new stylus this morning and while it didn't eliminate the surface noise on my copy of Kind of Blue, it has helped with a couple of others in the collection.
Thanks for the tip Hicks.