Oh also, for the bakelite casing, clean with warm water and mild dish soap and a soft lightly moist cloth. Don't use chemicals.
Vintage Equipment
- Thread starter Satchmo2go
- Start date
Melt Face Molly Drop
Well-Known Member
Good to know. It’s got some things caked on there, so guessing goo gone is out of the equation.
Well I just looked and it's actually plastic that's been designed to look like bakelite so that's better. Goo gone might be too harsh, could stain that old plastic. I would use it as a last resort if you can't remove it otherwise.
TrainFan73
Frothy
I’m sure most of you have seen/heard of Just Audio. I’m sure there are lots of thoughts on them. However, this is super cool, even if the whole aesthetic is not my vibe, I can appreciate what was done here and would watch the fuck out of a stereo channel that was just like HGTV or a car channel. Maybe we should all get together and figure that out. Anyhow, for you watching pleasure, Just Audio pimps some dude’s system:
Yer Ol' Uncle D
Well-Known Member
I got 4 words into the intro before I threw my phone into the fireplace.
TrainFan73
Frothy
It's not you Newman, I just can't do the over excited YouTube host thing. It just makes me want to put my head in an oven.
Yer Ol' Uncle D
Well-Known Member
Likewise.
To play off your HGTV analogy, that was my wife's favorite channel way back when they had really creative shows that showed average homeowners how to maximize their money and do really creative things to beautify and improve their homes. It slowly progressed downward and ultimately became a network pandering to the rich and promoting shallow personalities, i.e. this Keemstar douche, and a bunch of fabricated drama.
"The bedroom is only 40' x 30' and that is just a dealbreaker. Let's go, Chad."
The masses have become so sadly shallow.
Angsty
Well-Known Member
I did not care for the Keemstar guy at all. I did get my audio nerd thrills watching them redo the 1980’s capacitors and power supply. The logos, not so much.
Maybe I skipped something, but I missed the part where the turntable was entirely “custom”, but not enough interest to rewatch the episode!
I’m a guy that has watched YouTube videos of people fixing genuinely broken audio electronics.
Melt Face Molly Drop
Well-Known Member
Anyone know if a cabinet all in one unit like this would be worth the hassle? Mostly want it for the TV and radio unit, the record player would just sit. It’s tubes galore in the back. Gotta imagine this thing saw some stuff. Moon landing, maybe even the JFK assassination. $69 and change out the door.Attachments
CraigVC
New Member
Oooooh.... are those tubes galore in the back RCA-branded, by chance? (I see the RCA Victor label in your photo.)
Might have some nice sought-after tubes back there, though you'd have to test them to see if they still have life left, etc. (I'm no expert on tubes, so don't take my advice as expert) ... What i do know is that I paid top dollar - prior to the tube-supply-panic price increases - for some awesome RCA VT-230 (if i remember the model correctly) tubes for my power amps that sound magical.
I don't think the cabinet is going to be very sought-after, though i could see someone gutting it and refinishing it for some repurposed usage.
Melt Face Molly Drop
Well-Known Member
Might have to go back tomorrow to further investigate. The tubes I could see were pretty dusty. It’s been there for 3 weeks (judging by the date of the sticker price), so probably not moving anytime soon.
They also had a decent looking pair of Realistic Optimus T-100s for 70. Had these items both been in the 20-30 range I’d have sprung for em.
Jbraswell
Well-Known Member
I've seen some YT vids of people taking the tube amps out of those and building them up to a really nice stereo amp for little money. Interesting to watch but would be a fantastic skill to learn.
CraigVC
New Member
Here's a work-in-progress system I've been assembling for the last couple of months.
I've been in Marietta, Georgia, since January, helping my Mom with declining health and transition into assisted living.
Music is so soothing and de-stressing for me, I knew early in my arrival that I needed to put something together, and streaming Qobuz high-resolution would be sufficient to bring my favorite music into the house to enjoy at the end of busy days.
I found and purchased the core components within a few days of checking Facebook Marketplace.
All-in, I came in under $1,000 for the entire budget system, including the receiver repair work, and all the various modest cables and wires to hook it all up.
However, while the system sounds amazing at around 50-60 dB - with tube-ish warmth throughout the range (clarification: the R-115 is solid-state, not tubes), the warmth disappears at higher volumes, replaced with sound that is relatively harsh and grating.
I posted on the Steve Hoffman Forums about my dilemma and got a variety of suggestions.
The room I've set this system up in is about 12 feet by 20 feet, with 7 feet tall ceiling, and to one side it opens up to an adjacent dining room. One suggestion is that the Luxman R-115 receiver's 70 watts and 3 dB of headroom aren't sufficient to drive the 87 dB 6 Ohm Pioneer speakers
For my first experiment at improving the sound I'm waiting on the arrival in a few days of a pair of Outlaw Audio Model 2220 Monoblock Power Amplifiers, for under $800 total, shipped. These offer a "conservative" 200 watts of power.
If these more powerful monoblocks can't effectively drive the Pioneer speakers (hopefully while retaining most of the Luxman receiver's warmth, even while I'm bypassing Luxman's amplifier via the pre-out jacks?) then I'll have to turn my attention to other suggestions.
Regardless of the tweaks that may or may not improve it, the sound at lower volumes remains a delight to listen to, and for that I've been grateful for the opportunities that vintage equipment presents for assembling a pleasing budget system.
I've been in Marietta, Georgia, since January, helping my Mom with declining health and transition into assisted living.
Music is so soothing and de-stressing for me, I knew early in my arrival that I needed to put something together, and streaming Qobuz high-resolution would be sufficient to bring my favorite music into the house to enjoy at the end of busy days.
I found and purchased the core components within a few days of checking Facebook Marketplace.
- $360 for the Luxman gear (receiver, CD player, and tape deck). [haven't even turned on the tape deck, and the CD player's drawer won't open - I'm going to take it apart and try to replace the belt inside, whenever I have a free afternoon to do so slowly and patiently]
- $225 to have the Luxman receiver serviced for static-y volume and balance knobs (a common problem for these units).
- $106 for Pioneer Andrew Jones speakers.
- $300 or so for the WiiM plus assorted cables, etc.
All-in, I came in under $1,000 for the entire budget system, including the receiver repair work, and all the various modest cables and wires to hook it all up.
However, while the system sounds amazing at around 50-60 dB - with tube-ish warmth throughout the range (clarification: the R-115 is solid-state, not tubes), the warmth disappears at higher volumes, replaced with sound that is relatively harsh and grating.
I posted on the Steve Hoffman Forums about my dilemma and got a variety of suggestions.
The room I've set this system up in is about 12 feet by 20 feet, with 7 feet tall ceiling, and to one side it opens up to an adjacent dining room. One suggestion is that the Luxman R-115 receiver's 70 watts and 3 dB of headroom aren't sufficient to drive the 87 dB 6 Ohm Pioneer speakers
For my first experiment at improving the sound I'm waiting on the arrival in a few days of a pair of Outlaw Audio Model 2220 Monoblock Power Amplifiers, for under $800 total, shipped. These offer a "conservative" 200 watts of power.
If these more powerful monoblocks can't effectively drive the Pioneer speakers (hopefully while retaining most of the Luxman receiver's warmth, even while I'm bypassing Luxman's amplifier via the pre-out jacks?) then I'll have to turn my attention to other suggestions.
Regardless of the tweaks that may or may not improve it, the sound at lower volumes remains a delight to listen to, and for that I've been grateful for the opportunities that vintage equipment presents for assembling a pleasing budget system.
FEEEEEEEEEEEET
You’re going to scare off all the new members