Vintage HiFi. Sounds great, looks cool, costs peanuts
Repairs and maintenance of audio equipment
Hiding in a dark corner of a local antiques centre was this chunk of fine German Engineering.
The label declared that it was “running slow”. For just £35 it would be rude not to find out just how slow. Continue reading “On the case of a Dual 504 turntable”
Back in 2018 I built my own record cleaning machine. It did the job, but wasn’t pretty.
I recently acquired a better donor turntable and have built a new machine, addressing some of the annoying quirks of my original. Continue reading “PlecRec RCM II. Updated Record Cleaning Machine”
Few would dispute that these receivers are a marvel of styling. Their “lifestyle” presentation made them very expensive in their day and equivalent sonic performance was available for less money in more conventional packaging. from other brands.
This one came to me from a cousin. It was an exchange for some vinyl records. It’s been stuck in the back of his wardrobe for years, so needs some attention. I’m not paying through the nose for aesthetics, so maybe I can now appreciate this 40 year old design classic. Continue reading “Danish Delight. Bang & Olufsen Beomaster 1900-2”
Within a week I acquired these two pairs of headphones for very different outlays.
Both are rather nice, but quite different. Continue reading “Headphones. Open or Closed back.”
This was a sorry looking set of separates lurking in a builders skip. Missing parts, dents, scratches and broken plastic aplenty.
It’s always worth a look, so I recovered a very sorry Technics SL PS670D CD Player and RS-BX501 cassette deck. Two Sony TA FE370 amplifiers completed the haul. Continue reading “Skip diving for parts. Motorised pots and a headphone amp”
Restoring equipment can be as simple as replacing missing wires, as was the case with my B&W 600i speakers (£2 at a car boot sale).
At the other extreme is the Garrard Zero 100SB turntable (£45 e bay) I’m currently restoring to health. This needs hours of work, including a motor re build.
My latest acquisition of a splendid vintage Garrard turntable has turned from a simple restoration to something of an epic job.
All was going well. I had got it working and was about to re unite it with it’s plinth. Then I dropped it. Now I have new damage to fix. Continue reading “Garrard Zero 100SB Turntable. Transplant surgery.”
By combining induction techniques for torque and synchronous operation for speed precision, Garrard produced a motor which was revolutionary for its time.
An unfortunate moment of butter fingers led to the demise of this one when I dropped the turntable it was inside. Weighing in at 3/4 of a kilo it fell hard. Hopefully I can fix it. Continue reading “Garrard Synchro lab motor repair for Zero 100 SB turntable”
This recently purchased classic 1970’s British turntable was, for the most part, in excellent condition.
However it was described as “faulty”, which indeed it is. So let’s fix it. Continue reading “Garrard Zero 100SB automatic turntable. The restoration”
Working on old turntables can be like stuffing an octopus in a string bag.
I built this to help. Continue reading “Turntable work stand”