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My Vintage Collection: Time for some Housekeeping - or not?

This is an interesting tuner. All the valves are mostly Special Quality valves.
The EF800, EF 802 and EF804S are pentodes with a bit bigger noval base but also fits the normal noval base.
 
Me, Nov 10th, 2014:

No idea, have not yet switched it on. The speaker terminals are real rubbish, going to replace with something better so have started dismantling. Other than that, she's a beaut - and a keeper, naturally! :)


-F_D
 
Me, Nov 11th, 2014:

No more turntables allowed in my house, I have a selection from which to choose. The most appropriate one would probably be this one...

1695752585706.jpeg

Not my actual unit, picture borrowed from the 'net. Will take a pic of mine some other time.

Also a keeper. I'm not doing too well in sorting myself out, am I? 😇


-F_D
 
Andresound, Nov 12, 2014:

FWIW, I seem to recall having the BIG brother of that Technics A5 in our store about 18 years ago! I believe it was an A1 or A2. We also had the pre. Cant remember what happened to it. They were faulty and I think the amp had propriety output devices (ran at 100+ volt rails etc). Extremely well built.
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Me, Nov12, 2014:
I still need the pre for that, KK is keeping his eyes open for me. Of course, you're all welcome to assist me in the search for the pre - Technics SU-A6.

-F_D
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Andresound, Nov 12, 2014:

I will keep my eye out for one :thumbs: It is amazing how many Vintage unrepaired units we give to the Durban Technicon for research and practicle use in the electronics department 👼 Before sending them, I will post on the forum :2thumbs:
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Me, Nov12, 2014:

Appreciated! 👍

-F_D
 
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Me, Nov 20th 2014:

Right - on with the show:

Here is a pic of the AU-999 that I got from a fellow forumite. It works, but I will be replacing the 2N3055s that someone fitted with a more suitable replacement.

1696336411227.jpeg

Of course, it's a keeper!


-F_D
 
Jadedgem, Nov 20th, 2014
Now that is something I wish I had. Beautiful amp. 👏 What speakers do you use it with FD?
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Chingy, Nov 21 2014:
Family_Dog said:
I felt somewhat depressed this afternoon looking at my vintage audio bits-'n-bobs lying all over the house and decided its perhaps time to make some changes. So I started to browse through this collection of vintage audio products and perhaps decide whether it's time to get rid of some stuff. I figured over the next few weeks I'll connect various bits & pieces up and try make a heart-rendering decision about what stays, what goes.

-F_D
so have you decided what's going up for sale yet?
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Me, Nov 21 2014:
Actually I became even more depressed when I realised that I do not have enough rooms in which to mount everything. But there is hope - although it seems that most items are keepers, I have at least got rid of one working TT. Quite proud of myself, I am making progress :)

-F_D
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Atjan, Nov 21, 2014:

I'm sure you bought (almost) everything for a specific reason, which is coming back to you as you rediscover each item.

Do you still feel like you should clean up a bit? If so, I suggest you decide on some criteria to decide if its a keeper or not. If something conforms, cool, if not, you should just move it a long without a second thought.
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Me, Nov 21, 2014:

At, I'm weak, very weak. I started this thread in all sincerity but have simply discovered why I fell in love with each item in the first place. I'm still happily (very much so!) listening to the AU-719/TU-777 combo - it sounds Oh! - So Sweet :)


-F_D
 
Me, Dec 21, 2014:

Looking at a post earlier this morning about a Pioneer SX-410 for sale reminded me what a fine piece of equipment this is.

Here are some pics of mine, and definitely a keeper!
1696498054995.jpeg

1696498114890.jpeg

1696498147547.jpeg


-F_D
 
Scarfussi, Dec 21, 2014:
Think it's time to sell to meeee

Family_Dog said:
The one bad thing about being a hoarder is that one never sells anything! One just keeps on buying more & more of the same stuff - but at least it is loved, looked after and never leaves the country. I just hate it when good stuff leaves our shores for overseas. :headbanger:


-F_D

yess well it will be taken care of . by meeee


Looking at a post earlier this morning about a Pioneer SX-401 for sale reminded me what a fine piece of equipment this is.

reminded means it was forgotten :sh1tstirrer:
 
Me, Dec 24th, 2014:
Forumite Johnnie came round a couple of days ago to deliver the "new" Sansui AU-777 (Thanks, MarkC (y) )

1696498514511.jpeg

and then stated he wanted to hear these:

Tannoy Gold Monitor, 15"
1696498569137.jpeg

1696498588382.jpeg

...that were connected to this:

Sansui AU-111
1696498637739.jpeg

But the audio quality was B-A-D!!! Very embarrassing, so I had to puzzle out what the problem was. The previous times I listened to the combo, the quality was good. Well, although the amplifier itself is no lightweight, those Tannoy cabinets that Perfectionist built are HEAVY! So I decided it would be much easier to drag the AU-777 to the sunken lounge and connect the Tannoys to it; this would determine whether the problem lay in in the speakers or the AU-111.


What a difference! So it appears that the AU-111 requires a bit of TLC, it had already undergone a cap-change some years ago and most of the valves, including the 6L6GC had been replaced. The volume is very soft and sounded muddy, I am suspecting that I might have a low HT problem but will determine this as soon as I make space for it on the workbench.

The Tannoys ROCK! Alan (@Perfectionist) did an excellent job on them although they really could do with a larger room.

Test setup:
1696498739033.jpeg

1696498774334.jpeg

Verdict: Both are keepers!

Oh, as is the AU-111, just needs a bit of TLC and it will be as good as new again.


-F_D
 
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jadedgem Dec 25th, 2014:

I'm just being greedy, I have three of these already but three is such an odd number... ;)

They are currently connected to an AU-111.


-F_D

Remember this. We can make it an even number If you sell me one in February. Coupled to some vintage Jbl speakers. My search for the perfect setup would be complete and no more hoarding for me except if its an au triple digit amp as I want to own every one in that series. Would love to cross "get an au-111" of my bucket list. 👏

Like those.. would be my ideal setup with an au-111 and Happy xmas by the way.. :)
 
Me, Dec25, 2014:
And a Merry Vintage Christmas to you all as well! :)

I have just looked at some pics of a beautifully restored AU-111 amp performed by our very own Johan P.... he could certainly have taught the OEM manufacturers a thing or three. But they have inspired me to get off my backside and do something to my amp. Unfortunately, I will not post the pics without his prior approval, but it is chalk & cheese from the original.

Brian, you are quite correct, three is an odd number. I shall begin my search now for a fourth unit :)

-F_D

Doogle, Dec 25th, 2014:
Methinks this thread is one HUGE tease - not much housekeeping being done except cleaning and repacking! LOL 👏.

Me, Dec 25th, 2014:
I cannot argue with that, although my intentions were originally good. However, I did manage to get rid of one item here, so there is always hope ;)

The beauty of vintage gear is that you hook it up and it just works - or if not, can be made to do so fairly easily.

Listening to the above combo again right now and enjoying every minute of it :)


-F_D
 
Me, Dec 30th, 2014:
So it was time to give the SE-A5 that I bought from KK a while back some loving attention.

1697373752298.jpeg

I had not even yet switched the SE-A5 on yet, but I abhorred those crappy speaker terminals, one of which was broken. Don't worry, I knew about it prior to purchase and one could simply have used the "Remote" terminals, maar nou ja!

1697373817167.jpeg

I figured it would be a reasonably quick job, probably an hour or two at most, but more about that later!

So I set about removing the old terminals and the easiest way to do so was to simply remove the whole Audio board, 4 screws and a couple of plug-in cables. The thicker output cables were hard-wired but no problem to simply swing the board to the best position for working on it.

This pic depicts the old board as well as the new binding posts and an ali-plate that I cut, drilled & punched to suit the new holes, as the old ones were far too large and the spacing was about 2-3mm out.

1697373871703.jpeg

I toyed with the idea of spraying the ali-plate black but in the end did not bother as it was practically completely out of site anyway.

To connect the PCB to the new binding posts I used some left-over hook-up wire that I have used for all my home-built amps, bought about 40 years ago when copper wire was cheap enough to buy 100m rolls of every colour known to man, and still doing good service. Copper was copper in those days! I decided to fit lugs to fit the binding posts so that the Audio board can be easily removed in future, if necessary, rather than solder directly on to the new binding posts.

But now the first problem arose - the left pair of bonding posts snagged against the plastic cover of the one speaker protection relay, that Technics conveniently put there just to mess me around. So I had to cut both solder tips off the two left binding posts and then also had to saw the one threaded bolt shorter as well.

1697373977813.jpeg

Note in the pic above, the Audio board is laying to the left of where it normally rests.

More fun: The little solder tip I cut off jumped into the great abyss of the darkest depths of the amp towards the power supply, which is just a maze of thick wiring looms and I could not find it. So I stripped the rear panel and removed it, unscrewed the fuse block, the voltage selector, the small transformer (or choke ?) hidden under the maze of wires, still could not find the li'l bugger. The pic below shows the inside of the amp, the mass of power supply wires lays beneath the black plastic cover in front of the mains transformer

1697374083810.jpeg

Gave up on the looking for the tiny little brass doody that was messing me around and started assembling the amp, Every thing fitted perfectly; I was a bit concerned that the base of the ali plate might catch on the top of the PCB but I had left sufficient clearance so no problem there. And then, as I was placing the Audio PCB in its correct place, I found that stupid little brass solder pip that I had cut off stuck on one of the Audio Board heatsinks! Tiny thing, smaller than the head of a matchstick, so no photo but it was relocated to the dustbin.

The rear inner view of the new binding posts:

1697374137018.jpeg

Note the top right (well, when working from the back of the amp, it was the left one!) binding post solder tip removed (this was the errant one) and the post below it had to be shortened and only one nut to hold the terminal lug and fasten the post.

And that was that, the job took a while longer than planned because firstly the disappearance, and subsequent reappearance, of that tiny solder pip that committed hari-kari inside the amp cost me about an hour of unnecessary stripping of the amp, and secondly, a Windhoek Laager called my name. Finished the job this morning and switched on, all seems good but have still to connect it to some speakers. The meter lights seem to not be working so that will be the next job.

1697374197759.jpeg

Yes, a keeper!

-F_D
 
Me, Dec 30th 2014:
Hmmm.... OK... There is a single solitary push-button switch near the lower centre of the front panel. This sets the output power from the nominal 120w to around 30w, apparently for subdued night-time listening. That switch also controls the meter lights, when in low power, it switches them off. Crafty! This I found out after testing all the globes (which are 6v series-wired) and finding that they are all A-OK!

1697374422963.jpeg


When switching the amp off again, the On/Off push-button disappeared behind the front panel. So, off with the front panel, but the fix was relatively easy. Seemed the original housing of the push-button knob is simply glued on, not very professional, Technics! Cleaned it up and a dab of Super Glue took care of that.


-F_D
 
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