Davis Kmart Cassettes Podcast - September 2015 - Robot Overlordz Mark Davis 2026-09-21 | Davis Kmart Cassettes Podcast - September 2015 - Robot Overlordz
Technics SA-550 70WPC receiver from 1983 & SL-3300 Turntable from 1979. Mark Davis 2023-06-03 | Technics SA-550 receiver from 1983 and SL-3300 turntable from 1979.The SA-550 has discrete transistors at 70WPC and it took 3 eBay’s to piece together one unit that works perfect. First unit arrived damaged with cracked display, second unit had no right channel and side was bashed in, and the third was hit from the bottom and had cracked amp board. Benefited from 2 claims (I’m not filing a third claim because I finally got what I wanted) but was able to keep the first 2 for parts (I am not out to take advantage, and would have shipped them back if requested).The turntable was a Goodwill find about 2 years ago. The neon speed light seems to flicker however, it did not do so in tonights video. Cleaned it up, also adjusted the anti-skate, tracking, and automatic landing zone point.  Planets are in alignment and it’s working well with consistent speed.Not sure if people like the videos I post with me narrating or not, sometimes I can go off on tangents, but I would like your feedback.Have a great weekend! My 3 kids start summer break which means our house, furniture, and improvements will take a beating.
Technics SA-590 100WPC (1986), Onkyo TA-2056 3 head (1984), and Onkyo TA-2058 3 head (1986). Mark Davis 2023-05-27 | Technics SA-590 @ 100WPC (1986), Onkyo Integra TA-2056 3 head (1984), and Onkyo Integra TA-2058 3 head (1986).I’ve been busting out cassettes these days. I made dozens and dozens of mixes, all on good branded high bias or metal cassettes in the late 1980s into the 1990s. And they all sound as good as the did 30 years ago as they have been in a good climate controlled environment.Both of these Onkyo tape decks are great examples of when cassette technology was at its pinnacle - these decks featured manual bias controls and 3 heads for real-time calibration and adjustment. And they have a (sometimes very) accurate time remaining and elapsed counter. Quiet, smooth, feather touch controls and mechanisms.The Technics receiver is an oddball and has an STK chip, but works well and is an uncommon model and wattage for its small size. Has a built in LCD EQ and spectrum analyzer. It runs hot and I run a 12v PC fan on top.Happy Memorial Day to our veterans and those we have lost. Let’s not forget that it’s not just a day to BBQ and celebrate the start of summer.Have a great weekend!
Sansui G-9000, 160WPC, Audio Jewelry from 1978. Mark Davis 2023-05-21 | Tonight’s a Sansui G-9000 kind of night. Dual pair of speakers netting 4 ohms.This receiver does not disappoint and is mainly all original after crossing paths with a Texas repair shop and neary losing it.That said, this finest audio jewelry from a looks and performance perspective - in my opinion.Looking for a Pioneer SX-1980 and/or a SX-1250/1280 to compare and maybe I’ll splurge some day. Today, I can compare this to an SX-650 (much lower wattage) and would state the Pioneer is top notch but I don’t have the first hand experience with a real Pioneer monster.
Harmon/Kardon 150+ Receiver from 1971 power up, 70WPC Mark Davis 2023-05-20 | OK, time to give the Harmon/Kardon 150+ it’s semi-yearly workout. It’s in 2 channel mode which is 70WPC. This receiver is twin powered and supports quad if desired. (in quad, it’s 4x30WPC)Left rear transistor (likely in the preamp) somewhere is noisy for the first ~1 hour as I recall. So in 2 channel mode you hear a little static when no audio is playing.I’ve opened it up to cleanout and relamp but it’s virgin. And works great. I put lower amperage speaker fuses in to protect the amp, to me it makes sense not to push it. And with the closely spaced 60s/70s speaker terminals, it’s easy to short them out during hookup.Needs a recap but really wants to perform, and it does, and I front end the bass and treble a little with an EQ.This is a true cold power on, there will be a day when this does will not come on or there’s a pop and a capacitor or something blows. While I should be proactive and completely restore it, I will continue just to keep it alive by using it and pushing it respectfully hard from time to time. I like the joystick control, and the way that this looks. I’m not a huge fan of tube equipment so this is about as old of a receiver I will have in my collection.One final note, I had a 75+ given to me in college. and I was stupid because it worked so well, but I put higher amperage fuses and ended up blowing the amp. And back then I did not know much about fixing things, so I just took it apart and made it worse by attempting to fix it without knowing what to do.Thus, when this was available on Facebook marketplace for 60 bucks, I had to get it.
Sony TC-530 Reel to Reel from 1968. Mark Davis 2023-05-20 | Hey everyone, I’m firing up my solid state Sony TC-530 reel to reel from 1968, it hasn’t been on for about 14 months, I spent about four hours over a year ago, conditioning, cleaning, lubing and replacing springs. It was working perfect and we’ll see how it works tonight I’m doing a complete cold power up. Paired tonight with a Panasonic RA – 6100 20WPC receiver from 1979 and Technics big box speakers from the mid-1980s. Yes, this is a budget line receiver and inaccurate speakers, but qualifies as vintage. And it’s fun. This is a five minute video, so watch if you’re interested to see beginning to end what I did to test.  I’ll be running all of these components tonight. I actually have a mixtape reel to
JVC RC-705V 100WPC Receiver from 1991 Mark Davis 2023-05-20 | JVC RX-705V A/V receiver from 1991 with 100WPC. I always liked JVC and have the monster RX-905V counterpart but could not pass this up this sister model at Goodwill for $9.99.VFD is pristine and bright, and the internals were very clean. Low hours and is performing well playing some Robert Plant tonight.As with all vintage receivers, the more lights, buttons, bells, and whistles, the better in my opinion.Nice spectrum analyzer and EQ. Low profile for 100 watts.Have a great weekend everyone!
Technics SA-360, 1984, 50WPC. Mark Davis 2023-04-16 | Technics SA-360, 1984, 40 watts per channel with a great “Class A” STK amp as stated.Picked this up at a garage sale today for $20. Quite ironic, I have a fascination for the silver, mid 80s Technics receivers and this one is not on the collection.For you 80s OTA and cable TV folks, this receiver actually has an integrated VHF TV tuner and you can pull in stereo broadcasts of local channels via an RF connector. Has a CATV mode which I presume would allow you to properly harness the analog pay cable TV channel spacing (via cable TV coax running into your house) - and it has fine tuning! I didn’t demo it because there’s nothing over the air right now obviously after the digital conversion 25 years ago. Hold my beer - let’s go back to the 80s to test analog cable TV!Every bulb in this was burned out with the exception of the LEDs. These are the 8 V tubular incandescent bulbs with leads on each end -  I ended up buying a dozen of these recently because they seem to be prevalent and burned out in many 1980s receivers. Seems to be running well, it’s a really nice unit.So here’s Pac-Man fever to you from 1981.Also, my favorite brand of music is 80s/early 90s hair metal, I probably should play more of that, but I always play something goofy on my videos.
Sansui 7900Z 100WPC 1982 Receiver + Pioneer PL-610 Turntable from 1979 Mark Davis 2023-04-02 | Sansui 7900Z from 1982, 100WPC + Pioneer PL-610 turntable from 1979.Receiver was purchased today from Goodwill for $6.99 and cleaned up nicely - nothing seems to be wrong with it, however it was filthy, dusty, and needed a complete deoxit treatment. It needs an AM antenna as the built in one in back has snapped off and is missing.Perhaps this is the last Sansui receiver line which has a “monster” vibe to it. (The predecessor was the G-7700 from 1980, and then the G-7000 from 1978). This features a digital tuner, and the analog looking tuner has an LED that dances around based on the frequency selected, so it has no moving parts.Now, for the turntable. I picked this up at a Chicago garage sale about 20 years ago for about $20. The cartridge and stylus is nothing special.  I have other turntables which are not in normal rotation, but do not have a stylus as this one has.The turntable features Quartz lock and also a manual speed adjustment and +/- speed % meter.Playing a K-Tel Metal Compliation record (I collect K-Tel as a novelty, and it’s low grade wax and masters) but also have hundreds of mainstream LP’s and 45’s.
Follow-up: Technics SA-850 working, SA-550 is now a parts machine Mark Davis 2023-04-01 | This is a follow up to videos recently posted which showed these units in their original condition, and then after I got the SA–850 working.I’m a hobbyist who has become really good at this.I can read a schematic and can test capacitors, resistors, diodes, and transistors.Sometimes, if you have two similar, if not the same units, side-by-side,  simply compare part values/readings in-circuit to find the bad part.In this situation, I thought that all the remaining transistors tested fine in the 850, but since there was a difference with one of the readings, that’s where I focused my attention to find the culprit. This is some sort of power regulator which malfunctioned, and also took out two transistors in the circuit so I had to replace a total of three.  eBay parts were no more than around $10 shipped.The SA-550 VFD was damaged during shipment and I am working with the seller to file a claim. I’ll send the whole unit back or keep it for parts, which is likely what will happen.  Technically, if shipped back, I will owe the seller a power regulator transistor. Also, if I am able to keep the broken unit, I might try to merge this together with another 550 if I can find a cheap one on eBay. 
Akai AA-R32, AA-V301, and AA-V401 Mid-80’s Receivers Mark Davis 2023-04-01 | Akai mid-80s receiver trifecta tonight:AA-R32, 45WPC, ~1985AA-V301, 60WPC, ~1985 - AV receiver AA-V401, 70WPC, ~1985 - AV receiver All three contain STK amplifier AND STK preamp chips.  I purchased these approximately a year ago, one needed a new STK amp chip, another need an STK preamp chip, and one of them worked just fine as-is. Tech tip: the STK preamps do not have any heat dissapation and they get really hot, so I added some supplemental heat sinks purchased on eBayto keep them cooler.I really like the fluorescent displays on these, they look so futuristic and interesting. As a listener, you have a lot of eye candy telling you what’s going on.Sound quality is good, and each are going to get a one hour workout.They are currently stacked for display, but I would never let amps run in this manner during operation.
Toshiba SA-725, 25WPC, 1978, STK Amp Chip Mark Davis 2023-03-29 | Toshiba SA-725 Receiver from 1978. 25WPC and it’s solid, however it has the disliked STK amplifier chip. I have mixed feeling about STK, but if operated within normal operating llimits and kept cool, they seem to work and sound well.Many people tell me NOT to run a muffin fan on top as it interferes with the bias. I’d rather keep my equipment cooler since heat is an evil.Picked this up at an estate sale along with my Sansui G-9000. This was semi-functional when purchased and the power/speaker switch contacts needed sanding and cleanup. Also a zener diode failed and was subsequently replaced and continues to work like a charm. Filthy and I pumped ozone from an air purifier into this for a week and finally it does not smell like smoke tar and mold.Connected tonight to some Jensen “big box” 80s speakers, and all sounds great.
Marantz Model 140 Amp Boat Anchor Cold Power Up Mark Davis 2023-03-26 | Good evening and happy Spring! I’m not on this group much as most of my equipment I collect and restore is from the 80s.That said, it was time to power up the Marantz Model 140 Boat Anchor. Likely been close to two years since powering up so this is a true cold power on. No bullshit - complete cold plug in.Seems to work fine however I’m pumping the front end with some EQ (as I do with most of my setups). It’s connected tonight to a set of Pioneer HPM-100’s. Picked this up at Goodwill maybe 15-20 years ago for $6.99. Crayon marks and worn tag as a recollection.Most Marantz needs recapping - what am I missing? I don’t push equipment hard until warmed up and this unit seems to want to please. Running a cooling fan on top as I do with all vintage audio.
Technics SA-850 Receiver , 100WPC, 1985 Mark Davis 2023-03-26 | Technics SA-850, 100WPC, 1985. Discrete transistors. This is an evolution of the Technics Class A amp, but without all the amp protection lights on the models from 1983. What a great looking unit, with a ton of features and a stereoplex expansion mode and display that keeps the party going. There’s something for everyone here.Based on what I have seen and read, this entire line of Technics might be troublesome. Seems like a lot of these are not working right.This unit had a bad power regulator, which took out an additional 2 transistors when it failed at some point in the past. I spent maybe 4 hours working on this and finally found the final fix. I have an SA-550 being worked and repaired (70WPC version), in very poor condition, so I was able to use it as a comparison point as it shared many of the same internal components and I stole the final part from it to make this compete and working.Sounds great! Having a second receiver from the same line helped me compare component values side by side.Happy Spring to all of you!
Technics SA-550 and SA-850 - Analysis & Repairs In Progress Mark Davis 2023-03-25 | OK tonight’s post is a work in progress. Technics SA-850 and SA-550. Both from around 1985 and on my bench for analysis and repair.SA-850: 100WPC, discrete transistors, black face, class A amp, this appears to be the flagship and rare model. This was $75 shipped and appears to have low hours based on the VFD brightness and crispness of controls and inside, but the amp simply does not work and stated so when purchased. I’ve replaced 2 shorted transistors and am continuing to look for the permanent fix. Output transistors test good.SA-550, 70WPC, discrete transistors, silver face, class A amp. This was $75 shipped. Seller mentioned that it worked until recently. I have not opened it up yet and perhaps it simply needs a cleanout. It’s putting out audio in both channels, but the protection circuit kicks in early when turned up.SA-550 also appears to be extremely musty, which makes me think this has been exposed to a lot of moisture. While this was not top of the line, it features a TV tuner for audio!. In the mid 80s this would’ve been the receiver to watch Friday Night Videos on NBC in stereo!So the video here is what we have, I hope to have at least one of these running in the next couple of weeks.The night is young so I might hook up another working receiver and do a demo later.
Sony STR-D2010 from 1989. 130WPC. Optical & Digital Inputs! Mark Davis 2023-03-18 | Sony STR-D2010 from 1989. 130WPC, discrete transistors. Features a ton on inputs including early optical and digital coax support! Yes, this was one of the late 80s receivers that would support a CD player with a digital out.Running this tonight as it has not been used for over a year and I wanted to check its health. Running great and paired with 1976 Pioneer HPM-100 speakers. Goodwill find in Glendale Heights, IL in 2021 for $4.99. Quite clean and I don’t think it has a significant amount of hours. Missing remote.I love the multi band equalizer and spectrum analyzer which is very fluid, and all the lights and buttons.It’s quite powerful and runs very hot. Based on research, the amplifier caps can go bad and I can confirm that the heat dissipation engineering is not good. Thus, I’m running a cooling fan as always so no worries tonight pushing this hard.
Technics SA-410, 1983, 45WPC Resurrection Mark Davis 2023-03-11 | Here’s the Technics SA-410 from 1983, 45WPC with an STK chip that is engineered and WILL support 4 ohm speaker loads (uncommon). Has a digital tuner with an analog meter to represent the tuned frequency during the analog to digital transition with consumers.It’s built well and runs quite cool - thanks to a massive heat sink which should have been carried over to other later 80s and early 90s units which overheat and had all sorts of problems because of that. Has a metal/aluminum face and features the Class A “Computer Drive” amp which adjusts and reduces distortion in real time as it operates with an interesting array of blinking lights.This design set the stage for the later 80s Technics receivers such as the SA-290.This particular receiver was purchased cheap and for parts (mainly for the slider knobs) to supplement and improve other similar receivers I recently posted and reviewed here:- SA-1010 (I consider that to be the last Monster receiver of its type with a huge form factor and 120WPC), discrete transistor amp.- SA-510, the junior model of the above, also with discrete transistors at 80WPC.I bought this for $40 shipped. Listed as not working, and here’s what I’ve done to resurrect:- Replaced the STK chip (look in the video what a burned out one looks like - the gold burned away segments I point to. $8 shipped on eBay for an authentic NOS chip.- Re-lamped the volume slider and analog tuner lamps- Re-soldered critical points on power supply and amp board.-Adjusted the amp bias based on the service manual - it was running a little hot/higher than it should.Cleaned up great and wants to perform.I’ve concluded based on the weak VFD brightness and burned out bulbs that this has a lot of hours, and it probably was over powered, and the STK blew out. Or, perhaps the STK simply died.
Technics SA-510 60WPC Receiver from 1983 Mark Davis 2023-03-04 | Happy Friday! Don’t underestimate the condition of an actual item you get off of eBay based on pictures and description alone. You might get lucky if mildly technical.Actually scratching my head here… $35 shipped was a dirty and a “non working” Technics SA-510 receiver from 1983, discrete transistors (60WPC), and it’s a few steps down from the monster SA-1010. Filthy and full of metal and wood shavings, missing a slider, and not working when initially plugged in. Seller could not give me much info.Spent ~3 hours analyzing and cleaning up - after a vacuum, roll of paper towels, and lot of deoxit, this thing came to life. Musty, dusty, rusty but low hours based on a number of factors (dial lights which are incandescent and bright are a first good indicator)The SA-510 from 1983, 60WPC, has a very unique “Technics Computer Drive” circuit and there are some potentiometer adjustments (based on the service manual) which I made after vacuming out a LOT of metal shaving and wood particles throughout.This thing is working great! Has analog and digital tuning,  however, the analog is simply approximates the frequency.Next week, I will demo the SA-410, the STK lower version of this.
BSR MCD8090 DAK Catalog Receiver (1992, 75WPC)+ Toshiba XR-9057 CD changer (1987) Comparison. Mark Davis 2023-02-26 | Good evening! Was anybody here a fellow DAKonian? The mail order catalog from the 1980s and 90s? If so, or if not, watch this video to reminisce, or learn what it was!Tonight I’m demoing a receiver which was VERY likely made by Toshiba and rebranded with the BSR name in the DAK catalog.BSR MCD8090 6 disc CD player and receiver combo, 75WPC, STK amp chip, from the 1991 DAK catalog.Toshiba XR9057 6+1 CD changer from 1987. Both Goodwill purchases! Both use the same disc mechanism & cartridge, and the internal components are designed very similarly even down to the power supply, fonts used, and internal layout. Even the amp build quality within the BSR has the same look and feel as the Toshiba. By the way, wasn’t the music video for Billy Idol’s “Cradle of love” awesome ?
Soundesign 5877 Compact Stereo from 1988 paired with Pioneer HPM-100’s Mark Davis 2023-02-18 | Soundesign 5877 1988 compact stereo + Pioneer HPM-100’s? Kmart/Zayre/Ames anyone? Hell yeah! This isn’t April fools day, but it should be!OK, we have the Soundesign compact stereo playing tonight.  I’ve opened this up, rebelted the tape decks, and looked around within lots of air space — it’s has a small 2 chip amplifier with heat sinks and suspect is around 10 watts per channel. AND it has name brand capacitors, not shitty knock off ones from China!Features a separate left & right 5 band equalizer and electronic volume control. 3 aux inputs including a TV input, phono, and cd/auxiliary. And each are labeled with different millivolt ratings - CD is 200mv, Phono is 300mv and TV is 100Mv (how cool is that?). Cassette decks are better than the mid-90s Sony boom box units (believe me I’ve re-belted and worked on enough for them to know) and the Soundesign works great after a little speed and head calibration.This is strangely deightful and surprisingly VERY OK if not good.My pioneer HPM 100’s sound great with this,  however what you’re hearing is about as loud as it goes. Converted the RCA speaker outputs to regular speaker wires for the session tonight. Has left and right microphone inputs, a headphone Jack, external AM & FM antenna screws and high speed tape dubbing! What’s a music listener left to do? In all seriousness, I never expected the performance I’m hearing tonight. This is not audiophile but quite listenable and enjoyable. Certainly gets the job done if times are tough!So, hold my beer please, I really wish I had the remote that came with this!!
Pioneer SX-V500, 1984, 80WPC Mark Davis 2023-02-12 | Pioneer SX-V500, 1984, 80WPC. This appears to be Pioneer’s early introduction into A/V switching receivers. Get this - it has RF switching in addition to video. Yes, the channel 3 coax RF signal can be switched based on the input selected. Great sound, discrete transistors, and low THD. Minimalistic VFD and I’m ok with that.Several months ago, I posted a very similar Pioneer receiver, the SX-V400 (50 WPC) but this one has more inputs and features.Picked this up on eBay maybe for like $50Shipped. Great sound and quite powerful - 80 old school watts.
Soundesign 5044 CD Player from 1988 Mark Davis 2023-02-05 | What do the 80s, a turd, and good technology under the hood have in common?Glad you asked! Nothing other than the Soundesign 5044 add-on CD player from 1988!This is something you would purchase with your Kmart or Zayre stereo system!Picked us up at Goodwill for $3.99 and there was no way I would pass something like this up.What’s a very interesting is that the DAC (digital audio converter chip) is a Yamaha YM3805 and it’s quite a good one for it’s time! Denon, Teac, Fisher and Yamaha had CD players which cost hundreds more and bottom line would have sounded the same as this!On top of it all, the transport and mechanism is made by NEC! It has a very strange manual front loading disc loading mechanism and basic interface. Actually, when’s the last time you were able to watch your CD media spin like this in front of your eyes? It has time elapsed display and programmable tracks.Talk about lipstick on a pig (or I think it should’ve been said vice versa).Please see the following video which further explains the above:youtu.be/gweC0JULDbk
Technics SA-1010 120WPC Receiver from 1983 Mark Davis 2023-02-04 | This marks the complete end of a particular vintage receiver era, in my opinion. Technics SA-1010, 120WPC, 1983. What makes this receiver unique is its large size and features. And it is jam packed inside with electronics that are relatively easy to service. While this one is silver, they apparently made it in black but I have yet to see one anywhere.After this model in 1983, who else made something this size that had a “monster era” vibe to it?I’ve heard that this can push up to 150 watts per channel and I believe it as it has a massive transformer and really is stressing my HPM-100 speakers tonight with no audible clipping at high volumes.It has a very interesting amplifier circuit, I did some reading in the actual instruction manual and it does the following:- Automatically adjusts for speaker impedance (will take down to 4 ohm loads) - Has a preheat and ongoing thermal monitoring circuit- Adjusts amplifier performance based on output transistor temperature - Has advanced protection circuitry, has a high and low signal LED’s which will intermittently blink based on what it’s detecting in real timeIt has a 2 channel stereo expansion circuit, which has a cool multi segment 3-D display. Very similar to other receivers that have a stereo enhancer and this is adjustable. Has a high-performance tuner, with decibel signal strength and wide/narrow FM sensitivity selection.Has a primitive but interesting analog tuning meter which accompanies the AM/FM frequency tuned.Has two tape monitor circuits AND an EQ pass through monitor circuit.Selectable MM and MC phono stage circuit.I’ve been inside to give it a cleanout, and it appears to be made very well. It does have a known heat dissipation issue on the tone board, and two power regulator transistors have metal heat sinks that will burn your fingers.This one seems to have low hours and doesn’t have any browning or burn marks around those transistors. Also no lights are burned out anywhere. That said, always run a fan and don’t put receivers in enclosures! Especially vintage!Final comment: It’s a shame that Technics didn’t use a three dimensional badge logo. Why the flat paint for such a superior unit?
Sansui G-7700 Pure Power DC 120WPC Receiver from 1979/1980 Mark Davis 2023-01-28 | Sansui G-7700 120WPC receiver from 1979/1980. This has the “Pure Power DC” branded amplifier circuit, presumably the same engineering as the G-9000 (and other G- models). I kind of forgot about this receiver and it’s been 9 months since last powering it up. Tonight, it’s really pushing my HPM-100’s after a 1 hour quiet idle to “warm up” after sitting and for its age (this is how I fire up my electronics that have been sitting for months prior to a workout, and it it may not be necessary).Picked this up from a DJ who posted a Facebook Marketplace ad in Oak Lawn, IL on a rainy night in Spring 2022. I’m apparently the third owner and I won’t even open it as it’s so clean to begin with. Display lights don’t dim much at all at high volume so I think it’s strong and far from needing a recap.Akai EA-A7 resident EQ off to the side which I use with most of my receivers (minimal db increase setting on bass and treble but I like a little boost). I’m playing music with flat bass and treble + loudness button on the Sansui itself and it sounds so great.I‘m not sure if my G-9000 or G-7700 sounds better. These are pieces of art, and this was the beginning of the transition from analog to digital (thus, both analog and digital tuner displays) and the beginning of end of the silver monster receiver era.Finally, we installed 2 sets of whimsical RGB-IC strip lights in our basement along the ceiling. What’s different about the “IC” is that they have sections of light which operate independent of each other. Many of these stick on strip lights can only be controlled in their entirety end to end - one color, they all flash, blink or fade, that sort of thing. RGB-IC is more expensive, but the light modes are really really cool as you’ll see here. I think there’s over 50 different patterns colors rainbows that sort of thing. Tonight’s mode is called Carnival - It’s pretty cool.
Illinois State University - STAR Class Registration Phone Recording from 1993 Mark Davis 2023-01-22 | Did you go to Illinois State University in the early 1990's? If so, you'll recall what it was like to register for classes each semester.Here is a recording I took back in 1993 from my dorm in Manchester Hall, which contains some audio from the STAR registration system. This was prior to the Internet as we know it today!Enjoy!
Dollar General In-Store Advertising - Reel to Reel 1991 Mark Davis 2023-01-22 | This is a reel to reel tape that a gentlemen from Florida sent me which contains a number of advertising spots which presumably would be mixed into music played within the stores.A few things to note - this was recorded very hot, and the levels on the tape were very good. The tape player is a Realistic 999B which sonically sounds great after resoration. This was recorded by a small handheld digital recorder, piping the audio from the reel to reel to the line in.
Kenwood Model Nine G Receiver from 1978 - 80WPC Mark Davis 2023-01-22 | Firing up the Kenwood Nine G. So why did Sansui and Kenwood use the “G” in their naming convention in the late 1970’s? Hell if I know, but they all are great performers and engineered to last, for sure!The Nine G is 80WPC and from 1978. Maybe not the Audio Jewelry of the Sansui G line, but certainly feature packed with lots of bells and whistles.This one’s 100% original, down to the dial lamps. I opened it up and it’s rather clean but a little musty. Took a 1.5 hour drive on a rainy night from the Chicago Western Suburbs to Indiana a year ago to get this and I feel it was a steal at $400.Ran this for ~3 hours last night pretty hard and am enjoying some tunes tonight. High end is slightly weak, but other than that the power supply seems strong as the lights don’t dim much when cranked, even when powering 4 ohm speaker loads as it’s designed to handle (2 sets of speakers in parallel).Anyone else out there have one of these, or the Ten or Eleven?Final note - why do I run my systems on speakers “B” (or “C” as this model supports) you ask? Because those switches, relays in contacts have had very little use over the course of its life. So let’s break them in versus using the tired copper traces for speakers “A”.
Realistic late 80s Receiver Trifecta: STA-2600 (100WPC), STA-2280 (60WPC), and the STA-2700 (100WPC) Mark Davis 2023-01-21 | Realistic late 80s receiver trifecta - made by Foster Electronics. STA-2600 (100WPC), STA-2260 (60WPC), and the STA-2700 (100WPC). These are all very similar, but different models, and have their variances.All are generally unreliable in todays working age due to various issues and I’ve recapped the power supplies on each as this is the first point of failure. They run hot so keep ‘em cool! And they all definitely sound great and perform well when working!
Realistic STA-180 60WPC Receiver from 1972! (Made by Hitachi) Mark Davis 2023-01-14 | Happy New Year! I haven’t posted for a while… been busy… cranking the Realistic STA-180 receiver from 1972 with 60WPC tonight. Made by Hitachi and the internals have the markings to prove it.Needs a recap top to bottom but am not planning to take the project on anytime soon so I’ll continue to run it every few months respectfully to keep it alive. Still, it performs fine but would be much better if more healthy.What a cool looking receiver (some disagree, and that’s OK). Dual gyro tuners and lots of buttons and controls.
Technics SA-R330 & SA-R430 Receivers from 1988 Mark Davis 2023-01-14 | Happy New Year! I haven’t acquired much new equipment these days… and I’m running out of space. Tonight I fired up the Technics SA-R430 (100WPC) and SA-R330 (60WPC) receivers side by side. Sonically sound the same but the 430 has many more features. Both from around 1988, and they have STK chips so you really can’t go below 8 ohms.Love the built-in spectrum analyzers and EQ’s.These suffer from heat issues - poor engineering and crap ventilation although it has an exhaust fan - so keep them cool and not enclosed. I replaced charred resistors and reflowed multiple solder points on the main board on both of these to address issues caused by overheating. Both were nonfunctional when purchased on eBay (easy known fix for these).
Pioneer VSX-9700S, VSX-9900S, VSX-D1S, VSX-D902S Comparison Mark Davis 2022-12-23 | Hey! Here’s a quick comparison of the Pioneer VSX-9700S, VSX-9900S, VSX-D1S and VSC-D902S. ** I apologize but my specifics on wattage per channel might be off ** the point here is that the mains all are in the 120WPC range and surrounds/centers increase as the years increase when produced. Most experts will say that all of these overperform the measured specs.I’d recommend the VSX-9700 over all of these. See my video from a few weeks back when I also endorsed the same.
Technics SA-GX530, 65WPC, 1993 Mark Davis 2022-12-16 | Technics SA-GX530, 65WPC, 1993. I’ve posted this receiver before, it’s the end of the line of the fun stuff from Technics. STK chip, but that’s nothing new as Technics used STK’s all throughout the 80s. And if you keep them cool, they will last and they sound great.Great spectrum analyzer but not each band is adjustable, it’s parametric. The high end version of this receiver that puts out 125WPC is unobtainium - the SA-GX910.I’ve been a Cramps fan for years,  I was pleasantly  surprised to see it on the Netflix show “Wednesday”. Good to see the younger generation appreciating great music from the past!
Technics by Panasonic SA-700, 100WPC, 1979 Mark Davis 2022-12-10 | Tonight was the night to bust out the Technics SA-700 for its semi yearly power up and burn in. 1979, 100WPC. While everybody salivates over the monster 300WPC SA-1000, this is its younger sister, and arguably as good but without as much power. Likely engineered with same components in the same lab as the SA-1000.That said, this unit is 100% original including the dial lights. Bought this on eBay a year ago for what I consider to be a steal from an original owner, and other than cleaning it up, it’s performing well. Still, it needs a recap. The input is drugged up with extra EQ as the high end is struggling, and so is the power supply at higher bass.Respectfully pushing it as it wants to perform.I love the dancing/chasing LED’s - maybe the coolest feature in a receiver that never was seen again.
JVC RC-950V, 120WPC, 1987 Demo Mark Davis 2022-12-10 | JVC RC-950V from 1987.I’m not quite sure how they packed 120 discrete transistor watts into such an efficient small form factor receiver. Lots of options, modes, and buttons! They way it should be!Some will say that JVC took the cheaper backlit LCD option vs. a VFD, but I respectfully disagree and love this effect! There’s nothing wrong with the design of this receiver.It’s not the easiest unit to service, but also doesn’t seem like it needs to be serviced other than replacing the front lights.I bought this on a Facebook marketplace meet up about a year ago, and I think I paid $70 and it has a remote. It’s very clean and this one has been a peach.Very powerful, and as always, I run a fan on top of any of my older equipment just to keep them a little cooler while I crank. Audio components are designed to operate, so I always push them respectfully  and I do enjoy taking it to the limit.The holiday season is upon us and I hope all of you enjoy some downtime. I haven’t purchased too much new stuff these days, so I’m not sure what my projects will be over the next few weeks but I’m sure other items will be posted soon here.
Pioneer CLD-S201 Laserdisc Player Mark Davis 2022-11-24 | Tonight, I’m breaking out the Pioneer Laser Disc player, model CLD-S201. I bought this at Goodwill about 15 years ago and it’s missing the remote. This particular unit has a separate smaller CD tray from the larger tray so that you can pop your music CDs in quickly.This unit has always worked, but I did decide to open it up: replaced two belts, applied silicone grease to all the dried up areas and then cleaned the laser. When I was a Goodwill today I picked up this Pioneer “Laser Optics II” demonstration Laserdisc.  I also am playing a disc which I’ve had for over 15 years - a movie that was at one point rare and hard to find called “The Decline of Western Civilization”  which was only available at VHS and laserdisc.I have two additional Laserdisc players which will be pulled out in the next couple of weeks, it’s good to get these running, but this one is operating as designed and perfect. The one downside is that the VFD is weak, and I checked the solder connection pins and they all look good so it probably needs a new cap somewhere in the power supply or VFD circuit.Happy Thanksgiving all of you Americans! and hope everyone else is doing well.
Panasonic RA-6100, 15 WPC, 1979 Mark Davis 2022-11-19 | Panasonic RA-6100 receiver from 1979, a whopping 15 watts per channel via an STK chip!This was a throw in when purchasing some items a year ago. The STK was bad and I took a chance and bought a new one off of eBay and the receiver came to life after install!!So, while others at the same time in the late 70s (and today) were purchasing the SA-400, SA-500, SA-600, SA-700, SA-800 and the 300 watt monster SA-1000, the ones in the cheaper seats were getting a unit like this!Sounds great! Beautiful bronze finish! And does it crank - nope! Does it sound great - yes!It has speaker fuses!  It has screw type speaker jack’s not RCA’s! 
Pioneer VSX-D1S, 130WPC, 1991 Mark Davis 2022-11-19 | Hey! I am on a Pioneer late 80s/early 90s tangent these days. I picked up another VSX-D1S on Facebook Marketplace. This is a high hour unit based on the VFD brightness, but it’s working solid, and I’ve done a few capacitor changes and proactive fixes based on my experience.There are a couple points of discussion which will NOT all be covered tonight, and I plan to address in the upcoming weeks:1) What makes the VSX-DS1 one of the best receivers of its era? And, exactly why?2) Why are the internal components very much the same between the VSX-D1S, VSX-9900S, VSX-D901 and VSX-D902? Aren’t these pretty much all the “same” receivers under the hood? (Hint: Yes)Let’s start with point number one. This truly is one of the last old school receivers that actually puts out stated wattage. It has one hell of a transformer with discrete transistor outputs (it gives full power and does not split among other speaker outputs on different modes) and it’s one of the last monster 80s receivers with the huge displays and lots of buttons, with a complex (and often difficult to use) remote control.Technical specs show 130 W per channel, but I actually think it’s higher. Web folklore and discussion seems to state that this unit puts out up to 160 watts, which is actually quite possible. I can confirm that it is damn strong. And what makes this unit stand out against it’s sister models are its larger power capacitors. It actually has essentially the same internals as all of the other models I listed above. But the larger set of capacitors in the D1S gives it one hell of an extra kick.I’m planning to to do a side-by-side demo in the next couple of weeks with all of these from an insider perspective. (D1S/9900/D901/D902)- You’ll be surprised how close these are inside, but they have different faceplates and displays. Do you have any one of these Pioneers? If so, let me help you preserve them. In my first comment below this video, you will see a picture where I installed a heat sink in the power supply (back left when looking from the top). This is your first opportunity to prolong its life, the transistor here cooks the adjacent capacitors and you’ll eventually start getting a low volume buzz in the audio that is consistent and awful. Most of the units on eBay are exhibiting this issue. This added heat sink (buy from Amazon or eBay) will offload the heat into the chassis, and also keeps you from having to remove the entire mainboard to even get to the capacitors replace them when they go bad.Happy Friday; everyone!!
Realistic 999B Reel to Reel Demo - 1973 - Restored Idler Wheel Mark Davis 2022-11-12 | Happy Veterans Day, thanks to all of you who have served the United States!Here’s a follow up video: About a month ago my son and I purchased this Realiatic 999B from 1973 cheap at Goodwill for $5. It’s a 3 head deck and electronically, It sounds great (passes pristine audio through record circuit). Mechanically, all the rubber parts are aging. There are only a few of these in operable condition and they are very noisy. Based on a circuit board imprint and other components, it’s made by Hitachi for Radio Shack/Realistic.For the first time ever I opted to have a hardened rubber idler tire restored. I went to thevoiceofmusic.com and sent the old rubber idler tire in, and it came back restored yesterday after a few weeks. This unit sounds great, it’s a three head real to reel, and it actually performs as well or better than similar decks.I will tell you though - it is VERY loud mechanically - not all parts have been restored, and even the rubber motor mounts probably could be replaced. We only had the one idler tire restored, which was completely hardened to a rock.So, if you happen to have one of these, I’m willing to share my experience with you, but it’s nice to preserve and restore something of this vintage. I will say it again, RadioShack/Realistic made a great product that still works 50 years later! Don’t attempt to start an argument with me about Realistic, I am one of their number one fans and I really think everything they made was under the radar in terms of quality.
Kenwood GE-7030 (1992) EQ + JVC RX-9V (1987) 120WPC Receiver Mark Davis 2022-11-12 | There’s a long night ahead and a bunch of beers and good times to be had. My kids and I setup a little early, so here’s my first post tonight.Bought this Kenwood GE-7030 from 1992 on eBay a week ago - it’s been on my watch list and I made a lowball offer on an “as-is” sale which turned out to be in my favor. There’s not much that can go wrong with these as long as they’re not physically abused. However, they have a lot of electronics and chips inside and are not necessarily easy to service. The VFD in this one is a little bit weak, I re-soldered the cathode pins on the far extremes, one of which was cracked (pro tip, if you’re VFD is weak, look at the solder pins to the far left and far right of the VFD display, often they are cracked because they carry heavy voltage and can crack).Paired with a JVC RX-9V from 1987. 120WPC. I’m not double EQing tonight, however, I do have loudness enabled on the receiver for some extra kick.This is one of those equalizers I wanted to have in the collection, it’s actually very nice, they could’ve added a couple more spectrum analyzer modes and its pretty much hollow for the most part inside. Perhaps one of the more user-friendly ones since these can get complex to operate.Happy Veterans Day, I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for our great country!Note: This is YouTube public domain music, it’s actually quite a rockin song!
Pioneer VSX-9700, 1990, 125WPC Objective Analysis vs the VSX-9900S/D1S/D901/D902 Mark Davis 2022-11-06 | Pioneer VSX-9700S, 125WPC from 1990. An objective observation here tonight.This model is engineered and built much differently from the VSX-9900S which is the newer version that came out in 1991 (seems to be a preferred receiver). Based on the internal construction, I feel this is a better unit and value than the 9900S for a few reasons. 1) Significantly better internal heat dissipation with less failure points as experienced with the 9900s (and D1S, D901 and D902) - all will start having an ambient buzz sound in the background, 2) larger VFD display, 3) Plentiful quantity of these out in the wild and usually cheaper. 4) Same wattage and features as the 9900s including the never used Multi-Room output. Note: if you have a D1S, D901 or D902 this also applies.I own many Pioneers from this era: (1) 9900S, (1) D1S, (2) D902S and then (2) 9700S. I prefer this build quality over the others. I’ve also worked on all of these inside and the 9700S is built better.Looking for productive debate here. I’m not stating the others are bad (all of these 90s Pioneers are awesome end of the line for this type of unit with excessive buttons bells and whistles - the way I like them!).One final note, the 9300/9500/9700 won’t suffer from the Digital Signal Procesaing (DSP) “amnesia” that the 9900S/D1S/D901/D902 can experience - often, these newer models will only amplify audio via the “Direct Only” mode - the processing chip goes bad. Meaning no bass/treble/surround modes. This does NOT happen on the older versions of these units such as the 9300/9500/9700.Just giving the 9700 some well-deserved love!
Sansui G-9000 and Pioneer RT-707 Reel to Reel Mark Davis 2022-11-05 | Breaking out the Sansui G-9000 tonight. Oldies night! And running the MP3 source audio through a real-time tape delay playback on the 3 head Pioneer RT-707 reel to reel. Easier said, what is playing is actual tape approximately a 1/2 right second after being recorded, which smoothes out the digital source sound a little.This is my most powerful receiver in the collection, it’s making my HPM-100’s hurt a little. All hooked up components tonight want to please and the vintage equipment has such a different sound than modern electronics.
Technics SA-GX530 Receiver from 1993, 65 watts per channel Mark Davis 2022-10-22 | Here’s the end of the line for Technics and dancing equalizers. SA-GX530 from 1993. 65 watts per channel, STK chip. Has dedicated surround and center channels at lower wattages. Does not switch or pass A/V video but has the VCR inputs. These units run hot and usually need to have 4 resistors re-soldered - there’s one spot where there is poor ventilation and they bake and separate from the main board. And you have to disassemble the whole thing to get to the bottom - this unit was not engineered to be serviced (they should have designed it with a panel at the bottom that comes off).Great sound quality and parametric EQ. I’m running a computer fan and pumping extra air so that the built in exhaust fan can more easily keep this 30 year old receiver out of danger. I do this to all of my receivers that are older. Heat is usually the #1 cause of stress and failure.Have a great weekend!
Panasonic SG-J550 Turntable a boom Box Demo Mark Davis 2022-10-16 | OK, tonight is a whimsical post for you guys. Here’s the Panasonic SG-J550 boom box from 1983. Has an ambience, a surround feature! And of course I also have the lower model version but not in this video tonight the SG-J500! I live for this stuff.Anyways it has an integrated turntable, so why would you not want to bring this to the beach? Out of all of the ghetto blasters/boom boxes from the 80s, this thing even with peak performance does not sound good. Very poor sound reproduction from any source, very little bass and treble, and a loudness button that just gives a little kick.That said, it’s very interesting for its time, there was actually a much bigger version of this and Sharp also made a portable record player boom box. Techmoan did a review on it, and perhaps more.Tonight it’s playing a K-tel compilation record — I actually collect K-Tel. Fun to play with but not the most practical today, And again the sound is not ideal.
JVC RC-905V Receiver, 1992, 120WPC Mark Davis 2022-10-15 | Yearly power up of my JVC RX-905V. I’m the original owner since 1992, I shit you not this thing cost $799 from Crutchfield and I looked for the receipt tonight and can’t find it. 120 old school watts per channel. No question about it this is more powerful than my 2020 Yamaha Aventage. Seems to work fine as it always has but for the last several years power up, there’s a very strange smell. It doesn’t smell like leaking capacitors and I can’t detect any leakage when it’s been opened, but perhaps thermal paste or something in the power supply.It’s getting a nice workout - this is one of my most powerful receivers, and it’s really pushing the HPM 100’s tonight.Features an early primitive on screen display, and is Dolby Pro Logic with all the various surround modes. And seriously I think it has 10 unique inputs, including DAT, and video disc player in addition to multiple VCRs and tape decks.This was my daily driver until 2002. And it’s been in retirement since.
Realistic 999B Reel to Reel from 1973 - Initial Operation, Burn-In and Demo Mark Davis 2022-10-15 | Greetings, everyone! $5 Goodwill find and I am destined to make this perhaps one of the few surviving Realistic 999B reel to reel decks from 1973. Not sure who made this - it’s not a Sony, Panasonic, Teac or Akai as I’ve researched similar models. Nothing out there has controls, speed selector, and audio jacks in the same spot. Made in Japan and perhaps very custom for Radio Shack. 3 head deck and so far, I’m impressed! It’s also my age and survived this long! (UPDATE: I found a Hitachi logo etched into one of the circuit boards)Not much info out there about this reel to reel unit. Based on inspection, it’s low hour but likely has sitting for quite some time. And maybe 30 years or more based on the kink in the main drive belt. Dusty, musty, but not rusty or in bad shape. Spent several hours with my son Scott (12 years old) 1) un-gumming and re-lubing the gears, 2) soaking the rubber parts in rubber restore for hours and 3) cleaning the dust out and deoxit’ing all controls.Audio has excellent fidelity - tested multiple ways - it passes perfect analog audio in 2022 within the record pass through circuit and also when playing existing pre-recorded tapes. And, it records great as well. I was expecting lo-fi with bad caps and that’s not the situation here. I have a similar vintage Panasonic unit that I actually recapped and does not sound nearly as nice as this. Which also confirms that RadioShack/Realistic always attempted to make a good product. I’m about ready to fight and make enemies with anyone who criticizes old Realistic.If you watch the video I turn the volume down and you’re going to hear an extremely loud idler tire. This thing sounds like a 16mm projector. But it actually keeps up and is accurate in speed once it gets rolling. The tire is completely un-obtanium and specific to this unit. So I reached out to Gary at Voice of Music and I’m going to have this idler tire rebuilt - a first for me. There are a couple YouTube videos with others who have the same problem, looks like it’s just a faulty part after 50 years.I don’t see any need to recap or do further work to this. It is playing beautifully, in original adjustment, and the three head capability is awesome to listen to recording levels in real time.Audio played/heard in this video is from tape in real time via 3 head (1 second delay from source, as it’s playing what it just recorded). For some reason the recording does not give it the proper justice.I’ll post a follow up video in 6 weeks after the idler has been rebuilt and when the unit has been reassembled.Hope you’re having a great Friday night and enjoy the weekend!
Technics SA-290, 1986, 50WPC Mark Davis 2022-10-08 | Happy Friday everyone! Firing up my high school and college receiver - Technics SA-290 - and this thing has stories to tell if it we’re to speak of what it saw! This thing powered over 50 basement parties and brought us thousands of dollars as revenue via $3 entry price keg parties at Illinois State University between 1993-1994.STK chip 50WPC. Purchased at Service Merchandise in 1986.I always care for my equipment, the first two LEDs on the power meter had to be replaced. They all go bad because the original LED’s are under spec and actually burn out. Most for sale will be burned out - free to contact me on the fix.This is one of my favorite mid 80s guilty pleasure songs.Have a great weekend everyone!
Realistic STA-180 Receiver from 1972, 60WPC Mark Davis 2022-10-08 | Realistic STA-180 semi-yearly workout. 1971/1972 60WPC. Purchased this on Facebook Marketplace earlier this year in original condition, as it is right now with the exception of a full clean out and relamp.There’s some folklore and I wish somebody knew more about this, but apparently Realistic didn’t make a dime on these, and it is in fact made by Hitachi based on all of the imprints inside. Really beautiful and nice looking unit. This one works perfect, it really needs a recap, it’s not performing exceptional but it certainly sounds good, and is powering my HPM 100’s just fine, but you can’t go too deep on the bass or or struggles. Not worth pushing it, and considering as old as I am, I’m not gonna stress something that’s older than me.Have a great weekend everyone!
Harmon Kardon 150+ Receiver Mark Davis 2022-09-24 | Harmon Kardon 150+ from 1971. 100% original and I relamped with incandescent bulbs. Picked this up in DeKalb, IL at a price I feel was a steal.I have older post of this receiver on various forums. It performs well and I am very respectful of its unrestored age and it might be my most delicate but strongest unrestored vintage receiver in my collection.Currently powering my HPM-100’s, and it’s pushing them. Enjoy!
Pioneer SX-V400 60WPC Receiver from 1984 Mark Davis 2022-09-17 | One more vintage piece tonight… last week I posted a snippet of a Pioneer SX-V400 which I bought cheap (sniper bid at like $42 shipped). 1984, 60WPC. The post I made had some suggestions as to how you might want to purchase vintage audio off of eBay.Cleaned it up and spent probably an hour alone with Windex and vinegar getting rid of all of the cigarette tar smoke stains. (I used to be a smoker so I can understand, but never had equipment this dirty). While it is clean for the most part, it’s a very shopworn and uncared for unit overall.Extremely great sound, discrete transistors and I would honestly state that this is more powerful than most receivers made today which are stated being 100 watts per channel. There’s something about older audio equipment that just seems to be so much more powerful.Interesting note for the old techies, this will switch your channel 2/3/4 RF coax! Literally you can hook up two different VCRs or units with RF coax connectors and it switches them based on input. The next year, Pioneer receivers went to plain vanilla video output switching which is available even until today. This unit also picks up AM stereo, but WLS 890 Chicago discontinued it at some point in the past and the technology is obsolete. They were the only AM stereo channel in Chicago - my father had a 1984 Chrysler New Yorker with AM stereo (and the car also talked to you!).Not the most interesting of receivers but I felt that it was a good price to pick up, and it certainly sounds great. I wish it had a better VFD with some additional bells and whistles, but it certainly has all the buttons you want.Have a great night and weekend everyone - I hope to see you next weekend with something new.
Akai EA-A7 Equalizer from 1984 Mark Davis 2022-09-17 | What a time it was to be alive - the 1980’s! Here’s the Akai EA-A7, from 1984, probably my all-time favorite EQ. The one shown tonight is a merge between 2 different units (note the silver button out of place on the upper right). I bought two of these totaling $150 shipped from different auctions via “make an offer” and also have a functional silver version of this containing the worst of all remaining parts (not in this video).When you look at eBay, most of these are in rough shape and abused. Not sure why, and the cleaner ones go for quite a bit. It’s almost like everyone who owned one of these beat them to hell.I’ve been sitting and listening to music and watching this all night now.This is made very well internally, and an excellent example of great 1980s technology. You might disagree, but it doesn’t get much better than this. But my final question is, why wouldn’t Akai have have had a nice three-dimensional embossed logo on this?
Seeburg Olympian Jukebox SPS-160 With Orange Panel Inserts, from 1972 Mark Davis 2022-09-11 | My Seeburg SPS-160 jukebox, named “The Olympian” from 1972. Seeburg was a great legendary Chicago company that made jukeboxes for many, many years and there are a couple very interesting websites from people that used to work there.Purchased this for $600 delivered, from an arcade store in Lisle, Illinois back in 2004. Was extremely muddy sounding upon demo and arrival to me. I was told this lived it’s last years at the Pizza Hut in the Ogden mall in Naperville Illinois next to the cocktail arcade games in the 80s.First thing I did was replace the styluses and performed an amplifier and teeeter crossover recap via an eBay kit. To think that was almost 20 years ago is amazing because it probably could use another recap! However, this is seldomly used.In 2018, I replaced the output transistors and the power supply capacitors, as well as some transistors on the driver board. Also did my first output transistor biasing. That made quite a difference in the brilliance.It came with the purple colored inserts, and I have a video on YouTube of it, but I purchased the orange ones around 2008 and finally installed them a couple months ago.I also finally got behind the screen to the woofers, vacuumed them off with a paintbrush and cleaned them, and also flipped them 180 degrees. I am a huge fan of flipping woofers at least once in their lifetime — let the voice coils stress and flex the other direction!In general, it’s required some maintenance including a complete mechanism re-lube last year. Records used to start off very slow and then the speed would get normal when warmed up after maybe a 1/2 hour. In 2021, the mech completely seized and locked up and I thought something was dead, so I re-lubed with synthetic oil and it’s working great and better than ever.Please reach out to me if you’d like to correspond on Seeburg - I’ve become extremely familiar with these, and there’s a 20 year span where the internals are very similar.Hope everyone’s getting ready for fall and the Halloween season (orange gets me in the spirit) - I prefer it much over Christmas and anything else!Have a great night!
