I originally set up this channel to showcase vintage stereo consoles and record players that I have restored as a video demo for customers on my Etsy store: www.etsy.com/shop/MidCenturySound, and my own website store: www.mid-centurysound.com/store It has since morphed into a channel to also allow people to remember the good old days of analog stereo! Feel free to leave comments, but remember, this is not a forum where you can prove your superior knowledge of all things stereo and leave negative comments, you are "persona non grata" if you do.
Looks exactly like the one we had when I was a kid. 1962 is a very plausible year for my parents to have bought it new. I got really used to using it in the late 1960s because I liked to record stuff from the radio by placing a mic near the speakers. It would have been fun to see the vacuum tubes inside. Hadn't seen those control dials in over 40 years!
Although I've been MAD about record changers my whole life, that one _sorta_ scares me. It's saying "Give me the damn record now & I'll play it!!" 🤣😂 Love the mechanism though...
I had a Zenith JR587W from around 2010 to just last year (worked great for 13 years, well past the time 8-tracks became obsolete!). The amplifier finally died on it and I had to let it go. I tried a Realistic TR803 8-track deck paired up with a Pyle receiver. But the Realistic deck uses that cheap Mitsumi-style 8-track transport mechanism with the plastic piece securing the head, which will crack over time. I can never get the head alignment quite right on it, and the motor just died last week. :/ I really missed the amazing sound quality of my Zenith unit, so just last week I placed a $100 bid on a Zenith Allegro JR596W that was listed for parts. Today, I won it. LOL. Only cosmetic issue with it is that the dust cover for the record player is missing, but I'll get a universal sleeve for it. Hopefully I can get it up and running relatively easy.
Your first ever console is too cool for words. Those Grundig speakers are incredible! You get to work on some fantastically rare, complicated , and sophisticated vintage stuff! That cracked potmetal disk might break further in the future and jamb up the FM part. Might have gone with trying to wipe on some JB weld on it just to stabilize it and keep it in one piece. That was one hell of a restoration job. Thanks for showing it.
To my understanding for that cartridge switch, in Europe 'M' setting was for microgroove (mono or stereo etc) and the 'N' was for _normal_ or 78 groves - kinda strange but the UK equivalent they used 'S' for _standard_ (78s).
We had a similar set at my home growing up. It also had a TV built in. The "Control Center" was exactly the same as the one here. I had the opportunity to salvage that part of it, but for some reason at the time I did not do it. In retrospect, I wish I had.
I'm slowly warning up to the European sets. For many decades I just couldn't stomach them. Small speakers. Strange cabinets. Shortwave bands though. It's a different animal and they have their charm and advantages.
@@SteveScarlet Steve -- working on a Motorola SK77. I am testing resistors in the amp and finding 75% of the bubble bee resistors to be out of spec. Have you ever run into a unit that had that many out? I am using the color code on the resistor for the value and then measure. Appreciate any guidance. Brett
I have one almost exactly like this one. However, the remote speaker doesn't pick up the music anymore. I am looking to sell as it was my mother-in-laws. She sold her house and we have no room.
I will be replacing the electro voice model 275 cartridge with a Pfanstiehl P-191 from voice of music, great seller btw The model 275 cartridge still has output, it’s just that the cantilever suspension piece has fallen apart and no longer able to accommodate it
I have the Magnavox version of the Circle of Sound that I bought in 1970. My speakers have two cones each, one on top and one at the bottom of each one. The speakers are square and not round. Had the turntable serviced and lubricated and it works like a gem, the bass shaking the walls of the house. Grandkids like to watch the tone arm tap the side of the record to determine its size before dropping it on the turntable. Great video!
