They Found A Broken Stereo Console On Trash Day...Let's Fix It!! 

I have worked on so many Magnavox consoles. This one looks like a 1967 model. Magnavox did indeed place resistors on their aux inputs. Another trick up their sleeve sometimes was to place a blend resistor to reduce stereo separation of the phono input. This masked the noise on some records. I always removed that blend resistor to open up the soundstage.

I am glad you got to this unit, it looked like an interesting project. You assistant Sadie was a bonus.

I remember when these were very popular. The fact that the cabinet is still in good shape is a plus, along with having the AUX inputs. When I was a teen, component systems started to take over, and console units lost their popularity. Thank you for saving this nice piece of history from the landfill.

My grandparents had one of these in their house. The outside cabinet was slightly fancier , but it was a Magnavox just like the one that you have here. The tuner and record player was exactly the same as this one. I have fond memories of my little cousin and I hooking up my first portable CD player to this system through the aux jack. When we were ever home alone, we would have this system turned up all the way to the max, playing hip hop music through it and must say that it got pretty loud with very punchy bass, literally shaking the pictures on the wall...lol. The neighbors weren't very happy about that tho 🤣🤣🤣 Man those were the good ole days of my childhood. 🤗

I was able to get a huge 6 1/2 foot long RCA console free about 7 years ago. It's an absolute beast in the tone department and has the tape-in/aux-in port. I've got a bluetooth receiver hooked up to it. Deep, rich sound and the thing must weigh over 300 pounds. It's the one piece of furniture I'd muscle out the door if my house ever caught fire. I love that thing.

Hard to believe people throw away nice stuff!!you do nice work and pleasent to listen to you on your repairs !!

I have two cats and they're more qualified to work on electronics than I am😉 Replacing the capacitors might have been a good idea, you already had the board removed and there were relatively few. A little TLC on the cabinet and this will be a nice nostalgic piece of furniture. Thanks for the video, enjoy!

Just found you RU-vid Channel. It is very wonderful to see a young man today with Electronic Discoveries & Repairs Restoring. When I was 11 going on 12 I got my Dream Job after school. From 3 to 5 p.m. I worked at Lyle's Zenith TV📺&📻Sales & Repair Shop. I had been taking apart Radio's & TV's since I was 6 going on 7 years old & put'n them back together again. I was 6' tall & Lyle needed to have a young man help him in Deliveries & Pick-Up repairs if not able to repair at the home, TV's & Radio's. Always carried in the Tube Box Case & Tube Tester Case & Scope that was a Circle Tube Light Up Screen used for Testing TV Sets. House Calls were $2.50 for B/W TV's & $2.00 for Radio's. Color TV's were $3.50 & Stereo Record Players & Radio Combo's were $3,00 dollars. When the TV/RADIO/Record Players came out omg Heavy As Ever, Lyle tried to do everything he could so we would not have to bring into the Shop. Many times was a Tube needing replaced. Selling the newest Zenith B/W & Color TV's & Radio's was always great. He kept models on Display but someone wanted to buy one it was sold. He had a Color Catalog a customer could look through. Lyle & his Wife were from Ohio & he worked for GM & turned his Garage into a TV & Radio Repair Shop he did on Weekends & Nights. Lyle retired from GM & they moved to Tavares, Florida & set up Store & Shop. The back room was every TV📺& Radio📻Lyle ever took in on Trade-In's on New Sales. It was like going through a Museum of every kind of Radio📻& TV📺ever made. I was in Toy Land for a kid would loved electronics. I worked there from 3 to 5p.m. weekdays & on Saturdays 1/2 Days. Lyle taught me everything about TV's & Radio's. He would take in any TV📺or Radio📻that needed repair. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. I would walk around the corner to the Local Drug Store & was a Soda Jerk & helped Doc in the Pharmacy count Pills💊for Prescription Orders. Did that 5 days a week & 1/2 days on Saturdays. Nothing was open on Sunday due to Blue Laws. Did both those jobs until I was 17 years old. Some years later Enlisted into the U.S.A.F. during Viet Nam & went into Missile 🚀Electronic Specialist. My number was low but I wanted to serve my Country. I gave Lyle so much credit for all the years of Mentoring me God Bless him. Lyle passed years later & the Shop was torn down by developers. Like most of Florida what was in no more around. It was a great place to grow up in the 60's & mid 70's but would never want to go back or live there again. Figure the whole state will be under water one day & the storms will take away a good chuck of Homes & Businesses before it becomes once was a state.

Around 1967, my parents had a Magnavox much like this, but it also had a color TV in the center. One of the first color TV's on the block. If you weren't careful and left a vinyl record on top of the sliding cover, it would land on top of the CRT. I found my sisters missing Lesley Gore album in there. It was melted/warped from the heat. All the neighborhood kids came over to watch Batman in color. 🤗

Wow, your knowledge and interest in this revival is admirable. You proved that through a small effort, this unit is still useful and can still be enjoyed.

Same exact one my Mother had bought back early 60's. The Good Old Days.

Man, I came across your channel by chance. It's just so nice to see someone young like you be interested on fixing stuff. And it is clear that you really know what you are talking about. Your methodology and logic are great. I foresee you as a master in the years to come. Congrats!

I love old consoles, I have a Magnavox 151B I bought in the mid 90's to use as a plant stand. I took good care of it, kept it out of the sun and never let water touch it. I think it is from 1946-47, hope to get savy enough to refurbish it myself. Great video, thanks for sharing this one!

I have THIS EXACT unit. my mother (rest in peace) bought it brand new when she was young, one of the first "new" things she bought herself. The AUX is amazingly useful... been enjoying that for many years.

I loved the whole thing! I'm 55 years old, but seeing that took me down memory lane! My Grandparents had something similar to what you got and I would spend hours listening to it! Please show us more, when you have the time to!

I love these old consoles. Very nice repair and restoration! 👍

I currently have my grandparents old 1966 Magnavox console stereo and it also gets sound out of only the right speaker and has the static feedback as well. Literally the exact same issues as yours had. I am going to give it another shot for like the 75th time to try correcting the issues. Thank you for posting your video!

Several years ago I found the exact same model from magnavox. The cabinet was in stellar condition, but electronics and turntable not so much. Instead of repairing these I dropped in another turntable and a modern day car stereo unit. So now it it has am/fm, cd, Bluetooth, turntable and remote control. It lives in my dining room and is used almost daily.

Magnavox console tube radios were awesome powerful things. Big Alnico speakers in them and a truly deep rich sound. I'd love to have one myself, but I'm perfectly happy with my "The Fisher 125" for right now. I bet with a recap to get rid of that hum and some CRC contact cleaner followed by deoxit that old console set would sound decent. I think the problem with the record changer had more to do with how warped that record looked than with the player itself.

I picked one up off the curb but it was a bigger console , A magnavox imperial astro sonic ... I call it the aircraft carrier as it is a good 6 foot long , it also had the reel 2 reel built in... I restored it and it sits proudly in the family room , works great and is loud enough to have a block party with it...these are making a comeback due to the resurgence in vinyl...

Lol...I worked for a Magnavox dealer in the 70's and delivered a boatload of these units. The units with stereo and TV were huge and heavy. Brings back memories.

Great find. That's a Magnavox AstroSonic stereo console. The Hoosiers craftsmanship was very good. Consoles were big in the 40s through the 70s, although, audiophiles preferred component systems, For family entertainment, Magnavox and RCA consoles were very popular. When I see an old console like that, I think of Elvis, Sinatra, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel.

I did notice as soon as the back was being shown, one of the external speaker connector terminals is missing, so the wire might be roaming freely and could possibly cause a short if speaker switch selector is turned and that could kill an output transistor.

I have had many of those, over the years. Every single one recycled from the trash. When I was younger I was obsessed with big speakers and big sound. These large Consoles did just that. Love to see someone taking interest in old tech. ❤

Glad you got this working again. It is nice that you rescued it in trash day and gave it a new lease of life, your cat seems very impressed as well.

My parents had one just like that back in the 70's. I remember my dad playing Charlie Byrd and Burt Bacharach lps on it. Seeing that brings back old memories for sure.

the fact that it has the manual with it too!?!? Amazing.

I find 1 for 20$ and i have the same problems with it so Thank you for sharing your experience!

Very, very cool. When things were actually made to be repaired (and come with the schematic inside to do it!)

I really appreciate this video. I have an Admiral console stereo from the early 1960's, and it has similar problems to this set. It may have tubes in it, so it could be a different repair process, but this was helpful to see. Thanks. 👍👍👍

...love the video...Im happy to see that your fixing this beautiful console.

Wow! That is the exact console I grew up with. We used it until Christmas 1981, when my Dad got us a new Quasar stereo with record player radio AND cassette.... and external speakers that you could put anywhere you wanted! And it fit neatly on top of a table...instead of being as BIG as a table.

We had this exact same model in our house growing up. In fact, that puzzle piece looks familiar. :) Now I'm all nostalgic over it. I remember the fun we'd have, playing records back at 16 or 78 RPM.

My father still has our original Magnavox AM/FM stereo console recorder player from 1963. It still works well but the FM has gotten really dim. The AM still works pretty well and the record player works perfectly. I love these old things. It’s been in our family two years longer than I have lol. And I’m a dinosaur myself lol. Thanks for keeping interest alive in these beautiful old pieces

I have console like the you just showed, but my has a TV with the radio and turn table. It used to be my parents and left to me when they passed. It all still works all of it the tv, radio and turn table. So I was really interested in your presentation, I just loved it. My cabinet is longer but looks very close, thanks for the informative prevention. ❤

Dude, I had fixed so many of those things in the past! Some will rock the house right off the foundation! Throw some old 78’s on it.. I love big bands!!

I have a similar model of 1960s solid state magnavox astromatic console from my grandmother. It is in pretty good shape and doesn't currently haven many problems, but your video has given me some confidence about working on it if anything ever should go wrong. Thanks for showing what the interior looks like and the basic disassembly! Glad you got this one back working.

Great stereos, I had two different models, one I still have and it really sounds good. People are looking for these the last several years, so prices are going up. The music you have playing and the room-set-up is perfect, takes me back in time.

Nice 👍 piece. My family always had a stereo console when I was growing up. Is a piece of history. It's in real good condition.

Some of these old consoles sound AMAZING.

One mans trash is another mans treasure. Super cool and nice job.

Very nice. I always like seeing the more simplistic cabinet designs on these. I have one with the tube amplifier that that is only equipped with a record player.

A beautiful piece of furniture and history.

My mom had one very similar to this, up until I was 16. Learned how to sing playing my moms records on the thing. Just seeing it brings bock soooo many memories from childhood. I became a musician because of that piece of furniture. 🤟🏽🤟🏽🤟🏽🤟🏽🤟🏽🤟🏽

A rare find indeed, that owner's manual of that Magnavox stereo console. Good job with the restoration.

This is the same exact one we have at home. Thank you for the video!

This is great. I have a very similar Astro Sonic console, with almost the same exact cabinet. It also has developed the same exact problem, which I am going to tackle here pretty soon. I’m hoping that the problem is the same one you encountered. I would have a very difficult time believing that it isn’t, since these units were built so incredibly well. Thanks for the tip, and the great video!

We had one like that when I was young. I don’t know what happened to it. Great, you got it fixed.

This takes me back to my childhood. I blew out the woofers on my parent's Magnavox console several times. I kept having the service people come and replace the woofers as I innocently stated I didn't play the music loud. Back then, the wood used on these units was of high quality, so even if a console doesn't work, a wood worker would love to have the console.

At least it was not a crappy "Electrophonic" Nice repair! The side mounted woofers and angled horns, spread out the stereo image. Having the original owners manual is a super bonus!

According Hits !!! That's my Favorite!! 😂

Great find AH-Fix-it and excellent job tracing the minor problems and restoring the Hi Fi Stereo console .

I was given this same exact model about 5 years ago and there was nothing wrong with it. Only thing wrong was scratchy volume control and I gave the turntable a good lube job. I enjoy it in my garage now. Enjoyed your video

is that an unfiltered wheat beer at the end? (glad I got to hear my most favorite Smooth Jazz song !! )

This old outdated stereo system perfectly matches your old outdated decor.

I remember those Magnavox units it was truly a marvel! Thank you for the video...

This brings me back to childhood. They sound fantastic. Plus I have tons of LP's.

Of your videos, this presentation and background music are my FAVORITES!!

I had one of those back in 1980. It had the Stereo, and 8 track player and Record player. Everything worked and the sound was astounding. You have a rare piece of Americana. I wish I still had one. I do not even watch TV any more but having that would be awesome.

Well this brings back memories . My neighbors had one and somehow I talked my Mom into getting one too. Had to be. Mid 1960’s. I ended up running wires down the hallway from the living room to my bedroom so i could listen in there. The a bit later got a big outside loudspeaker and ran wires to that in the garage and out back. Neighbors were not impressed. Fun times.

Nice find. I’ve got four or five of the tube consoles.

I was truly amazed on how young you are and knowledgeable plus that your interested in electronics! I was just impressed watching this! Great job!

Wow great job on fixing it . I have my mother's old sterio system it's been sitting in our basement since the 70,s . I want to get it restored eventually and you are sparking me to look into where I can bring it to get it restored .Thank You

My grandmother had an old Magnavox hi-fi that had a balance control underneath the bass or treble knob that you needed a screw driver to rotate it. The amazing thing about the balance control was that it wasn't left and right channels, it was balance for the bass and treble so that you didn't have bass or treble outperform each other. The other odd thing was that it had an fm only tuner which at the time was dominated by am broadcast stations. I always loved the way the automatic changer worked when you played a record to activate the changer mode, the tonearm lifted up hit up the edge of the record pullback to drop record and it then fell in place on record. When in changer mode, there was a sound cut out feature that while record was being executed, and once the cycle was over, restore to full volume set.

The record looks as though it's deeply warped. I once read a beautiful bumpersticker: "Play an accordion--go to jail. It's the law."

Wow, even the stereo indicator and dial lamps were still working! Always good to have a kitty supervisor.

Loved the video, the sound from it was just so deep and gorgeous 😊

My dad gave us one exactly like this, same exact brand , model for our wedding present. He sold these at a big music / tv store. It was a fabulous stereo, wished we kept it. And just last week our son found one put out for taking on a curb.He snapped it up.

Great vid! I have a thing for these old console stereos... I found one that resembles the one that my parents had when I was growing up. I couldn't resist to buy it and take it home to restore it. It now sits in my basement / workshop. Cheers!

Very cool. Wish I still had the one from when I was a kid.. It would be cool to retrofit & upgrade one of those and maybe try to squeeze in a nice turntable and perhaps a receiver, mounted vertically. Surly someone's already done this. 👍 Love that kitty got in on the action too!

That’s clean AF. Most of what I find like this are dirty. I still have my moms Magnovox tuner/amplifier and turntable.

My parents purchased that very model back in 68'. I still remember the very first record played on it after it's delivery. My dad also purchased the remote Magnavox stereo speaker which was placed in the basement directly below the console. I took the console in the mid nineties despite much grief from the wife. We came to a compromise then did what she wanted, we got rid of it. Watch the tone arm's movement when moving on to another record. It will do a "test" of the next record by reaching up tapping the waiting record to confirm if it's a LP or 45. Then drop down to the correct position for play. I've never in my 62 years any other machine to include that feature. We had kids from all over the neighborhood stop by to see it perform. You have a gem, hopefully it will find it's way to a good home. I really miss that console...

This was great thank you. I'm looking for someone to fix my grandmother's cabinet. Go through and just make sure everything is good. I wish I could have found the Manuel.

Love your background Tunes.!! My parents owned a Sears Silvertone console from the 60's/70's Now I wish i hadn't gotta rid of it!

My folks had this exact same model when I was growing up ~ late 60's early 70's. I added an external 8 track player and plugged it into the aux input. Never had any issues with it. What a blast from the past.

The most difficult thing about repairing these amplifier chassis were the dial cords for the radio tuner

Magnavox console...Father-in-law was the department manager of the cabinet building design and build..Bueter Road Fort Wayne IN. worked there 30 years

I recapped my old RCA Console a few years ago. Exploded inside the power chassis. Worked great after that! Needs to have the turntable mechanism cleaned and relubed now !

I love doing this stuff. And a HUGE thank you for now using crappy Hip-HOP for your music!!! 100 points for that!

I love the big speakers in these old stereo cabinets ❤

This is so cool! I would LOVE to have a console like this in my home. I love retro electronics like this.

The Mistress of the house approves.... She is right. Excellent repair job.

The manual is just as cool as the unit itself. I work on vintage stereos myself and I have never found a manual with any. Lucky find.

I had the exact same model when I was 19 or 20 I'm 64 years old now thanks for the memory

Your so lucky to have found this. Fix it, use it, cherish it.

we still have one of those... LOL... nice piece of furniture... hasn't worked (or used for music) in decades.

A GOOD find REALLY Good sound quality with those two BIG subwoofers, the stuff people THROW AWAY there was VERY little wrong with it!!

Choice of music was perfect. Good stuff.

That's the exact same unit my parents had when I grew up. I know this isn't THE one because I knocked it apart and burned it about 40 years ago now! Great video!

That thing is a gem. My friend in middle school parents bought one. He and I would come home from school and blast that thing before his parents came home from work. Awesome.

I'm surprised the turntable even turns. I have an old Caphart from the late 50s and the turntable was basically frozen. The grease they used had hardened to a dry paste. My Caphart has a tube amp and it works well. You should see the spaghetti of wires and components underneath. It's pre circuit board and crazy complicated.

Ahhhh. The stereo of my childhood. I played my first KISS records on a Magnavox exactly like this one back in the mid 70’s. Well done!

Love seeing someone from your generation interested in vintage electronics! After all they are what started it all and should still be understood for when the zombie apocalypse comes lol! Great job and I have one almost just like it except it’s a few years older like 1963 or so. Yours is probably like a 1966 or 1967 by looking at the turntable? Just a guess

My mother had a similar Magnavox console, a bit more upscale. I ended up inheriting it and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Thanks for sharing this!🙏🏻🎧

I grabbed an octagon shaped Magnavox stereo with turntable from my neighbor's garbage. Thing was mint and sounded amazing. I didn't even have to clean the switches or replace the needle.

My mom had one of these, but I remember it when I was 5 yrs old which was in '63. I use to connect my reel to reel stereo to the amp in my teenage years.

In the 70's we use to look for these .Gut them out, cause the turntables were of the crystal type , so crap .BUT the amplifiers and tuner were tube driven so 1#use the amp/tuner and 2# take out the speakers ,make boxes and voila !A free tube sound system.3 to 10 watts/channel .Loud enough !We were 13-14 years young .Much was learned...Cool video .

You should have serviced the record changer. The micromatic is the easiest to repair. Too bad the 45 rpm adapter was missing. I have both of mine, thank goodness. Those things were workhorses.

My Mom and Dad had one of these in our living room and bought it brand new back in the 60s. It also came with a big speaker cabinet that would sit on the other side of the room.

Lid opens, cat wants in. LOLed when you said transistors. The good ones have tubes.