View Full Version : I'm A Tube Noob!


vinylviola
10-11-2008, 10:42 AM
Hello all -

I've been eyeing tube gear for a while now, and this past week CL saw a nice little Delmonico Consolette scurry by. So I snapped, and picked it up this morning.

Just spent the last 35 minutes figuring out how to get it out of it's atomic age cabinet, and I snapped a couple of pics.

So here we are: me with NO knowledge of tube gear, but a burning curiosity to hear what y'all are talking about...

It has a built-in AM/FM tuner and phono stage - could someone please point me towards some reading/tutorial as far as what I will start to need to learn? It's hooked up and I have it hooked up to the speakers in the console, and both L and R channels are working, and everything sounds clean, unless I start running other electronics in the nearby vicinity.

Anyways, thanks in advance for the avice and pointing me towards what I need to learn. Ready and waiting...

sloober
10-11-2008, 12:06 PM
Ber sure to read the stickies at the top of the tube audio group. While it is great that it is working, before you use it you should replace all the caps inside. Post a photo of the underside if you can. Likely you will have to spend up to 50 bucks for the caps you will need to replace. However, if you fry one of the tubes or transformers, you will have much more trouble.
Nice find. John

vinylviola
10-11-2008, 12:21 PM
Thanks for the heads up. Here's some pics of the underside...

gogofast
10-11-2008, 12:51 PM
wow, looks complicated, but i'm sure you'll do fine.
good luck:thmbsp:

cademan
10-11-2008, 01:04 PM
Power transformerless = live chassis. Be careful! Heater strings are in series meaning that if one tube burns out, the whole thing stops working.

Endspec
10-12-2008, 07:04 AM
I don't see any output trannys ether, I might be blind though. Get a pic of the speaker too, or do the speakers have a transformer on them?