my mom gave me her ampex console. bought new in the early sixties. it appears to be stock and very clean. i know it has not been plugged in for 30 yrs. the cabinet is marked "sherman clay" and she used it as furniture. i took off back remarkably clean vacuumed dust etc. it has a ampex am/fm stereo tuner, ampex stereo pre-amp. garrard rc88/4 turntable. two 15 watt 6973 mono blocks ? this is what it's doing, plug in to power/ little red light on bottom front of cabinet comes on. tubes in mono blocks light up.turn on power to tuner, turn on power to pre-amp, select tuner am or fm, dial in station the tuning eyes get me fixed although the needle indicator seems off a bit. the sound comes from the right speakers, but not the left. the speakers sound crackly, and the volume seems weak.switch to turntable which works put on a album sound from both speakers but crackly and weak. also the left side has a loud hum with the tuner and turntable off. the little red light never goes off unless i un-plug the unit
ampex 6973 crescendo
- Thread starter smogdoc
- Start date
blhagstrom
Mad Scientist, fixer.
Stupidly valuable gear.
Should be inspected by someone knowledgeable about tube gear.
You probably shouldn’t have powered it up cold after all those years, but that’s history now.
I suppose you are much too far away from anyone that knows how to deal with that.
Where are you? We may know someone close that is capable of helping.
Should be inspected by someone knowledgeable about tube gear.
You probably shouldn’t have powered it up cold after all those years, but that’s history now.
I suppose you are much too far away from anyone that knows how to deal with that.
Where are you? We may know someone close that is capable of helping.
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Hi, welcome to AK. Sounds like you have a nice console, how about posting pictures so we can see what you have?
There are post at the top of the tube forum that deal with high voltage and dealing with long dormant tube gear. Take a look at them before you go poking around in there. You don't want to hurt yourself or the gear.
Since it's been in the family for a long time, I would try and get it electrically restored so it can be around a few more generations.
BillWojo
There are post at the top of the tube forum that deal with high voltage and dealing with long dormant tube gear. Take a look at them before you go poking around in there. You don't want to hurt yourself or the gear.
Since it's been in the family for a long time, I would try and get it electrically restored so it can be around a few more generations.
BillWojo
thanks, blhagstrom,Fairlane,BillWojo, I get the point and will listen. i'm in the calif. central valley not far from modesto. i'll try to upload some pics.
Nothing shows...
blhagstrom
Mad Scientist, fixer.
After you upload the photo, you need to click the button for how you want the photo posted in the thread.
Who knows a good vintage tube tech down there?
Who knows a good vintage tube tech down there?
thanks Bill, I posted some pics, don't know if their visible to you or not, i hope so. but another question the main power cord is appx. 8-10 ft. long 2 prong, no ground. someone i presume my dad. installed a cut off switch in the power cord, close to where it enters the cabinet back. will the break in "continuity" have a bad effect on total performance do you think? mark
blhagstrom
Mad Scientist, fixer.
Odd.
Everything plugs into the pre-amp.
That switch turns everything on and off.
Maybe he did that to keep unwelcome fingers from mucking with his stereo.
Those were not cheap when new at all!
I “think” they were like $900 range in the early 60s. THAT was serious coin then.
As long as the switches are good, no problem.
A bad switch self destructs itself.
Everything plugs into the pre-amp.
That switch turns everything on and off.
Maybe he did that to keep unwelcome fingers from mucking with his stereo.
Those were not cheap when new at all!
I “think” they were like $900 range in the early 60s. THAT was serious coin then.
As long as the switches are good, no problem.
A bad switch self destructs itself.
Thanks bl. all accessories our routed through the pre-amp. turn it off all is dead. except the little red lamp on the bottom of the console. did my pics appear? mark
blhagstrom
Mad Scientist, fixer.
Photos are showing.
Looks very similar to mine.
Looks very similar to mine.
CoastinHome
Well-Known Member
@smogdoc
Nice console! It's not a Crescendo; same amplifiers though. The 4608 is one of Ampex's "Custom" consoles -- this one from late 1959 or 1960.
I'm very curious why the power indicator at the bottom of the cabinet would be on. That I have seen, the power indicator is a 6.3V incandescent that is powered at 3.15V from the filament winding on one of the power amplifiers. The power amplifiers should be powered off with everything else in the console when the "control center" preamplifier power is turned off.
Nice console! It's not a Crescendo; same amplifiers though. The 4608 is one of Ampex's "Custom" consoles -- this one from late 1959 or 1960.
I'm very curious why the power indicator at the bottom of the cabinet would be on. That I have seen, the power indicator is a 6.3V incandescent that is powered at 3.15V from the filament winding on one of the power amplifiers. The power amplifiers should be powered off with everything else in the console when the "control center" preamplifier power is turned off.
