My wife bought a new mono rig !

[imready]

Out doing our Sat. treasure hunt thing and stop at a garage sale. Looked to be a very nice very large burl wood console ditting in the driveway. Walked over to the cabinet, $95 smackers, too rich for my wallet. Had and old SS console there too, ugly as sin and price too high at $20. He starts going thru his sales pitch and I start telling him about all my old tube amps and 1950's 60's speakers. We find some other items and still chatting audio. We pay up and start to leave,he still trying to sell us the tube console, I say I can't afford it. He says you are a pretty cool guy , you can have it for free, the SS console that is. No thanks says I! He says $30 bucks and it yours. My wife say, well take it! I about had a heart attack, maybe my second one this week, lol. About had another heart attack trying to get it in my house, it weights a ton. RCA v225 built in oct. 3,1941. I will need some sonic improvements, hopefully just the turntable. Sorry no pics of the speaker and copper chassis. 6f6 output tubes. No every guy has a mono rig and setereo rig in his main, not to mention his wife footing the bill ! It's good to be the king! john

 

[Joe Willis]

That's a good wife!

 

[KGBMAN]

I need to trade my wife in.

 

[EastPoint]

That's gorgeous. Very nice pickup. Recap it and get it going again!

 

[TheRed1]

Your wife has excellent taste - that console is beautiful!

 

[imready]

I know I got it made, my wife loves the cabinet and it looks nice next to the Heathkit AS-21's. I think I'm going to put my Rek-0-Kut in their, lots of room for a decent table. It has had some cap work done to it and was sold to me in working condition, but you know how that goes. Has lots of metal tubes in it, if I have time today I'll see what I have to replace them as I have heard they are not so good sonically, any truth to that? I repaired the power cord and stuck the amp back in the cabinet, my wife was getting very impatient, she couldn't wait to see it in it place in the great room.

 

[Fisherdude]

your wife has excellent taste - that console is beautiful!

+1!!

 

[larryderouin]

If the tubes test good, and AFTER a RECAP, fire it up. if it sounds good, use the metal tubes. You can roll GT tubes in later. IME I haven't found much difference between a metal and the GT (Glass Tube) version of a tube. The biggest difference is the glow. Metal tubes won't glow normally unless they have a blowtorch on them.

And some tubes DIDN'T have a GT version, so you may be "stuck" with the metal version anyway.

You wanna trade wives? Mine won't buy anything remotely related to audio gear (Have to bribe her to buy batteries for the remote for the TV!).


Larry

 

[Phototone]

I have been examining your photos very carefully, and I believe your turntable is a replacement although from the same era as the console. I believe your console had the RCA changer that played one record then dropped it into the bin visible on the far left of the console behind the door. They first marketed this style of changer in the acoustic era with the Orthophonic Automatic Victrola. I believe your console was probably the last version of this changer idea. It is odd that a common drop changer would be mounted sideways in the space, and it looks to me like the turntable well has been modified to accept the current changer.

 

[imready]

I have been examining your photos very carefully, and I believe your turntable is a replacement although from the same era as the console. I believe your console had the RCA changer that played one record then dropped it into the bin visible on the far left of the console behind the door. They first marketed this style of changer in the acoustic era with the Orthophonic Automatic Victrola. I believe your console was probably the last version of this changer idea. It is odd that a common drop changer would be mounted sideways in the space, and it looks to me like the turntable well has been modified to accept the current changer.

I believe you are correct! I was wondering about the padding and angle of that compartment ,shined a light up and you can see mounting for the original turntable. Must have been hard on records. There is also a notice to take the record out of that area and put them away when you are done with your listening session. Thanks for the information. john

 

[markus]

is the speaker a big red frame 15 incher field coil driver ?

if so, it's REAL close to the RCA theater 15 inchers :thmbsp:

awesome console . . . I swear somewhere in my basement I have the correct TT for it . . .

 

[imready]

is the speaker a big red frame 15 incher field coil driver ?

if so, it's REAL close to the RCA theater 15 inchers :thmbsp:

awesome console . . . I swear somewhere in my basement I have the correct TT for it . . .

looks like a 12" in your basic metal covered frame. My batteries are dead in my camera, otherwise I'd crawl behind it and snap some pictures. john

 

[imready]

pictures of receiver and speaker, taken without actually getting behind the console. Didn't want to move that beast!

 

[gadget73]

Has lots of metal tubes in it, if I have time today I'll see what I have to replace them as I have heard they are not so good sonically, any truth to that?

Nonsense. The metal power tubes actually have higher ratings than the G versions of the same thing. They were an RCA thing too, so metal tubes are correct for that era of radio. Also, keep in mind you're talking about a pre-war AM radio. Its not exactly high fidelity by any stretch. It will sound good but it doesn't have any chance of going 20-20k.

 

[Dadbar]

I have been examining your photos very carefully, and I believe your turntable is a replacement although from the same era as the console. I believe your console had the RCA changer that played one record then dropped it into the bin visible on the far left of the console behind the door. They first marketed this style of changer in the acoustic era with the Orthophonic Automatic Victrola. I believe your console was probably the last version of this changer idea. It is odd that a common drop changer would be mounted sideways in the space, and it looks to me like the turntable well has been modified to accept the current changer.

The original probably used the Victor V225 changer which played both sides of the record and dropped it in the chute to the left.....see this YouTube video for a stroll down memory lane....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHIAa_J0Rqc&feature=related

Very cool find.

 

[markus]

i take it back - I definitely dont have one of those Magic Brain TT's : )

 

[wa2ise]

I know I got it made, my wife loves the cabinet and it looks nice next to the Heathkit AS-21's. I think I'm going to put my Rek-0-Kut in there, lots of room for a decent table.

Oh, just be sure she approves the turntable being replaced. It is hers, after all, and you want to maintain the good karma...

 

[imready]

Brought it up with my lightbulb capacitor helper, the wife didn't like it too much, since she was trying to sleep. She won't care that I replace the turntable if it makes it sound good. It sure looks like a record eaten beastie! The turntable looks to be mostly copper underneath. It's bound up in the linkage somewhere. Radio couldn't hold a station but I may have got the leads to the super double whammy antenna connected incorrectly. Who is going to listen to radio in wyoming anyhow?? Think it's gonna need a recapping and a good checking over. Over and out.

 

[Thespeakerdude8]

beautiful peice! I love all the deco cues on the radio escutcheons. Judging by the retainer clips, this radio probably came with G shape tubes, if the spacing is correct between those two 6v6's. I've got about 10 6v6G's out of consoles this way and they are...NICE...and expensive to replace too. You could use GT's if you wanted, I like to use the G's though for originality.

Typically it is harder, but less expensive, to find tubes with the OEM radio brand on them but in your case it should be easier (RCA) although RCA G shape tubes tend to command a price sometimes.

 

[gadget73]

You'll pull in lots of AM stations at night. You should be able to get stuff from most of the midwest without much trouble. In NJ I can listen to stuff from half the country. I can pull in stations from Atlanta, west to Chicago, north to Boston without trouble.