birchoak
Hi-Fi Nut
I stumbled across this receiver surfing Ebay one night and the trifecta was there: very clean unit, reputable seller, low price + shipping. So I pulled the trigger, and after checking the unit inside and out, I powered it up with a DBT, then played some music through my crappy test speakers (there isn't even a name on them; that's how shameful they are). Well, this receiver made even the test speakers sound good, so I tried a pair of Layfayette speakers I climbed into a dumpster to retrieve about a year ago. Wow! I then paired them with the Wharfedale Dentons and, man, I never heard those speakers sing like that before!
The Sherwood is a small, 25 watt receiver (a Marantz 2230 in its case dwarfs it) and weighs barely 20 lbs., but it absolutely kicks ass and sounds much louder than its power rating would suggest. Curious, I took a closer look at the thing. From what I can see, everything (except the new LED dial lights) is stock and therefore 49 years old. It pulls in clean, strong FM in both channels with no drift. There are no switches on the back panel to get dirty and foul up the music signal. The case has no vents or slots, so the wee beasty is very clean inside and one need not fear damage from fluid spills (why do people put their drinks on top of stereo equipment?). The ON/OFF switch is also the VOLUME switch, so there is absolutely no way to turn the thing on with the volume at a dangerous level. I've heard this switch can go and may resort to activating the Sherwood with a power strip, but it seems just dandy right now.
Taking the case apart, there are a few pleasant surprises. Like other older receivers from this era, there are no visible screws or fasteners to interrupt the surface of the lovely wooden case; the chassis slips out of the case after you loosen a handful of very substantial machine screws on the bottom of the unit. From there, you remove the steel bottom by removing only two screws! Well, that's easy. The face plate comes off like this: pull off the seven knobs, then twist off a few retaining nuts. That's it. No screws holding the face plate on whatsoever, and yet the mounting configuration is sturdy. So simple!
Inside, there's virtually no dust, and plenty of space. Things are laid out neatly and the dial pointer is simply a flourescent paint job--no teeny wires and bulbs to contend with, and I like that. Sherwood kept it simple and elegant with this model. The bulbs are not crowded at all and easy to get at (try changing the bulbs in a Bose Spatial Control Receiver and you'll appreciate this feature big time). Two big caps are secured with a steel hoop on the top of the board; underneath you'll find one fat cap secured with its own steel hoop. It's so bloody simple!
That this thing sounds so good, let alone works, with 49 year old components blows my mind. I hit the tuning head with some Deoxit drops and flooded the controls with Deoxit, then let it dry upstairs in a warm room for a few days to be on the safe side. I am considering a slow, careful recap, stopping after every few caps to test my work via DBT and playing music through it. I wouldn't recap the whole thing at once.
I don't know how, but the thing seems to have more oomph than my recapped 2230 and was a hell of a lot more affordable. The five lower knobs are solid aluminum and the inner dial is real glass. I would buy another one tomorrow.
The Sherwood is a small, 25 watt receiver (a Marantz 2230 in its case dwarfs it) and weighs barely 20 lbs., but it absolutely kicks ass and sounds much louder than its power rating would suggest. Curious, I took a closer look at the thing. From what I can see, everything (except the new LED dial lights) is stock and therefore 49 years old. It pulls in clean, strong FM in both channels with no drift. There are no switches on the back panel to get dirty and foul up the music signal. The case has no vents or slots, so the wee beasty is very clean inside and one need not fear damage from fluid spills (why do people put their drinks on top of stereo equipment?). The ON/OFF switch is also the VOLUME switch, so there is absolutely no way to turn the thing on with the volume at a dangerous level. I've heard this switch can go and may resort to activating the Sherwood with a power strip, but it seems just dandy right now.
Taking the case apart, there are a few pleasant surprises. Like other older receivers from this era, there are no visible screws or fasteners to interrupt the surface of the lovely wooden case; the chassis slips out of the case after you loosen a handful of very substantial machine screws on the bottom of the unit. From there, you remove the steel bottom by removing only two screws! Well, that's easy. The face plate comes off like this: pull off the seven knobs, then twist off a few retaining nuts. That's it. No screws holding the face plate on whatsoever, and yet the mounting configuration is sturdy. So simple!
Inside, there's virtually no dust, and plenty of space. Things are laid out neatly and the dial pointer is simply a flourescent paint job--no teeny wires and bulbs to contend with, and I like that. Sherwood kept it simple and elegant with this model. The bulbs are not crowded at all and easy to get at (try changing the bulbs in a Bose Spatial Control Receiver and you'll appreciate this feature big time). Two big caps are secured with a steel hoop on the top of the board; underneath you'll find one fat cap secured with its own steel hoop. It's so bloody simple!
That this thing sounds so good, let alone works, with 49 year old components blows my mind. I hit the tuning head with some Deoxit drops and flooded the controls with Deoxit, then let it dry upstairs in a warm room for a few days to be on the safe side. I am considering a slow, careful recap, stopping after every few caps to test my work via DBT and playing music through it. I wouldn't recap the whole thing at once.
I don't know how, but the thing seems to have more oomph than my recapped 2230 and was a hell of a lot more affordable. The five lower knobs are solid aluminum and the inner dial is real glass. I would buy another one tomorrow.
