Pilot Stereo Consoles

Rach3maninoff

Speaker Magnate
One of the best memories I have of my great uncle was his love for good music and audio equipment - a love that has been instilled in me from my childhood. He had a Pilot stereo console w/SA232 amp, SP210 preamp, exactly like the one in these pictures (he later took out the Garrard changer and retrofitted with a Dual 1015). I have been hoping that I might have the good fortune of finding one of these beauties dating back to around 1958-59. Fat Chance, huh?
 

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They're out there, and if you search for a while you'll probably land one. Be prepared to pay top dollar for it when you find it, though - that's a coveted vintage amp and pre, for good reason.
 
You should be able to find the amp and preamp as separates, I know they are out there. A fully complete console is going to be a taller order, especially if you need it local.
 
I was this close to a Pilot console similar to that. But the seller had second thoughts and decided to keep it at the last minute, for sentimental, or so she said, reasons.

I never did find out what exactly was inside. But from her description, it could very well have had a 232/210 inside.

I found in this hobby the biggest virtue is patience. Great gear is still out ther if you keep your eyes and ears open.
 
Be patient, squirrel away your money, and do the required reading and research so you know value, and can recognize a potential find when you walk in a room.

Since your dad had one, it would be well worth paying funny money to obtain a working unit. I once was standing at an estate sale property at 3 am in the morning in order to buy a Marantz receiver identical to the one my dad had when I was growing up. Four years later, I still smile when I see it.

Being able to relive memories is priceless. :yes:
 
Be patient, squirrel away your money, and do the required reading and research so you know value, and can recognize a potential find when you walk in a room.

Since your dad had one, it would be well worth paying funny money to obtain a working unit. I once was standing at an estate sale property at 3 am in the morning in order to buy a Marantz receiver identical to the one my dad had when I was growing up. Four years later, I still smile when I see it.

Being able to relive memories is priceless. :yes:

Especially when they sound as good as a high-quality Marantz or Pilot. :D Believe me, I wouldn't want to relieve the memories of the stuff my parents had when I was growing up. In fact, I've been helping them replace all of it with much better gear.
 
They're out there, and if you search for a while you'll probably land one. Be prepared to pay top dollar for it when you find it, though - that's a coveted vintage amp and pre, for good reason.

A little more than 10 years after this post, I have found a C-1078 console w/SA-232 power amp, 590 tuner/pre, and retrofitted with a Garrard Zero 100 TT instead of the Garrard RC-88/4. I plan to pull the plug on it tomorrow, and hope to pick it up in the near future. First order of business will be a recap!
 
Thats an FA-590 tuner I think? I have one of those. Its pretty much the 580 tuner and the SP-210 preamp. Preamp isn't dead-exact, mostly the difference is AC heaters vs DC. Not as quiet. On my list of things to do is change my 590 to DC heat to quiet the phono section down.
 
This was the inside of the 232 amp as I receive it. And then after I cleaned it up. With the help from Jim Mcshane and all that shared here it came out really nice. I really haven't use it that much. I wondering if it even had a chance to settle in. They do clean up really nice.

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Here is the C-1078 that I picked up last night for $75.00. Even with dimensions of 31” x 38” x 18”, and the fact that it fit like a glove in the back of my daughter’s Jeep Liberty, doesn’t change that fact that it was a heavy sucker to load. I took the seller’s word that everything works; nevertheless I have NOT powered it up because I do not have a variac to do that with. I noticed that the retrofitted turntable is a Garrard Zero 92 and not a 100. I’m looking forward to getting to work on it!

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Congrats and welcome to the Pilot console owners club! I think you'll be rewarded for the 10 year search. Those gold faced units are stunning and the consoles have a classy look that doesn't go out of style. A SA-232 equipped console in the wild has got to be a very rare find. Thanks for sharing your journey and look forward to following your restoration on this one.
 
Four months later, and I have had the SA-232 recapped and retubed. I ran with a passive pre, until I had the FA-590 recently recapped. The FA-590 / SA-232 combo with my AR-XA is sounding pretty sweet in standalone mode through a pair of Electro Voice Marquis cabinets with TR12XB coaxes. The jury is still out on the cabinet and existing speakers. The Garrard Zero 92 may wind up being more of a headache to fix than I care to spend any more mental anguish with.

 
Four months later, and I have had the SA-232 recapped and retubed. I ran with a passive pre, until I had the FA-590 recently recapped. The FA-590 / SA-232 combo with my AR-XA is sounding pretty sweet in standalone mode through a pair of Electro Voice Marquis cabinets with TR12XB coaxes. The jury is still out on the cabinet and existing speakers.

Congrats!! and yeah that cabinet has seen better days
 
The Z-92 wouldn't have been original anyway. Pilot changers were earlier model Garrards. If you want it more period-proper, a Type A or RC-210 is probably a better match. I might seek out an A-70. Its a side pusher like the Type A, but its the last evolution of that design and it would look a little more appropriate under the lid. It is some 10 years newer than the rest of the console though.

I have a Zero-100. Basically the same mechanism. It requires a full tear-down and cleaning otherwise you don't have a lot of hope of it behaving itself. Any old changer needs the same work honestly.

What are the stock internal speakers? Most console speakers are a weak point, but possibly rebuilding the crossover could get you some improvements. I'd probably be tempted to make them work as good as they're going to but keep it connected to external speakers.
 
The Z-92 wouldn't have been original anyway. Pilot changers were earlier model Garrards. If you want it more period-proper, a Type A or RC-210 is probably a better match. I might seek out an A-70. Its a side pusher like the Type A, but its the last evolution of that design and it would look a little more appropriate under the lid. It is some 10 years newer than the rest of the console though.

I have a Zero-100. Basically the same mechanism. It requires a full tear-down and cleaning otherwise you don't have a lot of hope of it behaving itself. Any old changer needs the same work honestly.

What are the stock internal speakers? Most console speakers are a weak point, but possibly rebuilding the crossover could get you some improvements. I'd probably be tempted to make them work as good as they're going to but keep it connected to external speakers.
True on the Garrard - I noticed immediately when I saw the ad that Zero 92 was not the original changer. The original was a Garrard RC88/4. My great uncle had a Pilot 1075 console which I enjoyed a lot. He retrofitted his with a Dual 1015 in the late 60’s.

As for the internal speakers, they are Jensens - from what I understand, not much to write home about. Nevertheless, I’ll tinker with them a little when I have some time.
 
RC88 isn't a bad machine, but not the finest thing either. I have one as my 78 changer. I think Pilot called that the RC-1. The RC210 was the RC-2. If you have the original plug you can adapt the auto shut-down to any changer though. They all had the switches for that purpose.

The crossovers often seem to run the big driver full range, and then the mid and/or tweeter has a simple cap to keep the lows out. The tweeter rarely goes way up either. If you can put together a proper 3 way crossover to cut the big speaker off so there isn't so much midrange overlap it usually helps a lot. Makes it less loud so there is actually some bottom end. Update the tweeter to something that tweets and you might have something. Probably still imperfect but likely better than what it is now. Did that with my Hoffman. The amps are better than the speakers but at least now its something I can stand to listen to.
 
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