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Mcs 3233

Thespeakerdude8

Thespeakerdude8

Super Member
I visited goodwill today... I think I must have a problem if I'm pickin up stuff like this! Unless its a crap 8 track receiver, I'm a sucker for silver!

Should I have left it in the bin?

MCS.JPG

It only cost me $3.99 so its not a total waste. It is extremely dirty and two speaker terminals are broken, and vinyl veneer on the case is coming unglued in places. At least all the knobs are there. It has a unique Matrix setting for rear channel speakers, I assume a hafler type setup? Has a midrange control as well, don't see that too often, especially on low end receivers. I think its 35 watts RMS/ch, it uses motorola 2n3055 outputs, so if they ever go all is needed is a trip to the shack.

Heres a gut shot:
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not a bad unit at all. mcs was j.c. penney's house brand. there were several manufacturers that made gear for mcs including nec and technics among others. the gear is comparable in quality to other japanese manufactured units of the period. yours is one of their nicer offerings. there is a social group here on AK for mcs fans. feel free to join!
 
I am using a 3233 after cleaning it up. I think it has an above average tuner and the midrange control is a plus. The below average vinyl top cover, and lightweight tuning knob, makes it seem cheaper than it would be otherwise.
For less than $4, it's a great deal. For $20, I would still consider it a good find.
 
Okay I got her cleaned up! I took the face off and cleaned it with windex and water, then I used Nevr-Dull on the hard yellow stains and finished with car wax. Did the same with the knobs.

Here's a new one for me! The tuner glass had been TINTED by someone! :D Luckily, it was the cheap stuff and peeled right off and cleaned up with windex and wax.

The case is pretty bad, every corner is messed up and I did my best to glue it back down with superglue. Eh, it doesn't look too bad I guess with some cleaning and pledge. Better color at least than Pioneer's vinyl. I haven't vacuumed the inside yet, and it still has three burned out bulbs. Also need to fix the broken speaker jacks. I might replace them with an aluminum plate with binding posts :thmbsp:
After working with even low end Pioneer and Sansui stuff, the build quality doesn't really impress me much :no:
It seems a bit of a waste of space for only 35 watts per channel too, being comparable in size to a SX-1250 or a large Sansui G series amplifier. Designed to compete in looks, not power.

I haven't even checked for audio yet, will do that tomorrow.
MCSafter1.JPG


MCSafter2.JPG
 
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Looks great! I made the mistake of using warm water and dish soap on the face of mine. Lost the "power" and "headphones" letters. Changed the tap to cold water, and all was fine after that.
Picked mine up for $3, and have ended up using it for spare parts...lots of switches and knobs there. :)
 
If I ever come across an MCS unit for cheap I'll be picking it up just to see what she sounds like. Lord knows I sniffed my nose at their stuff back in the the seventies, thinking the build quality wasn't there. All indications are I was dead wrong and should have given one of their big units a try!
 
well I tried it out today. Needs deox-it, but it does sound pretty good! Very warm and mellow as described, bass goes pretty low too! I like it for background music better than my SX-780. Sounds closer to my Sansui 1000x, probably because of the output stage used. I've still got to get around to fixing the broken speaker jacks. I might actually make a case for it too.
 
Most MCS gear that has come through here has all had a warm jr tube sound. Even the ones with STKs still managed to make a warm round sound. MCS are one of those lines that have a house sound and it goes well with some speakers.

DeOxit and you'll likely be surprised at what it comes out like? My 3227 was on the bench last year at my local tech's. He liked it and while aligning it he came up whistling. Seems it had the best AM section of any receiver he had ever had on the bench, and this guy's 67 years old. He's seen a lot of stuff come through his shop. Every once in while, MCS will surprise you :)

That 3227 was built by Itoh Radio for MCS. Look for stickers or silk screens with MFG info?
 
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Very nice unit there, Speakerdude!

I have a 3275 that is driving my AR3a's & it is a very nice combo. If you want to see a pic of it, go to my album site.

You should be happy with the sound. Let us know what speaks you have it coupled to.

Rome
 
Won't Turn On

I recently obtained an MCS 3233, but it won't turn on. Any suggestions on where to start/things to look at or replace?

Thanks,
Chris
 

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You got a good deal for $3.99. I'd pick it up for 3 times that amount. Ultimately I don't think I would consider it a keeper for a long run (mainly because I have too many receivers as it is), but a good system for the bedroom, garage or basement. It was probably pretty respectable for it's price point back in the day (I'm guessing late 70's) and offered more than your standard entry level systems since it does have provisions for two turntables, but more importantly, two tape inputs (the latter of which, one should never take for granted).
 
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lund0397 said:
I recently obtained an MCS 3233, but it won't turn on. Any suggestions on where to start/things to look at or replace?

Thanks,
Chris
Click to expand...

Obvious things first: Have you had a good look at those rear-panel fuses?

Sometimes all of the dial lamps will be open, so the unit may not appear to turn on but actually could be functional.
 
Won't turn on

I looked at the fuses and they all appeared to be fine. I also tried moving them around in case they looked fine, but weren't. No luck. Finally, I hooked up a clamp ammeter and verified no current flow. Any thoughts on how to proceed?

Thanks,
Chris
 
I got the MCS 3233 from craigslist for $16. It powers up but there was no power going into the pre-amp, tuner and phone stage. I noticed this little transistor on the power supply board C945 (I think it's 2SC945) which is a NPN transistor. I had a spare TIP41C and soldered it by matching Emitter, Base and Collector :) and....Voila this this is rocking!! The other thing to watch out is you much turn off the tape monitor (far right knob) in order to get sound!
 
Btw, the vinyl veneer can be heat up with hair dryer and flatten onto the wood panel :-)
I didn't add glue under the vinyl but it seems like sticking down ok. Perhaps when the receiver transistors heats up it might mess it again. It sounds nice when I acquired a pair of KLH 900b. Bass is tight. Voice pops. Stayin' alive Stayin' alive....
 
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