Vintage Stereo Receivers

[DizRotus]

I believe Jim @jimjimbo deserves some of the credit for recommending, and selling, the h/k 630.  Happy to encourage you to relieve Jim of one of his excellent h/k x30s.  Glad you are enjoying the combination.

[JohnA]

20 hours ago, ILI said:

Correct me is I'm wrong, but Technics, at the time, had a huge reputation for quality, while now it is a lesser sought after vintage brand. I recently came across a Sierra branded amplifier, at give away price...  This one certainly has the looks of quality, don't know how it sounds, though. 

 

 

They were solid pieces.  If you don't push them hard they sound nice, but if they clip, the sound is harsh and it takes some time to recover.  1979 was my last year of engineering school.  I worked in a rock quarry during the summers to make money.  While I wish I'd bought one of the bigger receivers, the SA-200 was a good portion of my earnings, that were intended to pay for school expenses.  It powered a pair of Marantz Imperial 7s I'd bought a year, or 2 before and I had/have a Thorens TD-125 with Decca London International arm.  Another guy in the dorm had a Mac preamp and an MC250 driving Large Advents.  My nest door neighbor had Baby Advents.  Fun times. 

 

 

 

[MeloManiac]

On 10/14/2020 at 3:58 AM, Woofers and Tweeters said:

Yamaha, Marantz and Denon... and none have satisfied my ears nearly as much as the old school SS receivers and amps. The newer stuff is faster, but it sounds thin and has no warmth.

Agree! 

My Denon with Rp160m is nice and warm. 

However, my new Marantz pm5005 doesn't go well with my vintage Heresys. The HK430 with the Heresys is excellent! 

[MeloManiac]

On 10/14/2020 at 3:58 AM, Woofers and Tweeters said:

Yamaha, Marantz and Denon... and none have satisfied my ears nearly as much as the old school SS receivers and amps. The newer stuff is faster, but it sounds thin and has no warmth.

Agree! 

There is a nice, quite technical review and history of the harman/kardon x30 amplifiers here:

https://www.highfidelityreview.com/harman-kardon-730-receiver.html

[geoff.]

On 10/19/2020 at 9:37 PM, JohnA said:

 

They were solid pieces.  If you don't push them hard they sound nice, but if they clip, the sound is harsh and it takes some time to recover.  1979 was my last year of engineering school.  I worked in a rock quarry during the summers to make money.  While I wish I'd bought one of the bigger receivers, the SA-200 was a good portion of my earnings, that were intended to pay for school expenses.  It powered a pair of Marantz Imperial 7s I'd bought a year, or 2 before and I had/have a Thorens TD-125 with Decca London International arm.  Another guy in the dorm had a Mac preamp and an MC250 driving Large Advents.  My nest door neighbor had Baby Advents.  Fun times. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny you would bring up the Technics SA-200.

 

About ten years ago a girlfriend was just starting out on her own after her separation and mentioned she needed a stereo. Within a week I found an SA-200 and a pair of Zenith Allegro 3000s at separate thrift stores for a total of about $40. I thought it sounded pretty good so I gifted it to her along with a dvd/cd player I was no longer using.

 

We eventually went our separate ways but stayed friends. Every time I bumped into her she made a point of telling me how many people had been impressed by her sound system.

 

I had the same experience with a Marantz 2226 I bought for a couple hundred bucks a few years back. Disconnected my 100w/ch Onkyo AVR and hooked up the Forte 2s and wondered where all the bass and “fullness” suddenly came from. It ran out of steam when you cranked it, but it came on strong and full until well past spirited listening levels.

[Woofers and Tweeters]

22 hours ago, geoff. said:

On 10/19/2020 at 9:37 PM, JohnA said:

 

They were solid pieces.  If you don't push them hard they sound nice, but if they clip, the sound is harsh and it takes some time to recover.  1979 was my last year of engineering school.  I worked in a rock quarry during the summers to make money.  While I wish I'd bought one of the bigger receivers, the SA-200 was a good portion of my earnings, that were intended to pay for school expenses.  It powered a pair of Marantz Imperial 7s I'd bought a year, or 2 before and I had/have a Thorens TD-125 with Decca London International arm.  Another guy in the dorm had a Mac preamp and an MC250 driving Large Advents.  My nest door neighbor had Baby Advents.  Fun times. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Funny you would bring up the Technics SA-200.

One FS on fbmp $135

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/942645409594152/

 

[Woofers and Tweeters]

22 hours ago, geoff. said:

I had the same experience with a Marantz 2226 I bought for a couple hundred bucks a few years back. Disconnected my 100w/ch Onkyo AVR and hooked up the Forte 2s and wondered where all the bass and “fullness” suddenly came from. It ran out of steam when you cranked it, but it came on strong and full until well past spirited listening levels.

Yep. Most people don't AB the components, so they miss out on the richness.  

[henry4841]

I bought this Fisher 180 receiver a couple of weeks ago to restore and when I received it I was pleasantly surprised on the condition of the receiver. It is almost mint for a 47 year old piece. Only 20 watts which was typical for the year made of 1973. I turned it on and it works excellent as it is now. I will recap it in the future and do some more testing but it is certainly usable as it is now. My thought is I have a good friend that has a very old pair of Fisher speakers. I mean big Fisher speakers with 18" woofers. If he does not want it I will be happy to keep it for myself. Happy camper. 

 

 

[MeloManiac]

I had bought a spray can of Deoxid to clean and repair an amp I bought a thriftstore, so I thought, while I'm busy, I am going to open my HK430 and give it a good cleaning too. I must say the pots etc were more difficult to reach than in the Marantz, but I gave it a lavish treatment all the same. I then let it dry and it was ok when I gave it a try just to see if it was still working. It sounded ok, not much had changed. There had been no cracks anyhow. Then my attention shifted back to the Marantz PM350, which is a nice little amp (see my posts elsewhere).

Today, two days later, I was going for an A/B of the Marantz and the HK and guess what, the HK430 now sounds much brighter than before. So much different that I will have to get used to it. The Marantz (from 1981) sounds fuller (more detailed in the mids and highs) than the HK430. 

So now I'm not sure if the HK430 has the right sound, or if it needs overhauling and recapping... I would prefer to keep the HK430 in original condition, though.

Any thought on this are welcome!

[parlophone1]

I have Sansui 9090DB for 6 years now.

One channel did not work as I got it. Took it to a repair shop and they said that the main volume pot is to blame.

All models at that line (7070, 8080, 9090) use the same volume pot, but it is very hard for me to find second hand. These pots are very sought after.

I never find the time to open up the receiver and check if it has other issues.

Anyway, it is in the closet waiting for better days.

[KROCK]

My Fisher 800-C

[henry4841]

3 hours ago, ILI said:

I had bought a spray can of Deoxid to clean and repair an amp I bought a thriftstore, so I thought, while I'm busy, I am going to open my HK430 and give it a good cleaning too. I must say the pots etc were more difficult to reach than in the Marantz, but I gave it a lavish treatment all the same. I then let it dry and it was ok when I gave it a try just to see if it was still working. It sounded ok, not much had changed. There had been no cracks anyhow. Then my attention shifted back to the Marantz PM350, which is a nice little amp (see my posts elsewhere).

Today, two days later, I was going for an A/B of the Marantz and the HK and guess what, the HK430 now sounds much brighter than before. So much different that I will have to get used to it. The Marantz (from 1981) sounds fuller (more detailed in the mids and highs) than the HK430. 

So now I'm not sure if the HK430 has the right sound, or if it needs overhauling and recapping... I would prefer to keep the HK430 in original condition, though.

Any thought on this are welcome!

Both could use recapping, that is the electrolytic ones. There are various opinions on recapping among restorers but the fact is they are 40 years old and the manufacturers of most electrolytic caps give a life expectancy of 15 years. Let's put it this way, the HK and Marantz would thank you for recapping them if they could talk. 😀 It would assure many more years of working without problems. When caps fail they usually take other components with them. 

[henry4841]

1 hour ago, KROCK said:

My Fisher 800-C

 

Lovely. I like the looks of the Fisher receivers with the gold knobs, as do many others. That 800-C is a very much sought after and prized Fisher. For those that are not familiar with this receiver here is one that may not even work for sale on Ebay.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Fisher-800c-All-tube-amplifier/124269823127?hash=item1cef0f0497:g:b4oAAOSws6JfGIKy

[jvs1670]

I have a HK 730, was getting some noise and scratchiness in the volume so I cleaned it with Deoxit, also sprayed the other knobs and in and around the RCA inputs.  Worked great for awhile then would get random distortion as volume would rise.  Sprayed again (not too much) and moved my speaker connections to the B inputs and it again worked great and sounded awesome.  Now the distortion has returned when the volume goes up, not crazy loud but moderately loud.  The distortion can be in either speaker.

 

Do I need a certain part, is it something I can do myself?   Do I need to spray something I haven't tried yet?    Love to hear some thoughts if you guys have any ideas.  I love this receiver and plan to keep it forever.

 

Thanks

John

[jimjimbo]

38 minutes ago, jvs1670 said:

I have a HK 730, was getting some noise and scratchiness in the volume so I cleaned it with Deoxit, also sprayed the other knobs and in and around the RCA inputs.  Worked great for awhile then would get random distortion as volume would rise.  Sprayed again (not too much) and moved my speaker connections to the B inputs and it again worked great and sounded awesome.  Now the distortion has returned when the volume goes up, not crazy loud but moderately loud.  The distortion can be in either speaker.

 

Do I need a certain part, is it something I can do myself?   Do I need to spray something I haven't tried yet?    Love to hear some thoughts if you guys have any ideas.  I love this receiver and plan to keep it forever.

 

Thanks

John

John, your HK730 needs to be recapped and fully serviced.  The symptoms are indicative of the unit needing to be restored.  I also have a 730 which has unfortunately developed a "hum".

[OO1]

5 hours ago, jvs1670 said:

I have a HK 730, was getting some noise and scratchiness in the volume so I cleaned it with Deoxit, also sprayed the other knobs and in and around the RCA inputs.  Worked great for awhile then would get random distortion as volume would rise.  Sprayed again (not too much) and moved my speaker connections to the B inputs and it again worked great and sounded awesome.  Now the distortion has returned when the volume goes up, not crazy loud but moderately loud.  The distortion can be in either speaker.

 

Do I need a certain part, is it something I can do myself?   Do I need to spray something I haven't tried yet?    Love to hear some thoughts if you guys have any ideas.  I love this receiver and plan to keep it forever.

 

Thanks

John

could be bad solder joints in the power supply section or bad caps ,pretty typical for the Brand and Model  , age of the equipment   -

 

ideally , look for the service manual online , then take the power supply out and ,   with a magnifier , check the power supply  board for bad solder joints , and verify the caps ,  you'll most likely see a few bulged caps and a few caps should test bad    ---

 

-if you cant do the work yourself , take the board to a technician and have him test it , reflow the solder  ,replace the bad caps  ----about 100$ in labor parts about 30$ -

[Bubo]

1 hour ago, jvs1670 said:

I have a HK 730, was getting some noise and scratchiness in the volume so I cleaned it with Deoxit, also sprayed the other knobs and in and around the RCA inputs.  Worked great for awhile then would get random distortion as volume would rise.  Sprayed again (not too much) and moved my speaker connections to the B inputs and it again worked great and sounded awesome.  Now the distortion has returned when the volume goes up, not crazy loud but moderately loud.  The distortion can be in either speaker.

 

Do I need a certain part, is it something I can do myself?   Do I need to spray something I haven't tried yet?    Love to hear some thoughts if you guys have any ideas.  I love this receiver and plan to keep it forever.

 

Thanks

John

 

Open it up

Blow it out with compressed air, outside.

Check the DC offset with a multi meter on the speaker terminals, write down the numbers, which should be almost the same.

Take notes and photos as you go

Inspect all of the components for damage, leaks and hot spots

Inspect all of the solder joints carefully, for me this means in sunlight with a magnifying glass

I have found cracked and cold solder joints, that when retouched, the system problems disappeared.

Inspect the board carefully for hot spots, browning.

Inspect the caps for swelling and leakage, if you see any don't power on until replaced.

Hose down the inside of the RCA connectors with CRC, clean the outside with std chrome polish from any auto parts store using a clean rag. They can be really gritty.

Flush all of the switches and connectors with inexpensive CRC, allow to dry, then flush with Deoxit, repeat with Deoxit 24 hours later. Spread some clean rag or paper towels for the over-spray.

Check the wires and power cord for dry rot. Sometimes the old power cords have been bent one too many times and the broken wires cause all kinds of noise. May be a good idea to replace when you restore.

Take a thermal image, or without frying yourself put fingers on all of the output transistors at the same time too see if any are hot or hotter than the others. Same for the rest of the transistors.

Find the power trimmer varistors, and hose them down like the switches. Don't attempt to move the trimmers.

If everything is OK, the CAPS are beyond the Specified life, and should be replaced soon.

Also replace the power cord and DC protection switch if it has one, if not consider having one added. DIY sells one, and other on e-bay.

 

Post your inspection results here.....

[mike stehr]

My Kenwood KR3400 is still holding up well...

 

Kenwood receivers and Klipsch? - Solid State - The Klipsch Audio Community

[geezin']

My modified Fisher 440T. As time goes on I'm becoming rather fond of it.

 

[jvs1670]

On 12/26/2020 at 12:13 PM, Bubo said:

 

Open it up

Blow it out with compressed air, outside.

Check the DC offset with a multi meter on the speaker terminals, write down the numbers, which should be almost the same.

Take notes and photos as you go

Inspect all of the components for damage, leaks and hot spots

Inspect all of the solder joints carefully, for me this means in sunlight with a magnifying glass

I have found cracked and cold solder joints, that when retouched, the system problems disappeared.

Inspect the board carefully for hot spots, browning.

Inspect the caps for swelling and leakage, if you see any don't power on until replaced.

Hose down the inside of the RCA connectors with CRC, clean the outside with std chrome polish from any auto parts store using a clean rag. They can be really gritty.

Flush all of the switches and connectors with inexpensive CRC, allow to dry, then flush with Deoxit, repeat with Deoxit 24 hours later. Spread some clean rag or paper towels for the over-spray.

Check the wires and power cord for dry rot. Sometimes the old power cords have been bent one too many times and the broken wires cause all kinds of noise. May be a good idea to replace when you restore.

Take a thermal image, or without frying yourself put fingers on all of the output transistors at the same time too see if any are hot or hotter than the others. Same for the rest of the transistors.

Find the power trimmer varistors, and hose them down like the switches. Don't attempt to move the trimmers.

If everything is OK, the CAPS are beyond the Specified life, and should be replaced soon.

Also replace the power cord and DC protection switch if it has one, if not consider having one added. DIY sells one, and other on e-bay.

 

Post your inspection results here.....

That is one comprehensive list, thank you.  Also worries me because I think I'm in over my head even attempting most of what you suggest.  I'm gonna take a peek inside again but I think I'm going to have to get it looked at when all is said and done.  Guess I don't mind spending a few bucks if it can be fixed.