seti Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 I never really know what vintage gear is crap and whats a hidden treasure so I thought I would ask here. I was in my parents storage when I found a deco 1946 46-1203 Philco TT/Tuner in a little wooden cabinet. The first thing I thought was hey it has tubes with a phono stage wonder if it's any good? Is it worth stealing the phono stage from or is it more than likely crapola? The tube compliment is 7c7/50X6/7C6/7A8/7B7/35L6GT. I ws suprised when I plugged it in and it still worked. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Seti: What a great find! For my part, I WOULD NOT tear it apart for it's little phono amplifer -- which would not really work right for a modern stylus. You might fix it up a bit to keep and appreciate as a really neat and still working example of audio history, though. It might be better to not just plug it in and start using it. If it hasn't been used in a long while, an initial inspection for both safety and operation would be in order, and a variac should be used to bring the unit up to working voltages very slowly. This will help recondition old electrolytic filter capacitors (which should probably be replaced), etc. Old-fashioned, twist-lock filter capacitors are available as replacements, too. But this is a GREAT find!!! I have to offer the possibility that what might be 'crap' right now, could very well have been state-of-the-art at the time. It's a relative term, in other words. These old things are very special, though! If it still works, you might have a real gem of an antique! Enjoy it. (why does this sound like something from an edition of Antique Road Show!?) Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boom3 Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Here Here to what Eric said. Mass market stuff of that vintage is best preserved intact, there is nothing special about the phono stage of that genre. If you want to see Da Man of old audio-video gear, go to: http://antiqueradio.org/ Phil is very generous with his advice as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 If it was a 1946 model, the phono was fairly likely to have a crystal cartridge, whose higher gain, more bass and less treble were more equivalent to today's "line" input than a magnetic cart, which needed added gain and equalization. Something about the output depending on the distance the stylus moved, not the speed. I think that a magnetic cart and its more expensive circuitry may still have been a "high-fidelity" novelty in 1946. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 Thanks for the response the tuner works well and the turntable does work but not that well but still amazing since it has been in storage a while. It even has the original documentation. I suppose I won't shred it my eyes just got huge when I saw all those triode tubes LOL.... I did clean it up and put it on my dads shelf he was listening to a football game on it when I left. I am really hyper about getting a tube phono stage for my system but won't have the cash for what I want till spring...blast...I did however win an iPod perhaps I will find someone on audiogon to trade with when I get hmmm... thanks again for the replies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 Seti: Check here for possible replacement parts (ceramic stylus, etc.) www.tubesandmore.com What you have sounds like lots of fun! I have a couple of old radios that I like very much. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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