RCA Victor New Vista Restoratio / Restomod

I recently aquired a RCA Victor New Vista console style stereo from my wifes grandfather. The piece is in A1 condition furniture, wood wise. See attached photo of the type that mine is. As far as the stereo, it turns on, volume does not work great, will pop and buzz very loud when volume is adjusted, then back to almost unhearable volume levels. Record player works but does not spin. I really like this stereo for its great vintage antique look and family history. I would like to use it under my 60" flat screen (hung on wall) as the stereo/audio center for the tv room. I would like to do a solid restoration/restomod. I am not sure if the insides on these things are good enough quality for modern sound or if I should replace all the guts with modern receiver, speakers, sub, outputs in the back, optical, hdmi, etc.I dont want to botch it, but I think a tastefully done resto mod could be great. I plan on keeping this for a long time so I am willing to invest some money to make sure it is done right and has A1 sound and quality. I would like it on the level of a nice Klipsch system.

This beats having floor speakers sitting around. Open to comments or suggestions.

JBassett99 wrote:I recently aquired a RCA Victor New Vista console style stereo........

........I would like it on the level of a nice Klipch system.

It's a console stereo.

In top functioning condition, it sounds wonderful to the majority of people.
It also will certainly need a complete restoration - I've done many of them over the years.
But..... it's a console, not high-performance Hi-Fi.

That was why I was thinking of a resto-mod. If the insides are old and not what im looking for, i could replace everything on the interior, speakers, etc, with all new equipment. Just use the "wooden box" to nicely conceal the setup? Has anyone seen this done?

If it's in your posession, feel free to use your imagination, - it can be whatever you want it to be.

When it comes to "upgrade" versus "restore," I've always opted for restoration. While your stereo is not rare, by any means, and has no great market value as a collectible--at this time--it IS a pristine looking example of "Mid-Century Modern," and a part of your family's history. If it were mine, I'd opt for a first rate restoration of the components, including the speakers. Since that would probably be the last full overhaul done in YOUR lifetime, it would be worth the investment, considering the fact that once restored, it will provide a warm, lush, room-filling sound quality that modern components cannot match.

A less expensive option, of course, would be to gut it out and install "state of the art" components, which may be more well suited to your personal taste in music, especially if you prefer "Hip Hop," "Rap" (shudder) or "Techno." If this is the case, you might want to box the original parts and save them for later generations to restore.

That's just my two cents, based on years of finding pristine looking, circa 1910-1920 (higher end model) Victrolas that have been gutted out by bored housewives and turned into liquor cabinets, or stuffed with circa 1970s turntables and amplifiers--all of them completely valueless today, since the original gold-plated parts were tossed.

JDS

I live in the Indianapolis area. Anyone have a suggestion of someone close that is good who could do a restoration right and give me an estimate?

The only one I know of in your area is Camden Antique Radio Service -- http://www.camdenantiqueradioservice.com/ -- in Noblesville. I've never used them, but they might be a good place to check out for starters.

JDS

If I were you and it were at all possible to find replacement components, parts, etc., I would do a restoration only. The top model RCA stereo consoles have a phenomenal sound. I own an RCA-Victor New Vista model VLT75W, which is one of the full-size consoles and it sounds like a million bucks. Just by listening to it you'd NEVER know that the power amp is only rated at 23 watts RMS per channel. Mine features the active integrated circuit phonograph cartridge. The speaker system is a 4-way system: 15" X 10" oval woofers, a 4" x 6" metal horn mid-range, and 2 3" paper cone tweeters.

If your setup is anything like mine, please only restore it to original condition. Do not modernize it. Keep it original.

Will Crump wrote:If I were you and it were at all possible to find replacement components, parts, etc., I would do a restoration only. The top model RCA stereo consoles have a phenomenal sound. I own an RCA-Victor New Vista model VLT75W, which is one of the full-size consoles and it sounds like a million bucks. Just by listening to it you'd NEVER know that the power amp is only rated at 23 watts RMS per channel. Mine features the active integrated circuit phonograph cartridge. The speaker system is a 4-way system: 15" X 10" oval woofers, a 4" x 6" metal horn mid-range, and 2 3" paper cone tweeters.

If your setup is anything like mine, please only restore it to original condition. Do not modernize it. Keep it original.

Good advice Will.
I recently restored a VHT52W for a guy down in Florida.
He shipped me up the guts to my shop here.
A few weeks after I sent him down the restored guts to re-install in the console, he sent me a real nice email of how him and his wife danced to Linda Ronstadt's Blue Bayou.
And then they threw an oldies party and how it (the stereo) was the hit of the party.
Yes, they DO sound sweet, and can again!

And unlike a lot of stuff today, will LAST for decades.

Thanks for validating my advice to the individual who was wondering whether or not to do a restoration on an RCA console he purchased.

Due to personal circumstances, my New Vista has been in storage for Y-E-A-R-S. I run an extension cord to the unit every so often and play a record and turn the radio on. Hopefully this will keep it from dying on me. I know I'll need to spray the potentiometers with contact cleaner once I can find my own place and have room for it. What can be done to recondition the woofer cones if they have not rotted out? The unit is in a utility building covered with plastic and a sheet.

Just in case, does anyone know of a vintage radio repair shop anywhere in the Memphis or Jackson, TN area?

Will...
As far as I know, there unfortunately aren't many of us vintage service techs around this country.
I know it's difficult to find any, the customers that flock to me for service all tell me the same thing.
I get people sending me stuff from as far away as Canada and Miami, Texas, etc.
One nice couple hauled an RCA Victor console in their back seat up from Virginia to me here in Phila a few years ago.

Finding someone decent is hard too.
One of my customers waiting became impatient (I'm so backlogged) that they went to some guy in NJ to get their radio worked on.
The poor guy almost had to file a lawsuit to get his radio back!
And nothing was done to repair it!
Additionally, the so-called NJ service guy damaged the grillcloth on the radio and scratched up the cabinet.
Naturally, I had to repair this additional damage, and the customer was pleased, stating they should have waited, but learned a lesson.
So, I hate to hear horror stories about some of these "servicers" out there. - do some homework and locate a reputable tech to avoid problems.

As for storage - best to keep it dry and avoid using it until proper service can be done - I don't believe occasional use helps much, because aging still continues regardless, and in an instant, an aged part can pop, causing more damage.

Hopefully, when it comes time to do your set, you'll be able to locate someone to make it sing sweet again.

Thanks for the reply Matt.

Actually I am an electronics technician. I took a 2-year course right after I graduated high school back in 1988(yikes!!)

Finding parts is going to be the really hard part. For one thing, I know for a fact this particular stereo's output transistors are old germanium transistors in the TO-3 package. I haven't used my electronics skills in so long and even though I remember my stereo repair experience, I don't want to risk ruining this wonderful unit by making a rookie mistake, which I would be apt to do after being away from it for so long. I have a Sam's Photofact on the unit with the original RCA part numbers, but I'll bet RCA doesn't still make any of them.

Also, where would I ever be able to find a good set of the 15" oval woofers if my cones have dry-rotted in storage? Another couple of items I'd want to replace are the idler wheel on the record changer and the cartridge. If you read my earlier posts my console has the active I.C. cartridge. How hard is that Integrated Circuit Active cartridge to replace?

De-Ox It from MCM electronics should do a fine job of cleaning the potentiometers and switches. I look forward to hearing from you, and thanks again my friend.

Those "Dia-phonic" oval woofers hold up well - I've never had to replace any in all the consoles I've done.
Unless some kid poked holes in them.

Those TO-3 germaniums aren't only in the amp - there's also one in the power supply as well.
If the filter caps go south, so will that transistor - so using "as is" is just asking for trouble.
Being a servicer, and having numerous accounts with suppiers, I usually don't have an issue with finding parts, and I try to keep my stock healthy as well.
The "DIY" crowd of course doesn't have those "luxuries" and naturally it makes any job harder.
I don't trust e-pray sellers if that's all one has to lean on, I've got too much at stake to be held up with mistaken descriptions of parts.

Hi, Matt.
About how much would it cost for the shipping alone to send the tuner chassis and the power amp/supply to you when I am financially able to do so? What is the median cost of shipping at the present time?

Depending on what I can find out from and buy from Voice Of Music, I may want to send the record changer as well and let you recondition the idler/ clean and re-lube the motor and grease the changer mechanism and perhaps refresh the damper fluid on the cue lever so that the tone arm raise and lower is slow, smooth, and soft. I'd box each item separately.

Hope to hear from you again, Matt!! I love talking about old console stereos.

G.E. made some darn nice consoles as well back in the 60's. My Aunt has one in a Spanish cabinet. The speaker grilles have woodwork in front of them and what is meant to look like decorative wrought-iron work. The finish is very dark and the thing weighs a country ton!! I can't lift one end by myself!! I kid you not.

The speakers are completely enclosed sides and back like a speaker box and lined with acoustic foam. The woofers have a plastic cover on the back and if you remove that, you see the voice coil. My cousin swears up and down those speakers were forerunners of the Peavey Spyders. The woofers are 12", I think. They're round.

The bass is so deep and solid. It has two sound enhancement features: Bass Boost and Contour. I remember years ago listening to "Fly Robin Fly" by The Silver Convention on that stereo while I was upstairs in her old house. The room I was in had a mirrored dresser and that stereo rattled the mirror. You could hear it!!

It still works like a champ to this day. Would I be correct in saying RCA Victor, Zenith, and G.E. were the top brands for consoles back in that era? I've seen some pictures posted by folks who collect Curtis Mathis consoles, but they all have small woofers. They were stingy with the woofer size from what I've seen. The woofers I saw might be 8" round.

I didn't now Fisher made a console stereo. How do their units sound? Do they stack up to the RCA New Vistas? Anybody can feel free to chime in on a comparison of the sound quality of the various stereo consoles.

When I posted about the RCA New Vista console stereo I own, I said it was a VLT 75W. I was wrong. It's a VLT 65S.
I checked on my baby yesterday. I plugged her in and gave her a listen. There was no hum present, so the caps are holding although I do plan to re-cap the unit once I have a job. The record changer's platter speed is still spot-on.

I have a Sam's photofact on my unit, so I don't have to worry about guessing any of the capacitor values.

I will be purchasing some Murphy's Oil Soap so that I can clean and condition the cabinet and hopefully keep the beautiful finish from being damaged in any way. I made sure she was completely covered when I was finished listening to it and cleaning it. I dusted the record changer, the tuner face plate, and that entire compartment.

I put the unit on aux. where there was no music input and turned the volume up. No hum of any kind.