Now Enjoying the Magnavox of my dreams

I know I made a post saying that I finally got this lovely Magnavox off of my neighbor Rose who has had this stereo for many years. This stereo really made the formal living room in her house stand out. I am listening to it now on the CD reciever that I have hooked up to it. The sound is unbelievable. If the volume is turned up to the almost halfway mark the unit gets quite loud. It has much more power than any other Magnavox I have ever had.

Of course I had to take the back of the set off to plug in the CD player. When I took the back off, I saw the sealed speaker enclosures and the huge tube amp that's in it. The tube amp looks much larger than any of the amps that were in my previous stereo consoles.

I am aware that this unit needs to be completely overhauled in order to be able to enjoy it fully for the next 40 or 50 years. I got the set and all of her records for $100.00. So I am willing to spend money to get the set completely overhauled. However I want to keep all of the original parts. such as the turntable, tuner, and amp. I will not be replacing it with more modern stuff. I hate it when people do that.

Once I got this gorgeous set in my house, I took a lot of pictures. What I want you all to see is pictures of my actually stereo. These arn't pictures I just copied and pasted from the internet. These are actually my pictures and I took them. As I said, I've waited for this set for a long time and I intend to enjoy it. I'm so proud of it that I just have to show it off!!

Well that's another great save! That is truly magnificent, the cabinet style and finish are superb! I have three French Provincial pieces, a 1966 Magnavox Beaumont, a 1970 40 watt console, and a 1971 armoire stereo theatre. I hope you can enjoy it as long as the original owners did!

71stereotheatre wrote:Well that's another great save! That is truly magnificent, the cabinet style and finish are superb! I have three French Provincial pieces, a 1966 Magnavox Beaumont, a 1970 40 watt console, and a 1971 armoire stereo theatre. I hope you can enjoy it as long as the original owners did!

The best thing would be to pull the plug, and have it immediately restored before anything cooks.
Once that happens, the cost of the restoration will skyrocket.

To quote someone recently on another site:
"I recently aquired a Magnavox Console, and everything was working fine - so fine that I thought I could (maybe) not replace the electrolytic caps.
Well I was wrong, and it took out the power transformer.
The tranny started to smoke and got really hot...."

71StereoTheater thank you so much for your compliment. I am enjoying this set immensely and I can't be happier that I have it. As far as MattTech's comment goes, I said this once, and I will say it again I am planning on having this professionally restored, by no means am I going to neglect it. But on the other hand, I have no intentions on "pulling the plug" I have waited 13 LONG years to inherit this set off my elderly neighbor and I'm certainly not going to listen to someone when they tell me to "pull the plug"

Matt-Tech, I am not saying you don't know your stuff, but believe me, I would know it if it wasn't safe to plug this machine in. Rose and her late husband took excellent care of this set and I know for a fact that she did not sell it to me just so it could sit in my room "Collecting the dust" until I save enough money to get it restored. I am going to use it and enjoy it. It would be different if I didn't know this units history. I knew that it was plugged in until the very day I bought it from her and that she used it at least every other week.

Quite frankly, Matt-Tech I think you are jealous that I have a "stereo" like this and you don't. This stereo "unrestored" I'm sure will out perform any sound system you have ever owned. If
you google this, you will see that this is one of the "FINEST" sets Magnavox ever made. I have had many other stereo consoles and other units, and this is by FAR the BEST I've ever had and what 71stereotheater said was right. I AM going to enjoy this as much as Rose and Tony did, In fact, even my children, or grandchildren wont get me to part with this. This "Magnificent Magnavox" to me has no price and I wouldn't even sell it if someone offered me $1000.00 for it.

I know someone like Matt-Tech would think I would get frustrated and throw in the towel and sell the stereo to someone who wants to work on it. I'm NOT going to sell my stereo so it could be someone else's project. Rose even told me that she had MANY other offer's to buy this stereo when she was selling her house, and a lot of the offers were high. I will ship the turntable, tuner, and amplifier to someone who wants a job, and will treat MY equipment with kid gloves. I am also planning on having the cabinet refinished in either a mahogany or cherry wood.

I have looked on the internet and know there are places that restore these units. Matt-Tech, maybe you should do a little research before leaving a comment like that, When I mentioned to someone on youtube that I was getting this set, I was told "I hope you can get it, that is the MAGNAVOX IMPERIAL and is WAY different from a regular Magnavox' This is a "SPECIAL MAGNAVOX" Google, Magnavox Concert Grand. This model is similar to that.

Mike,
IMHO, you are being a "little hard" on Matt here--I think his only objective was to save you, both, money and heartache ! He and I have seen too many nice things rendered impractical to repair, because of an old part that failed. Don't get me wrong--new parts also fail, but it is much less likely that a new part will fail as quickly as an old one--- Ron Rich

Ron Rich, Please know that I have taken what you and Matt-Tech said into consideration. I'm
sure many old parts fail and "Rot out" as they say after 50 some years, which is why I am going to have the set professionally restored. I have it playing now and It sounds unbelievable.

Matt-Tech and Ron Rich, maybe I should reword what I was trying to say. I think it has a lot to do with the way things are taken care of now a days. If I knew this set wasn't well cared for I wouldn't even think of plugging it in. The way one cares for something means a lot. Everything in Rose's house was 50 some years old and it all looked like it wasn't touched. The room the "stereo" was in her and her late husband never even sat in. it was a "formal living room" filled with fancy furniture. Let me apologize in advance to Matt-Tech for sounding so harsh in my last post, but I do believe "the way someone care's for something" determines on how long it's going to last. However, if they spent the last 40 years abusing it, it is likely it wont last very long.

Peace Out
Michael

In response to Michael's comments:

First, I am a professional electronics technician (see my bio) and have been servicing electronics for decades now.
The comment: "I have looked on the internet and know there are places that restore these units. Matt-Tech, maybe you should do a little research before leaving a comment like that"

That, made me laugh, because I'm advertized on several websites for vintage restorations. (including this one - do a search)
And I don't spout warnings jibberish over a keyboard just to see myself type.
I'm merely trying to educate the owners of vintage equipment as to the potential issues that arise, and save them money, and me the extra work of having to replace components that would normally not have to be replaced if warnings were heeded.

I also know for a fact that those Maggie consoles are prone to fried amplifiers, having serviced countless ones before.
They silently cook themselves to death, and are not fused, leading to massive destruction - the 50+ year old capacitors are long dried out and leaking from age.
Output tube grid voltages climb due to leaking coupling capacitors - the current draw on the power supply increases - a chain-reaction happens.

This cannot be seen nor heard by the normal person, until it's too late, and I don't care how cosmetically perfect the cabient is, or who owned it. - age STILL takes it's toll.
I don't care if it was sitting in the climate-controlled atmosphere of the White House Oval Room - it's still going to deteriorate!

My earlier mention of a Maggie console owner's post was to show how ignoring the inevitable cost that guy more money than he had to, and I've seen enough of cooked power/output transformers due to such ignorance.
Fact is, he knew the filter capacitors were a common (and mandatory) "replacement" thing, yet suffered the consequences afterwards.
Hey, it's "his" money, right?

Further, to assume I'm "jealous" is rediculous and inaccurate.
The comment "Quite frankly, Matt-Tech I think you are jealous that I have a "stereo" like this and you don't."

That also made me chuckle...

I happen to own a custom high-end RCA Victor console with top-of-the-line components that would blow away even critical listeners.
In today's dollars, this console would cost well over $5000 to manufacture.
Of course, it's been fully restored by me, to insure reliability for decades to come.
I also have a component system that would blow away any console made.
But I'm not bragging, just stating facts here.

As far as "throwing in the towel" I'm not one to give up on things - and I've had several tough restorations at the shop to deal with - and the customers have always been pleased.

I've restored Imperials, AND Concert Grands (the "top" line console) and know what I'm talking about.
I even own a Master Magnavox Service Manual that covers just about all models made - so I have the proper schematics to work with.

But insist as you will that you know more than me, because fools are a-plenty.

I would like to thank all of you who gave me input regarding this console.

Matt-Tech, first off let me apologize for sounding a little harsh, but I am a
young man on a limited income, and to hear someone say "pull the plug" wasn't
exactly something I wanted to hear. This set means more to me than anyone
of you on this site can possible know. When she wouldn't sell it to me, I searched
the site AllofCraigs(adhuntr.com) for years and couldn't find one. I figured well,
either these sets were very "rare" or whoever had them was holding on to them
and not selling them.

This time last year, I would've never dreamed that Rose would sell her house and
that this beautiful console would be sitting in my bedroom I even told Rose that
I was going to have the set professionally restored and that I was going to have the
cabinet refinished.

The first thing I am going to do when I get some extra money is get the stereo
restored. I did learn a lesson the hard way a few times. The same Aunt that has
the 1959 RCA Victor Console was given a 1961 Magnavox Tube Console off of my
dad's sister in 1993. She gave it to them because my great uncle loved music and records so much. This was just a standard mid sized Magnavox tubed set, and was
certainly not an "Imperial" like this one.

My Great-Aunt gave me this set in 2004 when I graduated from high school as a graduation present. I used it until it died. Eventually it did. It wouldn't even
turn on. I don't remember what was wrong with it, but I did have it professionally
restored and I don't remember it costing me a ton of money. The only reason why
I got rid of it was because my dad did a terrible job at attemping to refinish it.

I WAS going to disassemble all of the components such as the Tuner and Amplifier this
week, but I have decided to wait on that. I already took the original "Imperial
Micromatic" changer out and put one of my spares in for the time being. I am still using
the stereo for the time being, but will be starting to take out all of the parts in a few
months. I really don't use it all that much. and I really feel that it is "safe" to use it because I said to myself many times "if this stereo sat in Rose's house for another 10 years, she'd still be using it twice a month and It would prob still work"

However, I did see someone on youtube who picked up a set similar to this, one that
was sitting in a storage unit for 20 some years, and that was covered in cobwebs and
dust. I couldn't believe how that nice piece of furniture and vintage stereo was neglected.

I am probably going to send the parts to the same place I had the last stereo repaired
they did a good job and it really wasn't that expensive. Again thank you all for your
advice. Again, Matt -Tech sorry for sounding so rude, I know you must know what you are talking about having been in the business or many years. Trust me ya'll by this time next year this "stereo" will look and sound even better than it did in 1960!!

It's your console... you do with it what you seem to insist.
But I stand by my original and "professional" opinion of not operating vintage equipment UNTIL it's been gone over by a reputable restorer.

Obviously, you have some stubborn belief that the extrordinary external condition makes it "safe" to continue to operate.

You've no clue as to the delicate balances (electronically) that I know for a fact are likely changing as the unit is powered up.
The thing's got 50 year old dried-up capacitors cooking in it!

Once the voltages fall out of range, the damage has been already been done, and as luck would have it, the clue at that time will be distortion, odd smells, or complete failure.
I've seen it many times.

but don't listen to me..
It's your game of russian roulette.

Michael,

I like your "old" stereo. I can't tell, but it appears to be some type of Astro-Sonic 20 or 40 from around 1965. I have a similar unit of the same vintage, and used to keep in under my big kitchen window, until the AS-100 Imperial moved in.

Ya know, when you watch HGTV with dining rooms with those big buffett cabinets against the wall, can't remember the proper name right now, think of a Maggie in disguise. They may not store extra dishes, glasses and silverware, but they do provide sound and record storage and are truly elegant. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

Hi Bobby,

I meant to reply to your last post months ago, but I got busy with work and everything so it must've slipped my mind for a while. You're right, that real
"long" Astro-Sonic was a really nice stereo. I enjoyed it for a few years, but
the issue was the cabinet was really long and it was quite hard to fit it into
my bedroom, so eventually I took it up into the attic after I got the tube unit
from 1962. That was a nice stereo as well. I enjoyed that one from about
"2008-2012" and I never did a thing to it, just plugged it in and enjoyed it.

But the stereo I have now is my dream come true. My Aunt Pauline was up the house the other night, she said that the furniture piece was absolutely gorgeous and that the sound was amazing. I told her that it's a "beautiful" French Provincial cabinet. I am having it professional restored. right now I have the original turntable being repaired at one of the best repair shops in the northeast. So, I just threw a spare in there for right now. I'm gonna look through my collection of pictures and put some pictures of my previous units up so you can comment on them. They were all "Magnavox" from the early to mid 1960s.
Oh by the way, this 1961 Magnavox French Provincial "Imperial" Stereo makes Auntie Jean's 1959 RCA Victor SHC-4 that I loved so much at one time, look sick. No RCA Victor in it's best day could beat this Magnavox period. and I'm going to take that thought to the grave with me.

Oh Bobby, yes those Astro-Sonic's that used the Imperial line amp's were amazing, but you got to get urself, a big "Honking" TOTL Tube unit like this.
I'm telling you there is a difference. You will never believe the "warm and glowing" sounds you get from these big tube units. It's just simply out of this world, and I can't exactly explain it or put it into words, but you simply have o find yourself one of these sets and see for yourself!

Maybe I can add a little sanity to this.

If the unit has been in continuous use and has not given off any hum or bad odors, the capacitors are probably OK. The continuous use keeps the capacitors properly formed, and they won't suddenly short. I have equipment that is 60 years old that has been in use daily, and it is still going strong.

When capacitors fail, it is if they dry out (you hear an increasing amount of hum), or they are left unused for years, and then are suddenly pressed into service again, and they short.

When an electrolytic capacitor sits unused for years, its capacity increases while its working voltage decreases. The capacitor is said to have been "reformed". Then when it is powered up again, the capacitor shorts, because the applied voltage is higher than the "new" working voltage. If it is a filter capacitor, and the rectifier can source enough current, it can burn out a transformer.

There is a procedure to reform the capacitor to the proper working voltage. This works on tube sets, but should not be used with anything with semiconductors in it. But do not use it with televisions, because the procedure can cause some of the oscillators to run outside their ranges, overheating other parts.

1. You plug the unit into a fused Variac and set the voltage to about 80 volts. The Variac should be fused for slightly above the normal current draw of the set (from the spec plate), and of course within the capability of the Variac.

2. Turn on the unit and let it run at the reduced voltage. If the unit malfunctions or hums loudly, turn it off. The capacitor is already gone, or the circuitry malfunctions at reduced voltage. But do not expect the tuning of a radio to be correct at reduced voltage. If a capacitor shorts, the fuse will protect the rest of the circuitry.

2. Let it run for 24 hours, checking occasionally for bad smells. if the capacitors are still working, raise the voltage by 5 volts and repeat the process. Keep doing this once every 24 hours until the device is running at full voltage or a capacitor fails (loud hum or a fuse blows).

3. Do not increase the voltage beyond line voltage, but let the equipment run for three more days at the full voltage.

For more protection from damage, use an AC ammeter to monitor the current being drawn by the set.

Well, I am glad to see that someone's finally agreed with me. As I have said before there is no "hum" or any bad odor of any kind going on with this unit. However the long 63 Astro-Sonic that I had, did have a loud hum, and it wasn't like that when I bought it. I no longer have that stereo because I upgraded and went on to own a bigger and much "better" Magnavox.

As soon as Rose gave me this stereo, I contacted my local repair shop and sought there opinion to see if this machine was still "safe" to operate, and they responded back in an E-mail and said the very same thing. That I should be looking for bad odors and a loud hum. This unit is not used daily, but certainly doesn't go unused for a long period of time. I'm not going to have the tuner and pre-amp professionally restored right away, because it is going to cost me over $600.00 for the turntable alone.

I was in awe when I got that estimate because the turntable was working perfect, Just needed a new needle. That just goes to show me right there that the repair company was replacing things that "didn't need" to be replaced on it, just so "THEY" can make a buck. I am a young 28 year old making minimum wage and can't afford $600/700.00 to repair a record changer. Especially when it did not need it.

Before this record changer went in for repaired, it functioned at all the right speeds, Automatic feature worked perfectly. The only issue is that the turntable platter was a little noisy, that's all.

If I had even "thought" the turntable would cost me that much to repair, I would've sent it somewhere else. Not to mention they have had it since September and wont be done with it until June. I think that's an awful long time. But as long as they fix it right, I don't mind. I just now learned a lesson the hard way and wont be doing that with the Tuner and Amplifier.

TBH all this tuner needs is a few light bulbs, so the unit "lights up" I like this because when I have the lights up and I can see it all lit up, I think its so neat, but I am certain that's all that's wrong with it. I decided to have the repair shop who told me to look for the loud "Hum" and bad odor, go over it and see if there is anything wrong with it. If they tell me know, I'll just use the unit as is. Why should something that's not broken need to be repaired?

This unit has been in perfect condition for the past 50 years. You don't find a machine like this in this condition. ANYWHERE, not even in a museum. The lady who owned this treasured this, and so did her husband. Literally, this woman is so clean you could eat of her floor!!

Trust me, this is better than any flea market, estate sale, or goodwill find. Ever since Rose gave me this treasured piece I feel like I have hit the "Jackpot" everyone who I've shown the unit to since it's been in my house wants it, and is extremely jealous of me! I had one guy tell me.

"Mike, this Magnavox puts my RCA Victor to shame, it's SOOO AWESOME!"

Oh, and I forgot to add. The cabinet on this thing is AMAZING. In the year that I have owned this "stereo" I cannot believe how many compliments I've gotten on this cabinet. All of my mothers friend, All of my friends who have seen it cannot believe how beautiful it is. There are days I sit in my bedroom, and I'm like, Oh my goshes that cabinet. Nothing beats it. This unit has a lot of class, and I didn't want to close without putting this out there

"This unit doesn't only SOUND Awesome, it LOOKS AWESOME" I wouldn't be surprised if this cabinet is worth money!

Hi Mike, it's nice to see such a beautiful antique stereo in possession by a person who truly appreciates it.

I understand the desire to play it before the chassis has been restored. I've gotten antiques before and used a line cord which I put an in-line fuse rated a bit below what the device was supposed to draw, then first brought them up slowly with a variac.
If I were really tempted to play them before I had a chance to go through them, then it would be only for a very short while before switching off and unplugging it again. And using the specially fused line cord.

I am very much on the side of Matt here.
I've ignored my cautious instincts before when I had a beautiful 1948 Packard Bell Phonocord console (Record recorder/player) and just used it before going through it. It gave no indication anything was amiss until the overall strength of it began to noticeably deteriorate. Investigating, I found the power supply capacitors were going bad which in turn rapidly burned out (wore out) the rectifier tubes. The damage was done before any indication of problems.

I was rather lucky because the transformer hadn't been damaged yet. I eventually went through the chassis but had to replace rectifier tubes which were probably good before.

I think Matt or someone else had mentioned the general effects of coupling capacitors going bad:

Your console has multiple stage amplifiers. The first amplifier takes a tiny signal and makes it a bit stronger, then that signal is fed to the input of the next stage, which makes it a bit stronger.... before being sent to the next amplifier to be made stronger.... and so the chain goes.

Coupling capacitors are placed between the amplifier stages. They allow the wanted signal to pass- but also block unwanted and harmful voltages from reaching the next stage. If the capacitor shorts, or becomes partially shorted then the input of the next amplifier gets overloaded which leads to destruction of tubes and/or components. The destruction caused by this incorrect tube bias can happen without any obvious indication what so ever.

I think the safest thing is not to use it at all until it can be properly serviced. If you simply MUST play it then keep it absolute minimum and otherwise unplugged.

Scenario:
Suppose you didn't use it very much and sent it off today for a rebuild. Your bill might include minimum labor and a handful of cheap components. A pile of capacitors and a few resistors.

Suppose you don't heed people's advice and played it unrestrained until the unit either smoked or just stopped working. Your bill might include extended labor, a pile of capacitors and a few resistors. Plus a few burned out overloaded tubes, transistors (If your chassis has any) and the necessity to replace the transformer with a make-shift substitution.

One bill is reasonable and people will enjoy your properly restored console which is better and stronger sounding for generations. Yes, I know it sounds great now but will sound even better with new critical parts.

The other bill will be prohibitively expensive and your beautiful but nonworking console will eventually be nothing more than an odd cabinet in the house. Eventually neglected with dings and scratches to become fireplace fuel or landfill rubbish.
That's not just my opinion. A tens of millions of other formerly beautiful stereo consoles, radios and phonos can attest to it.

The advice given by everyone here is valid and presented to help you. What you do with it is up to you.

On the other hand, I'm very happy to read you are keeping the tube equipment intact. I think tube equipment versus solid state has their own unique advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes I like the clarity and accuracy of a SS amplifier and other times it's the warmth provided by tubes I enjoy. I agree, it's best to keep original equipment when ever possible.

Above all, I hope you enjoy your beautiful console for a very long time.
-Steve