RCA VictrVLT72W

cindi wrote:IT'S IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. I JUST CAN'T SEAM TO FING ANSWERS ABOUT IT. CAN YOU HELP?

Are you stating that it's "cosmetic" condition is very good?
What about internally?
Electronically.
To your knowledge has it been restored that way at all?

It can "look" as pretty as anything, but it's over 40 years old electronically.

Mint condition at auction; $1.00. Yes, I am serious. Granted, they seem as though they should go for more, but they seldom do. A buyer who knows what he is looking for may pay up to $100.00 for a rare or special unit, such as a Magnavox Concert Grand, knowing he is going to have to put time and money into a proper restoration. The value of stereos, phonographs, consoles etc. is considered on this site more so in terms of the pleasure they give to the owner, rather than the monetary return that one can expect. I hope this helps...

Indeed, all of those RCA Victor models within that era are now due for a complete restoration now.
Every one that's come into my shop needed a multitude of capacitors, etc, replaced in order to perform like they should.

In your opinion Matt were those pre-amp headshells in those RCAs of any significant advantage or was it more of a gimmick? I liked that era and earlier where the manufacturers really invested in R&D and heavily advertised there latest products and new features.

Thom wrote:In your opinion Matt were those pre-amp headshells in those RCAs of any significant advantage or was it more of a gimmick? I liked that era and earlier where the manufacturers really invested in R&D and heavily advertised there latest products and new features.

Thom,
Those preamplified cartridges were mostly a marketing thing, sure.
They're nothing more than a simple transistor preamp mounted inside ceramic the cartridge itself, powered off a simple 22V B+ supply off extra motor windings.
But the uniqueness of it made RCA Victor stand out at the time.
A neat idea - supposedly cuts down on noise by amplifying at the source.
Try to find one now-a-days - practically impossible.

I'll retrofit a standard cartridge (if need be) and adjust the input electronics accordingly.

Wow!! That VLT 72W is sweet with a capital S!! I have the VLT 75 W and it has the same record changer. The tuner is horizontally-oriented as opposed to the vertically-oriented tuner in your unit. It probably has the same internals. I'll be the cabinet is the only difference between mine and yours electronically.

IMPORTANT!!! The floating cartridge is a rarity as it is an ACTIVE cartridge, which means A VOLTAGE IS FED TO THE I.C. INTEGRATED INTO THE CARTRIDGE ASSEMBLY. DO NOT TRY TO REPLACE THIS WITH AN ORDINARY CERAMIC CARTRIDGE!! I may be wrong, but I believe the chip, which is in a canister form factor can be removed and replace. I could be wrong. Mine works and I ain't gonna fix it.

Having cautioned you on the cartridge, I move on...I'll bet that unit sounds like a million bucks. Take care of it. Baby it. Have it recapped and all serviceable parts replaced and you should get a long life and tons of enjoyment out of it. This series has the 15" oval woofers installed. I love how mine sounds. A warm ,deep, solid bass with no distortion. also, you can take it to a cabinet maker or someone who is skilled in woodworking and have it re-finished.

Those "IC" cartridges are replaceable with standard ceramics, along with doing a retrofit of the tonearm.
This of course requires doing a custom-mounting of a new cartridge, since RCA had to engineer the whole system with these "feather action" floating models (sales marketing gimmick).

Been there, done that, many times.

I have one of these exact units. My dad bought it brand new in the late 60's. The amp went out about 25 year ago and it has been in the basement ever since. Does anyone know where I can get and amplifier for this unit? My dad had took the amp out several years ago I can't find the old one. Would gladly buy one if I could find one. Thanks!

Philblackwell wrote:I have one of these exact units. My dad bought it brand new in the late 60's. The amp went out about 25 year ago and it has been in the basement ever since. Does anyone know where I can get and amplifier for this unit? My dad had took the amp out several years ago I can't find the old one. Would gladly buy one if I could find one. Thanks!

As has been mentioned a plethora of times on here, the whole "guts" are now in need of servicing.
To only service a "part" will not provide the reliability or performance that these consoles can produce.
The dried out capacitors along with some out-of-tolerance resistors ruin the delicate germanium transistors if used in "as-is" condition.
I've had to replace many a fried transistor because of this.
And they can be very pricey to buy.

The amp, tuner, and power supply chassis, along with the record changer all need restoration.

What Matt said and if you like this set and it's in good condition have it restored and enjoy it for 50 more years.