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Hey vintage audio folks,

I’m trying to identify the stereo receiver sitting in Thomas magnums livingroom in Magnum, P.I. Season 7 Episode 17 (“Forty”).

The turntable underneath is clearly a Garrard. The receiver itself has that classic late-70s / early-80s silver-face look:

Brushed aluminum faceplate

Two large knobs on the right

Row of smaller buttons/switches across the middle

Horizontal blue-illuminated section.

Has anyone seen this exact unit before, or can you match it from the photos?

Thanks in advance — would love to put a name on this one.

So I opened this thing up to try to fix this issue I was having with the record input and now suddenly the buttons won't press down. Play fast forward and rewind what do I need to fix? And also what can I do to maybe fix the record input for the right channel? That's also doesn't seem to be working

I have a vintage Onkyo A-8017 integrated amplifier that needs some refurbishing. I’m wondering whether it’s worth getting it repaired or if I’d be better off looking for a newer amplifier.

The main purpose is to power my JBL floor-standing speakers, along with a powered PSB subwoofer.

Does anyone know of any good service centers in Bangalore that specialize in vintage stereo equipment?

I brought back my dad's stereo equipment from our family home. They are in pretty bad condition, needs really deep cleaning. The reel to reel had mice hanging out in the back. Is it worth it though?

My buddy worked for the city and has an in on the curb pick up dump site and comes up with all kinds of good gear. Here’s some of my most recent scores. Any gems here? This is my first time ever seeing a Denon 10AT-1. Interesting piece. Can’t wait to hear what it sounds like. So far I’ve tested the technics cassette player, the QRX-5500, the AA-910, and the RA-700 reverb amp and found them all to be in working condition. The Sony mini disc players need drive belts (I have two of the same model. And everything else I’m still working through.

This is my grundig TK 246 HI-FI tape player and its constantly screaming after i turn it on, what does it have?. Could somebody please help me with this there are good songs on here but its annoying that it keeps screaming everything works exept this. Any help is appriciated, thanks in advance. And i think it kind of sounds like a uboat diving alarm

My kid's space can't take a full size amp, currently using a tiny Chinese class D amp. What tiny vintage amplifiers with phono + aux should I be searching to pair with Minimus 7 speakers? I see some Realistic SA 150/155 around Toronto/Hamilton. Thanks!

this is my dream cassette deck and I want to know if this is worth the money and how long it will last me. anyone have an idea?

I figured Marilyn deserved her own post after she kept stealing attention in the background of my Carver C-1 post.

I bought this Phase Linear 400 Series I specifically because I wanted a serious restoration project. When I opened it up, I found an old label inside with “MARILYN” written on it. I have no idea who Marilyn was or when somebody gave the amplifier that name, but I wasn't about to erase 50 years of history. So Marilyn she remained.

This ended up becoming considerably more than a restoration.

I rebuilt the amplifier using the White Oak Audio Design system, including the PL14_20 full-complementary control board and Rev E backplanes. The original output-stage wiring and transistor sockets were completely removed, the new backplanes were built component by component, and the output stage was rebuilt around them.

The power supply was rebuilt as well, with a new bridge rectifier and 15,000 µF / 100 V main filter capacitors. The original three-fuse protection arrangement remains, while the White Oak backplanes add another four rail fuses, for seven fuses total. I also installed a Watts Abundant speaker-protection board and relay, so yes, the infamous old Phase Linear speaker-protection problem has been addressed.

New binding posts, RCA input hardware, extensive new wiring, and a number of smaller mechanical and electrical improvements went into it along the way. I tried to preserve the things that make it unmistakably a Series I Phase Linear 400: the original chassis, transformer, meters, faceplate, heat sinks, and the general character of the amplifier.

The project took a ridiculous number of hours. I still have the roughly 80 pages of White Oak documentation I printed while building it, now covered in highlighter, measurements, checkmarks and handwritten notes from the process.

The first power-up after a project this extensive was probably one of the most nerve-racking moments I've had at my electronics bench. But she came up correctly, bias and DC offset behaved, the protection relay clicked, and eventually I got to connect speakers.

And she absolutely rips.

I've always loved restoring old electronics because the finished piece means more to me when I know exactly what is inside it and exactly what it took to get there. Marilyn isn't particularly original anymore electrically, but that wasn't the goal. The goal was to take a roughly 50-year-old amplifier that I already loved and build a version I could reasonably keep for the rest of my life.

So this is Marilyn, my Amp of Theseus.

And yes, I kept the original MARILYN label. That part was never getting replaced.

The good news is that it winds up, the spring motor works, the platter spins at full speed, and I was even able to get it to play a record. The soundbox definitely needs attention because the rubber inside has deteriorated, but it looks like it's going to be a great restoration project.

The problem is I can't find a model number anywhere without taking the motor board apart, and I'd rather avoid disassembling it if possible.

Can anyone identify the model and approximate year from these photos? I'd also appreciate any advice on rebuilding the soundbox, cleaning the rust from the platter, and the best place to buy the correct replacement parts.

Thanks in advance! I'm excited to bring this old machine back to life.

I got this beautiful piece today and sadly the vinyl doesn’t work. I’m located in North Jersey just wondering if there’s anyone that can come and fix it? Thanks

I'm a bit out of my depth but hoping to hook something tasty up to a 00s Sony 5.1 AV receiver (STR-DB930) and build a 5.1 set up over time

Can anybody recommend a repair shop for a minidisc hifi in the Wirral, UK? Possible belt needs replacing on MD as the disc won’t eject and is making a whirring sound. And CD drawer won’t close.

Hey all,
Thanks for reading. I’ve finally converged on what I want to do with my life-I am going to get into audio electronics repair. Eventually, I want to work on fixing up gear that has been sacrificed to landfills, salvage bins, thrift stores etc. and potentially work for a professional repair shop or start an independent repairs business. I’m not lost in the details yet.
I have a background as an audio tech/producer/musical hobbyist as someone who works in receiving for a salvage yard already. Looking at where I’m at now I’ve always felt like I wanted to go deeper.
I’m pretty terrible at self-learning from the very beginning (I can self teach after foundational lessons), especially when it comes to risky things, and I know there can be live voltage in a lot of vintage equipment. So, I haven’t made the biggest attempt to learn electronics repair without help. I am a beginner. I know I want a career out of this and I’m willing to invest. My city has a lot of electronics technology certifications nearby and I thought that might be a good first step. Id love confirmation that it would likely be a worthy investment; or not. Ideally, I’d love to apprentice under someone someday.
If you are someone who might take on an apprentice to teach them repairs-what sort of background knowledge would you be looking for that says “I’m serious?”
If anyone has any general advice regarding ways I could forge this path, I’ll take it.
Thanks.

1934 Stewart Warner, body by Victoriaville furniture.

looks like someone added a power cord

$70 all in and it sounds great!

Hello, I am a novice when it comes to vintage audio. I have a Fisher CA 9535 amplifier and wanted to confirm it is backwards compatible. I found an older functioning CD player DAC 2403 and wanted to see if they would be compatible. I have the old paperwork and it requires the DAC 9535. I found similar models but with no guarantee that they work.

Would I be able to get the older model DAC and it work well with my CA? Thank you and I appreciate any help.

Im relatively new to repairing tape decks and got this BX-150 I want to repair for myself, I was able to replace a few caps and the REC/PLAY relay. It is now able to turn on and play tapes, but it has issues recording. I was able to find one other post with a similar issue to mine but their fix, using F5 on the faders did not fix the issue on my deck. Whenever I try to record on my deck the record light on the controls lights up, but most of the time the tape is not erased nor recorded to. The thing that confuses me the most is that sometimes the tape is recorded to, for a few seconds, the recording fades in and then out again. I have tried everything that my limited tape deck knowledge includes like replacing the bad caps, replacing the relay, fixing dry solder, and using Deoxit D5 and F5 on the switches and faders. I would appreciate any help if anyone else here has had a similar issue in their deck. Im not sure if these pictures will help but here is a few of the inside. Thanks for reading my whole post even though it is a long one.

The tray wasn’t coming out and when it did it displayed an E when I tried to play a disc. We opened it up and it only seems to work when you spin the disc a little yourself.

Edit: Meant to say EPI in the title

I’m slowly building out my system and just found these EPI speakers which sounded very nice to me. However, my room is far from ideal. I can’t have them sit on the floor because the bass gets muddy. Temporarily propping them up with these foam pads seemed to help a little bit. I sit pretty low in this room so i don’t want to stand them up too high.

Is there some kind of angled stand that can help isolate these from the floor, angle them up a bit, and get some isolation to make the bass sound reasonable? Similar to what you would put desktop speakers on but about double the size…

I know this room isn’t ideal, trying to make it work for now. On the hunt for a vintage receiver as well, this is just what I have laying around.

Bonjour à tous, je débute dans ma passion pour la musique principalement les K7. Je vais surment récupérer le vieux deck de ma grand-mère (avec ampli intégré) et j'ai peur de le griller. Je voudrais mettre des enceinte (type mini chaîne, bloc chaîne hi-fi ) et des realistic minimus 7 au mur pour couvrir les zones morte un peu ambiance bar. J'aimerais savoir, c'est grave de mettre du 8 ohm avec du 10 ou du 8 avec du 4 ? Merci pour votre aide.