darkblue94
The Devil made me do it.
Appreciation of the sound of any gear is completely subjective, make an effort to hear a variety of gear yourself and form your own opinion,this will serve you well.
console stereo tube amps
- Thread starter jeffV
- Start date
FlaCharlie
Super Member
The Philco should be avoided since it is a design that doesn't use a power transformer (the 50c? tube is the giveaway) and the price is, IMHO, waaay to high. I would pass on the other two also because they seem to have the tuner (radio) on the same chassis as the amp. Amps are relatively easy to rebuild, tuners are much more difficult to do correctly and, to do them right, need much more expensive equipment. If you really don't care if the tuner works well or not and just want to use the amp section, you might consider them. The amp section will need to be rebuilt for safety and reliability.
Another consideration is whether you want to restore the console or pull parts. If you have room for and are interested in restoring the whole thing make sure the cabinetry is in top notch condition. The prices people pay for these seem to vary considerably in different parts of the country. I see a lot of people trying to sell them for hundreds of dollars because they think they are rare. What seems to be rare are people who are willing to pay those prices. I often see consoles listed on CL for many months and the price is dropped numerous times before they either sell or the seller gives up. Or they sit in thrift stores for months until the manager realizes that nobody is willing to pay their asking price and they just want it gone. I have bought numerous consoles over the years and I generally pay between $20 and $35. I don't have room for the whole console so I pull whatever parts interest me. If I find one with really nice cabinetry, I pass on it in case the buyer finds someone who wants the whole thing.
Wards is not a particularly desirable brand so if you regularly see consoles for sale I'd suggest you wait for something better that has a power amp that is separate from the tuner and preamp sections. Magnavox consoles are very common and can sound really good if they are properly rebuilt.
As mentioned, the wattage listed is not the output, it is the amount of power the unit consumes. Most single ended consoles (one output tube per channel) will put out 4 or 5 watts per channel and most push pull designs (two output tubes per channel) put out somewhere between 12 and 15 watts per channel. The most common output tubes used in these are 6BQ5 and 6V6 although you will find other types like 6AQ5 and others. Also, if you find a console and it has a label on the back panel that says "no user serviceable parts" that means is solid state not tube.
darkblue94
The Devil made me do it.
Rule of thumb is if it contains an 8-track player it's solid state. There may be an odd exception out there but it's unlikely.
primosounds
Powered with pure tube sounds.
The prices you were told seem high. That is probably more than what the unit sold at back in the day. Many people will give it to you if you take it off their hands. I would council patience and keep watching the local classifieds and CraigsL and you will probably get one for free or cheap.
jeffV
Active Member
yeah, im passing on both of those for now.
Be sure to leave the $ value out of these posts and stick to technical/performance type questions in this forum otherwise this thread will move to Dollars & Sense forum, which deals with questions of value
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knockbill
Lunatic Member
Radiomuseum forum has a lot of pictures and info on amps, radios etc,,, may be a help with ID...
Mike Stehr
Poverty Audio
3rp660 is squalid state
dondoucette
Too Many Projects
One more tip, some of these consoles do not have a power transformer and are connected directly to the mains without isolation. Pick these units up only if free for donor tubes and such.
I've not seen many without power transformers but they do show up from time to time and I mostly walk away.
I've not seen many without power transformers but they do show up from time to time and I mostly walk away.
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
Don't over look the speakers in these old consoles. The 12 inch Zenith alnico's are hidden gems.
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
My two Zenith 12" alnicos came from a late 50's mono console.
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
Would I be safe to assume that all console 6BQ5/EL84 amps with two pair of output tubes are push pull while those with just one pair are single ended?
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