First 9090DB arrived!!!!!

Night Wolf

White Woofer Night Wolf
ok, so UPS was right, and my 9090DB arrived today!

first I will say that this is the one I got for $167.50 ($210 after shipping and $15 packing fee, more on that later)

well, it was described very poor, and the one thing that makes me real happy is the cheap price I got it for..... now here is the bad: the AM antenna holder is broken (how can I chnge that?) one of the shafts was bent, but I fixed that, normal now (it was the lower of the 2 smaller Dolby knobs) and the Mic knob is not origanal (should have a knob like the little Dolby ones but it is differnt, not even from a 9090DB) and for some reason the left power meter dosn't work (when it's on power mode, if I change it to Dolby and mess with the Dolby controls and when it will do the tone thing, it works fine, maybe the Dolby switch thing needs to be cleaned, I dunno any ideas?) and the packing was real cheap, I mean it was just foam but had like old potting soil on it or something, I can't belive someone would charge $15 for this stuff (just a way of getting more money from me) but I already mentioned all that in a e-mail to the seller. and the wood case is kinda rough, has various scratches, and the venner is broken off in a corner (and lifting, but I will glue that) BUT that is OK, becuase I wanted to get the case, sand it, then stain it (Walnut stain) and polyeurthane it (same thing I did with my L100's) so that isn't bothering me.

and now for the good: I FINALLY GOT A 9090DB!!!!!!!!!! I have been wanting one forever, and now I finally have it, I can't belive it. my second one should be here by the weekend, and I will take a look at that, and then make 1 real nice unit between the 2.

and I JUST ran out of contact cleaner, actually I didn't even have any left, I am sooo pissed off, BECAUSE I had just bought a nice big bottle at Radio Shack ($8) and a big can of dust remover (a big one, on sale for $4) and I think I left the bag at one of the places I went after that (or I misplaced it somewhere) and now I can't find it. I am pissed becuase first, I lost out on like $15 (total) and also, I could really use that contact cleaner right now. DAMN

anyway, I just took the whole face off and cleaned EVERYTHING on it, and all the knobs, the pictures don't do it justice (I LOVE the display on this thing, the blue back lights with the lit up needle, although could someone please tell me why the lights on both ends of the dial keep going out, and I have to tap the top of the unit (or tap the plastic thing where the lights are held) and they will come back on (only to go out then come back in afeter that) <--- I think I heard somewhere that is was a common problem on these units.

so if anyone has any ideas on the power meter thing, AM antenna or anything else I mentioned that could be the problem, please let me know. here are some pictures:

(oh and BTW, the bottom cover is off, that's why it is sitting soo low, the top cover is off also, and also, the Kenwood KA-1500 that you see is now sold, along with the other KR-8010 which is under that, although you can't see it, and one of my Sony TA-2650, although I am keeping the better of the 2 and my Sony tuner)
 
this is the corner that is the chipped wood, I was thinking of just gluing the piece down, and doing what I was saying to refinish the case. sorry for the messy room, I have been cleaning my closet, and everything that was pilled in there (literally) is now in my room
 
Hey NW, you and I maybe should collaborate. I just picked up a beautiful 9090db that has the protection light on, yesterday in fact. I may part it rather than repair it, to make my so-so 9090db really sharp. In that event, I may be able to help your situation, but I haven't decided if I'm going to fix her or part her out.
 
any ideas how to clean that dust off the transformer and other thing there? I didn't want to use water (duh) but would a rag with glass cleaner (what I used to clean everything else) work? or what should I do?
 
Originally posted by Night Wolf
although could someone please tell me why the lights on both ends of the dial keep going out, and I have to tap the top of the unit (or tap the plastic thing where the lights are held) and they will come back on (only to go out then come back in afeter that) <--- I think I heard somewhere that is was a common problem on these units.

Join the club! :p:

It's the 9090's "little idiosynchracy"
 
and here is a shot with the bottom cover off, for all you guys that don't own a 9090DB. you can see the 2 main power caps and other boards (along with somewhat easy acess to the pots, unlike my G-7700 which you probally have to tear the whole thing apart just to get at them)
 
kam...... if you decide to part your 9090DB, let me know, I will be interested in the mic knob (although I think the little Dolby ones are the same) and maybe the case, depending on what condition the 2nd one I get is in.

any ideas on how to replace the AM antenna or fix the power meter? (2 things about that meter, I heard a dirty Dolby switch can do some funky things on these units, so I want to wait until I clean it to really mess with it, becuase in Dolby mode, the meter works fine, and I want to hook my cdp up to AUX and try it and see what happends, becuase as of now I am just using the FM (with a short run of speaker wire as my antennas) and I really can't say much about the sound quality becuase I am using 1 of the apirs of my $20 KLH 970A's but so far everything is real nice.

Join the club!

It's the 9090's "little idiosynchracy"

so your saying that's normal? well, that makes me feel good and bad, good knowing that it is one less thing wrong with my 9090DB, and bad because now just gotta deal with this :)

anyway, thanks for the quick response on those things.
 
Hey I thought i was gonna buy that 9090 :(
 
I hooked up my cdp (with a real cheap, like the OEM stuff 6' RCA cable) to AUx, and hooked up the best speakers I have working right now (my cheap DIY powerd sub + KLH 17's)

the power meter still dosn't work

but MAN does this thing have POWER, I swear, I was cranking some bass heavy and rock music, and it was real loud to, but to my surprise the power meter never peaked above 20, I was like woha. now I just can't wait until I get my L100's back together, that is going to be crazy. this thing also sounds soooooo nice. better then my 7700 which I thought was really nice, I now understand how some people will say with is the best SS receiver ever made. I mean I can't be more happy with my purchess. I was looking at the Am antenna holder, and it is just 2 screw that hold it in, I thought I had to mess with soldering wires and stuff, now that is no problem to change, and I could either repaire the wood case, or just leave it, as for the most part, if it's on a shelf or a rack or something, it's not that bad, but I just couldn't keep myself away from it, between the looks, power, sound and everything else, I now know why the 9090DB is highly looked at, and like I said, this makes me want to get my L100's fixed ASAP, becuase I know I will be really surprised when I get the system back together.

Hey, I still have another 9090DB to look forward to, 19 of the "worlds greatest music" high fidelity records on vinyl, and 100 12" 45's of disco, so not only do I have a new receiver to have fun with, I will have all the music I could ever want.

man this 9090DB is great here is a picture when I used the manual controls on my camera and set the shutter speed real slow (I wish I had it on AM or FM so the needle was lit. oh well)
 
Congrats young man & welcome to the 9090db club. Now you better start behaving yourself a little better! We don't take kindly to new members that can't control themselves.

:uzi:

Hope the other arrives in a little better shape.
Moon
 
Originally posted by grumpy
Hey I thought i was gonna buy that 9090 :(

We'll see....tonight I was just looking at how absolutely perfect it is otherwise, and my 9090 started to get jealous :p:
 
Originally posted by moondog
Congrats young man & welcome to the 9090db club. Now you better start behaving yourself a little better! We don't take kindly to new members that can't control themselves.

:uzi:

Hope the other arrives in a little better shape.
Moon

:confused: :confused: :confused:

errrr... I am not exactly "new" here and it is not a "control" issue either.

but I don't want to get into that again, this thread is to talk about the 9090DB :D
 
Hey! Lighten up there hotdog & read it again... NEW to the 9090 Club is what I was saying! :rolleyes:

JEEZ... Don't lose control again. :D
 
sorry, read it wrong I guess (it was like 12:30 last night, and I was pretty tired)

anyway, I decided to glue the piece of venner that is peeling, and then I will sand it, stain it and polyeurthane it also. the area that is chipped is on the back,, and at the bottom, and you can't even see it, I think the case would look really nice (it would look just like my L100's case, which came out real nice) this unit, cosmetically is real mint (only for that little knob, I just pull it off becuase it was annoying me, and it is so small I don't even realize it's gone, but I would still like to replace it) today I will check out that AM antenna holder and replace it with something.

any ideas what can be wrong with the power meter? in power mode, only the right one works, but if I put it on Dolby rec. or something and then press the button fro the tone, it will work great (both meters stick stright up) so I know the meter works, maybe it is a lead going to it (for the power side?) I dunno, any help would be great.
 
well, I fixed the AM antenna bracket, all that's left now is to refinish the case, get a rpelacement knob, and see what's wrong with the power meter

it's really bugging me, and I want to get it going, heres the deal:

when the receiver is working like normal, the right power meter works, but the left one dosn't. if I turn the Dolby switch to rec. and push the meter button (to change it to the tone) both meters work. if I turno Dolby FM (on the FM) or "play" (while running cdp) and turn the play level knob up, both meters work (I guess it displays the Dolby NR? both bounce around, but are not in power level function) then if I turn the Dolby switch back to off, and the meter funtion back to power level, the left meter still dosn't work

I have no idea what can be wrong, I mean I know the meter works. I got a long plastic straw (the one on the end of my dust remover can) and tried to push the wires going to the meter, thinking maybe it was a cold solder connection or something, but still nothing.

any ideas?
 
yes I did. while I was cleanig up the room, it was in the bag on my couch, but there was alot of stuff ontop of it.

All the switches were pretty clean, although the Dolby one would do some weid thing (cut on channel out, then I had to mess with it alittle etc....) so I used the cleaner, and now it works great.

but that power meter stilll isn't working.
 
NW, ....next time you get control cleaner, you might get some Craig DeOxit 5 from MCM or Partsexpress.

It's a lot better stuff than the Rat Shack stuff.
 
Shain, yeah I know, I heard it's alot better, but the thing is RS is convenient, I was in town, and just figured I would get it then, instead of waiting for shipping etc...

on another note:

SECOND 9090DB ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!1

this is the one I got for $260 ($310 total) and let me tell you, it's worth it all. the wood case is as mint as could be (ok, a few very light scratches, but barley visable now with wood restore on) there are NOTHING at all wrong with this unit (ok, 1 backlight, behind the 102-104 area on the dial is out, but it is still lit from the other bulbs, and dosn't bother me at all) but this is real mint (it is the international version also- selectable power supply) but bother power meters work as they should, tuner is great, everything. it was alittle dirty (not bad) but I cleaned it all up nice. when I first got it, the balance knob was like frozen, it took alot just to move it (center nothch was non existant) so after (alot) of contact cleaner and working it back and fourth awhile, it is now free and the notch is back (if that makes any sense) all the knobs are in great shape, no marks or anything. when I got it, the AM antenna holder was broke alittle (still held the antenna good though) but while I was moving it, I broke it more (it was brital) so I took the bracket off the other 9090DB (which came off of the G-7700) and now it is great.

MAN, this thing has power, I know I said it before, but I'll say it again. and it sounds great (although my cd's sound harsh, so I have to back the midrange off quite a bit, but I think that is the cd or MP3's I am playing (even on normal CD's though) as on the FM or my records it's fine. oh well, I'll have to check that out later

the packing was GREAT, unit was wrapped in bubble wrap, carboard over the face and knobs and placed ina huge box filled with foam peanuts (which I will reuse) and he didn't charge for it or anything. unlike the first guy who charged $15 for used foam that wasn't all that good and had potting soil stuck to it.

oh, and on another note, the guy I bought the 2nd 9090DB from is curretnly selling a pair of LE25-2's which are what I need, so I am debating BIN (be about $70 total after shipping) although they are not the origanal pair, at this point I really don't care, and I want my speakers back, and I have the 9090DB to test them with (man it's been like 5 weeks now. I gotta get tweeters and find a shop to fix that lead on the woofer)

anyway, here is a picture of the 9090DB I got today. man I love this thing, I am soo happy I finally got one, I mean this is going to be the receiver I will keep for a looooooooong time. it's everything I always wanted in a vintage receiver. here it is:
 
Back
Top Bottom