Next Project: Andrea CPR-A2S Console

[artsybob]

Now that I'm done restoring my Realistic SAF-40D integrated amp I've been looking for a new project to work on. I think I'll start working on my uncle's circa-1961 Andrea CPR-A2S stereo console. I couldn't get many decent interior shots, but it looks like it has a pretty sweet amplifier with all its original tubes inside. It has four German-made Andrea-branded (possibly Telefunken?) EL84's, two Raytheon 7199's and an Andrea-branded (possibly Westinghouse?) 5U4 rectifier. The power and output transformers are more deluxe than the ones in my Westinghouse console. It's curious it says "Sharp Focus Television" on the amp, which makes me wonder if this was also used in their TV sets. Is anyone out there in AK familiar with Andrea stuff?

 

[electronjohn]

Old-line company. Andrea built tons of radios in the 30s, got into TV right away and well into the 50s & early 60s. Looks like a substantial amp!

 

[gadget73]

Andrea was descended from Fada. Frank A DeAndrea was the dude's name.

Looks like a nice amp. Know nothing of it specifically but the eyeball says its got nice size transformers and that is almost always a good sign.

 

[artsybob]

Months ago I got sidetracked when I fixed up my hybrid tube/transistor Fisher TFM-300 tuner (and also sidetracked from personal drama). Now I'm going to begin working on the amp and refurbishing the console frame (it's in desperate need of refinishing). Here's some pics of the console before I start working on it. The changer looks a little rinky-dink (lower-end Voice of Music?) and I might swap it out with another turntable. Any ideas?

 

[gadget73]

VM 1200 series of some form I'd guess. Easy to rebuild, but a bit "meh". Its a small package size, and it looks like you need a small changer to fit that hole. Dual 10 series or a Garrard AT6 family would probably be my suggestion if one of those would fit. Looks like a flipper needle, so if you want a mag cartridge you will need to add a phono stage. My console that had such a thing has a simple Radio Shack phono preamp sitting between the Garrard AT6 and the original phono input to get that done.

 

[artsybob]

VM 1200 series of some form I'd guess. Easy to rebuild, but a bit "meh". Its a small package size, and it looks like you need a small changer to fit that hole. Dual 10 series or a Garrard AT6 family would probably be my suggestion if one of those would fit. Looks like a flipper needle, so if you want a mag cartridge you will need to add a phono stage. My console that had such a thing has a simple Radio Shack phono preamp sitting between the Garrard AT6 and the original phono input to get that done.

Thanks gadget, I knew it was a VM. Looks similar to the VM 1200 changer in my Westinghouse console but more plain-jane. I was thinking of putting something a little higher end in it like an AT6 and getting an outboard phono preamp for the magnetic cartridge (maybe bracketing it to somewhere inside the frame). The VM changer in my Westinghouse is pretty decent but I'm worried it's grinding my records so I never put any of my prized records on it.

 

[gadget73]

The levels of trim you could get on that basic chassis were pretty wide ranging. I have a fancier looking one in a Zenith console with a chrome ring around the platter and this fancy arm with a spring loaded cartridge under it. The Zenith Microtouch 2G. it tracks at an honest 2 grams and sounds quite fine doing it. The working guts are most likely identical to whats in that Andrea though. Despite how well they actually work and how simple they are to make run, I still can't quite find it in me to love them. Even the fancy ones seem a bit cheesy.

 

[artsybob]

The levels of trim you could get on that basic chassis were pretty wide ranging. I have a fancier looking one in a Zenith console with a chrome ring around the platter and this fancy arm with a spring loaded cartridge under it. The Zenith Microtouch 2G. it tracks at an honest 2 grams and sounds quite fine doing it. The working guts are most likely identical to whats in that Andrea though. Despite how well they actually work and how simple they are to make run, I still can't quite find it in me to love them. Even the fancy ones seem a bit cheesy.

I guess compared to all the more modern hi-fi turntables my family had growing up, these old V-M changers seem rugged and crude- kinda reminiscent of Fred Flintstone's bird-powered record player. I asked my uncle if he wanted something like the Garrard AT6 installed into the console and he said he's thinking about taking one of the AR XA's he owns and placing it into the console's record player cavity. Is this a good or dumb idea?

 

[gadget73]

If you can make it fit, its not a bad idea. The isolation the XA offers would jive well with sitting right above a speaker. I would probably only be inclined to do it if it did not require modding the XA or the console itself very much just in case I ever wanted to pull the XA out to run standalone and put something else back into the console.