Setton RS-660 - is this worth it?
- Thread starter Eywadude
- Start date
Good luck.
As a previous poster mentioned, if you get it, don't use abrasive cleaners, perhaps a mild dish soap like "Dawn" or simple green.
Also don't use "scrubber" type sponges/pads.
You don't want to remove any lettering or leave any new scratches.
A toothbrush can be helpful for knurled knobs and the like.
As a previous poster mentioned, if you get it, don't use abrasive cleaners, perhaps a mild dish soap like "Dawn" or simple green.
Also don't use "scrubber" type sponges/pads.
You don't want to remove any lettering or leave any new scratches.
A toothbrush can be helpful for knurled knobs and the like.
markshan
Sir Thrift a Lot
In this day and age isn't there some adhesive that could be used to install the glass since the clips seem to be missing?
Eywadude
Lunatic Member
Oh, it will be taken care of. No harsh cleaners or abrasives. Only warm, mild soapy water and a microfiber cloth.
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
I hate to throw cold water on a deal but at some point, economics intrude . IMO, to make this work, the price has to be around $100. Assuming everything is electronically sound, getting the cosmetics right is not going to be easy. Correct look is essential to value, anything not correct gets punished in the market place. This means that the correct rose tinted glass of the correct thickness must be sourced. Working the glass is labor intensive which is expensive. The side anchors will have to be machined for the correct look. Without original parts to pattern, the replacement parts may not look right. The less than mint face plate is another issue. I don't know if the time and effort will translate into a piece that is a valuable as a VGC original. There is a chance the glass and anchors from the 220 and.or 440 are the same. Setton was a marketing company so I can't imagine they had money to lavish on three different glass patterns. If someone here has a 660 and a 440, confirming this possible commonality would make this deal. Just factor in the cost of getting a parts unit.
I'm not an electrical tech, that is probably obvious.
http://www.chrisinmotion.com/MyFavoriteReceivers.htm#660
With their cases on (front panel layout, excepting indicator light placement and protection display), and their cases off, side by side, they look darn near the same to my untrained eye, why does the Setton sound any different from the Lafayette?
Just curious.
Last edited:
gslikker
Super Member
I forgot about that, the glass color definately makes it look different from others, indeed.
markshan
Sir Thrift a Lot
I didn't know about the tinted glass, but even before that this seemed to me a "keeper" project rather than a "flipper" project. Not enough meat on the bone, unless this one can be used as a parts unit. Even then that does get labor intensive.
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
The seller is asking $250. Let's say Eywadude negotiates down to 175. IMO, he would be fortunate to replace the glass and anchors for 125. Veneer adds another 50, assuming he has the right presses. The cost starts getting close to a VGC orignial example and that is the problem. I realize not all are motivated by economics. The great Vintagestereo and his epic vintage giveaway come to mind. However, it does not make sense to get into a piece that does not pencil out when the other option is to wait for an original which can be had for a little more.
Eywadude
Lunatic Member
Well, I hate to say it, but I've decided to pull the plug on the deal.
Even though I got the owner down to $150 on Friday, after much consideration, and as some people have already mentioned, it just doesn't seem financially feasible. I have to remain realistic about the costs that would be involved to get it back to an as-original aesthetic and operational condition, and even at $150, I just don't see it.
I did some calling around to some glass fabricators and they said it would be very difficult to find the proper smoky rose-colored glass to match the original. Two shops said that more than likely the glass would have to be special ordered from a supplier in Europe, and then the holes would have to be properly drilled to accommodate the mounting holes for the clips and the tuner knob shaft. However, even if this is all possible, there is no guarantee that the glass will be the right thickness, so the mounting of the glass might not even work: +$150-$200
Then there is the clips. The clips would either have to be fabricated, which would be very expensive and still wouldn't look 100% original, or I'd have to find an original set of clips which would literally be like finding plutonium, and would more than likely cost a pretty penny themselves. I could use bolts instead, similar to what's on vintage Onkyo receivers, but that would look garish and would not look as elegant as the originals which are a part of the overall look of the faceplate. No need to take what is a gorgeous piece and make a silk purse into a sow's ear by slapping some bolts on the face of it: +$100-$150.
Then there's that "lovely" case it has. I don't do woodwork, nor do I have the proper tools (or gumption) to attempt to re-veneer it myself. I would have to have a cabinet maker re-veneer it for me: +$100-$150.
Then there's the fact that I don't even know if it works, but I'd have it recapped anyway. And since I don't do electronic repair, I'd have to send it out to have it redone: +$300.
Then there's the power switch. I would also have to find out what Pioneer switch would work in it, then find one, buy it, and then have it modded and installed during the recap: +$100-ish.
So yeah, the dollar bills just keep piling up on this thing. Including the initial $150 for the receiver and all the additional work that needs to be done on it, I could be looking at anywhere between roughly $900-$1,000+ to have it fully restored and put back to as-original aesthetics and working condition...and that is with any minor scratches it may have on the faceplate. If the original glass and clips were still there, I'd probably go for it, but being that they're gone, the money required to get it looking right just doesn't make sense for me.
My apologies to anyone who I might have got their hopes up, but reality and logic made this a pretty easy decision: I just had to pass on it. Onwards and upwards...
Even though I got the owner down to $150 on Friday, after much consideration, and as some people have already mentioned, it just doesn't seem financially feasible. I have to remain realistic about the costs that would be involved to get it back to an as-original aesthetic and operational condition, and even at $150, I just don't see it.
I did some calling around to some glass fabricators and they said it would be very difficult to find the proper smoky rose-colored glass to match the original. Two shops said that more than likely the glass would have to be special ordered from a supplier in Europe, and then the holes would have to be properly drilled to accommodate the mounting holes for the clips and the tuner knob shaft. However, even if this is all possible, there is no guarantee that the glass will be the right thickness, so the mounting of the glass might not even work: +$150-$200
Then there is the clips. The clips would either have to be fabricated, which would be very expensive and still wouldn't look 100% original, or I'd have to find an original set of clips which would literally be like finding plutonium, and would more than likely cost a pretty penny themselves. I could use bolts instead, similar to what's on vintage Onkyo receivers, but that would look garish and would not look as elegant as the originals which are a part of the overall look of the faceplate. No need to take what is a gorgeous piece and make a silk purse into a sow's ear by slapping some bolts on the face of it: +$100-$150.
Then there's that "lovely" case it has. I don't do woodwork, nor do I have the proper tools (or gumption) to attempt to re-veneer it myself. I would have to have a cabinet maker re-veneer it for me: +$100-$150.
Then there's the fact that I don't even know if it works, but I'd have it recapped anyway. And since I don't do electronic repair, I'd have to send it out to have it redone: +$300.
Then there's the power switch. I would also have to find out what Pioneer switch would work in it, then find one, buy it, and then have it modded and installed during the recap: +$100-ish.
So yeah, the dollar bills just keep piling up on this thing. Including the initial $150 for the receiver and all the additional work that needs to be done on it, I could be looking at anywhere between roughly $900-$1,000+ to have it fully restored and put back to as-original aesthetics and working condition...and that is with any minor scratches it may have on the faceplate. If the original glass and clips were still there, I'd probably go for it, but being that they're gone, the money required to get it looking right just doesn't make sense for me.
My apologies to anyone who I might have got their hopes up, but reality and logic made this a pretty easy decision: I just had to pass on it. Onwards and upwards...
Last edited:
Eywadude
Lunatic Member
Yeah, I don't feel the least bit bad about it. It's too bad I won't be the owner of one, but again, I had to be realistic about it.
