I'm visiting mom in Brandon (Jackson area), MS this week. Arrived to find her Pioneer SA-500 dead in one channel, The old Yamaha tuner has a problem, too. So I ordered an R-S202 as replacement. It arrived two days before promised vis Amazon Prime, and we connected it last night. Hooked it up to the Pioneer HPM 60 speakers I gave her with the amp, tuner, cassette deck and Technics TT. All sources are down, but mom no longer uses records or tape - it's all TV sound or FM for her.
I was surprised that this inexpensive model sounds better than I expected, and the BT function synched easily to her smart TV, which was a great plus, since otherwise cables for television audio would have had to be run in her low attic - and that was never going to happen.
FM reception is clean for locals.
Hard to beat in a new unit at this price ($130 the day I ordered).
So... the more exciting part of all this - as near to excitement as this gets - is that I will be returning home with the old stuff that needs attention, and it all looks to be in good cosmetic condition. I think very good, though I haven't really looked much - Christine did the tear-down and loading.
However, something else came up which does excite me. I gave my sister the very first pair of real speakers I ever bought back in 1978, and which I had purchased back in '72. ADC speakers - forgot model number, but 202 sounds right. I have only walked past them, but in my mind I expected the veneer to be chipped and peeling and showing other signs of wear. But as I walked past, I didn't see even a scratch, grilles looked very good, no crushed corners... so I'll be looking them over more carefully.
Anyway, I'd been asking about the speakers now and then over the years, so she knew I'd like to have them back. She jumped at the opportunity to trade them for a new-ish smaller pair of speakers, thus these are now mine. I have several pair of smaller speakers to choose from as trade-ins. She trusts me to send something she will enjoy. So it costs me the speakers and shipping to get the ADC - better known for phono carts, of course. An okay deal, but for me an absolute no-brainer, since I originally bought them nigh-on fifty years ago.
Haven't had a restoration in forever, and I remember liking the way these speakers sound when I was eighteen, so I will be very interested to hear them again, all spiffed up. Which must include a recone, and there is no way I'd ever consider using the old crossover caps, either. Hopefully I can get my camera working back in OK and post pics in a resto thread. Looks like it may be an easy project.
I'm listening to the new Yamaha now and am enjoying sharing music with mom. Sounds great to her, she keeps saying with no prompts.
SUBSEQUENT EDIT:
Just looked at the speakers again. They are ADC 303AX. A few fine scratches, and a few very small (pin-head size or smaller) edge nicks. Will clean up nice. The original velcroed grille covers are virtually perfect, with emblems in place. My sis and bro-in-law did a nice job of keeping them safe all these decades.
Although I wrote above that they need reconed, I meant re-foamed, and they have no foam. Some sort of treated surround that appears entirely intact. Steve had told me years ago about a rattle, and from his poor description of the anomaly, I guessed it needed foam. Won't hear them until next week; we'll see.