Voice of Music V-M Model 1000 (tube amps)

Greetings

I'm seeking info on the amps and speakers I pulled from a V-M corporation Model 1000 console. http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/images/1000.jpg Not much info on that site. Apparently this is quality gear. The cabinet was a beauty but unfortunately the tape player was yanked and the original pre amp/control head was replaced with a solid state Lafayette LR 75-A receiver made in Japan. I almost moved on when I saw the receiver but the back had a message that said "to service amp tubes remove back" and I saw that the speaker extention jacks were still there. I removed the back right there in the thrift store and dicovered these two monoblock amps and these speakers with horn tweeters. So I bought the monstrous console for $25.00.

I don't even have room for the cabinet so I left it in my station wagon while I removed the components. I dusted everything off.The speakers sound great. Much better than the pioneer CS-77A's that I have. I find this amazing for speakers that are almost 50 years old! THat web site dates this console from 1958. the receiver doesn't seem to be anything special. The amps have one 12ax7 (VM brand made in Holland) one 6au6 (VM brand made in Great Britain) two 6BQ5 ( VM US made) and one 6CA4 each. Actually all the tubes seem to be original VM except the one 6Ca4 on the recapped amp( it's RCA) It appears that someone started to recap one but there are still wax/paper caps on both.

Did I waste my money? Are these worth tinkering with? Could these produce a great sound? I have an old Zenith AM/FM clock radio from 1951 with tubes and the sound from that thing is incredible. Would it be feasible to connect these amps to a Marantz 2238B with a pre-out? As you might guess I'm new to tube audio but the thought of making these sing sounds like a fun challenge to me.

I do know that I will need to replace the caps and test the tubes at the least. Anyone know of anyone in the Seattle area that tests tubes? I bought a box of about 200 tubes and found a few amperex bugle and fisher tubes in it. The yellow pages were no use. Every place I called hardly knew what I was talking about.

Any suggestions or info would be greatly appreciated.

Photos
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/tmas7/V-M amp/IMG_0517.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/tmas7/V-M amp/IMG_0516.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/tmas7/V-M amp/IMG_0515.jpg


Thanks
Thomas

I really like the 6bq5 sound...so do lots of other folks. You should bring up the amps slowly with a variac - or use the light bulb trick - so that the caps have a chance to reform. You should be able to use these in conjunction with most any pre whether s/s or tube. Hook 'em up and decide for yourself if they are good. I'd guess you did well for $25.

looks pretty damn sweet. if i were you, i'd get a cheap hammond aluminum box and rebuild the amps into that (one for stereo or two for monoblocks), it'd look great and also give you the chance to reverse-engineer the schematic, and replace all the caps. you can also disconnect the annoying preamp-out sockets that no one ever uses. the power supply iron looks sweet, and i guess that the output iron doesn't have to have nice bells to work . anyway, whether you rebuild it or not, post some first impressions on the sound!

edit: does anyone have a figure for wattage from these puppies? i'm guessing, with that iron, maybe like 5wpc?

come on, let's hear the scoop on those dang monoblocks!

(bumporama)

sorenj07 said:

looks pretty damn sweet. if i were you, i'd get a cheap hammond aluminum box and rebuild the amps into that (one for stereo or two for monoblocks), it'd look great and also give you the chance to reverse-engineer the schematic, and replace all the caps. you can also disconnect the annoying preamp-out sockets that no one ever uses. the power supply iron looks sweet, and i guess that the output iron doesn't have to have nice bells to work . anyway, whether you rebuild it or not, post some first impressions on the sound!

edit: does anyone have a figure for wattage from these puppies? i'm guessing, with that iron, maybe like 5wpc?

Click to expand...

Well this is a new hobby to me so I'm trying to learn as much as I can. Since I'm a beginner at this, the first thing i did was hook them up to the pre-out on my Marantz. (I now know about a variac which I do not have). I used the speakers from the cabinet with the tube socket like connection (which also had an acoustic contour pot and a pilot light lead.) I just used the FM tuner.

The monoblock that has previously been recapped produced some sound. At low volumes it was ok but the more I increased the volume the more distorted it got. There was some crackling too with jumps in volume. No magical tube sound there. For the other amp with the original wax caps I couldn't get a sound at all. All the tubes lit up but nothing from the speakers. Not even a hum or crackle. I suspect this can't be good but I really have no idea. That's when I upluged everything and decided to stay away from the AC outlet till I do some studying.

Anyway,That's what led me to here and the net in general. I'm taking things slow. Eventually I'm going to make a dim bulb tester (when I get the time) and then recapp the amps when I feel I know enough to be a bit less than dangerous. Then hopefully I'll know what revers-engineer the schematic means. I'll keep you posted. Of course any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This site has been great. That tube literature thread will keep me busy for a bit.

Thanks,

Thomas

Greetings

Well I'm finished with this project. Replaced the capacitors. Added in-line fuse holders. The amp that was not working just needed new fuses. I found a tube tester in the area and discovered the original 6BQ5's were bad. I found a matched quad of Sovteks for about $30.00 at guitar centers. I also had a few vintage 12AX7s from a box of tubes bought at a thrift store. They all tested good. I put the amperex bugle boys in there.

I found the empty speaker cabinets at the GW for $5.00 each. The horns didn't fit inside with the 12" cones so they're on top. That should be okay right? They sound good. I'm using my Marantz 2238B as a pre-amp. I'm guessing a tube pre-amp would sound even better.


It all looks like a junior high shop class project but it sounds great. No hum, static or pops. It sounds better than the amp in the Marantz. The old Jensen speakers are a bit on the bright side but I'm using an Adcom GFS-6 speaker selector($3.00 at a thrift store) so I can use my Pioneer CS-77a's as well. That helps with the bottom. Man, this stuff is fun. I'm greatful for inspiration from Audiokarma. Couldn't have done it without.

By the way where should the hum balance pot be set? I have it dead center and have no noticeable problems so I guess this is okay.

Thomas

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/tmas7/IMG_0610.jpg

are there a lot of VM enthusiasts

on board? bought a nice console at a thrift store just a phono in a wood cabinet with huge seperate speakers that weigh about a ton. there is a small plate at the top of each speaker that says "high fidelity stereophonic." it looks to be of late 50s- early 60's vintage. my local former R.C.A. tube repairman is working on it now. what can anyone tell us about these sets? :scratch2:

The hum pots should be set so you have the least amount of hum from the speakers,just power everything up and turn the volume all the way down and set for lowest hum

I did turn it

on and played three 45 rpms on it which skipped like crazy due to a worn out needle. But, occasionally, this sweet ol lady kicked in and I got to hear what the sound should sound like, and that was enough to convince me to go further with it. The sound was incredible for something bought for 35 bucks in a thrift store. Mind blowing, actually. I tried taking her home to meet Mom, but Mom took one look at her go-go boots and kicked us both out. The three 45s' I selected for this early vietnam era piece of living history to "come alive" again were 1. Gimme Good Lovin" - Crazy Elephant 2. Suzy Q. Parts 1 & 2, - Creedence Clearwater Revival and 3. Sunshine of Your Love- Cream with Eric Clapton. Yassssah!!!!!

Good info

Thanks

The next level!

Hi fershure,

Here's some suggestions to take your great
little amps (and spkrs) to the next level..
and make em look like a more normal hi-fi...
blend in better with the rest of your gear and
make em a bit SAFER too!
I'll also decipher (and re-emphasize) some of
what the other members suggested.

First, ditch the speaker selector, no matter
how good a brand it is.
They only detract from the sound.
Remember, ANYthing in the signal path does!
Of course, some things must be in the sig path
lest... no music
Hence, the less the better... "less is more"
is the applicable maxim!
Its the key to hi-fi!!!

Use the Marantz pwr amp to drive your old
speakers, via a Y connector... *if you must*.

Next, get a schematic, and whatever
other documentation thats available
from www.thevoiceofmusic.com
He's a nice guy and very helpful... has all
docs available for fairly a reasonable price.
(usually service man & owners man)
Parts too, if for instance you want original
tubes to replace the one thats not VM.
You should have a matched pair on that tube
as well as any others.
And yes, VM definately WAS quality gear!
I have a great VM tube tuner in daily use since
the 70s when I got it.

BTW the Little Lafayette LR 75-A isn't garbage!
Its a decent little unit!
Certainly good enough for garage duty.
Better than that really... office duty anyway..
Better than anything you can get at your local
BigBox retail store for sure!
I once worked at Lafayette in the 70s and spent
time with that and others.
Don't get me wrong, I vastly prefer tube anything,
but solid state stuff made in that period is
good stuff, even if from Japan! Ask around....

Next, RE: the speakers....
The woofers look like Jensen too..
Jensen AlNiCo.... VERY nice!!!

Measure the inside of the console ...the area
behind the speaker..
That will be the volume of the new box to build!
I suggest making a duplicate of the boards they're
mounted on, using them as a template... then double
them up for bracing/rigidity.
Make up cabinets from mdf and finish em as prefered
Or have someone do it for you.
Proprer sized boxes will fill in the bottom
so you don't need the other speakers... those
consoles weren't known for being bass shy!
Put some damping pads on all sides of
the boxes too...
Use the kind with adhesive backed damping material
with a layer of foam on top.
Like this:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=260-520

This way, you'll have basically a total system
as the great VM engineers intended..
They thought things through very carefully,
based on the available technology of the day,
and of course reasonable price-point.
Only then you'll have big improvements!!!

If the tweeters are to bright, add an L-pad to cut
them down a bit.. Others here can tell you how.
Its either a variable (basically a volume control)
or fixed.. (soldered in resistors)
The "acoustic contour pot" is probably just that.
You can seperate out the leads for that and
the pilot light from the speaker leads
and put the pilot light in the amp chassis.

I also strongly suggest, unbolt the woofers
and re-mount them from the front!
Horns too if possible.

Get rid of the crummy/nasty old original wiring,
and proprietary DIN type connectors.
Use good stuff to replace it.
Twist the wire pairs to each driver.
Remove the crossover caps and replace with
new/high quality.. ie: Polypropylene
(Solen for example, available at Partsexpress.com)
of the same values (or as close as possible).
Do save those old caps though, from the amps too.
Later on, have someone test them for you.
Some folks like using the old types.. IF they
test good.

For all your tube needs, I use tubedepot.com...
There are others, but I've had great luck with
them.
Very fast shipping, practially everything you
can imagine in stock, really nice/friendly/knowlegable
folks... and they do tube testing for one buck per
tube (when last I checked)
They might even buy your un-needed tubes from
that box you bought.... ie: ones you'd never
use.

sorenj07 said:

looks pretty damn sweet.
if i were you, i'd get a cheap hammond aluminum box
and rebuild the amps into that

Click to expand...

Look here for the chassis box:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=320-830



and here for the Ventilated Cover:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=320-834



The reasons for this are:
1) SAFETY!!! Nothing will be exposed...
Kids pets and you will be safe from LETHAL voltage!

2) It will look professional, rather than like
a jr-hi shop project (your words, not mine ;-)

3) You can lay things out a bit better, while rebuilding
them... They look very cramped inside, which is
bad heat-wise, as well as for servicing.
Its still a good idea to re-cap, etc.
While they may be working ok now, those old caps
will GO one day, and maybe catastrophically.
New guts will sound lots better too.
A slight up-sizing of the Pwr supply Caps does
wonders... Especially for BASS and Dynamics!
(ask in the tube forum for values)

The old tube sockets are badly oxidized, like the
old wiring, connectors, etc....

Replace them with this for example
IMG
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=055-502

All those items can barely pass signal as they are.
Changing em out will make a HUGE improvement.
That goes for all the other guts too.
You might want to have a tech help out after
getting the schematics.... for a price of course.

4) the original chassis look crummy, they weren't
meant to be seen... new ones will be thicker and
better damped

Those chassis boxes are big... maybe bigger than
needed. There are several others to choose from
in the same location.
The amps look like maybe 4x12 inches from the photos
but I really can't tell.
The Hammond's will give lots more room to lay stuff
out better.
Copy the topside layout... the tube\transformer
locations look good... well thought out
(except the one being on the side rather than top)

Its a LOT easier to do it all at once, rather than
try to fish around in there with a soldering gun
to recap or the like.

sorenj07 said:

it'd look great and also give you the chance to
reverse-engineer the schematic, and replace all the caps.

Click to expand...

Adressed above....

sorenj07 said:

you can also disconnect the annoying preamp-out sockets
that no one ever uses. the power supply iron looks sweet,
and i guess that the output iron doesn't have to have nice
bells to work .

Click to expand...

Real good idea to get rid of all
unnescessary/obsolete plugs/sockets/
wiring, etc... and use modern connectors
(ie: good quality RCAs & binding posts)
with wiring routed properly.
Maybe even add an IEC AC socket.

PS transformer is nice and big... thats a real good thing!
;-)
The output transformer is kinda wierd.. and maybe a bit
inadequate... or maybe not. the VM engineers usually
did their homework.
Their stuff was to a price point though...
Maybe later on investigate an output x-former upgrade.
Hammmond makes decent ones, available thru PartsExpress.
I think they have a suitable one.
Ask the Gurus in this forum for advice....
Might be overkill though..
I would mount them topside however.. for looks if
nothing else.........

You should definately get a nice tube preamp
to pair it with one day, but hey.....
One thing at a time!!

It'll take a fair amount of time and cash,
but its potentially REALLY nice stuff!
Don't be fooled by its humble looks and condition!

Yes, this is a considerable project, but...
You've got good stuff, with miniscule initial
investment!
You can do it a bit at a time.. and enjoy
each improvement!
(ie do one amp one weekend, the other the next
and compare the difference)
It will be well worth it in the end!!!!!
Fun too!!

Hope that helps!
Greg

VM 1000 parts needed

I know this thread is a couple years old but I recently picked up a VM 1000 from the original owners and am in need of a couple parts from the cabinet. Mainly one of the lid stay parts and pieces. if you or anyone has left overs from the unit you parted please contact me.

Todd
oldvw@yahoo.com

Hi Todd,
I too have recently acquired a 1957 V-M 1000 The mid century modern walnut cabinet is in excellent condition and the unit appears to be complete. Even has the original price tag of $1025.00 on it! Currently have it in the living room. Now I need to move the Magnavox to the basement.
I am planning a full restoration before I plug it in.
Did you find the part for yours?
-Ron

I recently acquired one myself in almost mint condition. Will post photos soon.

My VM1000 Fidelis

Here are some pics.:thmbsp:

Bump.

I have a couple of V-M 1000 amplifiers coming... I'm not so fussed about the console or tuner, but will check out, update where necessary, and 'repackage' the amps for hifi monoblocks.