Console refurbs?

[Benz]

A bit bored today so thought I'd post a few pics of the console refurb I did a few years ago, and see what else people have done...

Original : Morse Stereo console



I was a bit limited when it comes to component selection as the console is fairly small. A full size receiver would not fit due to available size, so had to use a "baby" receiver. Same with speaker options, as I didn't want to have to remove the nice fabric in order to cut out larger woofer openings.

In the end, this is what I ended up using. I took everything out (amp/receiver, TT, woofers and tweeters), and replaced with:
- Baby Marantz 2015
- Dual 1219
- B&W V201 woofers, tweeters and crossovers.



I also added a Bluetooth adapter so I can stream from Spotify/Amazon Music. It was a fun project and I am pleased with the end result.

 

[Mr.Jim]

Nice work

 

[Bob in WI]

Pretty cool. Howz it sound? - light years better I'd assume.
Nice looking piece of furniture too. Worth the effort.

 

[Lou F Quincy]

Impressive.
Beautiful piece and component choices.

 

[baeron]

Nice work, turned out great

 

[Lavane]

Very nice resto-mod. The Dual was a nice choice. It looks like it belongs.
The baby Marantz is a nice touch also. Being cap coupled it should have a nice tone. I restored two Marantz 1060's and one 1030 integrated amps. Both are cap coupled and sound very nice. Did the original amplifier section use Germanium transistors?

 

[Benz]

Pretty cool. Howz it sound? - light years better I'd assume.
Nice looking piece of furniture too. Worth the effort.

It sounds surprisingly good, that baby Marantz is actually better than I would have expected and a good match for the B&Ws. I also hooked up a sub to the the remote speaker terminals for extra oomph. I honestly rarely need to use it but do turn it on when I feel like rockin'. This console does light music duty in the living room.

Very nice resto-mod. The Dual was a nice choice. It looks like it belongs.
The baby Marantz is a nice touch also. Being cap coupled it should have a nice tone. I restored two Marantz 1060's and one 1030 integrated amps. Both are cap coupled and sound very nice. Did the original amplifier section use Germanium transistors?

The original TT was a BSR I believe.



Fitting the Dual was my favourite part of the build. I had to replicate the complex shape of the original plinth and for an amateur such as me it was a fun challenge. I've always liked the 1219s beefy sound. Size-wise it actually fit perfectly, however I did have to cut out part of the inside cabinet to allow the tonearm's counterweight to pivot freely.



There weren't many options in terms of vintage receivers, given the width limitations and the 2015 fit the bill. I was lucky enough to get one for a good price but it was a 3 hours' drive away. It came with the wood case also, which I repurposed and is now housing a Dyna PAS preamp. To be honest I'm not sure if the original amp had germanium transistors; I would guess the console is probably from 65 to 70 but haven't been able to find any definitive info on it.

And thanks all for the nice comments, I had been looking to do a console refurb for a long time and it finally happened once a nice one popped up locally on Kijiji. Everything else fell into place after that.

 

[gadget73]

Cabinet looks like it was the nicest part of that. Stock electronics, meh. A lot of consoles were that way though, and even the ones with decent electronics tended to have less than amazing speakers. There are often nice improvements to be had with these things if keeping it as-built is not critical.

 

[Benz]

Yes in this case I would definitely agree the original electronics weren't impressive at all in this console although they did still work fine. I kept them, not too sure why honestly as there is no turning back given the mods I've made to the cabinet. That's just the way I am I suppose, doesn't feel right to throw away functioning gear.