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Dynaco A25xl Restoration - Pics are free!

bighitbomber

Active Member
Good day Audiokarma! Since I have found this forum, I have learned alot from you all and probably have found one of the friendliest forums around!

Since I am a vintage newbie and have not yet learned enough to share knowledge, the least I can do is share my experience with you all!

I had posted in another thread (intro's) about these Dynaco A25xl's that were destined for the landfill
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The cabinets had a few scratches and water stains, but are structurally sound with no major chips or separation...image.jpg
The only thing was, someone was inside these and had stripped most of the dampening material out of them and out of the port.
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Not the end of the world, but why??
The caps are within spec and the switch is almost new, so no crossover work... Since I forgot to take pictures of the internal dampening (sorry, was pretty excited),here is a reference picture courtesy of the interweb of the drop ceiling panels that I stripped the insulation from. The material is almost exactly like the original!
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Started the restoration by sanding the cabinets, first with 100 grit and on to 220 and 400 grit. Original on the left, sanded on the right.
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I was able to sand out the majority of the scratches except the bottom of one cabinet. I was starting to get a little gun-shy with all the sanding (did not want to burn through the veneer), so I left it (no one will ever know but me!).

The color of stain I used is a dark red mahogany as a compromise between the wife and I. Glad I went that route! Looks fantastic!
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After repainting the baffles with some ultra flat black, re soldering the connections and installing some contrasting hardware (waiting for some copper screws), these little fella's are in for another 40 years of enjoyment!!
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As you have probably noticed, I am still waiting to find some similar mesh material to hold the insulation in the port. I figure that I have reached fairly close to the original cabinet tune with about an inch thick piece of yellow insulation squeezed in there.

Anyways, enough being distracted from these beauties!! Time to re appreciate all of my music!

Thanks all and I hope you have enjoyed my little contribution!

Scott.
 
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Nice job on the restoration! Its great to save something from the landfill and give it a new life.
What are you going to power those with?
 
Nice job on the restoration! Its great to save something from the landfill and give it a new life.
What are you going to power those with?
Thanks! These are currently on a Pioneer vsx-824k in the hobby room in pure direct. Hopefully I will get lucky and find some vintage Pioneer power for them:)
 
Good job! How do they sound with the vsx pioneer?
Thanks! They sound great, detailed highs and surprising bass...really like classic rock on these. They are in an 11 x 22 room with LP in the center, 24" off the floor and 24" off each wall... Hard to tell where the music is coming from sometimes! I think my ears made some new friends:)
 
I feel like such a slacker! Been getting lost listening to these and forgot to post the completed pics!
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About an inch of glass in the port. Couldn't find anything similar to the original mesh, so I used some left over gutter guard. Looks good to me!

It is starting to get pretty nice here so the Realistic's went back out to the garage, now I needed some stands for these. Threw together some scraps and this is what I came up with...
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They are now 8" off the floor at an adjustable 5 degree inclination. They sound even better than when they were stacked on the Realistic's!

Hope you all enjoy!
Scott.
 
Those look quite nice - quite nice indeed! I like the gutter guard standing in for the original mesh. Clever substitution.

Did you do anything to the grills?
 
Those look quite nice - quite nice indeed! I like the gutter guard standing in for the original mesh. Clever substitution.

Did you do anything to the grills?
Thank you! The grills are pretty much mint condition minus the badges. I wanted to replace the original material with a brighter cream color, seems wrong to molest them since they are in such good shape. Plus, I kind of enjoy the "industrial" look of the bare drivers!
 
.... Plus, I kind of enjoy the "industrial" look of the bare drivers!

Oh, I agree - and with copper screws?? That should look pretty Steampunk-ish.

If you ever look for badging, there's a Canadian guy over on that auction site that sells them for around ten bucks a pair. Nice quality. No affliation, just a satisfied customer.
 
Oh, I agree - and with copper screws?? That should look pretty Steampunk-ish.

If you ever look for badging, there's a Canadian guy over on that auction site that sells them for around ten bucks a pair. Nice quality. No affliation, just a satisfied customer.
The copper screws are in the garage waiting... Every time I go to change them, I end up listening instead! Thanks for the info on the badges, seems to be a little badge monkey stealing all these Dynaco's tags...
 
Wow! Excellent job on the restoration! I must admit, your "scaps" stands look better than anything I would set out to create! :thumbsup:
 
Wow! Excellent job on the restoration! I must admit, your "scaps" stands look better than anything I would set out to create! :thumbsup:
Thanks! I don't think the stands are done, was going to paint the top and bottom platforms gloss black... Not too sure...
 
I'd leave them as is... kind of blends in with the fiber peeking out of the vent, makes the color of the cabinets stand out more.
 
Nice thread - - great job on that restoration. Before you purchase new, you should give a try at cleaning the original grille cloth - - looks to be in very good condition to me.
 
Nice thread - - great job on that restoration. Before you purchase new, you should give a try at cleaning the original grille cloth - - looks to be in very good condition to me.
Thanks! I was going to install some new fabric but the originals are in such good shape, it just seems wrong.
 
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