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inherited a bunch of gear - working out what's best

B

bernm

New Member
Hi. I'm brand new here, as in I just found this site last night and signed up then.

Though I've owned lots of audio equipment over the years, I've never really known a whole lot about brands or restoration or what's worthy of repair etc.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I've inherited a bunch of gear over recent years, most notably a whole system just 2 days ago. This came from an older man I know who loves his music, but has had to downsize due to moving into an aged care facility. It's very kind of him, and he's thrilled to know that the gear has gone to someone who'll use and appreciate it.

But this means that I now have multiple components and I'd very much appreciate some help in determining what might be an ideal combination. Yes, I know my ears are the final judge, but wisdom and advice from knowledgable people won't go astray either. So I'll put a few questions in here, but if you think any of this should go to a specific forum, please let me know.


Amplifiers
Sony 1140
Marantz PM-35
Pioneer A-10-K

I have yet to test all of these side by side. I think one channel/side each on the Sony and Marantz is crackly. I don't know if that means I just need to use some electronics cleaner on the balance pot, or if repairs are needed. The Pioneer came from the elderly gentleman and is the newest one, but I think the Marantz sounds better from memory.


Turntable
Dual 1228
Welling F-700

The Dual doesn't work anymore, after a recent move. I may try to repair it myself (I've found a bunch of YouTube videos on that and similar models). If that fails, there's a vintage turntable restoration guy that I know of locally. It seems to me that the Dual is far better. While the Welling works fine, I wonder if a restoration of the Dual is a better investment?


CD Player
Pioneer PD-5100
a Marantz one (did not note the model number)

The Marantz one seems to skip a bit, so I think that answers the CD question.


Speakers
Pioneer CS-30
Wharfedale Atlantic 200
and a bunch of other inexpensive speakers from gear across the years - nothing special

I hooked up both the Pioneers and Wharfedales yesterday and A/Bed them. To my surprise, I liked the Wharfedales more. But I wonder if it's a case of the Pioneers needing recapping, since if my research so far is correct, they're from the early 70s (I found the post on that here, and this is something I can do - I'm handy enough with a soldering iron for that sort of thing). One of the Wharfedales has a crack/tear in its woofer. So I'm also wondering about replacing that woofer, if that is a cost-effective thing to do?


I know this is long winded, but if anyone has actually persevered in reading this, I'd love to know your recommendations from my list above. What do you think is best? Why? What is worth repairing / restoring?

Many thanks,
Bern
 
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The Sony amp is a classic. I bought a TA-1150 brand new in the early 1970's, sold it to a friend for $50 when I upgraded a few years later and learned recently they sell now for huge coin. Very well made amps. Cannot comment on that particular Pioneer and Marantz except that they're a whole lot newer. But not even a remote threat to that Sony as far as I'm concerned especially in the looks department.

My priorities are not what you'd call "purist".

Don't know the Atlantic models at all but Wharfedale is a credible brand. The Pioneers you have are nothing special. I call them "package grade" speakers as they were intended for and inevitably sold with cheap, usually one branded systems. It surprised me no end when customers insisted that speakers carried the same brand name as the stereo components they were buying.

Never heard of Welling but photos make it appear to be like any other cheap black turntable from the 1990's. That Dual turntable, again is a classic. Still desireable and well regarded 40 odd year since it was made.

CD player - pick your own poison. The PD-5100 was not bad but the Marantz....depends on which model it is.
 
Looks like Mr. 62vauxhall has it covered. I agree on all points. That Pioneer wasn't bad, but I think the Marantz could be fixed. Relube the rails, use a q tip to gently clean the laser, and read Dr*Audio's thread about fixing cd players.

Good luck, you have some nice stuff.
 
On that crack/tear, is it ON THE DRIVER, or is it the surround?? If it's on the basket of the woofer, that can be fixed with a cut-to-fit coffee filter and some aleene's glue. Works like a charm.
 
Welcome! Another vote for Sony, Dual and Wharfedales. Once they're cleaned up they should play nicely together for decades.
 
Bern - where are you located? You never know when you're right down the road from someone who can give you a hand if you need repairs on anything. Or just opinions, which nobody here is short on.
 
Wow. Thanks guys - excellent info and replies. So much appreciated.

@62vauxhall , thanks for the detailed reply. Yup, I agree with the looks comment about the Sony. I'd take the look of this old gear over any new black glossy stuff any day, if it came down to choosing one purely based on aesthetics.

I feel convinced now that I should stick with my gut instinct of restoring the Dual. At least I have the Welling to use in the meantime.

As for the Wharedale speaker, I'll upload a pic of the tear soon. I've yet to really figure out what I've been given and explore it well - just such a busy week at work. I'm hoping to have some time to figure all of this out more over the weekend.

@saggy , I'm located in Sydney, Australia (Epping).

@onwardjames As for the CD player, yup I'm happy to have a go at that. I have no idea, but I'm very willing to learn. And I get a lot of satisfaction in fixing my own stuff anyway. I'll also consider the speaker repair too if that can be done.

Again, thanks so much guys - so helpful!
 
bernm said:
Wow. Thanks guys - excellent info and replies. So much appreciated.

@62vauxhall , thanks for the detailed reply. Yup, I agree with the looks comment about the Sony. I'd take the look of this old gear over any new black glossy stuff any day, if it came down to choosing one purely based on aesthetics.

I feel convinced now that I should stick with my gut instinct of restoring the Dual. At least I have the Welling to use in the meantime.

As for the Wharedale speaker, I'll upload a pic of the tear soon. I've yet to really figure out what I've been given and explore it well - just such a busy week at work. I'm hoping to have some time to figure all of this out more over the weekend.

@saggy , I'm located in Sydney, Australia (Epping).

@onwardjames As for the CD player, yup I'm happy to have a go at that. I have no idea, but I'm very willing to learn. And I get a lot of satisfaction in fixing my own stuff anyway. I'll also consider the speaker repair too if that can be done.

Again, thanks so much guys - so helpful!
Click to expand...

Welcome to the AK community!
 
IMG_2844_zps7adm4eel.jpg
 
@onwardjames Any further comment on the speaker now that I've been able to upload an image?

And one other question that relates this post overall: so can you recommend anyone in my area who's really good with vintage audio electronics, particularly if I'm to get the Sony amp serviced / restored? As for the Dual turntable, if I can't get it working myself, Spin Doctor in Hornsby has been on my radar - I'm happy to hear of any other recommendations, or comments on Spin Doctor's work.

Thanks again!
 
@bernm I had a rip that bad in a Cerwin Vega. Long term? Try to find a replacement. Short term? Read up on how myself and others did it.

Basically, hand cut the coffee filter as slim and narrow as possible, and still completely cover the crack. Take Aleene's or any craft style glue, and thoroughly coat the back side. Gently apply to driver, LET DRY, and then finger spread a thin coat on top.

Done. It works like magic. Think paper mache' or whatever it is. Essentially, it becomes a speaker band-aid. Try to use enough to give the rip strength, and yet keep total weight and amounts minimal, as it no doubt will change the speakers T/S parameters. Will that be audible?? I doubt it.

Best of luck!!
 
I have restored several Dual 1219 and 1229 turntables. A very good resource for service manuals and tech help, in addition to the Turntables forum here on AK, is vinylengine.com. Join and go to the Dual forum to look for info on the 1218 and you most likely can also get a service manual there. There are some great Dual experts on there very willing to help.
 
Looks like a poly cone on that woofer. If so, Aleene's is a water based white glue that probably won't stick. You can get a black solvent based adhesive for sticking rubber surrounds to poly cones - I recently got some and will look up where (altho being down under you may have to go elsewhere). BUT also you can use an automotive adhesive called RTV, very similar stuff. I think it would work by itself as a temp repair. Smear on both front and back of the tear, not too much, maybe two thin layers better than one thick one. First one just to fill the crack, second overlapping onto the cone. It dries flexible and very durable. I repaired a tear in a rubber surround on a Klipsch woofer years ago and its' still going strong.
 
bernm said:
IMG_2844_zps7adm4eel.jpg
Click to expand...


Bernm, welcome to AK. This Wharfedale pic makes it look fairly modern. If it's this side of the last 20 years, as I suspect it is, onward james has good advice in getting it replaced in the long term. I have Wharfedales from the early 2000's and more modern day Wharfies, and it's a brand that inspires loyalty, and rewards the owner(s) for years.

You inherited some nice gear, so at least you have a good variety to choose from. My .02 coppers is get the Wharfedale repaired or replaced, and it will serve you well.

Best wishes, and keep us posted!
 
@toxcrusadr

You are correct, sir. Please forgive me, OP. I overlooked that very important fact. Do as Tox says. My experience was with paper cones, they're a breeze.
 
LePages sell small tubes of something called Flexible Plastic Cement.

Might be worth investigating.

I encased a braided stainless steel motorcycle speedometer cable sheath with clear plastic tubing and sealed the length long cut I made with that cement. Was still holding at 40,000km when the rotating cable itself broke. And it flexed A LOT - on every bump and road undulation.
 
Hello again everyone. Some updates. I tested more of the equipment today.

Amps: Both the Marantz and Sony sound better than the Pioneer, though the Pioneer still sounds good too. Both the Marantz and Sony for some reason have a very crackly left side - it's not the speaker, because it was fine with the Pioneer. I tried some electrical cleaner on the knobs / sliders and it didn't fix the problem (though it helped a bit for the Marantz). The Sony is also generally "noisy" on the left side too, not just when fiddling with the balance control. So I think I'll put the Sony in for a service somewhere (recommendations would be appreciated!), and I've hooked up the Pioneer in the meantime. I'm not sure what I'll do with the Marantz - I may open it up and see if the balance pot and the little board connected to it is a replacement part. Not sure.

Turntables: I've decided I will try to restore the Dual myself and if I can't do that, I'll get it serviced. It's much higher quality than the Welling. The Welling feels like a toy next to it. But I've hooked up the Welling for now until the Dual is done.

Speakers: I checked with Wharfedale about a replacement woofer, and ended up in contact with the Australian distributor. They have them in stock and the price is reasonable ($124 AUD including shipping and GST), so I decided to just buy one. I figure, I spent literally zero dollars on what in the end might be two stereo systems, so this is an investment into a system that'll be great for decades. As for the Pioneers, I'm going to try recapping them - what have I got to lose? That shouldn't cost much and is within my skill level. If I like them after recapping, I'll integrate them into the system or use them in a second one.

CD: The Pioneer one actually doesn't work at all - it powers up, but doesn't play. The other one I have isn't a Marantz after all (I had confused it with other gear I also have, e.g. a cassette deck) but a brand I don't recognise. It's a C.D.C., model 450CD. This is the one that skips. So I'll look into that CD player repair thread mentioned above and see what I can do.

I also have a cassette deck and radio receiver to test as well.

In the end, I'll probably end up with the main system being the Sony amp, Dual turntable, whatever CD player I can get to work, and the Wharfedales.

Assuming there are secondary bits that all work, I'll put the other together for my garage, i.e. the Pioneer or Marantz amp, Welling turntable, the Pioneer speakers (or other cheapies from bits I've gathered). And if I can't get the other CD player to work, I'll just line my iPad into that one.

Anyway, I'm making progress and learning a lot along the way already. Thanks so much everyone for all the comments and input - this has been both helpful and encouraging.

But of course this opens up other areas of exploration too, like cleaning my old vinyl etc (I've started reading up on that too)!


Kind regards
Bern

p.s. @onwardjames , all good!
 
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