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Magnovox Phono Console

Beatnik

Beatnik

What's this ?
Picked up this little Magnovox console and have some questions. About the phono eq, is it in the amp or pre and is it easily bypassed for aux line in ? Will it work with a standard turntable after I pull it all out or will I need ?

Thanks
 

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Looks like a ceramic needle, so probably no RIAA built-in to the amp. It looks like an easy pull. a power switch is very easy to add from those red/yellow/black wires. I don't see the rca plugs. I see two output transformers, so it is a stereo unit. If you want help with it, bring it over. I'm in Allen now.
 
Beatnik said:
About the phono eq, is it in the amp or pre
Click to expand...

No EQ. This is your standard ceramic cartridge which acts like a basic line level input. You can use your ipod, CD player, or other line level devices with this console amplifier, but wanting to use a modern turntable, assuming the modern turntable uses a MM or MC type of cartridge, will require an external preamp between the table and the amp.

Beatnik said:
is it easily bypassed for aux line in ?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can use your console with a CD player or other line level devices.
 
So I just gut it, check it over and use it ? I noticed the switch was on the phono itself. Maybe something on the other side, the preamp is behind that board.

Thanks Jason, but I barely have the gas to pick up anything these days. Has to be close to where I happen to be. :(
 
You'd need a phono preamp, which you could build on a separate chassis, and steal the power for it from the amp. That amp looks like a Magnavox 8601, and it should be able to supply the preamp tube no problem. These 8601 amps are very good sounding amps, even if you don't want the rest of that console, I'd pull it. But I'd put a real turntable in there.
 
I'm in the "Don't Gut it" boat but that is only me because I have a barn to store maybe 20 consoles in.

It looks like your model uses the integrated amplifier which means the preamp and power amp are in one unit. The main power switch is the one on the turntable as this console is a record player unit only with no receiver or tuner/preamplifier.

If you want to see how it sounds with a cd player, just unplug (pull) the RCA jacks from the turntable and plug them into your cd player. Turn on the record player so the amp will power up. Stand alone use of the amp will require knowing which power wires from the turntable to jump.
 
That looks a lot like the RCA I worked on today, if they are 6BQ5s, it should sound really good...

Regards,
John
 
To bypass the turntable completely, you unplug the three wired jack and two of them can be hooked to an on/off switch. The third is the ground.
 
just make sure you get the right two, otherwise it will either do nothing, or be a dead short across the power line :) If you can follow the wiring on the turntable, the two that go to the switch are the ones you need.


Of the various changers used in consoles over the years, this is by far not the worst. Mod it for a magnetic cartridge and you might be surprised at it. The Collaro changers were right decent pieces, and they have this really cool record sizing process that uses the tonearm.
 
gadget73 said:
just make sure you get the right two, otherwise it will either do nothing, or be a dead short across the power line :) If you can follow the wiring on the turntable, the two that go to the switch are the ones you need...
Click to expand...

You can also look under the amp chassis and trace the power in from the cord and to the power transformer to find the correct wires in that plug. It's easy either way.
 
I think Beatniks is different than the 8601 as his has the volume and tone controls built in.

If you look closely at the inside pic, the amp is mounted on the same plane as the turntable with the controls sticking out the other side.

Here is an 8601-20 straight power amp. Is the straight 8601 the integrated amp version?
 

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It says 8301-10, smaller less output ? Do I need to recap this before I do anything ?
 

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Gadget is right, you should restore this one and use the Micromatic changer. I converted one to use a Shure M44 cartridge and phono pre and it sounds great.
 
I would re-cap it. They're not known to last forever, and its a simple enough job to do on this one.
 
Ah yes, the 8301 looks to be the integrated version of the 8601. Hard to keep track of these things. :D
 
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