i thought i worked the defeat switches pretty good though, but to be honest i think it was more the fm button/switches that i worked really well.. i definitely worked each and every knob til the teeth on the shaft were diggin in me from each precise click that was not there before. the defeat switches might have only seen slight attention, i definitely got them i remember spraying them but maybe i didnt soak em well enough.
mcs 3275 and 3125
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goodolpg
Just an old fart trying to help.
Nice to know you got the caps and they fit the holders, I guess the only real problem was the cap orientation, do you have any tips regarding that?
I've tried to add any helpful hints like aligning the FM needle and the LED readout before putting one of these back together. And using tape to keep the dial string from coming off at each contact point along the way. Taking it all apart again (covers and faceplate removal isn't bad) is not that bad EXCEPT for trying to get the EQ/defeat panel in and out.
Did you find one small screw on the lower left that loosened up "something" that was a little difficult getting back in place and getting the screw started? Not the volume pot, it was something else. Maybe it was the function switch or the mic level, I can't remember which one it was that gave me trouble. I'm not sure which screw I remove to shoot the volume control but I've not had the problem you described and I keep a finger on the nut to keep it from falling out.
I "exercise" both of my 3125's to keep all the knobs/switches/etc in shape.
One is hooked up and usable as a second unit in my living room with FM only, that one I use 3 or 4 times a week just to make sure all is well. One of the defeat buttons on it isn't a 100% but I'm not going back in again until I have to. I give that button a little wiggle now and then if that channel drops out and that gets it going again. Then I leave it alone.
The other one I plug in (and use a T dipole antenna) maybe every 3 months, I don't HAVE to use speakers since the led power meters will let me know each channel is putting out sound. Then I give each switch and knob several turns back and forth just to keep things loose and functioning. One time I thought the defeat button was bad again but it turned out to be the speaker selector if I remember right. The defeat buttons are probably the most trouble prone but it seems any of them can act up.
I do like the looks of them and they do sound good when working properly.
In particular the bass is good and strong and seems effortless. The cooling fins and area around the fins barely gets warm though I rarely crank it above 9:30 or 10:00 on the volume dial.
One has the OEM white bulbs, the other has blue LED bulbs. I prefer the blue though maybe a lighter blue than I currently have would look better, they are fairly dark blue. Matter of personal preference I suppose. Tonight around dark I was thinking how nice the blue FM dial and red EQ and function LEDS looked in low light.
I've tried to add any helpful hints like aligning the FM needle and the LED readout before putting one of these back together. And using tape to keep the dial string from coming off at each contact point along the way. Taking it all apart again (covers and faceplate removal isn't bad) is not that bad EXCEPT for trying to get the EQ/defeat panel in and out.
Did you find one small screw on the lower left that loosened up "something" that was a little difficult getting back in place and getting the screw started? Not the volume pot, it was something else. Maybe it was the function switch or the mic level, I can't remember which one it was that gave me trouble. I'm not sure which screw I remove to shoot the volume control but I've not had the problem you described and I keep a finger on the nut to keep it from falling out.
I "exercise" both of my 3125's to keep all the knobs/switches/etc in shape.
One is hooked up and usable as a second unit in my living room with FM only, that one I use 3 or 4 times a week just to make sure all is well. One of the defeat buttons on it isn't a 100% but I'm not going back in again until I have to. I give that button a little wiggle now and then if that channel drops out and that gets it going again. Then I leave it alone.
The other one I plug in (and use a T dipole antenna) maybe every 3 months, I don't HAVE to use speakers since the led power meters will let me know each channel is putting out sound. Then I give each switch and knob several turns back and forth just to keep things loose and functioning. One time I thought the defeat button was bad again but it turned out to be the speaker selector if I remember right. The defeat buttons are probably the most trouble prone but it seems any of them can act up.
I do like the looks of them and they do sound good when working properly.
In particular the bass is good and strong and seems effortless. The cooling fins and area around the fins barely gets warm though I rarely crank it above 9:30 or 10:00 on the volume dial.
One has the OEM white bulbs, the other has blue LED bulbs. I prefer the blue though maybe a lighter blue than I currently have would look better, they are fairly dark blue. Matter of personal preference I suppose. Tonight around dark I was thinking how nice the blue FM dial and red EQ and function LEDS looked in low light.
yeah i pulled the covers back off of it and noticed there were some leads on the defeat switches that arent soldered and lead straight to the switch through the circuit board. i dribbled deoxit through there and worked the switches really well. then i used some evaporating solventy electronic cleaner/deoxidizing spray to clean the boards and wires of the excess deoxit residue. i then blew the boards/ switches with compressed air at pretty much the same time. the defeat switches seem to be working rather properly now. the LED output lights were finicky as to how much they felt like working despite the sound being fine. right now its been playing for about an hour without any trouble and the LED's have come back to reading pretty accurately again. the sound is pretty obviously good because im hearing mercyful fate as ive never heard them before. not just mercyful fate but nearly every song i listen to aside from songs i listened to on my dads 3275. every crank of the volume know feels like im cranking up that 3275 with the noise this 3125 makes, but it has so much power its despicable. low level listening on AUX with iphone volume all way up is one notch on the volume knob. any quieter is no volume, any louder is too loud with people upstairs sleeping. one notch on the volume knob and to lower the volume from there i gotta lower the iphone.
im glad to hear that these tone defeats are finnicky. im pretty ocd about beautiful stuff like this.
i absolutely love this receiver. i cant get over its looks and im so happy i finally got that 3275 sound! that NEC a-910 integrated should be one hell of an opponent for this thing if i can get it/keep it operational.
the tuner string requires masking tape everywhere it meets a pulley including the tuning section. you can then remove the string from the pulley on the furthest right of the tuning knob if looking at from the front so there is slack in tuning string to move faceplate out and down to get the volume board out. i didnt have any trouble with getting screws lined up with any switches. once the switches were through their respective hole they could just hand there until i held the board to line up the screw holes for switches. with the volume and speaker switch board out, you have complete access to the whole set of EQ knobs and tone defeat button/switches. the fm button/switches are easily accessible just from removing the gray cover.
whats funny is on the back of the 3275 it says it will use 220 watts and the 3125 says 290 watts
i think the 3275 was rated rather conservatively at 75 wpc to say the least lol
ive got pictures, some video, and can get more of both. just gotta decide which ones to put on photobucket to put on here
i cant get over how this thing looks. now i just need that mcs 3260 or nec aur-9060 to complete my receiver trio for trippin on the paper squares
this 3125 is PUMPING out way more sound than my 2080, sta-78, and marantz sr225 were, and its doing it with some vicious quality. turned up it was really intense. it will get VERY loud before the clipping lights starts to rear its ugly face
once again, f&$k anyone who talks trash about MCS or any receiver like the marantz sr225. what do i mean by that? i mean dont talk trash about receivers that produce badass quality sound just because they arent a mcintosh, pioneer, sansui, 70's marantz, blah blah blah... ill stick to making judgements based off build quality and sound vs whether it was made by the right people during the right years.
turns out by following that philosophy, i ended up with the equipment that just so happened to be made by the right people during the right years lol just not who people thought (or were even aware) built receivers.
considering it was the pioneer sx-1980 which used the same NEC output transistors that the mcs 3125 uses, its safe to say the MCS 3125 was made by the people pioneer wished they were.
if you have ever said something along the lines of "its just JCPenny house brand crap".... you've got some learning to do son
if you have ever said something along the lines of "i think panasonic or technics made some of MCS's good receivers"..... you've got some learning to do son
its taken me 23 years to finally HEAR music ive been listening to my entire life, thanks to NEC made MCS units
im glad to hear that these tone defeats are finnicky. im pretty ocd about beautiful stuff like this.
i absolutely love this receiver. i cant get over its looks and im so happy i finally got that 3275 sound! that NEC a-910 integrated should be one hell of an opponent for this thing if i can get it/keep it operational.
the tuner string requires masking tape everywhere it meets a pulley including the tuning section. you can then remove the string from the pulley on the furthest right of the tuning knob if looking at from the front so there is slack in tuning string to move faceplate out and down to get the volume board out. i didnt have any trouble with getting screws lined up with any switches. once the switches were through their respective hole they could just hand there until i held the board to line up the screw holes for switches. with the volume and speaker switch board out, you have complete access to the whole set of EQ knobs and tone defeat button/switches. the fm button/switches are easily accessible just from removing the gray cover.
whats funny is on the back of the 3275 it says it will use 220 watts and the 3125 says 290 watts
i think the 3275 was rated rather conservatively at 75 wpc to say the least lol
ive got pictures, some video, and can get more of both. just gotta decide which ones to put on photobucket to put on here
i cant get over how this thing looks. now i just need that mcs 3260 or nec aur-9060 to complete my receiver trio for trippin on the paper squares
this 3125 is PUMPING out way more sound than my 2080, sta-78, and marantz sr225 were, and its doing it with some vicious quality. turned up it was really intense. it will get VERY loud before the clipping lights starts to rear its ugly face
once again, f&$k anyone who talks trash about MCS or any receiver like the marantz sr225. what do i mean by that? i mean dont talk trash about receivers that produce badass quality sound just because they arent a mcintosh, pioneer, sansui, 70's marantz, blah blah blah... ill stick to making judgements based off build quality and sound vs whether it was made by the right people during the right years.
turns out by following that philosophy, i ended up with the equipment that just so happened to be made by the right people during the right years lol just not who people thought (or were even aware) built receivers.
considering it was the pioneer sx-1980 which used the same NEC output transistors that the mcs 3125 uses, its safe to say the MCS 3125 was made by the people pioneer wished they were.
if you have ever said something along the lines of "its just JCPenny house brand crap".... you've got some learning to do son
if you have ever said something along the lines of "i think panasonic or technics made some of MCS's good receivers"..... you've got some learning to do son
its taken me 23 years to finally HEAR music ive been listening to my entire life, thanks to NEC made MCS units
i still have some occasional scratchiness/dropoffs of sound from the right channel but i think thats the volume pot. if i leave the volume and balance alone it stays pretty true but if im messing with the volume or balance ill have the issue. i feel like i should have just unsoldered the vol/bal housing, opened it, and cleaned the pee out of it.. maybe next time i open it up! messing with the defeat switches dont seem to really have an effect on things anymore, they just seem to defeat and..well.. un defeat lol
turns out the scratchiness/dropoffs of sound was the speaker. im going to pull the crossover, tweeter and mid driver and see whats up. i hooked up some other speakers i have and the problem went away. it was exploited when id turn the balance all the way into the right speaker. now it doesnt have any issues. my led output meters take a second to "warm up" to reading the output despite having perfect sound even when they aren't reading yet. feels really good to have this receiver
I share your enthusiasm for the MCS line. I have a MCS 3285 I bought new back in '86. Back then I worked in the stereo and TV department of JCP, and when they closed out the high-end audio line I scored both a MCS 3285 receiver and a MCS 3035 equalizer. I bought the 3285 for half off, and the equalizer for almost 40% off. Employee discounts are great...! I've kept them pristine over the years, and still have the manuals (including schematics, which came with the high-end units), boxes, and even the receipts. I'm a hell of a pack rat to keep manuals and receipts for 30 years....
As some have noted, the higher-end MCS were built by NEC (it's easy to check; you can look up the FCC prefix - which on these is A3D - at the FCC web site to find the manufacturer).
I don't have a service manual for the 3125, but if you can find someone with the manuals you'll at least be able to get a copy of the schematics.
Beuford
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ah yes the 3285, the only big MCS nec receiver im still missing. ive got the 3125, my dad has the 3275, ive got a 3236, two 3226's, and an NEC a-910 integrated amp now. i have an NEC ag-100e equalizer on the way for the a-910 as it only has bass/treble adjustments. the a-910 has some intense high frequencies to it, it hits very hard and is very very clear sound. the a-910 will be nice to have when i decide to recap the rest of the 3125. when that time comes im considering pulling the 6800uf 80v caps from the 3125 and saving them for some other receivers so i can use some larger filter caps. the A-910 has 4 elna 10000uf caps and it has some really good headroom. im unsure of the voltage but id guess its probably the same as the 3125 caps (80v).
all things ill do eventually cause its currently working well enough right now
all things ill do eventually cause its currently working well enough right now
i dont think i trust these small caps. i almost feel like the old rubycons had more smack and precision to em than these KG gold tunes do.. it was hard to get it to play clear because it was so dirty but when i could get it to play somewhat clear im pretty sure it sounded better than it does now. it sounds good but i feel like the larger/heavier cap really does have something to do with it despite ratings. from what i can tell, the size of these nichicons are pretty similar to that of your average cap with this rating. i noticed these onkyo integra elna caps that are 100v 10000uf that are 35mm x 105mm.. im unsure about these caps in particular but im certain ill be going with a larger cap. i thought about putting the old ones back in to see how they did but i think ill save myself the trouble. it sounds good for what it is but i just dont trust these caps.
goodolpg
Just an old fart trying to help.
Here's a picture of one of my 3125's, the one with the blue LEDs which look much deeper blue under low light conditions.
With this unit, every function and indicator works.
The other 3125, which has the original white/clear festoon bulbs, everything works except for the segmented FM signal strength meter (the lowest line in the display in the top RIGHT corner of the unit).
These both put out serious effortless hard hitting sound, though I don't crank them like I did my gear back in the day.
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have they been recapped? just filter caps or all? if not, just 4 factory ce62w 80v 6800uf rubycons? and blue rubycon channel board caps in the inner 4 corners of the heat sink half of the receiver?
goodolpg
Just an old fart trying to help.
Neither has been recapped.
The white bulb one was in the shop last year, stuck in protection and the FM numerical display was wonky...took forever (that's why I purchased the second one, was starting to think the first one would not be repaired) to get fixed. It was a couple leaky driver resistors in the right channel amp section along with the dual J FET IC, tech also replaced the FM freq. display driver IC.
I wish I could get a better picture of the blue LED dial unit, in low light the blue really pops and to me looks great with the red factory function LEDS.
The white bulb one was in the shop last year, stuck in protection and the FM numerical display was wonky...took forever (that's why I purchased the second one, was starting to think the first one would not be repaired) to get fixed. It was a couple leaky driver resistors in the right channel amp section along with the dual J FET IC, tech also replaced the FM freq. display driver IC.
I wish I could get a better picture of the blue LED dial unit, in low light the blue really pops and to me looks great with the red factory function LEDS.
IC?
ive also never heard of a resistor leaking anything
goodolpg
Just an old fart trying to help.
Beats me, just wrote what was on the repair ticket. Two 3 legged pin things with colored squares above the pins and a silver rectangle with a round hole above that...NEC parts B536 (blue-ish) and D381 (gray), other part has 7 pins NEC UPA63H L207. Those were the amp repair parts.
As mentioned, I can take them apart and clean them but my electrical skills and knowledge are extremely limited.
As mentioned, I can take them apart and clean them but my electrical skills and knowledge are extremely limited.
what speakers do you listen to them through?
goodolpg
Just an old fart trying to help.
I was using them with Infinity Reference Studio Monitors.
For a little while I used the white bulb 3125 as a pre amp, feeding a Rotel RB-990BX amp. Just an experiment, worked just fine though.
But one is "retired" now, and the other is used as a secondary system just to use it and keep it fully functioning and keep the controls from going bad hopefully, now paired with Polk Monitor 30's.
I listen to it 3,4,5 times a week for little bit just to make sure all is well.
Currently using a Crown XLS 2000/NAD 1700 in my main system with the Infinitys.
I may have a "bit" too much stuff, but it's ok, I'm single and live alone.
For a little while I used the white bulb 3125 as a pre amp, feeding a Rotel RB-990BX amp. Just an experiment, worked just fine though.
But one is "retired" now, and the other is used as a secondary system just to use it and keep it fully functioning and keep the controls from going bad hopefully, now paired with Polk Monitor 30's.
I listen to it 3,4,5 times a week for little bit just to make sure all is well.
Currently using a Crown XLS 2000/NAD 1700 in my main system with the Infinitys.
I may have a "bit" too much stuff, but it's ok, I'm single and live alone.
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Thanks for posting that I can search the FCC website using the FCC ID.
Allowed me to confirm that my July 4th MCS 3285 purchase is NEC manufacture.
Lovely unit.
Shame I did not have the cash to buy one new at the time; would have liked to have the JC Penney paperwork and sales brochure as souvenirs.