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New Large Advents--best $20 I ever spent!

Nice speakers to be found at the thrift.I have a set of utility cab thrift Advents and a pair of nice Bullnose that were found outside of a dumpster.In my opinion the vintage gear at thrifts is getting less and less.
 
I have a pair of smaller advents in perfect shape with refoamed woofers I got for $20.

I also have some OLAs that are beaton to death, need reconing (Not just new foam) but they still sound really good dispite what they went through. The cabs are in bad shape and the grills are looong gone.
 
superdog said:
Nice speakers to be found at the thrift.I have a set of utility cab thrift Advents and a pair of nice Bullnose that were found outside of a dumpster.In my opinion the vintage gear at thrifts is getting less and less.
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You may be right. But I just got the vintage gear/thrift store bug in the last several months--and mostly because of reading here in these forums--and I've had some pretty good luck so far.

My stereo system--including my Philips 212 that I bought some 30+ years ago when I was 17--had been packed away for the last few years. When I hooked it all up and tried to find some info about fixing up the 212, I started spending more time reading here in the forums. It had never even dawned on me to look for electronics in thrift stores. (My wife would go there to find cheap clothes for the kids, but I avoided it whenever possible).

After reading how others were finding treasure in the thrifts, I started prowling around in hopes of finding a decent, used, backup TT. I have scored several nice items in the process. My first find was a Denon DP-30LII TT for $15. Then I bought another TT at a yard sale to use for a RCM, a JVC JL-F50 with a good Ortofon cart. But after cleaning it up, and seeing that it in was in perfect condition (with orig. box), I couldn't bring myself to use it just for scrubbing records.

After that I found all the rest of these pieces at thrifts (all in the last two months):

  • Infinity S-82 speakers for $15 (I blew both tweeters while testing an eBay Philips 212 I had bought for parts, so I got replacements off eBay and they're working great again);

  • Pioneer SX-750 receiver for a whopping $11 for which I had to replace some lamps (another learning experience since I haven't soldered anything since junior high), and which is now my main unit;

  • small Polks (no model number on them) for $8 that I use to test new stuff (nothing lost if they blow);

  • Pioneer CS-33 speakers for $15 that I thought would add a cool little vintage look (but they sound a little mediocre and the surround-less woofers are torn--so they'll need replaced/upgraded);

  • NAD 533 turntable (minty) with Goldring Elektra for $17.99 (everyone repeat after me, "Score!!");

  • Sansui Seven Receiver for $15 in very good condition with a few nicks here and there, but after a good cleaning, it works perfectly;

  • the New Large Advents for $19.99;

  • I impulsively bought some Pioneer CS-77s off Craigslist for $40 (I love the lattice-style covers, but they don't sound all that great--very loud, but boomy and lacking detail);

  • and finally, yesterday, I again succumbed to impulse when I saw some Pioneer CS-A700s for $20 that were on Craigslist. The listing title said $20. So I called and said I'd take them after the seller gave me a brief description. But when I got there he said they were $20 each. I hadn't noticed that in the body of the ad. So I bought them anyway. He was the original owner and they have quite a bit of water damage to the top of one speaker (it served double duty as a plant stand).

I was thinking I'd use at least one set of the Pioneers to practice re-veneering and/or refoaming. But it turns out they have the fabric surrounds, and both big Pioneer sets are in good shape there, so I won't be practicing refoaming on them. But they both sets have one speaker with some water damage that would make them good candidates for new veneer. But I'd like to try refoaming at least once before I take on the Advents. I plan to use and enjoy them, not destroy them.
 
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Very nice.
If the "crack in the surround" is not too long and the foam still looks good, you can simply glue the crack shut. Enjoy!
 
Congrats!
It looks like you are learning about the hidden jewels lurking out there in thrifts and on CL.

If there is a problem beyond just a refoam on one of those woofers let me know. I might have an orphan around here that is fine except for the need for a refoam.
 
Your thrift find equipment list above illustrates what most of us have discovered. You can piece together a great system (or several) for little money. In a blind listening test most folks will not be able to discern the difference between yours and systems costing many times more.
 
Wolverine said:
Congrats!
It looks like you are learning about the hidden jewels lurking out there in thrifts and on CL.

If there is a problem beyond just a refoam on one of those woofers let me know. I might have an orphan around here that is fine except for the need for a refoam.
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Thanks for the generous offer! I'll keep that in mind.
 
tubed said:
Just about anything will work. Fast drying water based glue would be ideal....Ailenes' or the kind sent with surround repair kits. Maybe even Elmers.
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:headscrat I've NEVER heard that before. When a foam surround goes bad you replace it. When a butyl rubber or cloth surround goes bad you either glue it or replace it with foam.
 
mfhale said:
Tasty! I'm a big fan of the NLA.

I wouldn't sand and refinish just yet. Try some Howard's Restor-A-Finsh with steel wool first.
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Okay, I've never tried this before. So I went to Home Depot and got a can of this stuff for walnut (rather than dark walnut). The young lady there didn't exactly exude expertise, but she had actually used it because they had a demo of it last weekend. And she said they scratched up some wood and then just rubbed this stuff on, and it worked great. Does it need rubbed off to even out the color like needs done with stain? Any wax or oils afterward?

So is that really all I have to do? I assume you are suggesting that I go over all the surfaces with the steel wool first, correct? I have some 0000 steel wool, so how much do I work the wood first? Will the wool remove the scratches (assuming of course they're not too deep)? And do I need to tack cloth or anything in between? And how about just cleaning them first with TSP or something and skipping the wool sanding? I also recall reading somewhere here that some thought steel wool had a tendency to leave bits behind, and that they would later oxidize and leave marks. Is that really a problem? Sorry for all the questions.
 
No need to prep them, just wipe off any dust/dirt before you start.

I apply the Howard's with the steel wool, rubbing lightly at first. Apply more pressure as needed. Then wipe off with a rag. You might be able to still see the deepest scratches up close, but it does wonders with the surface scratches and uneven color.

I live in Houston where the humidity hovers around 90% most of the time and I haven't had any issues with steel wool bits yet (did my Advents about a year ago).

Don't put the Howard's in a disposable plastic cup or you'll have it all over when the stuff eats through the plastic (ask me how I know).

I just did two pairs of speakers and the base of my PL-50 turntable last week and they turned out very nice.
 
mfhale said:
No need to prep them, just wipe off any dust/dirt before you start.

I apply the Howard's with the steel wool, rubbing lightly at first. Apply more pressure as needed. Then wipe off with a rag.
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So you're actually using the steel wool as your applicator?
 
If most of the surfaces are OK, I wouldn't mess with doing the Howard's thing on those surfaces. Only the damaged ones.

Also, if one of the surrounds is cracked, that means it's time to replace them. Don't mess around trying to glue them. You'll be replacing them soon anyway.

Doug
 
Puddintane said:
I haven't tried to play them very loud. Just for a few seconds that one time, and I could here some abnormal sound coming from the one with the cracked surround and turned them back down. In the last image you can see what looks like excess glue around the edge of the surround from about six o'clock to a little past noon. I'm assuming that's there from a previous surround replacement and not the factory.

IMG_6993-1-1.jpg
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You are probably correct. Those are approximately 30 year-old speakers and if the original surrounds were still on them, they would be in much worse shape then those are.

And yes, the factory would not have been that sloppy with the glue.

Doug
 
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