Weekly Estate and Garage sale finds (pics)
- Thread starter Rob.
- Start date
RayParkhurst
Active Member
Went to an estate sale of an audiophile / electronics engineer that had a lot of interesting stuff. I was attracted to the sale by the R2R decks but they were very expensive. Found a bunch of empty reels though, both 7" and 10", plastic and metal, so that was nice. Best single item was a Neumann SM69 stereo tube microphone, with the NSMa23 power supply, anti-shock mount as well as swivel mount, and two long cables. This is an item I bought out of curiosity only to find it is quite famous and valuable! It is not something I want to turn on, but all the other items I got from the sale were functional so this probably is as well. I wonder if there is a tech on the forum that specializes in these sorts of things? It doesn't seem the type of unit I'd take to a regular stereo repair shop.
I'm also curious how the audio signal is connected to from the power supply? There is a connector with blade connections, but I did not see such a connector at the sale and it wasn't in with the other items. I am planning to go back tomorrow and rummage around to see if I can find the connector, but if anyone knows what I should be looking for it would help.
Here's the whole group of Neumann items I got today:
Edited to add: I found a receipt from 1993 showing the owner paid $297 for the elastic anti-shock cage, and $427.50 for the 31ft cable !!
Edited to add: I went back to the estate sale second day and picked up a bunch more stuff including an unbuilt Heathkit Inverter, a box of audio-related manuals and brochures (still need to sort through), a bunch of great books (including one on Microphones!), and most importantly, the missing stereo output and power cables for the NSMa23 power supply! Also found another 31ft Neumann cable, and a microphone stand. At this point I have everything needed to test the microphone, and I'm considering powering it up to see if it works. Will report back.
I'm also curious how the audio signal is connected to from the power supply? There is a connector with blade connections, but I did not see such a connector at the sale and it wasn't in with the other items. I am planning to go back tomorrow and rummage around to see if I can find the connector, but if anyone knows what I should be looking for it would help.
Here's the whole group of Neumann items I got today:
Edited to add: I found a receipt from 1993 showing the owner paid $297 for the elastic anti-shock cage, and $427.50 for the 31ft cable !!
Edited to add: I went back to the estate sale second day and picked up a bunch more stuff including an unbuilt Heathkit Inverter, a box of audio-related manuals and brochures (still need to sort through), a bunch of great books (including one on Microphones!), and most importantly, the missing stereo output and power cables for the NSMa23 power supply! Also found another 31ft Neumann cable, and a microphone stand. At this point I have everything needed to test the microphone, and I'm considering powering it up to see if it works. Will report back.
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I picked up Ohm Model E's and a very early pair of KLH 6's, consecutive serial #'s in the 19,xxx range, at an estate sale last weekend. I love the look of the 6's, but I'm not sure if I love the sound. Also not sure I want to open them up, so I may just clean them up and pass them on. Scored a Brooks Brothers suit for $50 at the same sale too!
infullview
Super Member
At this point, the 6's need to have the crossover recapped. Also would need to re-dope the cloth surrounds. As long as all the speakers are good, these should sound excellent.
I'm sure you're right. All the drivers work, but it sounds like there's a blanket over them. Unfortunately I don't think I can take the grills off without ruining them. I should go in through the back and see what I can see when I have time. Maybe I can recap but leave the redoping to the next guy.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Then change the caps.
Sharpstik brought over some KLH speakers that barely had any highs and a cap change fixed em to most excellent sound for a monkey coffin.
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axel340band
Well-Known Member
If you don't mind the ask, what did all of this set you back? Purely for potential SOTY consideration.
RayParkhurst
Active Member
I only listed a few of the things I picked up. It took me most of the weekend to sort through it all. Several more microphones, including a Shure Sonodyne ii, a few Sony's including a nice stereo one, boxes of manuals with Dyna and Heath and Scott and others, Revox repair manuals. In the garage I found a quad of new 7591's, though one was gassy, and a strong pair of Sylvania button base 7591As. But ultimately the SM69 was the treasure, and especially since I just finished verifying the capsules and Telefunken AC701 tubes are OK. It works great! So...I actually made 4 purchases at that sale. The SM69 was in the second purchase, and the seller charged me $40 for the microphone and power supply and cables, but $240 for the total group of items I bought. Add to that the $120 for the first purchase, $200 for the third purchased (which included another SM69 10m cable and the audio output and power cables for the NSM23a), and $10 for the fourth (it was the very end of the sale, $10 a bag), and the total for that sale was $570. That's way more than I normally spend, but it was quite a sale.
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