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Zenith Allegro console

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Door knockers mounted on the front is a dead give away. Looks nice but there are artists who can make a cab look new. (I can do that, too.) I'd only get it on a warranty of at least 30 days for the electronics. Looks like a heavy cab and pic shows clean inside mfd. still... your choice of guarantee or some money back. more like a decor design thing of age? but may take up space if you have it.

Play it at the store a bit?
 
Truthfully, the thing probably has negative value, as in you would have to pay somebody to haul it to the dump. To find value in a console you need to head high-end-ish with some type of tube electronics—just a guideline, not necessarily a rule. I mean, if you like it and it all functions, it may have value to you, but from an audio and/or collectors standpoint, there's not much there. Probably maybe sounds not entirely awful. It might go well in a room with some orange shag carpet and some macrame plant hangers.

If you want it, don't pay more than $25-$50, and expect to keep it forever or eventually haul it off yourself. If you're looking for a console, be patient and wait for the right one. Otherwise, save your money and just buy some stereo components and a groovy cabinet to put them in.
 
Binkman said:
Door knockers mounted on the front is a dead give away. Looks nice but there are artists who can make a cab look new. (I can do that, too.) I'd only get it on a warranty of at least 30 days for the electronics. Looks like a heavy cab and pic shows clean inside mfd. still... your choice of guarantee or some money back. more like a decor design thing of age? but may take up space if you have it.

Play it at the store a bit?
Click to expand...


so the knockers tell me that its probably shined s**t yeah? Definitely if we take a step further towards it I will ask to have it played for me. I have some more pics of the needle and turntable closer, would that help to tell me the quality?
https://i.imgur.com/UUJudfp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/R2tQXKE.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/i1QH9bk.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TJWYdfH.jpg


The way my housemates and I are thinking of it, it looks nice and if it plays nice too its worth, we arent high end audio snob types but definitely want decent quality sound. it does have a speaker out line we can use as well which is interesting. What should I listen for/look out for if we do play it in store?
 
JWinTN said:
Truthfully, the thing probably has negative value, as in you would have to pay somebody to haul it to the dump. To find value in a console you need to head high-end-ish with some type of tube electronics—just a guideline, not necessarily a rule. I mean, if you like it and it all functions, it may have value to you, but from an audio and/or collectors standpoint, there's not much there. Probably maybe sounds not entirely awful. It might go well in a room with some orange shag carpet and some macrame plant hangers.

If you want it, don't pay more than $25-$50, and expect to keep it forever or eventually haul it off yourself. If you're looking for a console, be patient and wait for the right one. Otherwise, save your money and just buy some stereo components and a groovy cabinet to put them in.
Click to expand...


ok, the thrift store wants $100 for it which seemed pretty steep even not knowing this. I doubt it is high end tube amp highly but I wasnt able to look in the back, so its safe to say it is not. Yeah I am gonna discuss with my housemates and see if we are willing to haggle, issue is that it is at a thrft shop/secondhand shop, so I would kind of feel weird about that, especially that theyre trying to push it out for $100, I doubt theyd drop to half that.
 
It's an Early to Mid 70's Solid State Unit. The turntable is a Zenith branded BSR and probably runs the cartridge / needle @ about 4-5grams. It's on the low end of the lineup and definately isn't worth $100. or even 1/2 that. Watts is in the 5-10Watts per channel neighborhood and that it pushing it. These consoles aren't known for good sound at anything over low background sound, which is what grandma and grandpa ran it at.

I agree with JW on the pricing for this unit. Someone at the thrift store pricing these items is smoking something illegal.
 
larryderouin said:
It's an Early to Mid 70's Solid State Unit. The turntable is a Zenith branded BSR and probably runs the cartridge / needle @ about 4-5grams. It's on the low end of the lineup and definately isn't worth $100. or even 1/2 that. Watts is in the 5-10Watts per channel neighborhood and that it pushing it. These consoles aren't known for good sound at anything over low background sound, which is what grandma and grandpa ran it at.

I agree with JW on the pricing for this unit. Someone at the thrift store pricing these items is smoking something illegal.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks so much for the info! Yeah thats what its seeming like is that it is not worth. Definitely knew the price was far too high
 
My Dad sold them at his TV store back in the mid 70's if you want it get it just don't pay to much like stated above. We still have a 32" RCA in a cabinet out of their premier line. I have fixed this thing probably 5 times over the years. We have it because the wife wants the look in our bedroom. You do what it takes.
 
'Allegro' meant a lot of stuff for zenith. I have one I am about to evaluate that is a table top console. They might track at more grams, but they have a larger needle. it wont be a problem.

they are typically cap coupled push pulls eerily similar to old trio stuff. The one I am about to start is supposedly 50wpc. we shall see.

$100 is too much tho.
 
That is actually a Garrard changer, appears to have a Tetrad cartridge that would track at about three grams. That is a later model console, toward the end of the console era., about 1977-78, Allegro just means it has tuned port
speaker system.
This is one of their lower mid line models, but they sounded decent for what they were, far better than the few other consoles still being made at that time, Zenith hung in longer than most.
 
Late 70s, but possibly early 80s.
Not bad for what they were at all.

Amp is approximately 12-15 watts if I remember.
 
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