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#1
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Advice regarding a Stromberg-Carlson console
I picked up a Stromberg-Carlson console stereo at a Goodwill store this
week. Physically it's in great shape. It plays, but I'm not particularly thrilled with the sound. Even though there are two 15" woofers, the sound has hardly any bass compared to a modern stereo; it has hardly any treble either. It gets loud, but the sound is flat. Additionally, one channel is louder and better-sounding than the other. I swapped the speakers to confirm that it's the signal that's louder and not a defective speaker. I also swapped the tubes in the main amplifier (left for right) but that didn't change anything. Any advice on what I should do with this thing? Do I leave it as-is and enjoy the "vintage" sound or should I try to fix it up? I've heard people say that the Stromberg-Carlson tube amps are good amplifiers so I'm leaning toward the idea of replacing the old speakers with better ones. Should I replace the tubes with modern equivalents or leave the old tubes alone? There are at least a dozen tubes inside this thing, some enclosed in metal cylinders and some not. The main amp has four tubes marked 7408 which seem to be easy to replace (equivalent to 6V6GT). I haven't looked at the others in any detail. Oh, here are some photos: http://flickr.com/photos/flarosa/685...n/photostream/ Thanks for your input. |
#2
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Advice regarding a Stromberg-Carlson console
Let's start by recapping it. If the sound does not improve markedly
after that, let us know. Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA |
#3
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Advice regarding a Stromberg-Carlson console
Thanks, I read about recapping and it seems like a good idea.
Do you know offhand where I could get a schematic? |
#4
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Advice regarding a Stromberg-Carlson console
Start with Rich Lancaster's site: www.nostalgiaair.org
He has them on-line in .PDF format. If no joy the http://www.agtannenbaum.com has them in paper format, nicely bound and clearly copied, but for a price. Good luck. Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA |
#5
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Advice regarding a Stromberg-Carlson console
I picked up a Stromberg-Carlson console stereo at a Goodwill store this
week. Physically it's in great shape. It plays, but I'm not particularly thrilled with the sound. Even though there are two 15" woofers, the sound has hardly any bass compared to a modern stereo; it has hardly any treble either. It gets loud, but the sound is flat. Additionally, one channel is louder and better-sounding than the other. I swapped the speakers to confirm that it's the signal that's louder and not a defective speaker. I also swapped the tubes in the main amplifier (left for right) but that didn't change anything. Any advice on what I should do with this thing? Do I leave it as-is and enjoy the "vintage" sound or should I try to fix it up? I've heard people say that the Stromberg-Carlson tube amps are good amplifiers so I'm leaning toward the idea of replacing the old speakers with better ones. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. I would replace any caps that leaked and get the thing working like it originally did if you just want something to do, or have a home for it that will enjoy it. Other than that you are throwing time and money and effort in the toilet. The amplifiers in these things have the same circuits and the same output transformers as guitar amps, so if you want to build a guitar amp out of it for your own amusement or to sell to some gullible yuppie son of a bitch on eBay, you could. The speakers are also good for guitar if played at low volumes, just like the speakers in early Fifties guitar amps. Because they _really are just like_ those speakers. Exactly like, if you get the hint. What you will never get out of it is high fidelity. The amplifier will never be a hi-fi amplifier. The changer will never be a decent turntable. The speakers will never be anything but cheap utility fifties speakers. We are not talking Klipsch, JBL, Altec or even Bozak. I would troubleshoot it for the experience, clean it up, and get it working as original if you are going to be able to give it a home, (maybe a prop for a high school staging of "The Seven Year Itch"?) or mercifully euthanize it otherwise. The amp chassis will make a guitar amp for someone. The wood cabinet can be made into a wine cab or if it has solid wood sections a guitar or violin maker might salvage the wood. There is a reason you see old consoles at Goodwill and on Freecycle, and not Marantz and McIntosh amps and Altec 604s and Klipsch LaScalas. They have the ACV-actual cash value-of tampons. (Used. By Margaret.) |
#6
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Advice regarding a Stromberg-Carlson console
Darn, the SA-300b and 400CXII I got from a console won't fit in the
toilet! RA |
#7
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Advice regarding a Stromberg-Carlson console
Sounds like the ASR-120 or ASR-220 amp - schematics are on my web
page: http://www.audiophool.cjb.net/MadeInRoch.html Caps are MUCH more likely to be a problem than tubes. On 1 Dec 2005 22:15:34 -0800, "flarosa" wrote: I picked up a Stromberg-Carlson console stereo at a Goodwill store this week. Physically it's in great shape. It plays, but I'm not particularly thrilled with the sound. Even though there are two 15" woofers, the sound has hardly any bass compared to a modern stereo; it has hardly any treble either. It gets loud, but the sound is flat. Additionally, one channel is louder and better-sounding than the other. I swapped the speakers to confirm that it's the signal that's louder and not a defective speaker. I also swapped the tubes in the main amplifier (left for right) but that didn't change anything. Any advice on what I should do with this thing? Do I leave it as-is and enjoy the "vintage" sound or should I try to fix it up? I've heard people say that the Stromberg-Carlson tube amps are good amplifiers so I'm leaning toward the idea of replacing the old speakers with better ones. Should I replace the tubes with modern equivalents or leave the old tubes alone? There are at least a dozen tubes inside this thing, some enclosed in metal cylinders and some not. The main amp has four tubes marked 7408 which seem to be easy to replace (equivalent to 6V6GT). I haven't looked at the others in any detail. Oh, here are some photos: http://flickr.com/photos/flarosa/685...n/photostream/ Thanks for your input. |
#8
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Advice regarding a Stromberg-Carlson console
Thanks, I'm sure that what I have is the ASR-120 amp.
Should I worry about the tuner section or is it less likely to have problems? Could I plug a line-level signal directly into the ASR-120 amplifer and bypass the tuner portion of the radio completely if I wanted to play back a CD or other external source? |
#9
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Advice regarding a Stromberg-Carlson console
Most Stromberg-Carlsons electronics have the schematic glued to the inside
of the bottom cover. "flarosa" wrote in message oups.com... Thanks, I read about recapping and it seems like a good idea. Do you know offhand where I could get a schematic? |
#10
Posted to rec.audio.tubes
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Advice regarding a Stromberg-Carlson console
On 4 Dec 2005 07:00:49 -0800, "flarosa" wrote:
Thanks, I'm sure that what I have is the ASR-120 amp. Should I worry about the tuner section or is it less likely to have problems? Could I plug a line-level signal directly into the ASR-120 amplifer and bypass the tuner portion of the radio completely if I wanted to play back a CD or other external source? The ASR-120 has a large bass boost, with tone controls that "cut" only, giving a more or less "flat" response overall. If you use it separately, see the schematic on my page for a mod to give a flat response. I have the rest of the Sams folder for this stereo - I didn't post it all because it's not a very good scan. |
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