Tony and Dez's Vintage HI-FI Repairs and Sales Widnes

Tony and Dez's Vintage HI-FI Repairs and Sales Widnes This is our sister page. Both will be managed by myself and Dez. We are a small electronics repair operation based in Widnes.

We repair and sell vintage hi-fi gear in addition to Dez providing computer builds and repair services.

Afternoon all,I hope you are doing well?On the workbench today...A Rank Audio RA-210 amplifier.A few weeks ago; we acqui...
08/10/2024

Afternoon all,

I hope you are doing well?

On the workbench today...

A Rank Audio RA-210 amplifier.

A few weeks ago; we acquired a beautiful 1970’s Rank Audio RA-210 amplifier boxed with all packaging and original manual. These are actually a rebadged Rotel RA-210.

After servicing it and checking everything over; today I've had the chance to Audition and test it.

This is a seriously nice little amplifier.

First test was done with a pair of B&O Beovox 1702 speakers. I was massively impressed with the sound for such a small amplifier. At default levels for bass and treble controls; the sound was clean and accurate. Nice balance of bass and treble. Easy listening.

On playing around with the bass and treble controls; This amplifier really began to find it's feet. I found that these Beovox speakers had a "Sweet spot" and this amplifier hit it without question. Beautiful warm sound with plenty of detail. The Beovox 1702's are a 2 way sealed cabinet design. This amplifier drove them perfectly.

I was curious as to what else this RA-210 would drive.

Out came my little Wharfedale Denton 1's. These are very different to the 1702 as these use a single dual cone driver found in the Wharfedale Chevin XP. No HF unit. Full range single driver.

At neutral position for bass and treble; The amplifier had a very vintage sound. A little extra trebal was added to really bring them out. The amplifier drove these with ease. Easy listening, no fuss sound that gets straight to the point.

This amplifier is in impeccable condition without so much as a single blemish on it. Internally; it's just as clean inside as it is outside. All components test well within specification. In my opinion and from the clean condition of this amplifier; I'd say that it has has very light use. I've not seen a vintage amplifier in this condition with the exception of new old stock ones.

This amplifier is in in pristine and truly remarkable condition and sound absolutely beautiful. It punches well above it's wattage in sound quality.

The RA-210 was considered to be a low end and basic Rotel amplifier compared to other models. This amplifier is trylylovely sounding for its size and class.

This is something I'd happily use for everyday vinyl and radio listening without question. The fact that it is also complete with all packaging and user manual (including repair schematic) make this a fine example of this amplifier.

This will be listed for sale at offers around £170. This amplifier has been fully serviced and will carry a 3 month warranty. That's how confident I am on the quality of it and the work carried out. I would not take offers under £150 with this amplifier being in such excellent condition and complete.

A brand new DIN to RCA adaptor will be supplied to get you up and running. Extras are easily available online for a few pounds.

This item is truly awesome. Very retro and minimalistic in its size. It'd fit on a bookshelf.

Item will be fully PAT tested prior to sale and a certificate issued with sale.

In the meantime; enjoy the pictures.

Take care,

Antony

😀

New Workshop toys are always the best.Now we have a nice juicy Tektronix TDS350 200MHz Digitising Oscilloscope.And alrea...
01/10/2024

New Workshop toys are always the best.

Now we have a nice juicy Tektronix TDS350 200MHz Digitising Oscilloscope.

And already it's proven itself a most useful piece of equipment.

I do love the Tektronix gear. 😂

Right then..... Now the KEFs have gone to their new owner; it's fine to embark on the next project.A 1972 Rank Audio RA-...
16/09/2024

Right then..... Now the KEFs have gone to their new owner; it's fine to embark on the next project.

A 1972 Rank Audio RA-210 amplifier. This lovely little amplifier is a rebranded Rotel RA-210. A Wooden cased, aluminium fronted compact thing.

It's a very basic and very simple little amplifier. 8 watts....yes...that's 8 watts per channel into an 8 ohm load. It won't blow your windows out or rattle your neighbours.

The best thing about this particular one is that it is fully boxed with all paperwork.

Does it work?..... Yes.... although taking into the age of it; I'll be promptly replacing every last capacitor in it. Thankfully; as it is considered a low end amplifier; every electrolytic capacitor used in it are common values (1μF, 10μF, 33μF, 47μF, 100μF, 470μF and 1000μF). This makes replacing them easy as there are no funky value ones. I'll be replacing the 2 main filtering capacitors (1000μF) with 105°C Axial Nichicon ones.

The rest of the electrolytics will be replaced with Nichicon FW series Audio grade capacitors. This will massively improve the sound quality. It may seem like overkill to install premium capacitors in such a basic amplifier but I strive for exceptional quality when I refurbish the kit and I have these capacitors in and I want the very best reliability and sound quality for this little amplifier. Using cheap capacitors just isn't an option.

Now the polyester capacitors used should all be fine as these rarely drift from their factory value. That said; I'll still check them all. Same goes for the resistors.... especially the ones for the power amplifier section. I'll also check the idle current and DC offset for the Matsush*ta brand 2SD317 output power transistors. These can be somewhat problematic due to power on/off cycles and thermal breakdown. I may end up replacing these with the more rugged Hitachi 2SD476. I'm not too sure yet.

Audio inputs are DIN opposed to RCA. A simple DIN to RCA female cable will sort this. Speaker outputs are by means of a 2 pin din. This will remain unchanged.

Switches and pots will be cleaned.

Speaker wise. There are some nice vintage options that could be used. The Wharfedale Denton 1 and 2, The MK I Lintons, The Denton XP, Sheldon XP, Celestion Ditton 11 and Ditton 15, KEF Cadenza and Corelli to name some. These will all happily run with very little wattage. Impedance wise. 8 ohms is preferable although this amplifier will run 6 ohms and sailing close to the wind; 4 ohms.

I wouldn't recommend 4 ohms as the amplifier would run rather warm and will be pushing the output transistors close to their limit. Anything lower than this would obliterate the output transistors and release the magic smoke with spectacular results.

I'm going to ensure this little amplifier is refurbished to the same high standard as all the kit I refurbish.

This would suit someone where space is limited and they don't want to eject the pictures off their neighbours walls and they want to get into viny.

This amplifier has a very small footprint and won't take up much space.

Anyway....

Until this amplifier arrives and I get my grubby little paws on it; here's a picture of the amplifier. The exact one we're getting in..

Evening all,I hope you are all keeping well?Sorry it's been a while since I've updated the page on my recent KEF Referen...
09/09/2024

Evening all,

I hope you are all keeping well?

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated the page on my recent KEF Reference Model 104 restoration project. I've had to wait for parts and had other bits to sort out on a personal level.

SNAFU has now been resolved.

Anyway; I'm 95% done with restoring these speakers and have had them on all afternoon in the workshop. I forgot how nice these sounded especially with the replacement crossover capacitors and beefed up internal wiring.

Below are the latest photos of where I'm up to. I just have to oil and polish the cabinets and install the velcro for the front grilles and then they're fully restored.

The last pictures in this post show the condition of these speakers before I got my grubby little mitts on them.

Anyway, thanks for bearing with me.

Cheers,

Antony

Did I mention that these are absolute beasts. Thunderous, dirty and naughty things. 😂

Afternoon all,I hope you are all well?Been a bit of a delay in working on the electronics for the battered KEF Reference...
29/08/2024

Afternoon all,

I hope you are all well?

Been a bit of a delay in working on the electronics for the battered KEF Reference Model 104 I acquired.

Here's the latest.

I've rebuilt the crossovers and scrapped those vile Elcap capacitors that as we all know, don't age well.

With the exception of the 3.3uf; I decided to go with Elna Audio capacitors as I've used these before and they're excellent. The weedy, farty thin wire used to connect the drivers from the crossover was replaced with QED QX16/2 cable. Nice and beefy.

The cabinets. This was interesting. The cabinets were in a pretty sorry state. I've done my best to restore them to something resembling nice; but they're never going to look perfect. The black paint was removed and the cabinets sanded down. Various bits of veneer were missing. The only thing I could do was fill those.

4 coats of light teak wood stain was applied. Serious dings were filled and sanded. The serious cabinet damage on one was glued, filled and resealed.

These old buggers have definitely got scars on their war wounds and I think they've earned them.

I'm going to work on refitting the acoustic foam and drivers next.

Typical, I forgot to take pictures of the cabinets.

I'll update this page with more progress images on Monday as I'm tied up with other things outside of work for the next few days.

Cheers,

Antony 😁

Update on the KEF Reference Model 104 Restoration.1st cabinet has had the external dents and significant dings filled an...
22/08/2024

Update on the KEF Reference Model 104 Restoration.

1st cabinet has had the external dents and significant dings filled and repaired. I've also given this cabinet a 2nd coat of light teak stain. Leaving that to soak in and dry over the weekend.

They're never going to be in showroom condition but compared to what this cabinet was like; it's a huge and astonishing difference.

I'll get some better pictures on Monday when I'm back in the workshop. I'm taking tomorrow off as I need to recharge my batteries.

Anyway. This is where I'm up to.

Much love,

Antony. 😁

Instagram post from Friday.....Comparison of the 8" 1039 B200 driver compared to a Mission (Vifa) 8" Driver. The KEF is...
18/08/2024

Instagram post from Friday.....

Comparison of the 8" 1039 B200 driver compared to a Mission (Vifa) 8" Driver. The KEF is an absolute monster compared to the Vifa unit. This B200 has an absolute unit of a magnet on it. It's built like a tank, ridiculously heavy and can smack out some serious bass in the right enclosure. The build quality of this 1974 KEF is like nothing you'll get today. This is a proper driver. It may be an old one and speaker technology may have massively evolved but these vintage KEF units are classics. They're absolute beasts.

The Mission one manufactured by Vifa (classic range) has a much smaller magnet. This isn't a technology advancement; it's a budget one. The KEF magnet is a stonking great lump of ferrite magnet. The Vifa unit is a far more budget speaker. Both the KEF and Vifa units have advantages and dis advantages over each other.

For that vintage sound and engineering quality; I'd take the KEF over the Vifa. That said; this particular B200 was used in the Reference 104/104ab.

Can you use any other B200 in the 104's?

Not really.

Anyway; I've knocked off early for the weekend. Friday has landed and I'm going to enjoy a couple of days off.

Have a good weekend people.

Antony 😁

Hello you big naughty brute of a thing.The replacement 1039 B200 has arrived. That'll be going away until this cabinet ...
18/08/2024

Hello you big naughty brute of a thing.

The replacement 1039 B200 has arrived. That'll be going away until this cabinet I'm working on is done.

The other one was absolutely obliterated.

We now have 2 fully functional 1039 B200’s.

These are the 104’s main LF/Mid driver.

Excellent. 😁

No Point in hanging around eh?Initial diagnosis:Both separately supplied T27 HF units are well and truly knackered. Eith...
18/08/2024

No Point in hanging around eh?

Initial diagnosis:

Both separately supplied T27 HF units are well and truly knackered. Either new diaphragms for those or bin. I've got a beautiful new old stock set of 6535 T27's to go in once I've sorted these cabinets out. Yeah, those are a mess too.

The 1039 B200 LF/Mid driver that was in this particular cabinet was absolutely cooked. The voice coil was obliterated and got that hot; it blistered the Bextrene around the dust cap and distorted the centre of the cone. That is most definitely a dustbin job. I've never seen anything like that. Not that cooked. I reckon that DIY amplifier the chap was running on them spat out DC on that channel and smoked the drive units. DC is very bad for speakers. Really bad.

The ABR (Auxiliary Bass Radiator) is fine in this as it has no electronics.

The crossovers appear okay but I'll recap those anyway as the old Elcap bipolar capacitors don't age well. In fact they're pretty poor anyway. I've replaced those with some Alcap Audio grade capacitors as that's what I had in. They'll be much better than those 45 year old knackered Elcap ones. The Mullard "Tropical fish" capacitor (the one with the colour stripes) won't need replacing as those last forever.

I've also upgraded the wiring from the input banana sockets and from the crossover to each driver with 24AWG solid core wire as the original was much thinner and flimsy.

For now I've stripped out the electronics from the cabinet.

I've got to sand these down as the previous owner painted the cabinets black covering up that beautiful veneer. Before typing this post; I'd already sanded one down. Few dings and bits to clear. Quite a big repair to the bottom of the cabinet. That needs gluing, clamping and filling to strengthen it. Fill in some holes.

I'm working on one cabinet at a time and so far; this one is going well.

Watch this space for more updates.

Antony. 😁

In the workshop at the moment.....The Legendary KEF Reference 104.These ones were manufactured in 1974.Oh Dear... You po...
18/08/2024

In the workshop at the moment.....

The Legendary KEF Reference 104.These ones were manufactured in 1974.

Oh Dear... You poor things. Someone shoehorned any old drivers into you. This troubles Mr Wizzles.

Let me work my magic and get these 1974 old girls back to their former beauty and performance.

Watch this space.

Ahhh.... I do love the Acoustic Research gear.These 1979 Teledyne Acoustic Research AR18S speakers are rather nice. Th...
02/08/2024

Ahhh.... I do love the Acoustic Research gear.

These 1979 Teledyne Acoustic Research AR18S speakers are rather nice. These came in as stock in a very sorry condition. The LF foam surrounds were rotten and needed some extensive TLC.

Luckily both sets of LF and HF drivers tested good for continuity and resisted measurements.... I set about looking for replacement surrounds as these speakers are becoming very rare and seriously expensive to purchase. These had to be restored.

I obtained some very high quality rubber surrounds for the LF drivers. These will never rot away. Installed the new surrounds and gave them a couple of days to sit and let the rubber adhesive cure.

One this was done, I connected these to the Workshop amplifier....

Just wow.

These are truly beautiful sounding speakers. These have probably the best paper HF drivers I've ever heard. Beautiful highs. The LF is warm and punchy.

Believe it or not; this particular model of AR speaker went head to head with the Yamaha NS10 Near field monitor speakers and were used in a lot of recording studios in the USA. The NS10 was chosen because of its "elephant ear" shaped LF driver and look. The performance of the AR18S was on par with the NS10.

As mentioned before; These AR18S speakers are becoming very, very rare. I love how these sound. The HF tweeters are truly exceptional.

We were lucky to acquire these for stock as they were simply going to be sent the tip.

These have been restored back to their full glory and I have to admit. I'm tempted. I'm very tempted by these little beauties.

That said, we are a business and these are now stock.

Are these cheap? Absolutely not. These will be listed for £250...and believe me they're worth every single last penny. These normally go for in excess of £300 fully restored. Part exchange may be considered. It'd have to be something special. Vintage Cyrus, Mission, Monitor Audio, Ariston, Leak that sort of level trade in.

I cannot rate these little speakers highly enough. They really are something quite special. Truly beautiful.

At Tony and Dez's HI-FI Repairs; We're passionate about what we do and strive to provide excellent HI-FI gear.

I still want these AR18s though. Drat. 😂

Take care,

Antony 😉

Afternoon all,That's the 1972 Bang & Olufsen Beomaster 910 sorted.All out of tolerance components were replaced and now ...
31/07/2024

Afternoon all,

That's the 1972 Bang & Olufsen Beomaster 910 sorted.

All out of tolerance components were replaced and now new lamps fitted for the Tuning and FM Stereo indicators.

This is a very nice sounding little receiver. Tested with its Beovox 1702 speakers and my own Wharfedale DD1 Headphones. Everything is spot on.

Vintage Danish awesomeness.

😁

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WA87RZ

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