[smrtby123]

(Not sure if this is the right forum, mods move it to where it is appr.)

So I finally got around to peering at the speakers that are in my grandfathers basement. It is part of a set, because the turntable is the middle of a big chest, with vinyl storage the right side and the amp on the left (my left). The speakers are JBL's, the turntable is a BSR, with Made in Great Britain written on the deck, and the amp says Stromberg-Carlson on it. You can imagine my excitement when I saw it had tubes. Anybody have any info on these, but most importantly are they worth keeping and building into a system?

(sorry for the big images but I wanted people to see them better).

(The pictures were with my crappy cellphone camera, and I couldn't get a good pic of the amp without doing a lot more moving around.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I don't know much about the speakers or turntable, but JBL has made some good speakers. Put the model number in Google and see what the vintage guys think of them. Look up the turntable at the Vinyl Engine. You should be able to find the service manual and setup information.

The amp is good. I have a few Stromberg Carlson tube radios and rotary phones, and I've always been impressed with their build quality and performance. I don't onow why their gear isn't as hotly collected as other manufacturers, but I've been tempted to pick up an amp like that many times. If you're going to use it, I'd strongly recommend replacing the filter electrolytic caps in the power supply. Maybe recap the rest of it if you want. The power supply is important, however, and the caps from 40 years ago aren't in the same league as the ones today. There should only be 3-4 filters in there and you don't have to go boutique. You should be able to buy quality replacements for $10-$20 total and a decent tech can install them in 30-60 minutes. If you can't do it yourself, find a guitar amp tech to do it. Hit the local guitar shop (not a chain store) and ask the people there who they take their tube amps to. Don't worry, the only difference is that the guitar amp techs will charge a whole lot less than any hi-fi specialist.

As for the rest of the gear, follow the maintenance guidelines for the turntable and install a new cartridge. Modern cartridges are much better. Unless the speakers have foam rot (obvious, and fixable, too) they should be ready to go.

You have a potentially excellent vintage setup there. I encourage you to put it in shape and listen to it.

 

[IceClass]

Interesting history on the D-130 JBLs here

 

[memepool]

Looks pretty cool. Those JBL drivers are a real find and could be worth a fair bit as they are i think, the first ever James Lansing design and by the looks of them in very good condition. There are loads of specialist JBL forums on the web where you can get more info. What you probably need to do is build new cabinets for them as the original one you describe is a typical period "gramophone" type enclosure of the 1950s which is not going to realise their full potential.

The amp looks pretty interesting but as with anything this old with valves / tubes inside, which may not have been used in a while, you should resist the temptation to turn it on without first getting it checked over by a specialist, who knows about this kind of stuff. These things have sometimes lethal voltages and it may go pop and destroy a really expensive tube or something. Original tubes like this can cost hundreds of dollars BTW depending on the configuration / manufacture.

The turntable is probably the least impressive piece of kit there unfortunately. BSR changers were very popular in the US especially in 1950s but arn't really upto much in absolute terms. That looks like a nicely preserved and well made example and is definitely one for collectors. Worth having a play with but don't expect any great things from it. Again it needs it's own plinth made as having it built into what is in effect a large speaker cabinet is the worst place for it.

 

[smrtby123]

Ok I was talking to my grandfather about it. Apparently it was my great-uncles fathers stereo, so its old. He said it worked fine when he fiddled with it about 7~8 years ago, and I found out there is another set of speakers sitting on the wall that I didn't notice, but they should be the same JBL set. The turntable is one that he just dropped in because the original one was gone. I am going to try and get some help before I start trying to get it to work, because this is a project I want to do well. Refurb the amp, new enclosures, the whole works. Any tips or suggestions for making a great setup from this are appreciated.

Now I just have to work on getting the reel-to-reel my great-uncle has apparently.

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smrtby123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Now I just have to work on getting the reel-to-reel my great-uncle has apparently.

Now you're talking!

 

[Uncle Erik]

Reel too? You got lucky! A couple other places you should look are Nelson Pass' DIYAudio forum and Audio Karma. I've lurked both on occasion and each has vintage gear devotees.

If you really want to go whole hog on the amp, have all the caps and resistors replaced. If it still has the original carbon comp resistors it'll work, but those things drift like the ocean tide. If you replace them with good 1% Vishay Dale (which are reasonable) it'll focus the sound and tighten everything up. A lot of restorers only replace caps, but I always do the resistors, too, whenever I restore a radio. The reason I say this is because I like to put resistors on the meter after I pull them.

Out of hundreds of resistors, I've never found a single carbon comp that was within tolerance. Some caps are, but never for resistors. A few times, I've replaced components one at a time then powered up the radio to hear the difference. It's like cleaning an extremely dirty window, with more light coming in as you go along. After getting the old caps and resistors out (and alignment, but radios need that) sets sound just as clear and crisp as new ones.

So if you can spare the cash, have all the filters, caps and resistors replaced. You might even want to replace the pot with an Alps unit. If you have it thoroughly gone through you'll get many years of trouble free use.

Also, it is possible to DIY the work. It'll take you awhile, but you can do it if you work slowly and just replace one component at a time. That'll prevent wiring errors and make it less intimidating. Instead of "OMG, look at all those wires" you'll be thinking, "I'm justb going to replace this one capacitor today," you won't freak out over the magnitude. If you're thinking about it, pop in at the DIY Forum and start asking questions. We'll get you through. Also, consider that it will be excellent training for building a headphone amp, or anything else you might be interested in.

 

[smrtby123]

This is going to be a steady process refurb. I want to go over and redo the whole thing, so that means all the caps, resistors, new tubes if it needs them, new enclosures for the speakers, etc. I want this thing to turn out in good enough shape to rely on for a long time. I'll make sure I start a new thread for it when I do finally get around to it. It may have to wait till graduation next year.

 

[grammicci14]

Any info on the amp???

 

[elbuzzard]

beautiful JBL's. That amp will sound really good once its been re-capped is my guess. congrats on your inheritance!

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grammicci14 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any info on the amp???

Now that I'm home and can look things up, I think the amp is a Stromberg-Carlson ASR-433. You can find the schematic and service notes here.

Looks like it has four EL84/6BQ5 output tubes and is push-pull with output transformers. The EL84 is used in lots of guitar amps and is still in production. You can get Sovtek tubes for about $10 each - not bad. With a brief look, it seems that everyone who owns one loves the sound.

Also found a couple pics of the insides. Though the boutique capacitor crowd may sniff at them, you could get away with a putting Sprague Orange Drops inside. Those run $1-$2 each, so a set of new caps would run $20-$30. I've used Orange Drops in dozens of radios. They give excellent performance and I've never had trouble with one. They hold up and sound great. If you went with Orange Drops, solid non-boutique filters and a set of Vishay-Dale resistors, you could replace everything for $60-$70. Not bad at all.

 

[smrtby123]

Thanks for all the great info. This should be a great build, and I will make sure that I keep track of my work and post the progress when I finally get started.
Does anyone have good links to any cabinet building sites? Most of the stuff I have found online is either for subwoofers or it is just a reference to a book. I want to build a nice set of enclosures that will make these puppies sing.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Pay a visit to Madisound and its discussion forum. Lots and lots of speaker builders hang out there. Also, Madisound will design enclosures and crossovers for you and send you the plans. I can't remember the exact fees, but I remember them being reasonable.

Also, it'd be awesome if you kept this thread updated with info and pics of your progress!

 

[smrtby123]

So I have found out more about the amp inside. Like Uncle Erik said before it uses Mullard EL84 tubes, and the model is a Stromberg-Carlson ASR-444 60 Stereo amp. I found one on ebay that is all done Stromberg-Carlson ASR-444, and it has some pictures of the inside and wow. I picked quite the project. This refurb is going to take me a little while, and a lot of patience.

 

[larryminator]

The speakers are a keeper. Can we get some pics of the cabinets?