Hi all - I have a 1962 Magnavox Stereo table record player. It looks totally awesome and everything. The original Magnavox micromatic changer still looks brand new too. <P>Now the problem - the sound in this unit is completely dull and dead sounding although everything works the way it should. Just seems that it might have never sounded that good to start with. <P>It's an all transistorized amp with four knobs - balance, loudness, bass and treble.<P>Does any one know if there is some sort of outfit or supplier that makes some type of new amp that I can retro fit into this nice stereo? Maybe there's another type of record player I can pick up for a song and then canibalize if it sounds sweet enough.<P>I normally wouldn't go along this route but this set up almost looks new out of the box and it just sounds terrible. I almost get the feeling this was what people had to settle for back in the 60's when they bought those "new fangled" transistorized devices.<P>Thanks for any information - D.L. Weaver<P>------------------<BR>

I am assuming the cartridge is ceramic...?<BR>Do you have any other stereo system you into which could temporarily plug the cartridge output from the changer?This would tell us whether the poor sound was due to cartridge,rather than amp problems or limitations.<BR>Of course one man's lousy sound is another man's "good" sound,depending on what we have previously been exposed to regarding sound quality,how good our hearing is,etc.<BR>My personal approach to any stereo of that era(if I intended listening to it on a regular basis) would be the usual overhaul with new caps,etc that most vintage electronics restoration enthusiasts generally perform on equipment they are seriously interested in.<BR>Of course,some original equipment speakers were a horror show--- sound quality wise---also.<BR>Malcolm<P>------------------<BR>

does it have a tuner does it sound ok if yes does the turntable play loud if yes i would replace the needle if no the cartridge and all of the elec.capacitors as old as it is you can get caps.from <A HREF="http://www.mouser.com" TARGET=_blank>www.mouser.com</A> and cartridge/needle from phoneed@aol.com or <A HREF="http://www.west-techservices.com" TARGET=_blank>www.west-techservices.com</A> good luck Sam<P>------------------<BR>

My folks bought a new Magnavox council in 1961 or 62, it was a record player,with AM/FM tuner. It sounded great!.<P>If I remember correctly, it had 2 - 12inch speakers on each side, with 2 smaller speakers facing the front. <P>I still have the tuner/amp, I used it for years in my workshop. Always had lots of good clear sound.<P>I think like the others have mentioned, try another cartridge in it.<P>Dennis.<P>------------------<BR>Dennis Lavin

The cartidge is ceramic and it performs, I think, as it should. The needle is still good too. I do get full volume and equal left and right channel separation when adjusting the balance control.<P>It is just a record player with no tuner so I cannot judge the sound by flipping over to the tuner.<P>I base the quality of the sound on what I have heard from other stereo record players. I guess the best way to describe it is that the bass and treble is dull and "muddied". Might a questionable cartridge cause this problem?<P>I sure wish this was a tube model. I could work on that. As it is, I know so little about transistor sets. <P>------------------<BR>

Hi, D.l..... Try feeding the output of a tuner or tape deck into the amplifier to check the sound quality; you might need to put a 470k resistor in series with each input lead from the tuner if the amplifier is overdriven. Also, if the speaker systems have tweeters, make sure that the crossover capacitors that feed the tweeters are OK.<P>Tim<P>------------------<BR>

Thanks for the suggestions, Tim, I'm gonna plug another record changer into the amp. I have another ceramic cartridged changer that I know sounds good. <P>------------------<BR>

Hi D.L.,<P>Check the tweeters (if it has them) for continuity too. Most US sets of this era had voice-coil type tweeters which should measure fairly low resistance. <P>(A few had ultrastatic tweeters, which of course would measure open circuit.)<P>Izzy<P>------------------<BR>

Last I knew,there were at least two small companies producing small,afordable audio amps and pre amps,etc,in kit form;consisting of a pc board and maybe a couple chips and a few caps,resistors,etc.<BR>Jameco electronics used to sell these,and RadioShack.com.did also.I don't recall the names of the makers of these kits.<BR>Malcolm<P>------------------<BR>