RadioCabinetAnon

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Or if anyone is up to answering some questions about repairing versus replacing old and damaged veneer.

>>1129532
>>1129543
Ask the fucking question already.

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Should I replace the veneer, try to repair it, or just try and get it appraised and sell as is. It's an old saba radio in working condition. The turntable is fucked.

>>1129553
>Should I replace the veneer
That is an option.

>try to repair
That is also an option. If you are delicate you can sand off/chemically remove the old finish without going through the veneer. That is, as long as and problems are just with the finish. If the veneer has been damaged then it might get more dicy. This depends on the thickness of the veneer. Some wood veneers are paper thin, some are much more robust.

>just try and get it appraised and sell as is
I can appraise it for you right now: it's worthless. You could post it on the Free section of Craig's List and never move it. It all depends on who is in your area. Where I live, even will all the hipsters it would never sell because they know enough not to bother. I see them in thrift stores and estate sales all of the time. If it was a little tabletop system or a real system with sperate components you would have something. That is just a nice looking piece of furniture.

Even if the record player was working it would be garbage. Record players that old did not sound good and tended to be hard on records. No one in this day and age that has a hard on for vinyl would ever use it. The radio working is nice but I bet the system doesn't sound that great. Console stereos were never high-end equipment. Probably two universal speakers, one for each channel. Two-way at best.

If you restored the finish, gutted the amp/speakers and put in something decent, kept the radio working (and somehow passed that along to the new bits) and made it bluetooth compatible or something then you would have a hipster's wet dream on your hands. You would have a hard time making your money back, though if you didn't already know how to do that stuff. But then you wouldn't be asking on here.

>>1129613
I can understand the record player part, but I don't understand why anyone would gut the radio/speakers. They are usually decent if not fantastic, and you can just use an FM transmitter or a cable to play music from any modern device.

I also disagree that it's worthless as is. I've been to many thrift stores and estate sales, and I also browse a lot of Craigslist/eBay. I've seen dozens of consoles, but they are almost always low quality 70s junk. Any time I've seen a nice older one, be it American or European, they've been bought quickly by somebody.

>>1129613
Me again.

>>1129621
>but I don't understand why anyone would gut the radio/speakers
The radio is fine. Leave it. It is FM stereo and radio technology as a whole hasn't changed much. The speakers are probably shit. Same with the amp. Speaker quality has changed by leaps and bounds since the 1960's when that thing was built. And, as I said before, it wasn't using top of the line components to begin with.

>they've been bought quickly by somebody.
Move out here. Dime a dozen. They never sell. They look great but they don't sound that good. The people that don't care about sound are using their iPhones and ear buds or little baby surround sound speakers from Best Buy and a garbage amp. They would never buy a console stereo to listen to.

The people that do care about sound quality know that all-in-one units don't sound great. You need distance between the speakers to get a better stereo effect. You want to be able to aim the speakers left and right so their sweet spots overlap where you will be (I have seen high-end consoles that allowed you to swivel the speakers and even had detachable speakers, though). They also should generally be about head level, not 10 inches off the floor. Speaker enclosure design is a whole other issue. Suffice to say, having everything mounted in a box that is 10 inches tall and 40 wide and probably zero insulation doesn't result in good quality sound reproduction. All of this is before we even get to what kind of amps they used back in the 60's. It is probably a 2nd or 3rd generation transistor design. Noisy and primitive. Every cap in the thing has also probably drifted out of spec in the last 50 years. You'd have to rebuild it just to get it back to factory specs and, as I have mentioned, they weren't that great.

>>1129650
The radio and amp are pretty much one unit. Sure you could wire in a new amp if you really wanted, and leave the original radio, but then you'd have a weird combination of controls, etc.

I really don't know why you think the original amp or speakers won't be decent. Most high end tube radios/amps I've heard sounded decent to good.

And of course the rarity/value depends highly on location. In the places I've lived, units like the OPs are quite rare.

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https://www.etsy.com/market/radio_cabinet

sorry, anon.
even the most popular models are only worth 300$ in perfect condition.
you're looking at a huge money pit in restoration.

gut it, and turn it into something else, imo

>>1129664
>Most high end tube radios/amps I've heard sounded decent to good.
As I have said a few times now, it is not high-end equipment. Let me put it in car terms: This is like comparing a car made in 1964 with a car made in 2017. "But wait", you say, "some cars from then were awesome! Like the Cadillac Eldorado!" Well, you don't have the Cadillac of radios here. You have the Studebaker of radios. And not even an Avanti. We are talking a '64 Lark right as they were getting ready to shut down the manufacturing plant and get out of the business.

In the 60's high-end systems were moving into separate components. They were removing the speakers from the cabinets for the reason stated above. Separating the receiver/amp from the tape/record player, going to independent components. Side by side it would clearly sound worse when compared to even a basic receiver and speaker combo from even the late 70's. You could go to a flea market, pick up a basic Pioneer or Kenwood stereo receiver, a pair of wood-grilled middle of the road speakers, spend maybe $150 (in which case you were paying eBay prices and getting fleeced) and put the SABA to shame. Or you could spend hours (worth whatever you boss is paying you) rehabbing a cabinet when the guts of the machine are rotten and you might make $300 when you sell it. And then only if you find a sucker.

>console stereo
>several kinds of cosmetic damage
>broken turntable
>get it appraised

>>1129689
Well by "high end" I meant in the high end of the consumer realm, which is as good as table radios or consoles get for the most part. Obviously they can't compete with audiophile systems. Still, SABA made some seriously good stuff, and OPs radio was made long before SABA went downhill.

I don't disagree that a cheap solid state amplifier can outperform a simple old tube amplifier like the SABA has, but to me that's just not the point. Consoles like these can still sound damn good, even with their original components, and to me the fact that an old beauty like that can still be enjoyed in its original form is what makes vintage audio so much fun.

A full restoration is probably not the most profitable option, but it might not even need a full restoration to make it work "good enough" for a potential buyer, and either way it would be a shame to destroy its originality.

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Hey guys, op here. Thank you very much for your input. The original plan was to just refinish and put it in the dining room. My only concern was in potentially ruining something that might be of any value. Once again, I really appreciate the input.

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I'll probably just remove the cracked veneer and replace it. As for the radio component, I don't think I'll add any Bluetooth or anything. I'd rather just leave that aspect alone. Maybe fit in a newer record player.

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Also, if anyone cares for a listen.
https://youtu.be/XtAPpZH77pg

>>1129764
What tubes are in there?

>>1129770
Did you even do anything to it to repair it?

I'm really glad to hear that you're not planning on ruining it.

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>>1129941
Mullard ECH81/6AJ8

As for any repairs, all I've done is basically clean all the pins and connectors with a brush and electrical parts cleaner, and I re-tied the tuner string for tension.

>>1130144
>British tube in German radio

I am the record player anon.

If it doesn't work, gut that fucker and put in a cheap turntable and amp.

Get creative. Strip that door and refinish or wrap it in fabric like I did on the doors on this one that I sold for $1200.

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>>1130610

forgot pic

>>1130610
>gut that fucker and put in a cheap turntable and amp
reeeeeeee

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>>1130611
Love your work, man. I got another console that I might purchase that's in rough condition. May try out some pretty shit on that one. You got an email?

>>1130144
Please consider changing capacitors and resistors before they literally explode then kills your *still sounding good* tubes

ECH81 aren't that rare but they tend to cost much for decent (t. vintage) ones, because of the guitar amp faggotry

About the vinyl player, consider 3D printing a looks like the original one, but fits a modern SHURE pick-up head : I've made made it for my mom's pick-up and it was worth the re-engineering time

>>1131416
>consider 3D printing a looks like the original one
*a pick-up head that looks like...

Jesus fuck OP, as someone who has tried (and failed) to modernise a few of these, you're doing outstanding work. I might give it another go if I find another one, it's been quite a few years since I tried, hopefully my XP has bumped up enough to pull it off. Thanks for posting this shit man.

>>1130611
Muh. Dick.

>>1131416
>RF mixer tubes in guitar amplifiers
Why?

>>1131429
Key word is faggotry

>tl,dr;
ECH81 triode side is claimed to be same spec as half a 12A?7... don't memeber wich one, but actually I don't give a fuck because those gaylords obviously don't know how to read a datasheet.
The pain in the ass is them buying those tubes, hence emptying attics for people actually needing them