I saw this small Arvin consolette phonograph at the flea market for $25 and I was going to get it, until I realized it was solid state. I thought about it overnight and ended up back at the flea market this afternoon. I managed to talk them down to $20 and brought it home. The cabinet needs the dust cleaned off and the right side speaker grille cloth needs to be reattached. The record changer is a 4-speed BSR that I'm guessing to be from around '66-'67. It has two side firing 6" speakers and controls for balance, tone, and volume. At least it's not one of those models with seperate L and R volume controls. The amp and cartridge show signs of life; but, the changer is gunked up. Looking in the back, I can see that it's got one of those multi-section cardboard electrolytic filter caps that were common in tube sets. Someone did a sloppy job of tacking new caps across the old filter cap and I will fix that properly.
The same vendor had two more consoles; but, they were too expensive for me. One was a late '50's Motorola phonograph console for $95 and the other one was a high end Zenith with the belt driven micro-touch record changer priced at $125. I think the Zenith was one of those with the tube tuner and SS amp. The lady at the flea market told me today that people are buying these, gutting them, and using the cabinets for other things. Those are too nice to destroy; but, I can't see paying those prices just to save them. Maybe, if they sit there awhile, I can get them cheaper.
01-22-2012, 04:41 PM
Threaded Mode