New Homes for Old Equipment

[BrianH]

I'm looking for advice on the most painless way to find homes for my late father's audio equipment. I'm not sure I'm up for subjecting myself to the E-Bay or Craig's List markets, and am more interested in finding folks who will enjoy the stuff than anything else. All the equipment is in fair condition at best by virtue of the fact that most of it has been sitting idle for at least a decade. Still, I suspect there may be interest in refurbishing it or using it for parts. Pieces include:

1 pair AR-5 loudspeakers (serial numbers 33710 & 33714)

1 pair AR-6 loudspeakers (serial numbers 29116 & 28888) – my dad attempted a woofer replacement on one of these with something he quickly recognized was not up to AR specifications. I don’t know if he kept the original woofer or not.

1 Dynaco PAT-4 stereo preamplifier

1 Dynaco Stereo 120 amplifier

2 Dynakit PAS-2 stereo preamplifiers – one of these has the gold faceplate with the brown & gold knobs, while the other is the more customary silver model. There is also a new set of knobs and other replacement parts for the gold model. They were in a box from Dyna that my brother inadvertently tore open just recently.

1 Dynatuner FM-3 FM tuner

1 Dynaco FM-5 FM Tuner

1 Advent Model 100A Noise Reduction Unit (serial number 9768) – there may also be a 101 around somewhere...

1 Sherwood S-7150 CP stereo receiver

1 Heathkit Stereo-4 Decoder

2 Sony TC-377 open reel tape recorders

1 Dynaco SCA-80Q Dynaquad amplifier

1 Carver Model M-0.5t Magnetic Field Power Amplifier

1 ADC DD-4AX Stereo Digital Delay Processor

1 Radio Shack 15-1964 Pro Logic Decoder/Amplifier

1 BSR/McDonald 810 Transcription Turntable

1 AR Stereo Integrated Amplifier (serial number AU20964)

1 Shure AVC20 Power Station Video/Hi-Fi System Expander

1 KLH-40 open reel tape recorder without electronics (a reclamation project that never happened)

1 HH Scott Type 710 Stroboscopic Turntable (serial number 3246)

1 Grado tonearm – likely the “Laboratory Tone Arm”

2 National Criterion Horizon 5 tuner/preamplifiers

2 National Horizon 20 Model 20A amplifiers (one with a discernable serial number of 418 2181)

There are also various and sundry open reel tapes, tubes, speaker pots and other accessories.

Any thoughts or ideas that anyone has would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks...

[dingus]

approach your local audio society, post your location here for any potential local members and at other audio forums. if these dont pan out, consider donating to your local thrifts. good luck finding new homes for this gear, i think its a noble effort to place these them where they will be used and cared for.

[Dan Skye]

approach your local audio society, post your location here for any potential local members and at other audio forums. if these dont pan out, consider donating to your local thrifts. good luck finding new homes for this gear, i think its a noble effort to place these them where they will be used and cared for.

You have come to the pinnacle of HIFI affection-ados

I am sure if you are a little patient most if not all these items will indeed find loving new homes though these "pages"

Hats of to you for doing the right thing

If you decide to go the E bay route there are houses that will broker and pack the items for you these days

I think only someone who could appreciate it would bid on it so still a good option

I d get a few of them, myself if I were not in NJ

Dan

[BrianH]

Thanks to all for the great advice and words of encouragement. Let me add that all this equipment is in Massachusetts, while I am in Minneapolis/St. Paul. I am planning to be in MA for a stretch in late April/early May, and would be happy to let folks see and/or pick up any pieces in which they might be interested. Prices will be affordable. Other options can be discussed for those needing more flexibility. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do this, so additional ideas will continue to be appreciated. Thanks...

[dingus]

the Boston Audio Society has a strong following, they could probably be of great help. http://www.bostonaudiosociety.org/

also, a friend of mine who is into audio lives in the Boston area. i dont know that he would be interested in any of these pieces, but he is well networked and could probably put you in contact with more than enough takers who meet the criteria you are seeking. if you want i will point him to this thread and see what he thinks.

[JRS11]

I live in MA and would probably be interested in the AR-5's. I guess I should ask if they work and how the cabinets are, I have no issue trying to bring the wood back or sending out the woofers if need be.

Hope to hear back.

I'm looking for advice on the most painless way to find homes for my late father's audio equipment. I'm not sure I'm up for subjecting myself to the E-Bay or Craig's List markets, and am more interested in finding folks who will enjoy the stuff than anything else. All the equipment is in fair condition at best by virtue of the fact that most of it has been sitting idle for at least a decade. Still, I suspect there may be interest in refurbishing it or using it for parts. Pieces include:

1 pair AR-5 loudspeakers (serial numbers 33710 & 33714)

1 pair AR-6 loudspeakers (serial numbers 29116 & 28888) – my dad attempted a woofer replacement on one of these with something he quickly recognized was not up to AR specifications. I don’t know if he kept the original woofer or not.

1 Dynaco PAT-4 stereo preamplifier

1 Dynaco Stereo 120 amplifier

2 Dynakit PAS-2 stereo preamplifiers – one of these has the gold faceplate with the brown & gold knobs, while the other is the more customary silver model. There is also a new set of knobs and other replacement parts for the gold model. They were in a box from Dyna that my brother inadvertently tore open just recently.

1 Dynatuner FM-3 FM tuner

1 Dynaco FM-5 FM Tuner

1 Advent Model 100A Noise Reduction Unit (serial number 9768) – there may also be a 101 around somewhere...

1 Sherwood S-7150 CP stereo receiver

1 Heathkit Stereo-4 Decoder

2 Sony TC-377 open reel tape recorders

1 Dynaco SCA-80Q Dynaquad amplifier

1 Carver Model M-0.5t Magnetic Field Power Amplifier

1 ADC DD-4AX Stereo Digital Delay Processor

1 Radio Shack 15-1964 Pro Logic Decoder/Amplifier

1 BSR/McDonald 810 Transcription Turntable

1 AR Stereo Integrated Amplifier (serial number AU20964)

1 Shure AVC20 Power Station Video/Hi-Fi System Expander

1 KLH-40 open reel tape recorder without electronics (a reclamation project that never happened)

1 HH Scott Type 710 Stroboscopic Turntable (serial number 3246)

1 Grado tonearm – likely the “Laboratory Tone Arm”

2 National Criterion Horizon 5 tuner/preamplifiers

2 National Horizon 20 Model 20A amplifiers (one with a discernable serial number of 418 2181)

There are also various and sundry open reel tapes, tubes, speaker pots and other accessories.

Any thoughts or ideas that anyone has would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks...

[JRS11]

I live in MA and would probably be interested in the AR-5's. I guess I should ask if they work and how the cabinets are, I have no issue trying to bring the wood back or sending out the woofers if need be.

Hope to hear back.

Is everything gone....

[BrianH]

A number of people have expressed some interest in the AR-5s. My thought is to tell as much about them as I know, then ask folks to make their best offer, from which I'll pick one...

My dad purchased the AR-5s from Arkay Hi-Fi Lab in Watertown, MA on May 14, 1973 (yes, I still have the receipt). He used them as his primary speakers for about 20 years. His listening room was in his unfinished basement. He complained constantly that the space never did the speakers due justice - it was simply too large and not conducive to good sound, despite numerous attempts to partition parts of the room to create a more favorable subspace.

The good news is the speakers were isolated enough that the cabinets remain dark and in very good shape. I was a little surprised by how good they look. He was a smoker for many of those years, so while the front grilles appear to be in reasonable shape, I'm sure they've been yellowed a bit from nicotine.

The speakers did have their share of problems over the years; some perhaps due to the way they were used in the space and others due to mistakes in use by family members (both my brother and I were accused of blowing the tweeters on different occasions). He brought them back to the AR plant a few times for repair and replacement parts. Those experiences seemed to give him the sense that they were fragile. I don't know how true that was, but I believe it led to him shying away from using them when the old AR went out of business and stopped producing drivers for their old models. Around that time, he bought a more recent pair of AR floorstanders on clearance (I never did figure out what model those were, but my sister is still using them to this day) and those became his everyday speakers. He may have hooked up the 5s every now and again after that, but they didn't get very much use through the mid-to-late 90s. He died in 2002, and they haven't been used at all since then.

I think he had them largely up to spec when he stopped using them regularly, but they've now been sitting idle for close to 20 years. While I haven't checked directly, I'm pretty certain that the woofers will need to be refoamed, and they are likely to have other problems that come from lack of use. But they were certainly sweet in their heyday, and the cabinets still look good.

They still have their original boxes and shipping materials, which recently underwent a little water damage when moved from the attic to a spot where they were affected by the recent heavy rainfall. The boxes have since dried and seem to be okay, but aren't quite as pristine as they were before. The speakers were not affected by that incident.

Those are the basics as I remember them. If you have additional questions or would like to make an offer, please e-mail me at hammersox@yahoo.com. For those living in MA or the Northeast, we should be able to arrange some form of pickup/delivery when I get to MA in late April (or through my siblings any time thereafter).

Thanks again for your interest and all the encouraging words. Most of the other stuff I listed is still looking for new homes as well - please let me know if you have interest in any of that as well.

Brian

[JKent]

I bought the Dynaco 120. Original carton and manual included. If anyone is hesitant because of Brian's "newbie" status I'll vouch for him. This was all done by email and the amp was shipped. Brian is completely trustworthy and I would buy from him again.

Kent

[genek]

I'm just sorry I'm all out of room for more stuff.

[JRS11]

I bought the Dynaco 120. Original carton and manual included. If anyone is hesitant because of Brian's "newbie" status I'll vouch for him. This was all done by email and the amp was shipped. Brian is completely trustworthy and I would buy from him again.

Kent

Not hesitant at all, he just never got back to me after I made an offer. This led me to believe he was not interested but it sure would have been nice to have an answer.

[BrianH]

Thanks to all who have helped me find new homes for the old gear, and my apologies to those of you that I did not get back to as I should have. All the AR and Dynaco stuff has all been relocated, as were the National Criterion amps/preamps and the Heathkit Stereo-4 decoder. It looks like the Carver, Sherwood and BSR units will stay in the family. The pieces that I will still work to relocate are the Sony open-reel tape decks (which are going to Minnesota with me) and the HH Scott Stroboscopic turntable with Grado tonearm (which I will arrange to transfer via my brother if anyone expresses an interest). Please let me know if you are interested in these or know anyone who might be.

I have met and corresponded with some great folks through this entire process, and will continue to stay in touch through the forum. Thanks again for all the help and encouraging words...

Brian