Console Revival

Console Revival I refurbish old console stereos, record players and other vintage audio equipment.

03/05/2026

Update: the Voice of Music 329 record changer is working now. After I got the mechanical part working, I was playing a stack of 45s like this and the unit just slowly died and came to a complete stop. After some diagnosing, I found a rectifier diode in the power circuit had failed. Replacing that brought it back. This unit just needs to be run off a while longer to make sure no more problems pop up.

02/28/2026

This is an avacado-colored Voice of Music portable record player from 1968. When I got this it was not putting out any sound and wouldn't spin or anything. The cartridge, capacitors and speakers were all shot. This is the first time I've had to replace speakers. I had to get creative but I found a solution involving full range flat-screen TV speakers. The changer needed a new idler wheel and just a thorough cleaning. The changer still has some kinks to be worked out. The speakers fold back and the record player folds up and you can carry it like a suitcase.

07/24/2025

It's been a minute since I posted here. This is a work in progress.

This is the most unique console I've worked on. It's a Voice of Music model 1061-1 from either 1964 or 1965. My guess is...
12/31/2024

This is the most unique console I've worked on. It's a Voice of Music model 1061-1 from either 1964 or 1965. My guess is there are probably fewer than 1,000 of these still out there. Voice of Music made console stereos for a while, but their record changers were so good they are also used in consoles made by Zenith, Motorola, and many other brands. I've had this one for about 18 months as I've been working on it in my spare time, and it needed a lot of work.

Unique features:
* Speakers: It has 12" woofers, 3.5" tweeters and a downward-facing 8" subwoofer on each side. This is the only time I've seen that speaker arrangement.
* It has a built-in reel to reel tape deck. The reel to reel deck still uses vacuum tubes although the main amplifier uses transistors.
* The tape deck also comes with 2 original vintage microphones, for anyone who wants to turn their living room into a recording studio.
* The cabinet is an Italian Provincial design, and one of the front doors open up for storage space.

Repairs:
* I sent the reel to reel deck off to be serviced by one of the very few people still alive who know how to service these. He got it working nicely again.
* When I got this unit, the legs and bottom trim had been broken off the bottom. I took the cabinet to a carpenter. I had the original broken pieces and photos of what it should look like. He did a great job making it looking like the original design.
* When I got this unit, it was not putting out any sound at all. I found a faulty transistor in the power amplifier. Replacing that made it come back to life.
* I also replaced the aged capacitors, replaced burnt out bulbs with LEDs, replaced the idler wheel in the record changer, among other things.
* I disassembled, cleaned and lubricated the record changer to get it working properly again.

This unit is not quite as loud as some of the others I've done, but it still gets loud enough. It has a really nice, full sound. I'm selling this one on my Etsy shop because it's too big for my space and I already have a more modern reel to reel deck. The price is high due to the time and money I put into this, and due to its scarcity.

12/21/2024

JVC RX-950V reciever. Got this off Facebook Marketplace. The guy said the left channel was cutting out intermittently. I just got it going but so far I haven't had the issue occur yet. This unit was $600 new in 1988 and yes, that is a touch screen remote. The screen changes depending on the mode.

12/15/2024

This is a Sony TC-766-2 two channel reel to reel tape deck. It was made sometime between 1977 and 1980. It plays 7 inch or 10.5 inch reels at either 7.5 inches per second or 15 inches per second. This means it is maybe a tick below studio quality for taping (studio tape decks would record at either 30 inches per second or 15 inches per second). The faster the tape speed, the higher the fidelity. For reference, cassette tapes play at 1 7/8 inches per second. All vintage records were first recorded on tape. Enough with my speil for tape. This unit is extremely solid, coming in at 57 lbs before you put a tape on it. This was top of the line for Sony back then.

This is a Zenith X930 console stereo from 1967. It comes with the external speakers shown. I built stands for the extern...
08/09/2024

This is a Zenith X930 console stereo from 1967. It comes with the external speakers shown. I built stands for the external speakers so they are at the same level as the internal ones. It has doors that open and close in front of the internal speakers.

This one is a mid range model from Zenith. It is a step or two above an "entry level" model, but it is also a couple steps away from being top-of-the-line. The record changer in this one in my opinion is one of the best mass-produced record players ever made. It can track records at a needle weight as low as 2 grams, which is super light for a consumer level record player. The external speakers made the sound "fuller" and more detailed but do not make it any louder.

This one is for sale in my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1761247914/refurbished-zenith-x930-console-stereo

07/18/2024

A work in progress for a customer. This is one of the better stereos I've worked on. It gets super loud but also stays crystal clear. It has 15 inch woofers. It also has vacuum tubes in the preamplifier but transistors in the main amplifier. The amplifier is fully refurbished now but the record player still needs work. This customer may have to pry it away from me.

This RCA VMT87 console is just about ready to go. I'm waiting on the 45 adapter and then I'll have to make sure it can c...
06/26/2024

This RCA VMT87 console is just about ready to go. I'm waiting on the 45 adapter and then I'll have to make sure it can cycle through a stack of those kinds of records. It cycles throuhh 33 RPM records fine. It has an aux input so I've been playing Spotify on it that way.

This is the first RCA that I've done. I believe this was made in either 1970 or 1971. When I got it the record player was not working at all and the left side was a lot quieter than the right side. A lot of people say the 1970s is when console stereos started to go downhill but this one sounds as good or better than most others I've done. It has heavy bass but the mids and treble still come through clear. Songs I've heard a million times sound a little different on this one. As always it's going to be hard to part with this one. It will be for sale in my Etsy shop soon.

01/13/2024

Work in progress - Voice of Music console from 1965. This was not putting out any sound when I got it, not even static. I got the aux input working. Still more work to be done.

1961 Magnavox 1ST624A console. It has an all vacuum tube amplifier. When I got this one, it was not putting out any soun...
11/11/2023

1961 Magnavox 1ST624A console. It has an all vacuum tube amplifier. When I got this one, it was not putting out any sound. It had several old paper capacitors that had failed and damaged other parts in the process. I had to replace 3 vacuum tubes, around 25 capacitors and around 10 resistors. The record player was also not working. Replaced the idler wheels (that the motor turns to spin the platter and the changer), and replaced the damaged cartridge. It was tricky to get this one adjusted correctly so that it would drop records and play automatically.

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