Dodgy drivers thwart my attempt to restore these classic Acoustic Research AR48S speakers, for now.
Tag: Repair
Technics RS-B11W Cassette Deck Thoughts & Repairs
Technics proved that doubling the decks didn’t mean halving the performance and the results speak for themselves. Probably one of the best bargains in cassette decks at the moment.
Sony TC-WR645S Cassette Deck Repairs
A well-featured machine even if it wasn’t Sony’s finest in terms of its construction quality. These make decent recordings, and are fine playback decks especially if you want the convenience of autoreverse. I’d probably still go for the more modern TC-WE475 or TC-WE675 for its simpler mechanics and better build quality
Technics RS-M225 & RS-M17 Cassette Decks Overview & Belt Replacement
Two successive generations of Technics cassette deck, entirely different yet strikingly similar at the same time.
Aiwa AD-F500 Cassette Deck Repair & Review
My experience working on the AD-WX727 and AD-wX929 twin decks, the latter returning for a second round left a bitter taste in my mouth. But they did produce some decent hardware in the same era and this, the AD-F500, is one of the more economical examples. It has proven itself to be competitive in its performance and good value on the used market for the right price.
Aiwa AD-WX929 Double Cassette Deck Repair
Better than the WX727 in some areas, it does an acceptable job playing back pre-recorded tapes. But the best thing the WX929 has going for it is a few extra metal components which add to its scrap value.
Yamaha CDX-496 Belt Replacement & Review
a run of the mill CD player from the mid-2000s when mainstream hi-fi separates were teetering on the verge of extinction. A no-nonsense ‘Natural Sound’ CD player, Well worth the money.
Sony CDP-361 Belt Replacement & Review
Ordinary in its appearance and almost empty inside, Sony’s CDP-361 is more than a flimsy metal box filled mostly with air. Easy to service and very little in them to go wrong, If you’re after a high-quality, fully functional CD player, or transport to feed discs to your DAC, the CDP-361 and its ilk should make your shortlist.
Aiwa AD-WX727 Repair & Thoughts
reasonable sound despite its shortcomings in build quality. But proceed with caution, free is about £5 too much.
Technics RS-B665 Direct Drive Cassette Deck Service
The Technics RS-B665 is a direct-drive cassette deck and roughly the middle of its model range from 1989 to 1991. It’s a good performer and a fuss-free, maintenance-free cassette player.
Toshiba PC-G10 Cassette Deck Repair
The Toshiba PC-G10 cassette deck was sold in 1983 as part of a Toshiba ‘Rack system’. These are fine decks and well worth the little they cost to pick up on the second-hand market.
Sony CFD-G50L Boombox Repair
the culmination of the so-called ‘ghettoblaster’ in its best form after decades of refinement. This particular example had a few faults. The CD player didn’t read discs, the tape deck warbled hopelessly off key and FM radio reception wasn’t as good as I thought it should be.
Sony CFS-W318 Cassette Radio Repair Fail
A Sony CFS-W318 radio cassette boombox from the turn of the millennium. Scrapped due to brittle plastic in the tape mechanisms, but an interesting electronic design and a useful source of parts including a nice tuner module.
Philips MC-151/12 Micro System Repair Fail
You can’t save ’em all. This is a Philips MC-151 micro ‘hi-fi’ system, a far cry from the once-great audio division of Philips who produced the first cassette recorders, a myriad of portable and hi-fi turntables, one of the first consumer CD players and even owned Marantz for a time.
Repairing Cassette Capstan & Turntable DC Motors
A basic primer on cassette capstan and turntable DC motors and how to repair them if they become noisy. With due care and a steady hand many can be repaired with success.
Yamaha CRX-M170 DAB CD Receiver Repair
a Yamaha CRX-M170 CD receiver offered on Freecycle recently sparked my interest. It was listed as having a couple of faults – a temperamental CD player and an erratic volume knob. These are plentiful on the second-hand market for little or no cost and are well worth a punt.
How To Fix A Digital Volume Control
If the volume on your stereo randomly turns up by itself, or doesn’t work at all, this article is for you.
Denon DRM-740 Cassette Deck Repair
full of cheap plastic and not the most fun to service, but serviced with care they do sound very good, and cost less on the second-hand market than other 3-head, dual capstan models from Sony, Technics, Aiwa, Pioneer and Nakamichi et al.
Yamaha KX-580SE Cassette Deck Service & Repair
Later KX-series decks are very simple mechanically and electronically, easy to service and maintain and generally well constructed as far as later cassette decks go. And for now at least, second-hand pricing is still relatively sane
Cambridge Audio 540C No Disc Repair
A mini review and repair of a Cambridge Audio 540C V2 CD player with a ‘No Disc’ error. Applies also to 340C, 640C, 740C, 840C, 351C, 651C, 851C etc.