ICTWoody
No longer a junior member
So a few days ago a friend of mine reached out and informed me he was wanting to clear some space in his house and he wanted to make a few bucks to buy another guitar to go with the 18 or so he already has. He's a former guitar player from the post-hardcore band Senses Fail.
I knew from past conversations that he had some pretty nice stuff that had been passed down to him from his dad. This rig included a Thorens TD-145 MKII turntable that has seen better days. A pair of McIntosh XR7 speakers which were in decent shape but in dire need of a refoam (and weight 125lbs each) AND... the part that grabbed me... McIntosh C32 preamp and MC2205 power amp!
He said "I know these are worth a shit-ton, but I would take a grand for everything. I want it to go to someone who really digs hifi." After asking a few questions, the deal was done. I posted on a local-ish facebook group I'm on and within a day had the speakers (at a fairly give away price of $150) and the turntable (at a reasonable price of $250) spoken for.
So long story short, I went over there yesterday evening, met the guy who was buying the speakers from me and acting as a courier on the Thorens at my friends and picked it all up. Mostly I'm pleased I never had to deal with moving those beastly speakers, and I took home a nice pair of electronics — for $600 out of pocket. Yeah. This is a brag post.
The wood cases cleaned up pretty well with a little Howards. and I pulled all the knobs and washed them, and polished up the glass faceplates. They cleaned up really nice. I'd say the pair is 8/10 condition. A little delamination around the HP jack (which I guess is common) but very presentable otherwise. I haven't hooked them up yet. Perhaps tonight, but he said they were working fine. The only bad thing I found was the area around the big caps on the amp had ample evidence of mice. I got it mostly cleaned up and there is very little corrosion on the chassis, which is good.
I'm in full-on "purge my extra gear mode" so I'm not sure if these are going to stick around for a while, or just be a nice flip. But it's kinda a fun story I wanted to share and brag on. It's kinda fun being the "friend that likes stereo gear" sometimes.
My main thing is if I keep them I want to have them serviced. But I know the Mac world is pretty picky about who does that work. I'm not sure if it would be prudent to send them to Audio Classics or Terry DeWick etc... if I'm not sure they are going to stick around. I have used a guy named Paul Hovenga down in Tulsa, OK for stuff on Marantz gear in the past and he's a really good tech. His lead times aren't crazy either. The big advantage is I could drive them down and back and avoid shipping. The power amp is 80lbs and I would at least have to buy cartons from the factory or Audio Classics to even consider that. Decisions decisions.
Anyway... here's some pics, post-cleanup.
- Woody
I knew from past conversations that he had some pretty nice stuff that had been passed down to him from his dad. This rig included a Thorens TD-145 MKII turntable that has seen better days. A pair of McIntosh XR7 speakers which were in decent shape but in dire need of a refoam (and weight 125lbs each) AND... the part that grabbed me... McIntosh C32 preamp and MC2205 power amp!
He said "I know these are worth a shit-ton, but I would take a grand for everything. I want it to go to someone who really digs hifi." After asking a few questions, the deal was done. I posted on a local-ish facebook group I'm on and within a day had the speakers (at a fairly give away price of $150) and the turntable (at a reasonable price of $250) spoken for.
So long story short, I went over there yesterday evening, met the guy who was buying the speakers from me and acting as a courier on the Thorens at my friends and picked it all up. Mostly I'm pleased I never had to deal with moving those beastly speakers, and I took home a nice pair of electronics — for $600 out of pocket. Yeah. This is a brag post.
The wood cases cleaned up pretty well with a little Howards. and I pulled all the knobs and washed them, and polished up the glass faceplates. They cleaned up really nice. I'd say the pair is 8/10 condition. A little delamination around the HP jack (which I guess is common) but very presentable otherwise. I haven't hooked them up yet. Perhaps tonight, but he said they were working fine. The only bad thing I found was the area around the big caps on the amp had ample evidence of mice. I got it mostly cleaned up and there is very little corrosion on the chassis, which is good.
I'm in full-on "purge my extra gear mode" so I'm not sure if these are going to stick around for a while, or just be a nice flip. But it's kinda a fun story I wanted to share and brag on. It's kinda fun being the "friend that likes stereo gear" sometimes.
My main thing is if I keep them I want to have them serviced. But I know the Mac world is pretty picky about who does that work. I'm not sure if it would be prudent to send them to Audio Classics or Terry DeWick etc... if I'm not sure they are going to stick around. I have used a guy named Paul Hovenga down in Tulsa, OK for stuff on Marantz gear in the past and he's a really good tech. His lead times aren't crazy either. The big advantage is I could drive them down and back and avoid shipping. The power amp is 80lbs and I would at least have to buy cartons from the factory or Audio Classics to even consider that. Decisions decisions.
Anyway... here's some pics, post-cleanup.
- Woody