I think that one of the reasons that you aren't running into a lot of chatter about these products here is that this forum is primarily about using and listening to equipment/music.A lot of "classic" old tube stuff has been collected now for a good 15-20 years - but it's been collected - not necessarily much used .Now with the collector "bubble" being burst at least temporarily - more folks like you may get a chance to let these units sing again.
Some things to consider : 1.) Rarely are you going to encounter a classic tube unit that has been used continuously.Most have spent a decade or two as closet queens.Under these conditions a very fair assumption is that all the electrolytic caps are bad. Replacing these is a research challenge and tends to require a lot of labour ( expensive if you aren't doing it yourself).2.) Switches and pots were very high quality ( had something to do with Avery Fisher's habit of occasionally grabbing a service order off the NY city area pile and personally making a house call to the customer's home or business - if he found that the same part was failing -re-sourcing this part became a priority.Those were really different days!).Good as these parts were - they are inherently subject to wear and are at least 45 or more years old at this time.Replacements today are often times going to have to be salvaged out of a "carcass" identical unit - understandably this makes unique component parts for these units both very expensive and well used.The chances of any of us lucking into a "listenable as sits" or even listenable with new tubes - classic half century old unit from any of the great manufacturers are becoming more remote every year that passes.
Frankly - these units sound amazing given their age ,BUT something like a pair of Quicksilver mono-blocks aren't going to cost nearly as much as restoring a "classic" will.Mike is there to back his products if you have service issues.Most importantly - the Quickies have that effortless musicality that the classic tube units had when new(er) - plus much better bass performance.
If you decide to restore one or more of these classy glassies - please post your experience(s) here.
Some things to consider : 1.) Rarely are you going to encounter a classic tube unit that has been used continuously.Most have spent a decade or two as closet queens.Under these conditions a very fair assumption is that all the electrolytic caps are bad. Replacing these is a research challenge and tends to require a lot of labour ( expensive if you aren't doing it yourself).2.) Switches and pots were very high quality ( had something to do with Avery Fisher's habit of occasionally grabbing a service order off the NY city area pile and personally making a house call to the customer's home or business - if he found that the same part was failing -re-sourcing this part became a priority.Those were really different days!).Good as these parts were - they are inherently subject to wear and are at least 45 or more years old at this time.Replacements today are often times going to have to be salvaged out of a "carcass" identical unit - understandably this makes unique component parts for these units both very expensive and well used.The chances of any of us lucking into a "listenable as sits" or even listenable with new tubes - classic half century old unit from any of the great manufacturers are becoming more remote every year that passes.
Frankly - these units sound amazing given their age ,BUT something like a pair of Quicksilver mono-blocks aren't going to cost nearly as much as restoring a "classic" will.Mike is there to back his products if you have service issues.Most importantly - the Quickies have that effortless musicality that the classic tube units had when new(er) - plus much better bass performance.
If you decide to restore one or more of these classy glassies - please post your experience(s) here.