This started as a project to simply replace the turntable... Then the amp was obviously shot and at that point the tuner was a lost cause to so it was gut and start over.
The mounting of new components is clunky for now as I work on finding someone to make me some actual mounting brackets etc.
I will post a few messages as a thread of sorts. Open to any additional suggestions or recommendations before I start wire management and buttoning it up.
Starting point:
The back off:
After a couple of removals:
The mounting of new components is clunky for now as I work on finding someone to make me some actual mounting brackets etc.
I will post a few messages as a thread of sorts. Open to any additional suggestions or recommendations before I start wire management and buttoning it up.
Starting point:
The back off:
After a couple of removals:
So now we get in to the work done so far:
Installed Fosi Audio ZA3 amp:
Next up was installing the WiiM Ultra streamer / pre-amp:
Making sure the connections on each are still accessible:
Installed Fosi Audio ZA3 amp:
Next up was installing the WiiM Ultra streamer / pre-amp:
Making sure the connections on each are still accessible:
My Dad and I gutted a very similar Zenith console in the late Eightys. Man, I really wish we had saved the tuners and the amps.
Anyway. You likely need to pull each speaker driver and replace the surrounds. The old oiled cloth is probably pretty deteriorated.
Anyway. You likely need to pull each speaker driver and replace the surrounds. The old oiled cloth is probably pretty deteriorated.
Both of those now accessible from the top, in places of the prior components. The Fosi gain is controlled using the old the Bass knob.
The WiiM is mounted in the old tuner location:
Next up was turntable. Turns out finding a modern turntable that is less than 15" wide is much harder than I realized. Stumbled across this ELAC Miracord 50. It just barely fits. No picture but I placed a 3/4" piece of MDF under it to cover the prior turntable hole. Used right-angle RCAs and drilled a new cable-path behind the turntable.
Added a few pieces of acrylic around the WiiM (need to get slightly larger ones, and finished up the turntable setup:
Next up speaker wiring!
The WiiM is mounted in the old tuner location:
Next up was turntable. Turns out finding a modern turntable that is less than 15" wide is much harder than I realized. Stumbled across this ELAC Miracord 50. It just barely fits. No picture but I placed a 3/4" piece of MDF under it to cover the prior turntable hole. Used right-angle RCAs and drilled a new cable-path behind the turntable.
Added a few pieces of acrylic around the WiiM (need to get slightly larger ones, and finished up the turntable setup:
Next up speaker wiring!
Turns out the original speakers included some of the popular Zenith 49CZ vintage drivers along with matched mids / tweeters. So I decided to go ahead and use them but the old wiring was shot. I grabbed some new 14-guage speaker wire and then needed some input on connecting them due to their odd single-post connections (yes, they were quite dirty):
Thanks to some suggestions in the loudspeakers forum from drjlo and wchang I was able to get a very solid connection without soldering. By using the set screws on banana plugs to mate the wiring directly to the posts:
I did finally clean up the speakers but haven't taken a new picture yet. That brings us to where we are now. all interconnects are being made and wire management completed. Then it will be time to chisel a few mortises in order to mount the new torsion hinges that are on their way. The old lid support would have hit the new turntable.
One of the last steps will be an LED lighting solution internally that will trigger when the WiiM and Amp are powered up to provide that "warm glow" through the acrylic panels on either side.
I will post some final pictures in the coming days. Thanks for following along, I look forward to feedback, questions or suggestions. It's been a fun but kind of stressful project for a self-declared newbie and un-handy man.
MD
Thanks to some suggestions in the loudspeakers forum from drjlo and wchang I was able to get a very solid connection without soldering. By using the set screws on banana plugs to mate the wiring directly to the posts:
I did finally clean up the speakers but haven't taken a new picture yet. That brings us to where we are now. all interconnects are being made and wire management completed. Then it will be time to chisel a few mortises in order to mount the new torsion hinges that are on their way. The old lid support would have hit the new turntable.
One of the last steps will be an LED lighting solution internally that will trigger when the WiiM and Amp are powered up to provide that "warm glow" through the acrylic panels on either side.
I will post some final pictures in the coming days. Thanks for following along, I look forward to feedback, questions or suggestions. It's been a fun but kind of stressful project for a self-declared newbie and un-handy man.
MD
Thanks for the suggestion. They sound amazing and I am really reticent to remove the glued-on covers from the front as it carries a high likelihood of damage. Unfortunately they cannot be removed from inside the cabinet as they are screwed in from the front...
The surrounds may not be a problem in your case. Some were paper surrounds and may not have rotted. I would replace the midrange and tweeter caps though.
You might want a little sound absortion on the bottom and sides to kill a little surface resonances.
You might want a little sound absortion on the bottom and sides to kill a little surface resonances.
what you talking about those tin cap nuts come off no problem so removing those drivers is easy with the exception of if they've been stripped or locktite'd but even with that it's still not that big of a chore.
reusing those tin nuts is tricky as they're easy to cross-thread.
it's worth doing you'd be surprised at the amount of dust and crap that accumulates at the bottom of the speaker cutout, and once you have them out you can rotate them from their original position to counter any cone sag not that those 49cz's suffer from that.
Most of those consoles had a type of bolt that held into the wood from the front and were not actually screwed in. You could pull the nut off and re assemble as long as you do not drive the bolt to the front. You can even go as far as pulling on the bolt while tightening the nut if it pushes out.
the thing that can be a problem with those pointy stud screws when remounting the driver is that you need to be real careful with alignment cuz those things can tear or poke a surround right quick...messed up a few meself!
If they sound good I would just look into replacing the midrange/tweeter cap and maybe play around with a little sound absorbtion if there is a slight hollow sound to the enclosure.
If the 18-01-62 date code is to be trusted then the drivers are only two years older than the EV 15W driver I am currently listening to.