my vintage hi-fi {a photo essay}

well here it is, for those of you haven't been able to see it so far, including you folks i've never met, or those i know but haven't seen in years. my mid 50's Zenith console hi-fi, in all it's glory. sit back, relax and let the soothing sounds of the pixies 'surfa rosa' wash over you. hahaha

ok, so here is the whole set up as it looks when it's not in use.

underneath the console, you will see my receiver that i am using to bypass the defunt original. it's a SONY STR-7055, and as far as i can tell, it's from circa '72-'73ish with 75w/chanel. i found someone selling something similar on ebay, for like $175, so i guess it's great to have gotten this for free, especially because my STR has way more options and ports etc. here's a sweet shot of that.

You can really see how great these two pieces go together, even though they were made decades apart. i have so many great options with this thing, and infact have a new component i am going to be bringing into the mix really soon. i've already hooked up a set of rca to 3/8 jack for an iPod or laptop, and that works pretty well. the wire could be more insulated, but a total rewire (to eliminate interference) is a long way down the line. for now, the next thing on the horizon is hooking a mid 70's tape deck up so i can make mix tapes from vinyl. the second console that i canabalized the garrard deck from has a nice tape deck, and so that's what i will use for that project.

so those really cool doors in front of the speakers that i think i mentioned before? well here are before and after links to show you what i mean.

so now we can check out the full set up. here's how it looks when i'm actually actively listening to records. the speaker doors are open and the top is up.

Though of course you can listen to it with the speaker doors, and top closed, it's just not as cool that way.

Here's a couple of links to the interior of the console (including the sweet record storage spot). you can check out a detail shot of the garrard deck

, or of the original zenith receiver.

so that's about it for the console restoration, or set up, that i did so i could finally listen to my records. i am so excited that i can finally hear them again. so now here's a couple of shots of hanging out here at home this morning, just as an example of what it's like around here when amanda is at work (ssshhhh!)