MCM Delmonico Hi-Fi Stereo by JVC

[firedome]

good advice there...

from Rex on adding a polarized plug.
The amp is typical of a budget job but perfectly fine for low level listening... but
we can't be blasting "Bolero" all the time, can we?

 

[rp2813]

Polarized Plug

In theory, that's an excellent idea, but I've been told by an electrician that some of the outlets my dad wired into the shop aren't properly polarized.  I'll still move forward on that suggestion, though.  Chances are not all the outlets have reversed polarity.

 

Roger, you're so right about blasting.  No need for that when you're spinning some Martin Denny or Les Baxter LPs.

 

[artcurus]

rp,

Depending on what you are willing to do, there MIGHT be a way to upgrade the speakers. You will need to find certain Zenith radios from the late 40's to mid 50's.

This radio here- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-195...876733?hash=item2eef55da7d:g:uoEAAOSwJdlW6wFU

Has a 35C5 amp, a 7.5 inch speaker with a tone control, and they are unbelievably loud. They can fill a 3,000 sq building with more than acceptable sounding music.

I have one of these-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ZENITH-7H82...061085?hash=item3d19ee6d9d:g:-0cAAOSw3zxXL~F7

that I used for a 80's music house party one time, (used a USB FM converter) there was about thirty drunk people and they had to scream to be heard over it.

You would need two of them, and you can still use the tweeter system in the JVC. You would set it up to where the larger speakers downfire through holes in the bottom of the cabinet.

 

[firedome]

Denny and Baxter...

I LOVE Exotica aka Tiki music! Have albums from both of them... perfect for this stereo! A little "Quiet Village"with your Mai Tais anyone?

 

[rp2813]

I think I'll stick with the speakers I have, considering the Zenith solution isn't a sure thing and would be both costly and time consuming.

 

It turns out that ebay lied about the shipping for the phono service manual.  It's coming via USPS 1st Class Media Mail, so it could take a while.

 

[tolivac]

1.5W per channel is not going to shake the place-Try hooking it to a set of Voice Of The Theater speakers and then that 1.5W may be pretty loud!A single end amp running from 120V AC is not really going to be "Hi-Fi" by the usual standards but could sound OK for background music.Don't expect thundering bass from this unit!You won't hear the cannon shots on the 1812 Overture!The unit may satisfy a teenager that is not a music buff,though.

 

[rp2813]

Don't expect thundering bass

Yes, that is a given.  There's not even an adjustment for bass.  This thing is all about background as opposed to atmosphere. 

 

[panthera]

way groovy cool!

You've gotten some good advice here. I've worked on several systems of this vintage and repair V-M changers for the local mid-century shoppe, so can offer a few suggestions.
1) The hot chassis-one side of the AC line is attached to the metal case also means the tonearm on the changer and probably the changer, too, can easily be at 120 V, referenced to ground. Until the caps are changed out, with proper attention to the isolation and across the line caps, be careful.
2) There's nothing wrong with those speakers - they're perfect for that amp. Nor is 1.5 watts RMS at 10%THD too quiet when it's all working properly. The 'flat' sound means the amp needs service - caps are dried out, the one across the tone control for each channel is probably causing this.
3) Have the service person add a fuse. One and one-half amp is plenty.

Nice as Micromatic turntables are, a properly restored V-M with a new cartridge and stylus is NOT going to hurt your records. One can easily get carried away about these things. There's tons of info on what to do to restore one out there, any service manual with a picture of that little rubber sensor between the platter and the tonearm will have all the info you need. I've got one for the 1200 series which had everything I needed for one of the very last with 1661s. Your changer probably is a 1201 or thereabouts. If it's beyond your abilities, any 120x or 130x series will 'drop in'. If you need help getting it out, just ask. It's easy once you know how. Do not, under any circumstances, damage the pot metal jack into which the power cord plugs in. They were brittle 55 years ago....

This is a beautiful looking stereo, I'm glad you found it and, once you get a few things done, you'll be (pleasantly) shocked how good it sounds.

The link is to the V-M site. There, you can get any part you need or even an entire changer, completely rebuilt.

http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/

 

[rp2813]

It's NOT a Voice of Music Changer

Per an e-mail I received from Gary Stork of the VM site:

 

"This is not a V-M changer this is a Delmonico clone of a V-M changer.   Have been working hard to kill this urban legend for years."

 

He is going to refer me to resources near me, but I'm concerned that VM parts won't be compatible and that parts for my Delmonico "clone" may be difficult to come by.

 

[panthera]

Well,

That's interesting. I didn't know that!
OK, not a problem. It's either so well done, V-M parts will work or, it not, a V-M or Micromatic will be an easy replacement.

The only V-M parts that ever really fail (short of mechanical damage) are the idler wheel(s) or belt (and, yes, they did also use belts in some models), the cartridge and the needle.

Everything else is a matter of cleaning up the stiff grease.

 

[rp2813]

Keven, I agree with you and think the idler wheel needs to be replaced.  I don't know if this changer is a close enough clone that a VM wheel could work.

 

The other two issues are the function knobs for on/off/rej and RPM, which I think involve linkages that need adjusting.

 

I haven't even figured out how to extract the changer from the cabinet yet.

 

[cfz2882]

changer comes right out on my 224EA-just reach in through the back and flip the 3 keepers on the changer mount screws to up position and lift it out.Looking over the JVC changer VS a 1969 vintage V-M,they are VERY similar,but looks like no parts would interchange...Perhaps an earlier V-M might be closer-japs definatly had a V-M handy when they designed their JVC changer...Drive wheel is glazed on mine,but some belt dressing should fix it right up(works great for the tires in VCRs and tape decks too).Finding suitable replacement motor mount bushings might be a trick though-they all changed to an orangish goo on mine... Originally,was just keeping my JVC as a historical artifact of mid-'60s japana,but with this thread going,might just have to do a full fix on it

 

[artcurus]

Wow, learn something new every day.

 

[panthera]

It will be mounted

on three or (unlikely) four springs. There may well be a screw or bolt through each of the springs or next to them. Unscrewing them should lower the changer tight against the cabinet. Screwing them 'in' until they are flush (as in your picture) should let the changer 'float'.
You need to look for some sort of clip which is attached to each of those three bolts/screws. They will either flip into a vertical position when you pull one side down and push the other up or they will be a pin or c-clip under a rubber or plastic puck.
That's how virtually all of these changers were made from after WWII until the end.
Send us a pic of the underside, if you like - I am curious.

 

[rp2813]

Thanks guys, I'll check for the clips.  I'll be able to snap pictures of the underside once I pull the changer.

 

B -- if you need more inspiration, check out this even more rare JVC Delmonico console (link to thread about it on ARF provided below).

 

http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=167332&sid=286acd98ca34e649e1dd9e204544afe6

 

[cfz2882]

cool

that big TV/HiFi in the link is really cool-looks like the HiFi section has the same tubes as our consolettes reading through the ARF thread,seems dirty tube socket contacts caused most of the trouble with that set.