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Any audiophiles out there? Question about a pair of Unitron speakers.

Started by Greg G., January 22, 2019, 01:47:37 PM

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Greg G.

I dragged down a pair of Unitron speakers from the attic that used to be part of an home audio system my wife's first husband (deceased) had back in the 80s.  I was going to pair them with a working Dual 1219 turntable that I had when we met.  I only used it to digitize old 78s, but I don't do that anymore so I plan to sell it.  Dimensions of the speakers is about 23" tall, 13" wide, 9.5" deep, they weigh 26.5 lbs each.

My questions:

1. How do you get into the cabinet of the speaker box to inspect the speakers?  There are no screws of any kind that I can see.

2. How are they hooked up?  What do I need?  I can probably guess at it since I had the turntable hooked up to my computer's speaker system at one point, but it's been a long while, and would probably be a lot easier doing it correctly the first time instead of the by guess and by golly method.

3.  If they're in working order, I plan to sell them with the turntable.  I know what to price the turntable at, but not the speakers.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Jim Stettler

Back in the day, a lot of speaker cloth was stretched over a frame and attached to the speaker cabinet with Velcro, Usually by the corners.
Good-luck,
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

jsowers

You would need some kind of amplifier or receiver in between the Dual turntable and the speakers. Those speakers are not very high quality. Looks like they are glued together and you can't take them apart and one may have cat scratching damage on it. They won't bring much. The Dual turntable is the more valuable of the two. If you had the turntable hooked up at the yard sale showing that it worked, it would likely bring more. But don't expect people to pay eBay prices at a yard sale.

You do need an amp and speakers to demo the turntable. Or is the Dual built into a system? Some were and some weren't. Good luck selling it.
Jonathan

FABphones

Quote from: Brinybay on January 22, 2019, 01:47:37 PM
My questions:

1. How do you get into the cabinet of the speaker box to inspect the speakers?  There are no screws of any kind that I can see.

2. How are they hooked up?  What do I need?  I can probably guess at it since I had the turntable hooked up to my computer's speaker system at one point, but it's been a long while, and would probably be a lot easier doing it correctly the first time instead of the by guess and by golly method.

3.  If they're in working order, I plan to sell them with the turntable.  I know what to price the turntable at, but not the speakers.

From memory:

The fabric on the front is stretched taut over a frame. The frame pushes into place (but could be Velcro), so gently lift to remove. Underneath you will see the speaker cones, and around the inner frame which holds the cones in place you should (possibly) see any fixings and be able to take them apart. Usually the cones are screwed into place so that is what you will be removing (lifting out, but remember they are wired in to their rear).

To test you don't necessarily need to get inside the speakers, connect two wires, one to each of the connecting points on the rear of each speaker. I can't quite see, but if yours look like they may have a clip fastening it is easy to do; lift, push in wire and flip clip back to fasten. If not it will probably just be a screw fixing (which is what I think yours are).

Speakers connect into the rear of an amp (check one isn't already built into your turntable system) and depending on output, a preamp (but I don't think so in this instance). Your turntable etc also connect to the rear of the amp. Plug the amp into the power and you're away.

Get some 'Nancy and Lee' vinyl on the turntable and enjoy.  :)
A collector of  'Monochrome Phones with Sepia Tones'   ...and a Duck!
***********
Vintage Phones - 10% man made, 90% Tribble
*************

Jim Stettler

Quote from: FABphones on January 22, 2019, 04:17:33 PM
From memory:

The fabric on the front is stretched taut over a frame. The frame pushes into place (but could be Velcro),
In the US, some did have a nylon pin-and-socket arrangement. Velcro was more common among my group of friends.
Class of 1979,
Jim
You live, You learn,
You die, you forget it all.

19and41

The polarity marks on the terminals are for reference, so you can wire each oppositely to produce better bass response.  Regrettably, many makers sealed the housings so as not to reveal the puny inner workings.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

Key2871

Old speakers, around the edge of the come if they used a flexible foam rubber to allow for movements, that stuff breaks down after several years, especially if stored in an attic. So first off I would just try them using  tuner or amp with a turntable to see if they even still work.
If they do and you still want to look at the actual speakers, try removing the grill stuff from the front. But keep in mind that it will most likely come off in chunks and Peace's. And you may have to replace the front with fabric or similar for speakers. It's not too hard, depending on what you use.
KEN

Doug Rose

Briny...Never heard of the speakers but a Dual 1219 is a classic. Make sure you test it and show what kind of cartridge it has. The Cartridge is key. ADC and Shure are good names from my past. Turntables are a hot commodity right now. Anyone buying one already has a receiver and speakers. Speakers have jumped leaps and bounds since the Dual was King..Doug
Kidphone

Fabius

Keep the Dual turntable. It's a keeper. Get a pair of quality speakers and enjoy AC/DC. You can use a am/fm receiver that has a phono input as an amp. I can't find much about that brand of speakers. When it comes to speakers vintage isn't always the best way to go.

To get an idea what the turntable is worth check the sold listing for that model on ebay.


Audiokrama is an excellent web site to all this vintage audio: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php
Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

Fabius

Picture of the Dual 1219 turntable.
Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

Greg G.

Ok, great info!  The speakers aren't much, but my turntable is.  Yes, those are probably cat scratches, my wife and her late husband had 5 of them at one time.  Since the speakers aren't much, they'll go to Goodwill. 

The story behind the 1219:  I bought it at a place that sold used turntables, but didn't repair them.  The turntable wouldn't spin on this one and the automatic arm return didn't work either.  Up the street a block on the same side was a place that repaired them, but didn't sell any.  So I paid the $50 price tag and hand-carried it a block up the street to the repair shop.  He said it would take "two weeks".  Four weeks went by and he said he's got it working except for the automatic arm return.  The table still stopped when the arm reached the end, but it just didn't lift up and return by itself.  I opted for taking it as it is, repair bill was $15.  When I told the repair guy what I was going to use if for, he suggested a needle especially made for 78s, which I had him install.  The 1219 has served me well when I was single and had nothing better to do that to digitize old 78s with a DAK setup.  The DAK digitizer isn't high-end stuff, but it suited my purposes.

I was going to sell it on CL for what I paid for it plus the repair cost, but based on what I've read here, maybe I should ask more?

P.S.  Looking at the other picture, mine seems to be missing the Start/Stop switch.  I don't remember if it was ever on there when I bought it.  It still worked simply by picking up the arm and placing on the record.  When I picked it up and moved it to rest position, it stopped.
The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

Fabius

Unfortunately the missing switch arm and the non-working auto return will adversely affect the sale price. Is the dust cover original? In your picture the top piece appears to be solid instead of clear.
Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

jsowers

Briny, do whoever buys your turntable a favor and let them know it has a stylus for 78s installed and what type of cartridge it is. They would need to get a different one for 33s and 45s if that's what they were planning to play. You picked an excellent turntable for that purpose and you might want to put that in the ad, that you used it for digitizing 78s because some people are looking for that combination. Not every turntable plays 78s.

I used my cheapo Panasonic turntable and receiver I got in the 7th grade to record my 78s and it worked beautifully. I found that if I plugged a Y-adapter into the record out jacks that it would change from stereo to mono and the surface noise of the record would cancel out, making a great recording.
Jonathan

Greg G.

Quote from: jsowers on January 23, 2019, 09:27:26 PM
Briny, do whoever buys your turntable a favor and let them know it has a stylus for 78s installed and what type of cartridge it is. They would need to get a different one for 33s and 45s if that's what they were planning to play. You picked an excellent turntable for that purpose and you might want to put that in the ad, that you used it for digitizing 78s because some people are looking for that combination. Not every turntable plays 78s.

I used my cheapo Panasonic turntable and receiver I got in the 7th grade to record my 78s and it worked beautifully. I found that if I plugged a Y-adapter into the record out jacks that it would change from stereo to mono and the surface noise of the record would cancel out, making a great recording.

I would most certainly include full-disclosure about the turntable, just as I would an old phone.  Given that the speakers are not high-end to begin with, that they've been in an attic for over 20 years that was subject to extremes of hot and cold, and I would need to get an amp, I don't think I'll bother with hooking them up, they will go to Goodwill.  However, I would need to demonstrate the turntable and I don't recall how I had them hooked up to my computer speakers.  It's been about 10-15 years, I need some guidance on that. 

All the positive reviews about the turntable is making me tempted to keep it, but my wife and I are just not into home audio.  Like the phones I purged, it needs to go to a better home where it will be more appreciated. 

I will look on Ebay to get an idea of pricing.  Here are some pictures showing the lid.  It's a smoked color.  I assumed it was original.

The idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane.
- Mike Row
e

jsowers

It looks like, from one of your pics, you had a DAK box that plugged into your PC sound card, but I could be mistaken. PC sound is now built-in and not usually a separate card, so the input jacks may be different or if it's a cheaper computer or a laptop, not even there except with the HDMI input or something like that. It depends on the PC.

My 78s were digitized the old fashioned way, being recorded onto reel-to-reel by me and then to an audio CD recorder. A friend who had the recorder did the transfer.
Jonathan