Allen Organ custom stereo console 1960s

[KeithJacoby]

Hi I'm a newbie, recently blacklisted from VinylEngine (apparently)...
I'm looking for a community to bounce ideas off of, as I restore my uncle's prized hi-fi console to it's original glory. Brief description: it was built in Macungie PA in mid 60s when they were doing custom units but I think they only did a few hundred as mine is numbered 267 on the back plate. It's kit consists of a Dyna factory built PAs2 preamp with original telefunken tubage, an all original, perfectly operating FM3 tube tuner, a garrard changer that I replaced with a Dual 1229 I restored (sorry Brit friends!) And original jensen 3 way speakers (all alnico with 12" woofers) that I re-networked. It's amps (mono Allen solid states) are rather weak so I dropped in an adcom 60 wpc power amp for now, but the hope is to get a proper period stereo tube amp in there some time soon. It also came with 2 speaker cabinets (open back) that I'm experimenting with. I had some donor Klipsch speakers that I put in a new baffle and loaded the drivers and xover, so far so good--they sound better than I expected.
I'd be interested in this community's thoughts. I've got the distinct impression that this rig in it's largely original condition is very rare, so I'm trying to keep it original but some things just needed help (TT, amplifier).
Thank you!
KeithJ

 

[Sergeauckland]

Restoring such a piece of vintage equipment is a Labour of Love.

Do you keep it original? In which case, you need to put back the Garrard changer, and restore that if it's not working properly, then restore the electronics. The results will in no way be 'HiFi', but they will be original.

Do you just use the woodwork as a piece of furniture, and replace the electronics with something modern?
That will keep it as a conversation piece, but having the loudspeakers attached to the same box that holds the turntable means that the turntable will never work as well at it should. It will always be compromised by feedback within the box. Also, if you change the loudspeaker drivers, it will no longer be original and it won't sound much better.

If I owned your unit, I would restore it to original condition, put back the Garrard turntable and rework the amplifiers , tuner and loudspeakers back to original condition. That way, it'll sound like it did when new. I don't see any point in doing anything else, as a box like that will never be 'HiFi' as understood today, so it might as well be original.

S.

 

[KeithJacoby]

Hey thanks for the feedback! Since these consoles were custom made by Allen Organ and the electronics were picked by the purchaser (in this case my uncle's father) off of a menu, the Gerrard was chosen before the wood was sawn, not particularly stock as there were some Lenocos and Duals that could have been chosen so I don't feel like I'm straying from originality at all insofar as the TT goes. If this console were an RCA, Magnavox or other mass market brand, there were still options for sources on those but much more limited because the numbers were tens, even hundreds of thousands of units. The Allen Organ company only produced a few hundred of these custom stereo cabinets between 1962 and 1965 and were considered niche high end, as expensive as a family car at the time. I know this because my uncle (who inherited this from his father who ordered it from Allen) worked in the woodworking shop of Allen in Macungie PA for 25 years, 1982-2007. So I have a nice family heirloom with provenance that is as you said, a labor of love.
Also, just to be clear, the built-in speakers of the main unit are remaining all original Alnico Jensen drivers; the xovers I replaced-the originals would not pass signal to the mid or tweeter, probably bad caps, irreplaceable since the networks were University wax-filled cans. As for microphonics from the unit's speakers to the Dual 1229 TT (an excellent point you made and a big concern of mine), the solution is to utilize the external cabinets, of which I have the 2 that accompanied the purchase of the main unit. It is those external speaker cabs for which I'm replacing the drivers; what was ioriginal to them were badly worn and sounded pretty bad by today's standards. 1990s Era Klipsch drivers seem to be working very well in an infinite baffle arrangement. The donor bookshelf Klipsches were languishing in my collection so I'm experimenting with them. Finally, I'm on the hunt for an original factory built, unmodified circuit dynaco stereo 70 amp (an option that was not chosen by my uncle's father) and I will still call this original. The small Allen 25W solid state amps are just not worth restoring.
Soon the Allen console is going to be our living room's music system. The other 3 systems will get more use with the family for home theater, gaming (2 teenage boys!), more critical listening etc. But if we're entertaining or just feeling nostalgic, we've got a real time capsule to huddle around for years to come. By the way, it sounds damn awesome considering the period! My uncle is smiling knowing it's not getting gutted for the electronics!
Cheers to you! Thanks for the response!
KeithJ