Fully Restored Zenith Single Ended 6AQ5 Power Amp With Custom Reclaimed Mesquite Wood Case And Metal Grill!

For sale is a fully restored Zenith stereo power amplifier that was taken from an unrestorable portable record changer. The amp was first converted to be a standalone power amplifier that maintains much of the original circuit design while restoring what is necessary for ultimate reliability without robbing the character of the amp. Details on this are covered below.

The front grill and logo came from the portable case and were recycled for this project. The metal grill is painted a beautiful vintage-correct gold using expensive automotive grade paint and the original logo is reattached using E6000.

Then the amp was brought out to a woodshop and a custom case was built from scratch out of reclaimed mesquite wood flooring. The finish is a hand rubbed tung oil finish that is tough yet beautiful to look at! This was essentially a one off custom build which we get the itch to do from time to time!

The power supply and power amp were upgraded with modern low ESR electrolytic capacitors throughout and film caps for the post phase inverter coupling caps. We then installed a fuse and added an external power switch. All of the original tubes still tested strong and sound wonderful so they were kept in the amp (including the Mullard 12AX7). The original circuit was maintained but any noisy/out of spec resistors were replaced and the push pull center channel was removed so that the single ended 6AQ5 output tubes get the most B+ that the current rectifier setup will allow.

We focus on three things in tube amp restorations - safety, sound and maintaining originality where possible so you can hear how these vintage amps are supposed to sound. We don't like "hot-rodding" these amps when so many other vintage and modern designs are available. These amps are considered classics for a reason...they sound AMAZING in their stock form driving high efficiency speakers ala Klipsch.

As far as the sound, these little amps kick out some seriously nice sound that belies their small stature! Smooth, silky yet incredibly detailed highs, tight yet balanced bass and a sweet, singing midrange. This is everything we expect from a high dollar tube amp, yet it can be had in this much more affordable package! These are single ended amps and it puts out around 3W or so - it's perfectly suited for a bedroom or office setup or even a living room if paired with some very high efficiency speakers! It can handle 4 or 8 Ohm speakers.

This amp comes with the original (and desirable) Mullard 12AX7 and all american made original output/rectifier tubes.

We will package and ship carefully with all tubes removed/packaged separately so it arrives as it left here.