Magnavox W620 Cart Sub Alert

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

This customer's W620 changer had the usual dirt and grease.
I went through the mech and that's done.

But, the original E-V 275 cart was broken and a mess.

I ordered the Pfanstiehl P-191 that the Voice of Music has
as a sub.

Beware that this cart will not be a drop in product.
On this W620, there are formed ribs in the inside of
the tonearm, that must be cut away.

The final 2 ribs at the inside head of the tonearm were
impossible for me to remove with the tools at hand.

Due to the design of the cartridge mount tail, I had to add
2 small nylon washers as spacers.
I found a longer screw to use with them.

Also, you must shorten the mounting tail of the P-191.
The pre-drilled mount hole in the P-191 tail is
not threaded.
The tail is soft aluminum, so you can manually get the
screw to thread through the hole.

On future W620 changers, if the arm doesn't have 1/2 inch standard
mounts or a working original E-V 275 cart, I won't accept the job.
Too much extra time involved.

[electra225]

Does that changer have a plastic platter?

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Does that changer have a plastic platter?

No, it is a late 1960's Magnavox changer, very heavy.
It replaced the S600s.

[electra225]

Which late Collaro changer had the plastic platter? That one is reputed to be unrepairable.

[Ken Doyle]

Which late Collaro changer had the plastic platter? That one is reputed to be unrepairable.

The changer you're thinking of is the W 712 which actually has a plastic chassis that sags from the weight of the records. It also only has only 2 speeds.

I ordered the Pfanstiehl P-191 that the Voice of Music has
as a sub.

I'm interested to know how the P-191 sounds in place of the original E-V cartridge. Please give us a report.

[electra225]

Thanks, Ken. Were you around ARF when Randy Bassham was active on the Phono board? It was a very active board. I'm not sure any of the regulars are still around, except maybe for Larry H., who moderated the board back then. I've been trying to get him on our forum without much success.....

I remember a thread on the plastic Collaro changer, but it's been years ago.

[Ken Doyle]

I remember a thread on the plastic Collaro changer, but it's been years ago.

I found that thread:
https://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewto ... 9&t=269161

This is the only picture I can find of that miserable record changer:

W712.jpg (2.19 KiB) Viewed 3159 times

I'm not sure when I joined ARF, but it pre-dates the big crash it had in early 2005.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Looks like I'm about finished with the W620.

The mute switch would only work in reverse, so I took out
that transfer bar so it would be a live signal always.

The platter mat cleaned up well, but it is warped
all around the outside edge, so
I bet it was stored under some hot/dry conditions.

I'll clean around under the mat, put on some wood glue, and
weight it down overnight.

The owner will grab it on Sunday...yeah !!

I don't have a Magnavox console to test how the P-191 sounds.

I think it must have about a 0.5 Volt output, from playing it through
a solid state amp I have hooked up.

[hermitcrab]

I could not get enough room in the head shell to accept the replacement with the metal bar ....I used a tetrad cart on my magnavox , I have found that the P191 did not respond well to bass, unless it was just the machine I was using it on?... let us know how it sounds on the maggie...