UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post

Nickthedentist · 14th Sep 2019, 10:29 am

Lovely work, Phil.

Is yours model GR10, transistorised, from c. 1966? In typical confusing Dynatron fashion, they used the Cavalcade name on several completely different machines over the years.

I have a Hacker RG16 "Serenade" (with the same Garrard deck as your Dynatron) in daily use in our living room, and in my study, a Dynatron GR4SA "Mazurka" which is very similar in styling to yours except the knobs are on the front rather than the side. Mine has the 4HF single-play deck. Both are all-valve.

These bigger, wood-finish machines seem to command much lower prices than Dansette lookalikes, which is a real bonus for people who want a decent all-in-one machine at minimal cost.

Yes, Edward, you're right. I've toyed around with my Hacker, fitting a SP25/IV, Shure M44E and RIAA pre-amp, but it sounded no better so I put it back to original spec.

The Sonotone cartridges in both the above had failed, so I replaced them with salvaged BSR SC12Ms tracking at 4g, and have been very pleased with the results, both on microgrooves and 78s.

14th Sep 2019, 10:29 am	#3
Nickthedentist Dekatron Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Oxford, UK. Posts: 17,865	Re: Dynatron Cavalcade Lovely work, Phil. Is yours model GR10, transistorised, from c. 1966? In typical confusing Dynatron fashion, they used the Cavalcade name on several completely different machines over the years. I have a Hacker RG16 "Serenade" (with the same Garrard deck as your Dynatron) in daily use in our living room, and in my study, a Dynatron GR4SA "Mazurka" which is very similar in styling to yours except the knobs are on the front rather than the side. Mine has the 4HF single-play deck. Both are all-valve. These bigger, wood-finish machines seem to command much lower prices than Dansette lookalikes, which is a real bonus for people who want a decent all-in-one machine at minimal cost. Yes, Edward, you're right. I've toyed around with my Hacker, fitting a SP25/IV, Shure M44E and RIAA pre-amp, but it sounded no better so I put it back to original spec. The Sonotone cartridges in both the above had failed, so I replaced them with salvaged BSR SC12Ms tracking at 4g, and have been very pleased with the results, both on microgrooves and 78s. Last edited by Nickthedentist; 14th Sep 2019 at 10:42 am.