| Excel Stereo Vintage Rebuild Service Common Myths of Vintage Equipment 1) Vintage gears are worth more when "untouched". This may be true, however, many people are without the expertise to determine whether a piece of Vintage gear they purchased are truly "untempered". More often than not, we have customers bring all sorts of "untouched" gears only to discover that the circuit has been altered, or restored improperly. 2) Vintage gears are better Sure, if you only plan to LOOK AT IT or DISPLAY IT, you can leave it as it. But if you plan to listen to it, you will need to restore it. The key is to restore it properly. 3) If I restore a piece of equipment, I will lose the original sound. I've got news for you, your vintage gear has lost it's original sound anyways. Capacitors dry out, wires get oxidized, resistor change values, the bottom line is you have a ticking time bomb on your hands. 4) Old Capacitors are better Most people do not have the expertise or skills to properly measure a capacitor. In all our years of repair service, we seldom see old capacitor measure up to spec. A capacitor should be monitored for its charge and discharge rate in relation to temperature and voltage changes. Even if the capacitance value did not change, its charge and discharge rate would have changed already. Typically, old capacitors will give you a dull, slow, rolled off and flat type of sound. How we do vintage restoration * Remove all previous modifications, wirings, and other components * Remove all oxidized wires, or out of spec components * Restore circuitry back to original factory schematic * Use of original factory components as much as possible, or new replacements specified by the factory * Measure and adjust all voltages according to factory specification * Full bench test for power and distortion * Physically clean all switches, sockets, switches or contact points. * Rust removal and restoration * 72 hour bun-in and 50 ON/OFF cycles * Properly pack and double box equipment to ensure safe transportation * Provide warranty for restored gear Recent Rebuild Examples: | 
