Admiral 1964 model Y6091

[Motorola minion]

I got this from a n estate clean out. 1950s cape cod with oil forced air heat, it was extra dusty but no smell. It had never been serviced by the look of things.

The amplifier is a single-ended 6BQ5 stereo amp on a separate chassis with the power supply and 6CA4. I had a similar model using a 5U4 as the LV rect, most everything else was the same. Record player is made by Admiral, sold as Ensign for drop-in replacement models.

Admiral Y6091.jpg (94.98 KiB) Viewed 15237 times

[William]

Not a bad looking unit, Dave, another nice score.

Bill

[electra225]

Mu uncle bought one like that for Christmas in 1963. Very good stereo. I don't know what happened to it when he died.

[hermitcrab]

Looks like an original owners set ... you can tell how they are treated and look ... Nice grab!

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

A beautifully maintained console, congrats !

[electra225]

I had the Decca demonstration record for one of those for a time. It talks about the "phantom third channel". The demonstration record had a passage that actually sounded like the sound was coming from the center of the cabinet where there are no speakers. Unk and I used to play his Admiral stereo all night some times, listening to mostly country music. They belonged to the Columbia and RCA record clubs. The first record I heard played on that stereo was Patsy Cline "Showcase". If that stereo sounds anything like my uncle's stereo did, you might consider it a keeper. I contacted my girl cousin to see if she knows what happened to her dad's old stereo.

[TC Chris]

Our ears locate sounds by timing or time delay. A center sound will reach both ears at exactly the same time, in phase. A mono program source should sound like it's coming in the middle, right between the speakers. A lot of pop music is "fake stereo," which is to say, each instrument or performer has its own mike and is recorded in mono, then panned into position in the mix on the mixing board. Right, left, or somewhere between. The "phantom center channel" is really just a sound with equal in-phase output from both speakers. (That's why a mono recording should be used to test speaker phase; the sound should be right in the middle and not floating around in space.)

Some early stereo recordings were big on extreme separation, the ping-pong effect, with sounds coming from one speaker or the other so people knew it was "stereo." Heath and others added channel-mixing controls so you could add some R to L and some L to R to add center fill to these bad recordings. My AA-100 has this feature.

Some of the most famous, lifelike, and durable stereo classical recordings were the Mercury Living Presence LPs that captured an entire symphony orchestra with just three microphones. They've been reisssued often and the only clue that they are from the 1950s or '60s is a bit of tape hiss.

Real stereo should present a complete soundstage, with instruments or performers audible all across the space from R to L, including various locations in the middle.

Chris Campbell

[Motorola minion]

I actually got the record with this console. There were many country albums in it as well.

Funny thing is, I had another Admiral identical but it also had a bunch of odd country compilation albums in the storage.

[Motorola minion]

This is being delivered by a fellow enthusiast and sold to a FB buyer in central NJ, where prices are way higher than found locally.

Unfortunately, the bluetooth adapter has to share the phono input, so the player must be spinning to use AUX inputs. No tape on selector switch :

What is really interesting is how much bass reserve these Admirals have for a single-ended 6BQ5. The speakers are nothing special but it may be the output's feedback loop. The 6BQ5 cathodes do not return to a common resistor/cap to ground. Instead, the cathodes are connected to the OPT secondary high side (LIKE THE SPEAKER!), with other end of winding to ground via 68 ohm 2 watt and 47mf cap.

I actually got the Admiral "phantom 3rd channel" record with this console. I had an identical Admiral Y4751 but it also had a bunch of odd country compilation albums in the storage.

Double post due to short editing time window, IT!

[jerold49]

Hi,
I have this same Admiral model but the amp is missing one channel speaker output transformer. I have yet to find a schematic. Can anyone tell me what output transformer I need and where to order one? Thanks!

[electra225]

Welcome to the forum! We hope you will enjoy the forum and will join us often. Perhaps the original poster of this topic, or someone else has the information you need. Good luck!

You may find that an exact factory replacement is not available. Hammond makes a line of replacement transformers. The 6BQ5 is a popular tube, so suitable replacements should be no problem. You might want to change both transformers so they will be the same. Antique Electronic Supply carries a full line of Hammond replacement transformers.

Normally, audio output transformers don't just "go out". Many times, a component fails that causes the output transformer to fail. You want to check the cathode bias resistor and the cathode bypass capacitor to make sure those are good and also the coupling caps from the previous stage to the output stage. If any of these components fail, that can upset the bias on the tube and cause too much current to run thru tube and thru the output transformer. Are both of the output tubes still good, with no shorts. I believe if I was going to the expense and trouble to replace one or both output transformers, I might consider buying a matched set of output tubes at the same time.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Hi,
I have this same Admiral model but the amp is missing one channel speaker output transformer.
I have yet to find a schematic.
Can anyone tell me what output transformer I need and where to order one? Thanks!

Here is a Y6091 partial parts list with the OPT values.

It looks like a common primary impedance value, maybe someone has one
from an old radio or such.

Let me know if you still need the schematic, and I'll post it in "Downloads"
section.

[jerold49]

I appreciate being accepted into the forum. Thanks to Hi-Fi-Mogul & electra225 for your swift replies, wealth of info and suggestions. I will check and replace (if necessary) the components electra225 suggests before replacing the output transformer. Thanks to Hi-Fi-Mogul for the offer of the schematic which I’ll need to accurately identify the caps and resistor. --j49

[William]

Welcome, Jerold, and we are glad you found our little forum and decided to join. You will find us a friendly bunch with knowledge to share just for the asking. Please share your restoration with us and include some photos, we all love photos. Again welcome, and we hope to hear from you often.

Bill

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

J49,

The schematic is now in downloads (Amps and Tuners) on page 4.