What was the best receiver turntable all in one system?

An example of the Aiwa and Akais I've seen. It was actually a shame to leave them, hopefully the market will one day appreciate the decent ones.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_9393.JPG
    IMG_9393.JPG
    110.9 KB · Views: 96
  • IMG_9394.JPG
    IMG_9394.JPG
    47.1 KB · Views: 94
  • IMG_9395.JPG
    IMG_9395.JPG
    43.2 KB · Views: 91
  • IMG_9396.JPG
    IMG_9396.JPG
    76.1 KB · Views: 89
Still kick myself for not getting a really nice Centrex system at a garage sale about 10 years ago. They wanted $20...I offered $10, then $15 but they wouldn't budge. Should've just paid the $20.
 
I had a KLH Model Twenty that sounded terrific until it dropped a channel. Bring unable to repair it and unwilling to invest big money in it, I sold it to a guy who had the expertise for it.
 
I laughed when I first saw the title of this post. I had no idea that there were so many quality all in ones, and it reminded me of a KLH I had in the early 90's, unfortunately with some crappy speakers that weren't KLH. Anyway- thanks for sharing all these great systems I didn't know existed. Always love the learning in this group!
 
When I had a cheap Lloyd's, I dreamed of upgrading to Clarinette.

056.jpg
 
HH Scott made a nice one way back when ........I had a Sony HP-550 from 1967 that was good build quality and sounded nice as well.....but the best of all of those old "all-in-one" compact stereo systems was and still is KLH. Good build quality, easy to fix when the time comes, parts availability with replacement component values is still good, and the fantastic speakers you got with them was the best part. Henry knew he was onto something with the Model Eleven "suitcase".....I'm sure the first dorm rooms to use them were @ MIT and Harvard back in the day....and then to offer home versions was pure genius.
 
Probably better out there but Benjamin put together a pretty decent three piece system with an Elac PW50 turntable and cartridge on top of a pretty decent USA made receiver of some unknown make, , EMI speakers . Pretty high quality components. I have the mid level 1045 and it is a pretty stout outfit.

Probably better out there but Benjamin put together a pretty decent three piece system with an Elac PW50 turntable and cartridge on top of a pretty decent USA made receiver of some unknown make, , EMI speakers . Pretty high quality components. I have the mid level 1045 and it is a pretty stout outfit.
I have had one for years. Benjamin owned Concord and Sherwood as well. So the reciever as far as I can tell is a Concord tube amp . It takes a few minutes to warm up but real buttery smooth after it does. I don't have the EMI speakers. But the sound is great through JBL's. I think the Elac 50 is one of the best trntables ever.
 
With efficient speakers I will have to agree the B&O combo units we sold were the best. A few others had a bit more power. But the B&O were designed to handle 4 ohms and most others were not.
 
Braun P(C)4000 (C = with cassette deck; even more impressive looking) - decent catalogue pic over there (on Lulabu's archive): http://www.hifi-archiv.info/Braun HiFi Kataloge und Anleitungen/1979 Braun HiFi-Gesamtkatalog/10.jpg The parents of a nice, intelligent girl in the neighbourhood had that in their living room - really gorgeous visual appearance and good hifi quality, too...

Same year (1978), different manufacturer, equally stunning appearance: the Wega Concept 51k. Quite a few decent pics there: https://studio5555.de/wega-concept-51k-von-hartmut-esslinger/

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
I like the Tandberg gear that I own, never heard one of their 'all-in-ones', but if I ever see one I would be inclined to buy it:
TR220GC.jpg
I think the TT is a Dual 1225.
 
Old thread I know but nobody mentioned the Pioneer units from the early and mid 70's. They had decent "S" armed Pioneer semi-automatic turntables on top and some of them had separate power amps built in to each speaker (you had to use their special connecting cord of course).

Of course the usual suspects have already been mentioned - HH Scott, Harman Kardon, KLH, Benjamin Miracord, Marantz, Fisher, Realistic, Altec Lansing, Dual, Grundig, and even Heathkit (they had one that you could assemble yourself as a kit or buy pre-assembled). There were others too, many manufacturers in the receiver biz offered one as they gained popularity in the late 60's.

I think the top model Scott was one of the best ones but it was pretty pricey. The KLH Model Twenty (while still $400 in 1968 dollars) was a check rated best buy according to Consumers Union. I had a Model Twenty system with its original speakers for years and I loved it. Couldn't believe the great sound quality coming out of that unit!

Jay that's a beauty, they'll never make things that nice again!

Pioneer sold one such high end compact model in 1976-1977 with the single play S arm in the USA. There was the Centrex by Pioneer line (sold in Department Stores) which had several compact systems (the higher end models had ADC magnetic cartridges, the better of the BSR changer line fitted), In Europe and Asia, the Pioneer high end compacts were available and sold there. Yamaha early on built some nice compacts with nice belt drive, semi automatic turntables, and reasonably powerful receivers, and a very few made it to the USA and sold here in the 1968-1971 era.

I would regard the high end Benjamin/Miracord offering with the 50H turntable as the best compact system sold in the USA by a good margin. The big issue with the high end compact systems, was price when new (some of the nicer options were pushing separate component system prices) and when cost cutting in the marketplace crept in, the higher end compact customer bought a receiver, whatever turntable or changer they liked, speakers of their choosing, and sometimes a tape unit. Which by 1971-1972 became the case. The custom component takeover by 1963 did the same to high end console sales (custom furniture based component installations got bought by the higher income, educated customer). And the rural music lovers, and those far away from HiFi dealers were the last bastion of that market, and $500 was the limit the market could bear by 1968, so some perspectives here.

By 1978, Bang & Olufsen's Beocenters was the main high end offering of the all in one genre. The higher quality ones were much more common, and sold in much higher numbers in European and Asian countries with smaller living quarters.
 
Pioneer sold one such high end compact model in 1976-1977 with the single play S arm in the USA. There was the Centrex by Pioneer line (sold in Department Stores) which had several compact systems (the higher end models had ADC magnetic cartridges, the better of the BSR changer line fitted), In Europe and Asia, the Pioneer high end compacts were available and sold there. Yamaha early on built some nice compacts with nice belt drive, semi automatic turntables, and reasonably powerful receivers, and a very few made it to the USA and sold here in the 1968-1971 era.

I would regard the high end Benjamin/Miracord offering with the 50H turntable as the best compact system sold in the USA by a good margin. The big issue with the high end compact systems, was price when new (some of the nicer options were pushing separate component system prices) and when cost cutting in the marketplace crept in, the higher end compact customer bought a receiver, whatever turntable or changer they liked, speakers of their choosing, and sometimes a tape unit. Which by 1971-1972 became the case. The custom component takeover by 1963 did the same to high end console sales (custom furniture based component installations got bought by the higher income, educated customer). And the rural music lovers, and those far away from HiFi dealers were the last bastion of that market, and $500 was the limit the market could bear by 1968, so some perspectives here.

By 1978, Bang & Olufsen's Beocenters was the main high end offering of the all in one genre. The higher quality ones were much more common, and sold in much higher numbers in European and Asian countries with smaller living quarters.

The Benjamin compacts were very nice but IIRC they didn't actually offer the hysteresis motor in the combo system turntables so they were just Model 50 changers rather than 50H. While indeed very good units I think probably the best very high priced all-in-one compact phono system was the Marantz unit which could be custom fitted with a Miracord 50H, Garrard SL-95B or Dual turntable (customer ordered the unit with the appropriate cutout on the top plate). The Scott was probably just about the best "affordable" unit, especially when fitted with a small chassis Dual on top (usually we see the mediocre Garrard 3000 / Pickering combo on there). The Sony / Dual models were top notch combos as well.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom