My AMPEX Stereo Consoles

byoungman1

Vacuum tube mafia kingpin
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At the behest of a good AK buddy of mine, here are some photos of my Ampex stereo consoles.

Ampex was light-years ahead of the other hi-fi companies, mainly because they had been involved with multi-track recording
and saw that stereo was going to become a reality. Nobody else was doing "stereo" in 1957...not consumer-grade, anyway.



First, my 1957 "crescendo":

Ampex.jpg


This one has the same components and is also from '57, but I am unfamiliar with the cabinetry:

Ampex57_1.jpg

Ampex57_2.jpg


I've had two "custom" model consoles...they utilize the Ampex 6973 stereo amp (which wasn't their best effort):

Ampex6973aa.jpg


So I retrofitted mine with Ampex EL34 mono amps.

Console.jpg




If anyone needs Ampex hi-fi info, I have a whole bunch of literature, brochures, schematics, etc.
that I will gladly email.

Oh, and the grand finale...my "Signature" that cost about $2300 in 1960 and came with a pretty leather-bound owner's manual,
hand-signed by Alexander M. Poniatoff himself :thmbsp:

AmpexCabinet.jpg
 
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You are a lucky man!

I been after one of these since I saw sheltie daves several years ago.

Such a shame most people part them out.
 
That Signature is gorgeous with that veneer pattern. I also like the one in the middle, the one with the mystery cabinet. The components on that look almost like they'd be more at home in a rack than in a console. The R2R and tuner are rather industrial looking. Nice stuff, thanks for sharing!
 
How 'bout a pic of the signed manual? Killer stuff, I keep thinking I'd like to fit one in somewhere; maybe my office at work? :scratch2:
 
I grew up listing to that bottom 6973 csonsole you have. A lot of fond memories listening to records with my dad. i picked up the 6973 stereo amp section from one and listen to it on occassion now. I loved the sound of that old console.
 
That second one seems to be the furniture I most often see pictured for that 1957 console. They beat Fisher to market with a stereo unit by a very short amount of time.

What's the problem with the 6973 amp?
 
My o' my what a beautiful collection of consoles. I love the mid century lines, solidly built I'm sure.
 
Hiya Bryce,

You might be surprised at who is behind the tuner in the Crescendo's .. that be a rebranded Fisher Tuna .. I have one here actually (The Ampex Grey Like Yours) with the Pre if you ever need any parts from it.

Frannie
 
That is a great collection! Imagine the craftmanship that went into those...how many hours did it take just to make the cabinet for the "Signature"?

That's a collection to be proud of!!
 
Hiya Bryce,

You might be surprised at who is behind the tuner in the Crescendo's .. that be a rebranded Fisher Tuna .. I have one here actually (The Ampex Grey Like Yours) with the Pre if you ever need any parts from it.

Frannie

Didn't Fisher make some of the Ampex preamps, too?
 
Does anyone know where Ampex consumer catalogs might be online? Years back I came across an Ampex SS unit that hung on a wall, speakers & all. It was only about 4" deep.
 
Hiya,

I got the pre amp with my Tuner .. it does not look like Fisher to me so I would have to say I don't know if Fisher made preamp's for them as well.

I do know that Ampex RTR's were center stage in many a Fisher console well into the 60's

Frannie

PS: Bryce I still want you to adopt me please ..
 
Real eye candy... 6973 outputs being fed by 7199 driver/phase inverters. Could not be more expensive (today) than that! Now, that is not a negative comment in case you are wondering ;). Nice looking equipment...
 
Very nice Bryce. :yes:

Ampex was at the forefront of audio for sure. Funny story though, Les Paul called them up and asked for them to send him two of their newest four track machines. When they asked why two he told them that he was going to sync them so he could have eight tracks. They said it couldn't be done, he told them how he was going to do it. :yes:
 
Very nice Bryce. :yes:

Ampex was at the forefront of audio for sure. Funny story though, Les Paul called them up and asked for them to send him two of their newest four track machines. When they asked why two he told them that he was going to sync them so he could have eight tracks. They said it couldn't be done, he told them how he was going to do it. :yes:

What would Gibson have been if that man never existed? I put him in a very hard to get into group that includes the likes of Kloss, Blumelien, Tesla, etc.. Well, ok, Tesla gets his own class, that shaded pole motor thing really caught on. The one he drew in the dirt with a stick while on lunch break.:yes:
 
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