Philips Gear

LPD

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I have a friend who has a set fo Philips seperates. Pre-amp, amp and tuner. All are black faced (I can get model #'s for reference) and in good working condition. He wants $400.00 Canadian for the set. Is this reasonable. The amp is quite heavy and has seperate meters for each channel. I don't know much about Philips laboratory gear. Any info is appreciated.
 
lpd,
the model#'s sure would help.theres been alot of threads on ak regarding philips equiptment,especially about the tuners.just do a search on philips.philips gear seems to be a sleeper name but the word seems to be getting out about thier hi fi lab equiptment.$400cdn doesnt seem bad at all if all the gear is working proprely.im sure others will comment on this thread and you can take it from there.regards,
radioactive
by the way if he'd consider selling the items seperate id be interested in the tuner.
 
Oh, you don't want it. It is terrible and junk. Oh, I have a question for your friend could you give me his name and #. Search here and also in the equipment review section for my comments on mine and others comments. Things to look for - do all the capacitive switches work? Also, the loudness and tone control circuits of the preamp had problems in early production run so check to see they are right. All units run cool. The tuner should be about as good as you've heard and in terms of sensitivity in both am and fm. No turn on thumps. If the meters do not lie at zero (nil), with power on but no signal, don't fret there is an adjustment a tech can handle easily. At wide open through phono and hi-level, with no signal, there should no almost no perceptible hiss (unless you're running K'horns). Channel balance throughout the volume control range should be dead even.

The circuit boards are wired using a computer like connector and depending on how the units have been treated may need cleaning.

Other questions - send me a private email and I'll try to help. The power amp or tuner in good working condition is worth the asking price. Considering the amp is 210 rms @ 8 ohms - that's what $.90 Cdn (about $.68/watt US). Can't go wrong. Heck, if you buy them and they are not blown and for any reason you don;t want them, I'd like a backup system.

Oh, model numbers:
Tuner 6731 (673 is the silver version)
Preamp 5721 (572 is silver faceplate)
Amp 5781 (578 is silver version).
 
Last edited:
philips 1851/185 tuner

hey brian,just wondering if you ever tried one of these tuners.they dont have all the bells and whistles of the 673 but l suspect that the sound should resemble the 673?by the way i have a review on the ah673 from the consumer stereo and equiptment guide winter 1978.i will scan it and post it if your interested.heres some additional philips models from theaugust 1980 edition
preamplifier
ah280-$369.95
amplifiers
ah380 (100w)$469.95
tuners
ah180 am/fm digital $559.95
receivers
ah787 60w 369.95
ah7871 60w(black)
ah786 45w 329.95
ah7861 45w(black)
ah785 30w $239.95
ah7851 30w
ah784 20w $199.95
ah7841
programmable timer
ah080 $209.95

by the way the price of the ah673 was $599 in 1978
i hope this info helps with some of the specs .i also have a list of the turntables tape decks and speaker specs if anyone wants them
chris
 
Thanks guys. I'll post when I hook up with him later this week with the model #'s. They aren't going anywhere and he stated that I have first dibs on em', so no worries there.
 
Radioactive,
I'd love to get a copy of the tuner reveiw. I've not been able to locate copies of it. There is also a review of the power amp but, have not been able to rack it down either. Have not spent time looking for the information on the integrated or the 851/1851 but now that things will quiet down at work until the end of the year, I'll start putting together the documents I have and start the search for the receiver and integrated amptuner information. Not part of the Lab Series were the 4504 and 4506 tape decks and the 213/427 (the 212 was actually out of production when the series went into sales) turntables. When, well if, I complete the Lab series I'll start with the tape decks and turntables that would have been of the same period. Thank you for the other information. I'll add it to the "catalog".

Oh, I've yet to see a 7861 on eBay. A couple of the 7851s have been listed and a fair number of the 7841 and 7831. I have only seen 1 silver faced, a couple of the silver faced tuners and preamps while no silver faced amps. Since popular theory was the black faced was restricted to PX sales it would appear the GIs preferred them to the civilian populations. But the black faced units were in the dealer catalog and were the units we tested so the reality seems to be that the silver faced units are scarce and these may be the source of the 400 unit production number that is floating around.
 
Last edited:
brian,
i'll get around to posting the review today,i first have to haul down the scannner from the upstairs computer which recently crashed.there was a blacked faceed 1851 tuner that ended on ebay yesterday needless to say that i lost out on that one.theres also a 785 reciever,ah5721 preamp,and a ah5781.the reciever might be something to go after as its had no bids yet.
i dont know if you know this or not but in my price guide the price difference between the black face gear and the silver was $20 more for the blackfaced stuff(interesting).i came acrss a n2535 tape deck also but the seller ended the auction early .i emailed him to see if he still has it.hopefully he gets back to me.i myself dont own any of the lab series stuff but im working out a deal with a ak member for a 185 tuner and a ah386 integrated.any experience with these.by the way let me know if you want prices for the different models of tape decks,speakers,and turntables.
regards,
chris
by the way do you have any photos of the various amps recievers etc.id love to have some for my references.
 
Last edited:
I don't have experience with the 185/386 but another whom I've talked (emailed) with has a set that he likes quite well and is using them in his main system with a set of A/D/S 810s, Thorens 125II with SME and a Revox A-77. He had a H-K 402 (can't remember the tuner but it was the matching unit) in the 1st chair prior to these and likes the H-K better in some respects.

The blackfaced units had a suggested price that was slightly less than the silver faced. The PX price was about $100 less for the separates. I've not delved into the tape decks to any extent, instead relying on an email from the host of the Philips MFB speaker site who has an interest in the deck. The 4504 and 06 were based on the transport that was standard Philips but was beefed up and the electronics upgraded to compete in the high-end area of the MFB and Lab Series. His experince has been the Philips decks are not in the class of Revox, etc. and are prone to problems. My 4506 has a end of tape issue which he told me he's got 6 4506s in his basement with the same problem. I'm going to get mine looked after when I see what tape I want to set up for but, I suspect it won't get the use my old Revox used to. It seems Philips was a major hi-fi player in the world except in the US with the tables.

I've looked at buying the 185/386 combo and eventually will probably do so once I push out some of my current stuff. WIfey just keep looking at a pile that keep slowly getting taller, shakes her head and mutters that she was better off when I collected cameras.
 
Oh, BTW, are you going to bid on the 851. If not, since he does ship WW, I'll take a stab at it.
 
philips ah673 review

hi brian go ahead bid on the amp,
i might go for the receiver though.anyways i have the review scanned but when i resize it and then open it up you wont be able to read it.if you give me your email adress i send it to you.
chris
 
My brain is up may toenail today. I meant the receiver so I will not bid. It finally has 1 bid.
 
philips review/ebay auction

hi brian,
my brains kinda dull today too.im gonnaa bid on it but only up to $21.so if you were gonna bid more go for it.i already have enough gear on its way including a mcintosh mc30 ,pioneer sx780 and probally the philips combo from nukemmicrosoft.so this should keep me busy for awhile.anyways heres my email adress just in case you dont want to give yours out .
cfuller1@shaw.ca
give me a shout and ill fire off that review
chris
 
Got the sucker! Now to see if it will make the long journey and arrive in other than kit form.
 
great score

way to go brian,
i was watching the auction too.i figured it wouldnt go for too much more than the opening bid.like i said too much stuff coming in around here and not enough leaving otherwise i would have grabbed it myself.also alot of people dont know what was.anyways youll have to give me a review of it once you get it ,and dont forget some big picture files. if you hurry the preamps still there although i dont know if youd want 2 of them.
radioactive
 
No not interested in another preamp at the moment. These actually are not as rare as the tuners and poweramps. The poweramps seem the rarest for resales.
 
Ok guys. The amp is a Philips BA-1200 and the pre-amp is a BA-1000 and the tuner begins with BA as well. The amp is rated 150 wpc although the meters go up to 200. Can't find any info on it. Any ideas?
 
Back
Top Bottom