1941 Philharmonic Futura K-1!!!!!!!!!

[RogerKulp]

Hiya,

Looks like the target audience at the time was E. H Scott owners and Capehart Panamuse owners.

Wondering how much of the circuitry is actually with help from GE considering all the loctals and other GE bits ??

Nice score and its in the best place it could be.

Frannie

Well I see similarities in the circuitry designs,with post war Fishers,even the "eye",or whatever they call it in the dial.It may be just built on a GE chassis.

 

[RogerKulp]

This is the changer that accompanied the '37 Philharmonic Futura. There is also good evidence that the earliest Philharmonics used a Garrard RC6. I don't know if Garrard model numbers were issued numerically in chronological order. You'd think that the RC6 was an earlier model.

...Regarding the original turntable for my 1941 Philharmonic: it eventually dawned on me that it was very unlikely that mine came with a manual Garrard. I had assumed it would be Garrard since all of the earlier Philharmonics offered them. The reason Garrard probably wasn't supplying Philharmonic at that point became fairly obvious once I considered that they were a British company based in the town of Swindon, England. It seems almost certain that they would have been engaged in the manufacture of war material for some time prior to 1941. I can find next to nothing on the Webster-Rauland turntables that may have supplanted Garrard during WWII.

This page might be of interest to you,if you have not seen it already.

 

[marloubow]

thorenstd124...
Thanks for the above link on the history of the record player. my 12 year old son and I were able to find a picture of my newly restored Garrard type A II turntable, which is playing flawlessly thru a pair of polish (audio lab consort???) speakers he helped me recap. He thought the mechanics were pretty cool...springs, cogs and levers.
Now that's engineering!
Sorry for the off topic post.


martin

 

[TheRed1]

Thanks, Thorenstd124. I had not run across that site. Very interesting about the RC-100. I did not know that model number. That is the turntable Philharmonic used (or was planning to use) in their top-of-the-line Imperial model. The Imperial was pictured but never named in ads that ran in the NY Times in late 1941 and early 1942. Piecing together bits of information from several sources, it appears to have been a 29-tube model with a Garrard turn-over record changer, AM-FM high fidelity radio receivers and a stunning price of $1537!

May 1942:

The entire engineering and production facilities of PHILHARMONIC are now devoted to our part in the great task of arming America for victory. Although no more of these superb instruments will be made for the duration, a limited supply is still available for prompt delivery at last year's prices.

Oct. 1942:

Although our entire facilities are now devoted to war production, you can still buy a PHILHARMONIC Phonograph-Radio. A limited number of these superb instruments are available for immediate delivery and we invite you to hear them. You will know immediately why the PHILHARMONIC has been adjudged "all-around best, regardless of price," by leading consumers' organizations, record critics, and radio engineers.

Nov. 1942:

Only a few units remain in our war-busy laboratories!

The last mention of the 29-tube model is in Nov. 1941. I wonder exactly when that shipment of Garrard record changers was torpedoed.

 

[TheRed1]

The Philharmonic count is now up to 2, (I don't count the Smithsonian's since theirs doesn't have a proper cabinet.) One of the members over at ARF who responded to my Philharmonic thread there has one. See the twelfth post down from the top:

http://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=174739

His is the deluxe 14-tube 'Linear Standard' model in a cabinet that was advertised in May of 1941 as 'The Georgian'. The broadcast tuner is the earlier TRF version which dates to approximately 1938-1940. While I had heard of this model previously, I was not aware that it was a THREE chassis configuration. And just look at the size of those transformers!

This is the tube compliment:

2...6SK7..RF amplifiers
1...6C5....Infinite impedance detector
1...6N7....AVC amplifier
1...6J5.....Tuning indicator amplifier
1...6J5.....Tone control tube
1...6E5....Tuning indicator
1...6J5.....Audio amplifier
2...6N7....Phase inverter driver stage
2...6L6G..Push-pull output
1...83......Main rectifier
1...1V......AVC voltage supply rectifier

Unfortunately, his is missing its phonograph as well as both its speakers. I believe the original woofer on this model was probably a 15" Cinaudagraph! The cabinet, however, looks like it is in great shape.

I was a little disappointed that Al's wasn't one of the earlier Modern/Art Deco styled cabinets that are illustrated in a Philharmonic catalog I have that probably dates from 1938/39. Judging from the illustrations I've found in old newspaper ads from the early 40s, it appears Philharmonic's direction in cabinet design became much more conservative with the dawn of the new decade. The 40s cabinets are mostly period pieces: 'The Regent', 'The Chippendale', 'The Georgian', etc. It was pretty much the same styling direction that Fisher continued with after the war.

 

[joel27]

Just read the thread over there, what a wealth of knowledge.

 

[Jailtime]

This thread is really compiling some interesting history on early Fisher equipment.

 

[frankxbe]

Hiya,

Looks like the target audience at the time was E. H Scott owners and Capehart Panamuse owners.

Wondering how much of the circuitry is actually with help from GE considering all the loctals and other GE bits ??

Nice score and its in the best place it could be.

Frannie

I was thinking the loctals were only used by GE,Sylvania, some Zeniths and Philco and some car radios . of the era .

 

[frankxbe]

Great thread Kudo's to TheRed1 found your thread at Antique Radio forums very interesting . Thanks for posting

 

[larryderouin]

BRAVO ZULU to Red. It's gotten to the point that short of having Mr. FISHER on here to answer questions (wouldn't that be a hOOt if it could happen) we can count on Red to pretty much answer any question with regard to Early up to late 60's FISHER equipment with at least a 98% favorable and correct result. Mr. FISHER is the only one in my book who would have all the answers handy. And Red is getting better all the time.

Who'd a thunk it. 3 years ago all I knew about FISHER was it was one of the top audio firms in the golden age of stereo and I wanted 1. 2 years ago I started collecting and got my 1st FISHER (CE VIII). Now I've got 7 consoles(1 used for parts), and 4 receivers from FISHER. And Carter has had info on ALL of them. And I'll probably have more in my future. (The light at the end of the tunnel is the exit sign in the warehouse!)

arry

 

[vsam]

There's a photo of this exact model in the Nov. 1941 issue of Consumer Reports on FM Radio-Phonographs. The caption reads "ALL-AROUND BEST . . . of the FM combinations tested was this $370 Philharmonic Futura K-1." Bottom of the second page:

www.vacuumtubeera.net/ConsumersReports-Nov1941-FM.pdf

The Philharmonic Futura was prominently mentioned in the Jan. 1940 issue - it was #2 that year, just behind the Philharmonic Linear Standard. A hint that greatness was just around the corner... The Garrard record changer also received rave reviews.

http://www.vacuumtubeera.net/ConsumersReports-Jan1940-Radios&Combinations.pdf

I'm looking forward to seeing pics of your Futura after the rehab is complete!

 

[TheRed1]

Yes, Philharmonic received some astonishingly good reviews in the consumer publications of the era. It's even more incredible when you consider some of the well-established and well-regarded companies whose market shares Avery Fisher was eying. It was a crowded field with companies like E. H. Scott, Capehart, Layafette, Stromberg-Carlson, McMurdo-Silver, Ansley, GE, Philco, Zenith and scores of others who were generally much better known and who possessed superior resources. But Philharmonic was a plucky upstart for whom high fidelity was more than just another "feature" - it was their primary focus.

• The June 1939 issue of Consumers' Digest, 'Buying a Combination Radio-Phonograph' listed the Philharmonic Linear Standard as one of only two recommended models. The other was E. H. Scott's Phantom.
  
  
• The Dec. 1940 issue of Consumers' Digest, 'If You're Buying a Radio Set' concluded with this final statement: "Possibly the set currently offered by Philharmonic Radio Co., 21 West 45 St., New York City, at this writing comes nearest to being a really first-grade high-fidelity set available on the general market (if one excludes a few custom built and very high-priced receivers that can sometimes be had, built to specifications.)"
  
  
• The Dec. 1942 issue of Consumers' Research Bulletin, '1942 Console Radio-Phonograph Combinations' lists the Philharmonic Electra among four recommended models. It's notable for being the only unqualified recommendation. Among other compliments paid to this specific model was the more general comment: "Receivers and cabinets of this concern have been consistently found to be ruggedly constructed, with parts of good grade." The other recommended models were Montgomery Ward's Airline (model 152-1203), the Ansley Dynaphone (model 61) and Stromberg-Carlson's "Autograph" (model 935-PL).

In addition to the two Consumers Union Reports articles mentioned in your post above, there are a few other mentions of Philharmonic models in consumer publications that I am still trying to chase down. That's quite a lot of press from a period when the radio-phonograph "combination" was just coming into its own after a long fallow period when radio alone dominated. The new possibilities of better phonograph reproduction, the experimental wide-bandwidth AM broadcasts and FM provided Philharmonic with the opportunity to break into the high end of the radio-phonograph field by endeavoring to embody the new concept of high fidelity.

From what I have read about Avery Fisher I believe he was, above all else: a great salesman. I have no doubt that he aggressively sought out as much publicity as he could for his fledgling company. It's possible that his prior career in the publishing business provided him with useful contacts within that industry. It's sort of uncanny how - in test after test - Philharmonic products are almost always represented. Of course the product had to be good to have done so consistently well. In addition to being a great saleman, Avery Fisher also knew how to run a company to build a superior product.

 

[mistermarc]

Wish I was closer but hopefully someone who sees this is. Just the chassis, but considering how rare would be nice to save. In NJ this Saturday.

https://www.estatesales.net/NJ/Basking-Ridge/07920/3268008

 

[TheRed1]

Good eyes! Looks like a complete K-1 tuner and amp chassis.

 

[Pio1980]

Yes, it seems clear that was part of Avery Fisher's plan. But I think he was also trying to increase the number or potential customers by trying to attract more budget-conscious music lovers with a good products at competitive prices. Philharmonics were selling for about half the price of the equivalent Capehart. '41 Philharmonics ran from $287.50 up to $1537 whereas the K-Series Capeharts ran from $525 to $2500.

According Victor Brociner, who was one of the three original partners in Philharmonic Radio and in charge of engineering; the basic design of the original 1937 Furtura TRF receiver started with a historic Western Electric design. He wasn't able to recall the exact model but remembered a similar circuit published in the J. W. Miller Co. catalog. Mr. Brociner read an article in Electronics magazine about this circuit written by William N. Weeden. Philharmonic consulted with Mr. Weeden in the development of their wide-band TRF receiver.

The K-1, as mentioned before, was evidently a complete redesign initiated by Mr. Brociner sometime before 1941. The design was a collaboration between Brociner an the Hazeltine Labs. He didn't mention GE in connection with the radios Philharmonic built.

http://www.fmamradios.com/BP-TRFs.html