Any other console geeks?

[frankxbe]

What? No "Hi my name is (whatever) and I don't want to be called a console geek"?

Actually, that's pretty cool. Consoles seem to be more popular now than they were in their time.

Not sure about that in the 60's almost everyone I knew ether had a console or a TV stereo combo . component sets were the exception they didn't really become common until the 70's specifically the late seventies and then in the early 80's rack systems became ubiquitous .

Some of consoles were pretty cool The Magnavox concert grands and Imperials ,The Fishers ,Pilots ,Ampex ,PB,SC and some of the TOTL RCA and Zenith. Of course the customs even some of the Curtis Mathes early 60's tube sets were cool except for the crappy changers in some of them.

I listened to a Fisher 500c receiver in the mid 60,s with some decent speakers
and a Garrard maybe a model 50 with a pickering V15 at Pacific Stereo beat any console I ever heard that's for sure .I think I was 16 then
Never owned a 500c but it wasn't long before after that till I got a garrard 50 with a pickering v15 though that was my first decent changer
with a real cartridge . After that I got a Dual and put the Garrard with a Sonotone 8t in my parents console. I wouldn't mind a 500C now
even though I have 3 monster silver Pioneers and 2 AVR's

 

[SuperjazzyJa]

Now, I wish I'd kept my neighbors' console. I tried to twist their arms into letting me fix it. No dice! I didn't have room for it then. I do now. :sigh:

 

[SuperjazzyJa]

Not sure about that in the 60's almost everyone I knew ether had a console or a TV stereo combo . component sets were the exception they didn't really become common until the 70's specifically the late seventies and then in the early 80's rack systems became ubiquitous .

Some of consoles were pretty cool The Magnavox concert grands and Imperials ,The Fishers ,Pilots ,Ampex ,PB,SC and some of the TOTL RCA and Zenith. Of course the customs even some of the Curtis Mathes early 60's tube sets were cool except for the crappy changers in some of them.

I listened to a Fisher 500c receiver in the mid 60,s with some decent speakers
and a Garrard maybe a model 50 with a pickering V15 at Pacific Stereo beat any console I ever heard that's for sure .I think I was 16 then
Never owned a 500c but it wasn't long before after that till I got a garrard 50 with a pickering v15 though that was my first decent changer
with a real cartridge . After that I got a Dual and put the Garrard with a Sonotone 8t in my parents console. I wouldn't mind a 500C now
even though I have 3 monster silver Pioneers and 2 AVR's

Only a few people I knew in the 60s had consoles...either that or I wasn't paying much attention. One couple I met in the 80s had one that they bought in the 60s when they first got married. I don't recall the make or model, but looked and sounded nice. It had a more upright shape than most (probably easier on the back when loading records) and the speakers were towed out about 30° each.

 

[bd1886]

The consoles can have such incredible design....and the next one you see looks like hell.The next place we have is going to have one in at least two rooms and they will be "stuffed" with great components!

I keep seeing TOTL go for nothing and just pass as no way in heck am I going to store it....some day.

 

[elcoholic]

Pulled up from photobucket, failed for a larger photo, Cabinet is oak veneer and all hard wood trim is oak as much as I can tell. The older gal that was the original owner said she paid around a grand in 1962.

Link it instead of trying to import it as an attachment.

 

[elcoholic]

Console geek in training as I'm on my first, it's a Heathkit, but all that's Heathkit is the tuner. Here's a picture with just one of the speaker cabinets. I need to take some more pics soon.

The best part of this console is that it came with a Dual 1019 The 1019 is arguably among the best changers ever made and is compact enough to fit in most consoles. At 7 lbs the 10" platter probably weights more than the ion.

Also the speaker cabinet front baffles are set up for horns and 12" woofers, which offers possibilities without altering the grills. :yes:

 

[Isotonic]

Console geek in training as I'm on my first, it's a Heathkit, but all that's Heathkit is the tuner. Here's a picture with just one of the speaker cabinets. I need to take some more pics soon.

The best part of this console is that it came with a Dual 1019 The 1019 is arguably among the best changers ever made and is compact enough to fit in most consoles. At 7 lbs the 10" platter probably weights more than the ion.

Also the speaker cabinet front baffles are set up for horns and 12" woofers, which offers possibilities without altering the grills. :yes:

That looks very promising.

 

[SteveH]

My Dad's a cabinet maker by profession. When I was a kid, we had this big console in our living room that Dad had built shortly after we moved into our house (that Dad also built) in 1964. In it was an Electrohome integrated tube amp, a Garard changer and speakers which I can't recall the origin of. I recall listening to that thing for hours in the 70s. Dad told me that when he went searching for the electronics he had a hard time finding any because everything in the stores was already built into consoles! Eventually, a local store in my home town of Woodstock, Ontario (not New York, and no, I didn't go to the concert) special ordered him the amp, tt and speakers and he installed them himself.

Eventually the amp died, probably just bad tubes, and Dad replaced it with a BOTL Kenwood receiver. They've since retired, sold the house, put everything into storage, lived in their motor home for a year and are now living in a completely different city. I've no idea whether Dad has the amp any more, but I'm going to ask just in case.

SteveH

 

[gtrfxr]

This is the '67 Fisher Regent console (R-592, 31R chassis) with Dual 1014 that my grandmother gave me. She was moving out of her house and into a condo and gave this to me, along with a few hundred classical and broadway albums. The 1014 had a Pickering V15 mounted, and the whole thing sounds amazing. It needs some work right now, which will hopefully be taken care of soon.

http://i.imgur.com/6OMpJh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ie0Xzh.jpg

 

[SchweinHaus]

The best part of this console is that it came with a Dual 1019 The 1019 is arguably among the best changers ever made and is compact enough to fit in most consoles. At 7 lbs the 10" platter probably weights more than the ion.

Gaaah. I'm so jealous. I've been looking for a 1019/1009/1219 for my airline, and nothing that works has come up in my price range. The quest continues!

 

[elcoholic]

It played a record just fine, but doesn't cycle off. Had to unplug it. I shipped it to fixmydual this week. Can't wait to get it back where it belongs. I'll have a brand new mounting board ready and waiting. Since the console was a freebie, I can splurge on having it done instead of facing the learning curve. Here's a discussion I started on packing it.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=519183

 

[SnoopFogg]

Total console geek!

I love vintage consoles! We currently have 3 in our home, unfortunately I have little experience repairing them and each has its issues.

The Magnavox is missing the turntable and the radio lights up but won't tune -no worries though because the cabinet is perfect and the wife just uses it for storage.

The Motorola is great except for the fact that the OG owner removed the speakers from the doors! I'm looking for replacements if anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them.

The RCA Victor's only issue is the string from the tuning dial has snapped so there is no way to turn the flywheel and change the station - but vinyl sounds amazing!

 

[Omegaman]

My console wave has crested and sanity regained the upper hand

As I have said before, You don't buy a console, You adopt a console

Here is my Ultra cool 1959 Blaupunkt.

Fully recapped, I spent way too much time and money getting it working perfectly. The Perpetuum Ebner Rex Deluxe one touch changer was a real PITA

My favorite Hi-WAF VoM petite Model 869 stuffed with the tube stereo tape player. Gary at VoM Enthusiast's rebuilt the ho-hum turntable back to spec

 

[Mazlem]

I've got a few.

1961 Westinghouse

1961 Westinghouse - my grampas. Gutted and awaiting resto-modding of some sort.

1963 Magnavox

1963 Zenith

1961 - 63 RCA (I forget the year)

 

[SchweinHaus]

My console wave has crested and sanity regained the upper hand

As I have said before, You don't buy a console, You adopt a console

Here is my Ultra cool 1959 Blaupunkt.

Fully recapped, I spent way too much time and money getting it working perfectly. The Perpetuum Ebner Rex Deluxe one touch changer was a real PITA

That is gorgeous. Worth every penny.

 

[jcamero]

I picked up this Packard Bell at GW for $10.00. My wife loves the "tube" sound. I do not have any room in the house.:tears: