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Best Tube Table Radio?

For an all-in-one table box:

Go German. Go pre-1960.
Do that, and you can't go wrong.
Grundig, Tele, Saba, Blau . . . they all made super table dwellers.

Got a '57 Grundig in the boudoir for sleepy time. Lush like a dream.
Except for those dang stat tweets that need rebuilding every few years.

Some of the boatanchors are fantastic for their bands, but they're "two table" radios. And I don't think my wife would be too happy about a big 'ol Hallicrafter in the bedroom.
 
here is what I have

Magnavox consoles (with different tuners the inductance tuned and the vari cap tuned, talking FM)

RCA tuners (all tube, varicap only)

Zenith (long distance radios am/fm 845 series which was the best of the all tube zeniths IMHO)

Fisher 400's

Allied 333

Kenwood KW44

abunch of table radios Granco,GE,philco all from the 50-60

For FM I would put the Kenwood and RCA at the top for tuner performance (sensitivey and selectivity)

For AM I would go with the Zenith (not far behind the KW and RCA in FM)

Fisher is a good radio but not the best sensitivity wise, and stereo separation is so so. Again The RCA seems best here. Magnavox ok on strong signals but a little weak on Dxing, Antenna is very important.

I also have a Grundig which sounds nice but but a bit below the middle of the pack in Dxing.

So my main listeing is either the RCA or Zenith just because some of the stations I like are pretty far away. The KW is weak in AM Dxing.

now all of this could be wrong based on proper alignment.
 
Watch out though, whatever you do...You get ONE old Tooob type table set, it seems Lonely, next time you're loafing thru yr local Ye Olde Antique Store, ANOTHER one will catch yer eye, 'n' wanna Go Home w/you...And if 2 are good, why 3 are CERTAINLY Better....And gee, that l'il Arvin sure is lookin' forlorn, it's only 4 Tooobs, po' widdle thaing...But looky how Cuuuuuute 'n' Little it is...First thing you know, you'll have th' Damthings stacked on top of each other...And come on now, you KNOW-Down deep in yr Heart of Hearts- that you really want a big ol' HammarColCrafters- a SERIOUS radio if ever there was one...Mbwahahahahaha..By the bye, Hallicrafters also made the SX-42 & 43 models, which had FM band on 'em, too...
 
For me it's been my German sets followed real close by anything Zenith. The Nordmende Carmen that is my daily driver gets tuned to Radio Havana on SW, Public radio on FM, then late at night I Dx most any of the AM stations here in the state.
 
I have a Zenith K 731 table radio that is decent sounding radio. It's from the late 50's, wood cabinet, 4X6 speaker and tweeter.

My favorite FM table radio is my Blaupunkt Granada. It's kind of a bear to work on but sounds amazing. The Blaupunkt sound is the reason I got hooked on tube audio.
 
dsndblm said:
I have a Zenith K 731 table radio that is decent sounding radio. It's from the late 50's, wood cabinet, 4X6 speaker and tweeter.

My favorite FM table radio is my Blaupunkt Granada. It's kind of a bear to work on but sounds amazing. The Blaupunkt sound is the reason I got hooked on tube audio.
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I do favor the Blaupunkt, for sure. Do you get much way up north, there. Even SW seems a little dead where I am.
 
garww said:
I do favor the Blaupunkt, for sure. Do you get much way up north, there. Even SW seems a little dead where I am.
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We are able to receive quite a few stations here including short wave. I have a pretty nice antenna in my attic that helps out quite a bit.
 
Well, I copped-out major league and snagged a GE SS. I have good respect for their tuners, but have no idea about this one. I debated a GE 8 or 9 tube for a couple hours and decided I don't need any more heat. I will shop another when the weather seems coldish. The 18"W cabinet has that nice little raised back and "fencing" where I can put knick-knacks someday.

I hope the thread stays active. I have collected many orphan cameras and expect to do the same with tabletops.
 
Sort of surprised no one has mentioned the Fisher 500 though it requires an external speaker. This series (receiver, tuner/amp and tuner) do not seem to get as much notice as they deserve.
 
I'm running a Grundig Majestic 1088 in the bedroom. :) Sounds quite good to me. It makes AM (MW/BC) a near transcendent experience. If I could just get it to tune in some 1950's broadcasts... :yes:
 
See if you can pick up WNAR out of Lansdale PA. Old time radio programs. SEE WWW.WNAR-AM.COM.

Also, 10:00 M-F 740 AM in Toronto if the radio is a decent DX'er. Each night 2 1/2 hour episodes of Theater of the Mind usually a suspense and a comedy.
 
Brian said:
See if you can pick up WNAR out of Lansdale PA. Old time radio programs. SEE WWW.WNAR-AM.COM.

Also, 10:00 M-F 740 AM in Toronto if the radio is a decent DX'er. Each night 2 1/2 hour episodes of Theater of the Mind usually a suspense and a comedy.
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Thanks, I'll give them a try. Good information! Used to listen to old-time radio on AFRN while I was was in Europe. I never got over the magic of late night radio, and the room lit by the glow of the dial!
 
Jack Cheddar said:
Has anyone purchased this radio since this thread was started?...I'd be interested in hearing more about it.:thmbsp::thumbsdn::scratch2:
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I bought 2 of these in walnut, one stereo, one mono. Good looking, reliable, has an el84 amp inside. Bass starts to roll off around 150 hz so I wasn't getting a very warm sound. On a lark, I bought a Radio Shack powered subwoofer they had on sale for 50 dollars and hooked it up to it. Now that I have the bottom end filled in, it's pretty enjoyable to listen to.
 
One mug, darn, you had to post, didn't you and worse you like the radios. I'm finding I am listening more to radio than my system and you just may have made things worse. I can see it now: "For sale: One (actually, a basement load of) stereo system no longer used."
 
I went back for the more modern tube GE. It looks like 7 tubes. So, I'm almost an official radio nut. Along with my Dad's 24v and side-keyer, I now have five. The SS is a t-1291(ish)
 

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Brian said:
One mug, darn, you had to post, didn't you and worse you like the radios. I'm finding I am listening more to radio than my system and you just may have made things worse. I can see it now: "For sale: One (actually, a basement load of) stereo system no longer used."
Click to expand...

Guilty, and it just gets worse. I have a portable CD player hooked into the aux jack.
If I hear of anyone looking for a "basement load", I'll send them your way. :-)
 
Table Tube Radios

I have a Telefunken Gavotte that is a sweet sounding middle size radio. 18w X 12h X 9d. It is mono, has 1 midrange and two tweeters. Also a very lovely design on the cabinet -- not a right angle to be found, and the only flat surface the glass dial face
My Saba 200 Stereo is 24w X 15h X 12d and again, beautiful now with crisp rather than rounded corners, but the top is subtly arched (maybe 3/8" from edge to center). Three wood colors, two 5 X 8 speakers and two tweeters.
Room filling, warm sound and lovely rendition of acoustic string instruments.
 
I like this neat old Arvin. It's the only table top I've ever had that pulls in AM stations down here in the basement. Has a woofer and a tweeter powered by push pull 6AQ5s.:music:
 
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