Curtis Mathes any good?

[wank]

I've found very little on the subject with searching.
Was Curtis Mathes hi-fi stuff any good? I passed on a C-M console with a tube receiver last night, in absolutely gorgeous condition. And wonder if maybe I shouldn't have.

The cabinet cherry with sliding covers for the brass faced receiver and pull out record changer. Speaker system was typical console hornless speakers, and the snazzy little brass plate said Curtis Mathes Stereo High Fidelity.

The stereo receiver looked to be Single ended 6bq5, and it didn't work, according to the store staff. It had a pair of Amperex bugle boy 6bq5s for outputs, at least one and probably both were trashed (glass was broken on one, and no sound when they powered it up).

The output iron looked pretty standard, and the tube count for a whole receiver seemed a little low (no more than 8-9 tubes, including 2 outputs and 2 amp tubes).
Thoughts?

 

[Pacopico]

They were an inexpensive console in their day... and the electronics were made in Japan.

They are OK quality, I have one that I use at work for my office stereo. With a crossover network for the speakers it sounds decent. I have picked up another one for parts, and I agree that the tuners are simplistic in design.

The best part about them is the SE el84/6bq5 output, the amplifier section sounds pretty good for what it is. The power supply transformer is rather large (to power tuner, amplifier and outboard multiplex unit), and the output transformers are similar in size to Magnavox consoles.

If the one you found was broken, and you haven't the time or knowledge to fix it I wouldn't worry about passing it up.

On the two consoles I bought, I paid $40 for one that had the FM Multiplexer and the cabinet looked nice (design wise) and everything worked. I paid $20 for another, no FM Multiplex and a crappy looking cabinet, but everything still worked.

 

[Brian]

Sounds like you had a rather late made unit. The company made some decent units in the US. It marketed primarily through white and brown goods dealers.

 

[wank]

Thanks for the info.
As it turns out, my wife surprised me by buying it today (for $25). Now to decide if I want to return it.