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Loewe Opta Console

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NChill18

Member
I was in a thrift/antique store this morning and saw an old german console branded Loewe Opta with a Dual brand turntable.

It was against the wall with a bunch of stuff in front so I couldn't get the model but after looking around I believe it's an Ambassador 2154 W (same as Botschafter 844 / 1844 / 2830 T/W (D) I believe).

Here's a pic: http://media.bam-portal.de/images/bam/museum/lta/LTA_4623.JPG

It has all the tubes and lights up but the lady wouldn't leave the power on for more than a second, said something the polarity of old electronics and was afraid it was going to fry it or something.

Cabinet was in decent shape, I work with wood and have no worries about refurbing it.

I have no experience with old radios though, what's something like this worth? It looks crazy cool just as a piece of furniture but I'm out of my league, what do yall think? She's asking $150.

I don't really know what I would do with it, it just caught my eye in a big way, it's a beautiful thing.

Thank you!
 
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As for dollar value I can't say( to me at least it seems a little high) they look better than they sound the amps and speakers were small . I wouldn't expect a lot sonically basically overgrown table radios IMO nice radios though .
lotta folks like them probably fine as a collector period piece or as a radio.
If repairs are needed chassis is pretty compact and crowded not easy to work on.

If you are looking for a period console for sound quality the better Magnavox,Zenith and Motorola models were some of the better sounding ones .
 
Awesome, thanks for sharing your expertise. I've seen several consoles in the last year, most recently a Zenith but have never been tempted to buy one. This one just grabbed me for some reason aesthetically but glad to know more about its sonic qualities, or lack thereof.

My big find (and miss) today were some dusty but mint Bose 601 Mk III's in the back of the store. They knew nothing about most of their merch and prices were all over the place. But unfortunately this was the one item he was actually knowledgable about and he started quoting ebay prices. Bummer, really thought it had all the makings of a great deal.
 
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