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Telefunken Opus 7 or Saba Freiburg 11 or Saba Bodensee 3DS

A

andrej

Andrej
Please help me make a decision.I have a chance to buy one of the following radios:Telefunken Opus 7,Saba Bodensee 3DS or Saba Freiburg 11.

Which of them would you recommend me the most ?

Thank you for your opinion.
 
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andrej said:
Please help me make a decision.I have a chance to buy one of the following radios:Telefunken Opus 7,Saba Bodensee 3DS or Saba Freiburg 11.

Which of them would you recommend me the most ?

Thank you for your opinion.
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The Saba "Freiburg" 11 (America: "Continental") series is considerd the best tube radio ever built. The Saba "Bodensee" 3DS is fantastic as well and related to the 1954 Saba "Freiburg" 3DS. The Telefunken Opus 7 is a very good radio.

Take the Saba 1961 "Freiburg" 11 - I also have it, inclusive remote control. Collectors pay 1500 and more euros (top condition) in Germany for some models of the "Freiburg" seriies, for example the 3DS and the 18.
 
Note of interest:

Telefunken paid extra special attention to the assembly and cabinet details with the Opus line for the American & Canadian markets.

So! American & Canadian AK'ers, Do not be adamant and turn your back to swiftly on a Tele Opus export, You might miss out on a true gem.
 
Euro FM band at that time was also 88-100 mhz, not the 88-108 we have now. All things being equal, the export ones are more useful just because you get all the stations.
 
I brought an unusual Opus 49 UKW FM back from Germany, the cab is something special in it's finish. This was Telefunken's first FM receiver AFAIK.
 
My leanings are toward Saba myself. Some of the older radios strictly for the German market may have only tuned to 100Mhz, though likely not many, as my Freudenstadt 7 had all the earmarks for European sale with the original Euro/continental plug on it and it tunes the full FM band- where it is denoted as "UK" I would suspect due to England having the full FM range as the US has. But that band that became today's FM band was denoted as the "FM100" band in the US into the 1950's. So you may see FM 100, but look at the dial closely.

They are a nightmare to restring, but the sound quality almost makes up for that.
 
Thank you all.Tomorrow I am going to pay Opus 7.I will probably buy also Saba Bodensee which is outside and inside completely restored but with inoperative motor for automatic function and therefore has an acceptable price.
Kind regards.
 
The German consoles can sound very nice, they usually had very good speakers. Not easy to work on, however...Just make sure the transformers are good, those can be very pricy to replace.
 
There it is: Telefunken Opus 7.And Saba is on the way.
 

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andrej said:
Thank you all.Tomorrow I am going to pay Opus 7.I will probably buy also Saba Bodensee which is outside and inside completely restored but with inoperative motor for automatic function and therefore has an acceptable price.
Kind regards.
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Please give us an update about how you like the Saba then!
 
SABA Bodensee 3 ds finally arrived.Here are some pictures.Now I am waiting for record player which will arrive in the beginning of the February.
 

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Over the years I have acquired dozens of Opus 7's, some of which were converted
into fantastic guitar amps (certain people have demonized me for such repurposing).

It can be a tough endeavor to restore some 7's, but It's well worth the time & effort
needed to bring them back to their former reproductive brilliance.
 
While I would likely be one of those to cast aspersions, I know how difficult some of the repairs can be. But I would be more inclined to ask why you just did not just use the Phono input for your guitar input and leave the radio functional?

Hopefully Andrej is finding both the Telefunken and the Saba enjoyable. ( and may his dial strings last forever.) He is in an interesting area of the world, with interesting choices of technology.
 
Trio said:
I would be more inclined to ask why you just did
not just use the Phono input for your guitar input and leave the radio functional?
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Trio,

My plans for the Opus 7 / guitar amp conversion build required the removal of nonessential
components thus reducing some weight which allowed me to bolster up the interior, add a
reinforced handle, metal end corners etc!.

My conversion was not meant to be a radio + guitar amp, Whats interesting is that the Opus 7
utilizes all of the front panel controls including Bass & Treble manipulation handled by the
radio tuning dials. Fixed multi ratio compression and a controllable spring reverb are selected
via the 8 piano key push buttons.

All & all, these Opus convert amps did indeed prove to be high quality performance & recording devices.
 
Its been my experience that ANY of the German tabletops are worth getting...Telefunken is another WORTHY brand. Give 'em a little maintenance/TLC, & they'll happily Strut Their Stuff for you...(Grin) !
 
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