Found these on Ebay. Very interesting, but are they any good? Never seen this sort of design before. http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-196...tu=UCC&otn=15&ps=63&clkid=4553398484568106016
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What are these Zenith circle of sound speakers about?
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audiomagnate
Addicted Member
They sound horrible, but have some funk value. Yes, I'm old and I have heard them
Came as part of an inexpensive system.... like this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Circle-Sound-/190604258966?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2c60e62e96
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Circle-Sound-/190604258966?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item2c60e62e96
AnalogDigit
Realistic fan.
Radio Shack had a similar speaker. It was not one of their best efforts.
All the above correct. Not even mid-fi. However as mentioned it was inexpensive and it wasn't horrible. A high school friend got a set like this brand new around the 1968-1970 time frame. It actually had a nice room filling quality about it compliments of the omnidirectional speakers.
From a retro-collectible standpoint I think it's kinda' cool. There's a thread currently running where the owner of a pair of these is gonna' try better drivers in them to see how they sound 'modded'.
From a retro-collectible standpoint I think it's kinda' cool. There's a thread currently running where the owner of a pair of these is gonna' try better drivers in them to see how they sound 'modded'.
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I don't think that it is fair to call these systems, including the speakers in the OP in particular, junk. It's a matter of perspective.
Small table-top systems like the one pictured were commonly sold in department stores and they served a purpose. They were sold at a price point that made them inexpensive enough so that were affordable by almost anyone. And that enabled families to enjoy music that otherwise may have been out of reach. All things considered, many of these systems didn't sound too bad. I don't think that anyone that sold them or any of the polyester leisure suit wearin' dudes that bought them believed that they were equal to the kinds of equipment that was being sold in specialty high fidelity stores at the time. I am sure that in many cases these small entry level table-top systems were a stepping stone for those that later wanted true high fidelity equipment and were then willing and able to afford it.
So, back to the question in the OP, as long as you are not attempting to compare them to true high fidelity speakers connected to much more expensive equipment, and especially considering what the speakers cost which was not very much, they are OK for background music or general non-critical listening. And yet still today there is a nationally and internationally known brand of speakers that hang their hat on much the same technology and marketing methods as those Zenith Circle-of-Sound speakers to quite successfully sell a lot of their products. And again, to be fair, in the right environment and with the right set of circumstances, they too can sound not so bad. All things considered, that is.
Small table-top systems like the one pictured were commonly sold in department stores and they served a purpose. They were sold at a price point that made them inexpensive enough so that were affordable by almost anyone. And that enabled families to enjoy music that otherwise may have been out of reach. All things considered, many of these systems didn't sound too bad. I don't think that anyone that sold them or any of the polyester leisure suit wearin' dudes that bought them believed that they were equal to the kinds of equipment that was being sold in specialty high fidelity stores at the time. I am sure that in many cases these small entry level table-top systems were a stepping stone for those that later wanted true high fidelity equipment and were then willing and able to afford it.
So, back to the question in the OP, as long as you are not attempting to compare them to true high fidelity speakers connected to much more expensive equipment, and especially considering what the speakers cost which was not very much, they are OK for background music or general non-critical listening. And yet still today there is a nationally and internationally known brand of speakers that hang their hat on much the same technology and marketing methods as those Zenith Circle-of-Sound speakers to quite successfully sell a lot of their products. And again, to be fair, in the right environment and with the right set of circumstances, they too can sound not so bad. All things considered, that is.
rickknight
Active Member
My best friend's parents in junior high (7th - 8th grade) had that system but I remember it having and FM tuner built in with the turntable and amp. Also a fitted cart it all sat in. Yes, it sounded pretty crappy. This was about `66-`68.
rickknight
Active Member
And I think theirs even came from the Speigle catalog. His mom was in a wheelchair and dad was a night watchman so she shopped a lot of catalogs. My friend got his stereo system from a Burstein-Appleby catalog.
Hiya,
Ultra Hog puts it very well and I will just add/layer my thoughts.
They are collectable as a "Kitschy" type of thing and also would function nicely as a office system that would garner conversation.
To be honest not my cup of tea but hey not junk either. Zenith was a company that resisted cost cutting measures much longer than most. And these are at the crux of that downward spiral. Many other competitors of the same era were long in the toilet.
So if the price is right and you like the look you will be happy. Just don't expect high end audio.
Frannie
Ultra Hog puts it very well and I will just add/layer my thoughts.
They are collectable as a "Kitschy" type of thing and also would function nicely as a office system that would garner conversation.
To be honest not my cup of tea but hey not junk either. Zenith was a company that resisted cost cutting measures much longer than most. And these are at the crux of that downward spiral. Many other competitors of the same era were long in the toilet.
So if the price is right and you like the look you will be happy. Just don't expect high end audio.
Frannie
Cheap and cheerful, but not junk. A single 6 or so inch driver (Utah in my pair) so not terribly extended at either end of the spectrum, but pleasant enough sounding, and used outside, surprisingly good (and you can protect them against the elements between use by upending a joint compound bucket over them. They are very common, so don't bother paying much for them.
Nat, you are AWESOME! for that cheap and cheerful bit. Don't hear it much outside of Top Gear. So quite the frenzy I stirred here, and I haven't heard of ANY of those catalogues. Though, my family's first TV in the states when we arrived was a used but still serviceable Zenith TV with trap doors at both ends for a built in amp with AM/FM AND 8 track and a turntable under the left flap. With a 10 inch driver and Foster tweeter (black horn loaded type with aluminium phase plug) in each side, and the thing was built in '79 I believe. We got tired of fighting with the TV so we retired it, but I pulled the drivers and hoping to make new boxes for them. Got the measurements down for the enclosures too. Each side had a port out the back as well, and since the TV was in a corner at one time, I remember it getting some surprisingly good bass out of it. All drivers are still absolutely perfect too.
orthophonic
Super Member
I got that Zenith Set for Christmas in 1968, not junk but not high end nor
was it intended to be. The amplifier had compensation to match the speakers
so they sound better with the set rather than using them with something else.
Not exactly cheap at the time, the set with Phono only was $200.00 and the
version with am/FM stereo tuner was $279.00, the matching stand was around $20.00 extra but was usually included if you were persuasive.
As some others said, nice and full sounding and room filling, a cut above
the typical appliance store table top set.
In 1970 they added the horn tweeter to the round version of the speaker
and moved the woofer to be downward firing. In 1971 they changed to
the square version.
RCA, Arvin, even Harmon Kardon and Fisher made lookalike omnidirectional
speakers at the time as did many other brands. The harmon kardon versions
were quite bad sounding, very hollow and boomy.
I still have my set, still in my old bedroom at my parents house, will have to dust it off someday and give it a listen.
was it intended to be. The amplifier had compensation to match the speakers
so they sound better with the set rather than using them with something else.
Not exactly cheap at the time, the set with Phono only was $200.00 and the
version with am/FM stereo tuner was $279.00, the matching stand was around $20.00 extra but was usually included if you were persuasive.
As some others said, nice and full sounding and room filling, a cut above
the typical appliance store table top set.
In 1970 they added the horn tweeter to the round version of the speaker
and moved the woofer to be downward firing. In 1971 they changed to
the square version.
RCA, Arvin, even Harmon Kardon and Fisher made lookalike omnidirectional
speakers at the time as did many other brands. The harmon kardon versions
were quite bad sounding, very hollow and boomy.
I still have my set, still in my old bedroom at my parents house, will have to dust it off someday and give it a listen.
dusnoetos
New Member
A few years back I found a pair of the circle of sound speakers. The original woofers were blown - simply junk. But being the kind of tinker I am, I replaced the woofers with a pair of Coaxial speakers - damping material and some bracing. They sounded surprisingly good.
Ended up selling them for some decent coin.
In retrospect I wish I had them back.
Ended up selling them for some decent coin.
In retrospect I wish I had them back.
