Remember Those Living Room Consoles?

The Magnavox console power amps with the PP 6BQ5 outputs were quite nice sounding as well...

-Aaron

 

Back in the 80's I had a audio magazine that detailed the updating of an old console with new good quality gear! Seems like a fun project.

 

We had a Philco from circa 1973 - a TV/Stereo combo, with a 25" color TV. The TV was a "Philcomatic", which had some sort of computer controlled touch sensitive fine tuning ring that would "lock in" after you let it go to keep it from drifting. The stereo section had 3 way speakers, a 4-speed BSR automatic changer (including adjustable tracking force and anti-skating), and a stereo 8-track deck. It also had "System IV", which was a matrix surround sound system that derived the rear signal from the stereo channels. It had a nice weighted tuning knob, and a green backlit tuning dial, which went totally black when the stereo was off. It was housed in a nice cabinet with an attractive dark finish, maybe walnut. It had 1 large door on top that took up about 2/3 the length and 3/4 the width of the console to reveal the stereo. It also had two doors on the front to cover the TV section when using the stereo - otherwise, the doors would partially obscure the speakers when the TV section was exposed.

It actually sounded pretty decent. I used the stereo section well into when I first got the "bug", and it satisfied. When using the inputs to hook up a CD player or whatever, you had to adjust the bass and treble to flatten out the tonal balance, but after that it was pleasant. Not real Hi-Fi, but pleasant just the same. Played fairly loud as well. The tuner section sounded nice, with a certain robustness. The cartridge on the BSR was a lousy crystal or ceramic one, with nowhere near a flat frequency response - it was fairly trebley, with a recessed middle. At least it was gentle on the records (if you didn't stack the records), which couldn't be said for a lot of changers. The turntable spun somewhat too fast, at least at (what should have been) 33 1/3 - I don't know if that was due to age near the end or not...

When we got a stereo VCR, I began to watch TV by using the VCR to control it - for remote control of the channels, and to route the audio through the stereo section of the Philco. That was neat...

I miss that Philco quite a bit. When we got a new TV in late 1997, I wanted to save it but there was no room to. I wish I had access to eBay like I do now - I would have put it up starting at a penny, just to find it a good home. It was still in nice shape. I did save the turntable, the 8-track, and the speakers. Some of the cones got damaged in storage once, which I hope could be repaired. If not, I could still make a complete mono speaker "system" using what wasn't damaged. Oh, and I have the silver & red power button for the stereo section saved around here somewhere...

I'd love to be able to buy one of these units again, but I doubt if I'll ever see another. I understand that these particular systems were uncommon when new, let alone now. If anyone comes across one of these consoles that you think might be like what I had, let me know!

Sorry for the long ramble...

 

Jeez, if I'd have known, I had TWO to get rid of, two summers ago!

Dad had an upright Admiral console in our basement, daiting from the late 50s. That's the one I grew up on. The original changer wasn't so good, and I remember him putting in a Heathkit changer that my grandfather gave us. (He'd upgraded to a Garrard.) About 1969 or so, we got our first Magnavox stereo console up in the living room. And a dozen stereo LPs I was never allowed to touch. Still remember the smell of it inside. When Dad opened it up once, we noticed the large woofers (may have been 12") and the horn tweeters. It was the centerpiece of the living room until Mom redecorated, and she bought a smaller Magnavox console that sounded much better. By audiophile standards they were no great achievement, but they still had decent sound for my parents' needs.

Neither one had a tape unit, but matching tape units were available for both. On the older console, it would have been a reel-to-reel deck, where I remember they had a choice of 8-track or cassette deck for the newer one.

 

My parents still have their big old Clairtone behemoth from the 1960s. I don't think it works anymore but it'll make a great coffin someday. I can remember slapping Dark Side of the Moon on it and my mother telling me to "take that garbage off."

 

When I started to show an interest in music, my mom went out a bought one for the family(I don't recall the name).....My mom would always remind me years later that the salesman who sold it to her told her that I would out grow it and what something better....The salesman was right as music became my hobby and I have invested much time and money into music....My mom and I both shared a love for music....

 

Were Clairtones made in NS?

 

They sure were. Somewhere in the Annapolis Valley, I believe. Windsor, maybe.

 

Oops. Stellarton, actually. I Googled Clairtone and the company actually started in Ontario and moved to N.S. in 1966. It went out of business in 1971.

 

Several years ago my brother had bought a revamped '62 Magnavox single-ended 6BQ5 power amp with a single 12AX7 driver and 5U4G rectified. It was only about 2 or 3 WPC in class-A, but it sounded fantastic driving my 98.5dB sensitive Klipsch Cornwalls! KInda wished he kept it (sold it on eBay for quite a profit); there are a lot of DIYers who upgrade these little amps, polish their chassis, and finish 'em in wood, and look as great as they sound!

 

It makes me kinds sad to see all those components coming out of consoles on eBay. There are a bunch of sellers looking for quick bucks by chopping up consoles they find all over town. Pretty soon there won't be any left. I used to see them all the time in the thrift stores but the only ones I see now are the real cheap crappy ones from the mid 70s.

dan c

 

Oh yeah, we had a Maggie (Magnavox) console back in the early 70's. I remember huge woofers on the ends, 15 inchers I think.

I used to love cranking that thing when my parents were out.

 

Every friend I had in the 1960's seemed to have one of those consoles. Maybe I'm mis-remembering, but I thought the tonearms on the models I saw were very large and heavy. My friends records were always butchered and I assumed it was due to those heavy tonearms. Maybe it was just on cheaper models.

Mark

 

When I was a kid (early 60s IIRC), my dad assembled a set of Fisher tube components on the kitchen table (my first introduction to a soldering iron), and eventually placed them in a long teak cabinent (custom, I think) with speakers and a Garrard stackable turntable. This was my first introduction to the brand new stereo technology, and it sounded great. Dad used to play a lot of jazz that showed off the stereo separation; I tried to sneak my records on from time to time. At my request, he bought the soundtrack from Hatari. It must have been an early shaded dog Living Stereo because it sounded much better than anything else that ever went on it. I have no idea what happened to the equipment and console; I'll have to find out.

 

I have an old 1959 Zenith tube console. It has a seperate speaker which was an add-on for those that wanted the new Stereo sound. It works well, but needs gone thru and freshened up. I thought it was pretty cool that the seperate speaker has its own tube amp inside the cabinet with volume and tone controls on the side. Very retro looking. It came with all of the paperwork, schematic and manuals. I really need to get this fixed up and moved into the house for daily use. It is a nice peice of furniture.

 

Not exactly a console, but my Bozak Urban set up - 302A speakers and an equipment cabinet as shown below - have circa 1960 console styling and design. They were really made to be set up side by side so as to look like one of those all-in-one consoles, though I don't have them set up in that manner.

The equipment cabinet has a lift up top on the right for turntable just like the consoles I remember.

Formica tops too - very 60s, and very practical I must say!

 

I recently found a KLH model 25 console at a thrift store for $40! It has the same Garrard turntable as the desktop units, same amp and tuner section, and model 17 speakers (in a slightly smaller sealed cabinet) firing out both sides, with doors that swing out or swing in to cover the speakers.

After a little TLC, it sounds pretty good, and now resides in the basement rec room, as an alternate to my large system with Altec Valencias, especially when stacking 45's.

 

Both of my parents' Magnavox consoles had similar turntables. Both seemed to have lighter-weight arms than others I'd seen--the one from the late 60s could have been made out of a forged or cast aluminum (or maybe even magnesium), and the one from the 70s was some other kind of metal. I believe the later turntable was made by BSR, as I thought I saw the same one in a surplus parts catalog in the mid 80s. (And I should have bought it for my folks--part of the tonearm mechanism under the turntable broke. )

The changers had a neat feature--you stacked the LPs on the changer, but if you had smaller records, you put them on top. So IOW, you'd stack 12"ers on the bottom, followed by 10" and 7". With each record drop, the tonearm would lift up and tap the side of the stack to see what size record was next (or if there was another record to play), then drop it.

Question for the DIY folks here: if you were to buy a console today, and refurbish the guts, would you go with all original pieces, or would you try to upgrade? For instance, would you get newer/better speakers? Rebuild the amp with more modern components (caps, resistors, transistors, iron, etc.)? Or, just rebuild it as it was?

 

We were cleaning out Grandpa's farm house and I found an Admiral console. I just thought it was something they rested the phone on. I never seen it work. 6v6 SE with am/fm mono and record changer.

Fortunately we still have it.

rick

 

My father still has a tube-based Telefunken-made console from the late 50's. Who knows if there are even technicians that know how to restore this unit.

 

Any chance that it was Stereo Review? If I recall correctly, it was an opera singer that owned the console and had everything updated, including adding a CD player...

 

I believe it was! I remember that they dropped in full units with the faces pointed up, and stuck in bookshelf speakers some how?

 

We had a mammoth Fisher console when I was a kid. Beautiful wood and sounded great, in that "no tweeters" kind of way. Very warm. I'm bummed that I don't have the amp for that anymore, and no clue what happened to it.

I own a mid '50s mono Magnavox console with the Collaro changer (VTF of about 20 grams ). Tracks too heavy for my records, but the radio sounds wonderful. It has the "magic eye" tuning tube which is tres cool.

 

I'm pretty sure my mom still has the gigantic Zenith console we bought in the late 60's. She has a big tablecloth over it, and lamps and pictures on top of it, so it's not getting any use anymore. I broke about six needles on the thing when I was a toddler, and I think they just stopped replacing them by 1970!

The radio still works, though.

My aunt had a smaller unit years ago that actually had reverb springs in it, so you could twist a knob and play Dave Dexter on all your other records, too!

 

We had one, a Zenith I think. It was absolutely huge, with a hinged top that contained a turntable and receiver (and a little record compartment). I can still remember the sound of the record changer. It started to break down a bit in the late 70s - my dad was always fiddling with the cartridge, and it finally gave up the ghost in 1982 or so (by then I had moved on to my own boom box).

We also had a device called a "Port-HiFi", which was a single square speaker that plugged into a normal electrical socket, and acted as a remote speaker for the console. When we moved house (to a bigger one with a basement) we were able to listen to music downstairs, which was handy for two budding young musicians (my brother and me).

My parents had a large record collection - mainly 50s and early 60s rock and pop (my mother loved the Beatles' early work, which pretty much branded me a Beatles fan for life), and when they weren't playing records, the radio was on. My best friend lived next door, and his parents had a similar console, and his mother used to blast the radio all day during the summer so you could hear it outdoors. I grew up surrounded by music, mainly emanating from these huge consoles.