Stereo Console Value Q

[AdamG]

My friend's parents received this stereo console from their departed father (my friend's grandfather).
It has a Telefunken 504 table in the top (needs new belt, not sure of needle's condition etc.)
It is tube powered.
It has AM, FM, Shortwave (I had never seen this before), and SP (which I don't even know what that is)

They were wondering for more information about it like manufacture date and such, and also what a reasonable value on it would be. I figured someone around here may know more about it.







The tweeter fires out of the bottom, pretty neat.

Sorry for the lackluster pictures, it was all in low light and in a hurry.

[ESM]

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/kuba_serenade_stereo_radiogram_611k.html

different body, same guts.

[ESM]

Condition, Condition, Condition.

These are unfortunately never worth much unless it is the TOTL. (repeated several times)

Unless you find some sentimental person or a hipster making more money than they know what to do with.

It sounds like there is more sentimental value to keep it in the family which imho would be best.
 
Recap, check resistor tolerances. rehab the TT. buy some records and remember who the Man was that brought that beast home one day and probably got a beating from his wife for doing so because back in the late 50's early 60's it may have run him a few weeks pay..

monetarily it is not a retirement console.. Telefunken had a few Whoppers like all manufacturer's back then (and today), those are the only one that tend to bring in the big money. The smaller model are not as sought after.
Until these become more scarce, you will need another 100+ yrs for that, they will continue to be bought and sold for well under $100 unless it is the TOTL.

Very nice unit imho, fix her up and step back into an era when things were less digitized... (or plug your Ipod into it)

[Dicky]

And don't ever play good vinyl on an old table like that.  Too much tracking weight.

[EmperorNorton]

ESM wrote...." remember who the Man was that brought that beast home one day and probably got a beating from his wife for doing so because back in the late 50's early 60's it may have run him a few weeks pay.. "

Man, Alice really had Ralph under her thumb, didn't she???

[AdamG]

Thank you very much ESM!

I don't believe they have any intentions of keeping it, it's out in their garage (luckily a dry garage). Amazingly enough, it all functions still, but it could definitely use some cleaning and TLC.

Any clue what the output on the amplifier would be? It says it consumes approx 75w, what does that translate to output power in tubes? If it's going to go out to pasture, I'd rather take the guts out and rebuild without all the wasted space, and allow for external speakers to be hooked up.

[ESM]

Guesstimate on w/channel.....

http://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_ecl86.html

if that is the correct Tube, then 3.8 to 4w per channel. aka that bitch will RIP !!!
harvest the old speakers and TT out of it. build a small desk top set up.
If the grill cloth is good take that too. any emblems.. ect, ect.

If your handy you could use the wood from the console to build a case for the TT and radio.

That would be kinda Sweet...

[AdamG]

The main body of the unit is about 2.5' wide, but with the addition of the speakers on either side it ends up being around 4.5'-5'. A little more than I want. I would lop off the old speaker cabinets, the grill cloth is in rough shape. Keep the drivers around or toss them to one of you guys that likes those old drivers for cheap. I would then refinish the now exposed sides either with veneer or maybe it's hardwood inside. Not sure exactly. I would definitely want to keep the glass dials and such because they're just beautiful in person, with a little cleaning even moreso. It would be a console-style amplifier where I could plug in external speakers and source(s).

That is, of course, if they'll let it go for a reasonable price to me. I'll have to see what they really want to do. I've been wanting to get a tube amp for a while now.

Dicky: Thanks for the heads up on the tracking weight!

[ESM]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Serviced-Mid-Century-Telefunken-Rondo-Record-Player-Turntable-Radio-Speakers-70s-/261462090360?pt=UK_Collectables_RadioTelevision_Telephony_SM&hash=item3ce05ae278

Ohhh, Tele's answer to the KLH model 20 Plus
(squirrel) 

[AdamG]

Now that is a cool piece of gear. Mine would probably be a bit less minimalistic than that, simply because I'd be re-using the current materials as much as possible. 

[ESM]

Are those ribbon tweeters i wonder

[AdamG]

Are those ribbon tweeters i wonder

I wish I could tell ya! They were pretty hard to get to, the picture was taken through a hole in "grill" material in the back of the unit. I didn't want to flip the unit on it's side either to look under it.

[OldiesButGoodies]

You have never seen shortwave before 


I am old.

Pepe

[Anders]

German console radios aren't worth much but the table radios go for big money.
I bought one console for $20.
I have a bunch of the table radios and one console.
Many of them have electrostatic tweeters in them which is why I collect them.
The KLH 8 was supposed to be the first true high fidelity table radio but the Germans were making them years before.
The KLH sounds pretty good but not as good as the German radios because it does not have an electrostatic tweeter.

[AdamG]

I've got two images of the tweeter on the bottom of the console.
I can't make out if it's fancy or not. Anyone able to tell any better? I don't have the unit in front of my any more so I can't pull it out or anything.