Calling All "Vintage" Integrated/Receiver Owners

[WarriorAnt]

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I would love to get a Yamaha, I still have not experienced the whole Yamaha experience yet!  Then again, I have too many amps, need to figure out a way to down size.

I have a Yamaha CR 820.  Works great. I cleaned it up head to toe and then realized it wouldn't fit into any rack or space I have.  It's really big.
 

 

[livewire]

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That is nice.  I've never seen anything like it.  What might it go for on todays market? 
 

This radio was made by a company named Atwater Kent.
It was one of the earliest radios produced, the style is known as a "breadboard".
Intentionally uncased, the manufacturers wanted to show off the early tube technology
until it was learned that people could be seriously burned or worse yet shocked by the exposed circuitry.
 
These days an intact, undamaged example of this model sells for around $800 on ebay.
The earlier variants from 1923 go for as much as $1200.
There are other similar (rarer) models that sell for as much as $5000. 

 

[livewire]

Depicted is an example of an AK Model 5. Uber-rare.
Only one "tube island" but packed with five tubes.
These normally fetch $3500 to $5000.
 

 

[WarriorAnt]

Quote:

Depicted is an example of an AK Model 5. Uber-rare.
Only one "tube island" but packed with five tubes.
These normally fetch $3500 to $5000.
 

I would love to see any of those first hand.  I'll bet the build is amazing.
 

 

[livewire]

Here is another piece of "hollow state" technology from my collection.
It was the first ever commercial tube radio sold to the public. (circa 1921)
Made by RCA and marketed by Westinghouse, it is named "The Aeriola".
Only one tube, therefore only one stage of amplicafication, one had to use headphones.
I also have a couple sets of 1920's cans for this radio. And yes it still plays.
 

 

[livewire]

 
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I would love to see any of those first hand.  I'll bet the build is amazing.
 

Go to a technology museum! They got em.
 
Or, you're welcome to visit my place if you are ever in San Diego...
 

 

[RexAeterna]

I would love to get a Yamaha, I still have not experienced the whole Yamaha experience yet!  Then again, I have too many amps, need to figure out a way to down size.

trust me, if you heard what the mx-1000,cx-1000 combination can do then everything you have you would want to sell. they weren't consider legendary for their looks.

 

[RexAeterna]

I have a Yamaha CR 820.  Works great. I cleaned it up head to toe and then realized it wouldn't fit into any rack or space I have.  It's really big.
 

i own a later yamaha personally. the yamaha R-9. might not look as pretty since it's a black receiver of the mid 80's but the power and sound it gives defiantly is it's best feature(heard yamaha put their famous MX,CX and TX series in one package with the R-X receiver series). i even like it over big early 70's gear like from sansui,marantz and pioneer. even works well for headphone driving and brings out the clarity, deep bass extension and treble extension my sextetts LP and 240DF's are capable of.

 

[WarriorAnt]

Quote:

Here is another piece of "hollow state" technology from my collection.
It was the first ever commercial tube radio sold to the public. (circa 1921)
Made by RCA and marketed by Westinghouse, it is named "The Aeriola".
Only one tube, therefore only one stage of amplicafication, one had to use headphones.
I also have a couple sets of 1920's cans for this radio. And yes it still plays.
 

Wow. Your collection is flooring me. Really amazing.  The original owners were the protoaudiophiles.  

 
 

 

[WarriorAnt]

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i own a later yamaha personally. the yamaha R-9. might not look as pretty since it's a black receiver of the mid 80's but the power and sound it gives defiantly is it's best feature(heard yamaha put their famous MX,CX and TX series in one package with the R-X receiver series). i even like it over big early 70's gear like from sansui,marantz and pioneer. even works well for headphone driving and brings out the clarity, deep bass extension and treble extension my sextetts LP and 240DF's are capable of.

I like the tone controls on the Yamaha CR 820.  It has separate dial controls for Bass,  Presence, Treble, and Loudness.  I wish more gear had this selection.

 

[livewire]

 
Quote:

Wow. Your collection is flooring me. Really amazing.  The original owners were the protoaudiophiles.  
 
 

To clarify, the spendy AK Model 5 is not mine.
In real life it was very difficult to use.
The early models with more tuning controls were capable of better reception.
These were the Model A's of sound science. Fred Flintstone loved them.
Contests were held (and still are) to see who could tune in the most stations
and who could tune in the station farthest away. Reception was key.
Clarity of sound was another holy grail and by today's standards,
they all sounded like s**t. Very "tinny" with a lot of static and reverb.
Oft times one could hear two or three stations at once. Fading in and fading out.
Things got a lot better in the early 1930's
when single dial tuning and "superhet" designs came into existence.
"Stereo" was a concept not yet invented.
 
One last pic. The endearing design of the 1931 Philco Cathedral.
These were called "baby grands" or "beehives" by enthusiasts.
Two models were produced. On the outside they looked almost identical.
Mine is the Model 70. (I'm too lazy to snap a pic of it) 
The top of the line model 90 shown below had more refined and powerful guts.
It was also crafted out of higher quality exotic wood veneers.
Depending on condition, today an original will fetch $100 to $600 (Model 70),
$400 to $1000 for the Model 90. In 1931 a new Model 90 sold for $69.99 .
Potential collectors beware, there are many counterfeit copies of this radio out there.
The giveaway is that most all of them have transistors inside.
The originals have between 7 to 9 large tubes inside with a very distinctive layout.
(which may be easily viewed from the open backside of the radio - as they had no rear cover.)
 

 
 
 

 
 

 

[cifani090]

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Yeah, this gets pretty hot.
1924 AK Model 10 Receiver.
Unrestored, still works fine.

Very cool! I read your other posts,etc; and where did you get this? Do you know the specifications on it?  And how big is your collection?
 

 

[livewire]

Thanks, most of them I've picked up on ebay, some at local swap meets.
As far as specs go: THD 50%, S/N ratio 50/50, I'm joking!
I really dont know, things were quantified a little different back then.
 
Available specs for the AK Model 10 might be:
Five tube radio set - 1 detector - 2 RF - 2 AF.
AM band receiver utilizing TRF Neutrodyne circuitry
capacitor tuned with two stages of RF amplification (radio frequency - antenna input) 
and two stages of AF amplification (audio frequency - output to speaker) .
 
Speaker Impedance: 2000 ohms
 
Battery specs - A & B batteries with the following input voltage taps: 
6VDC, 45VDC, 67-1/2VDC, 90VDC, common ground.
 
(no, it doesnt plug into the wall, not everybody had electricity in their houses back then)
 
Collection size, medium? By no means is it anywhere near complete, as there are 1000's of models out there.
Prolly in the hundreds, (>300?) I stopped counting ten years ago.
I wish I had museum space to display them all. They are currently locked up in a warehouse.
 

 

[cifani090]

Im seeing the Pioneer 1250s go up in pricing on ebay, kinda high compared what they were earlier this year. 

 

[Meewoo]

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Im seeing the Pioneer 1250s go up in pricing on ebay, kinda high compared what they were earlier this year. 

 
I did notice the prices of Sansui AU-x17 on ePay keep going down, Kenwood and Yamaha stuff follow the same path. But Pioneer SX-1250, Sx-1280 and Sx-1980 keep the same price or going up. The high-end models still have high demand. Saggy economy really hurts the low and mid models. Did anyone follow Sansui and marantz price tracks?