I'm not sure what Porta-Fi is, but it seems as if we are now blessed with it, thanks to this fabulous new console stereo!
Are you equipped for Porta-Fi?
- Thread starter dalangdon
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Obligatory close up #1
Turntable and tuner. This stereo has a GREAT sound! It's really quite amazing. (Note the Hippy-Dippy Marlo Thomas Album "Free to be, You and Me")
Turntable and tuner. This stereo has a GREAT sound! It's really quite amazing. (Note the Hippy-Dippy Marlo Thomas Album "Free to be, You and Me")
Gosh that is beautiful
Wasn't that a system which let you plug an extension speaker directly into the outlet and pick up the right or left channel?
GE, I think.
Neat!
Show us some more, please - I love the design.
Wasn't that a system which let you plug an extension speaker directly into the outlet and pick up the right or left channel?
GE, I think.
Neat!
Show us some more, please - I love the design.
Obligatory close up #2
And what space-age hi-fi/porta-fi would be complete without a reel-to-reel for those "special evenings"?
And what space-age hi-fi/porta-fi would be complete without a reel-to-reel for those "special evenings"?
whoops!
Our posts crossed.
Yeah, GE was doing some very nice stuff back then - It's hard to believe it was the same company which only few years later would be turning out, well, there's a reason the American electronics industry died. If they had stuck with this quality, they'd still be selling them.
Do, please, forgive my rabid curiosity, but I'd just love to see more.
Someone recently discussed the portafi in depth, by the way. I am no good at searching these archives, but bet someone will remember.
Our posts crossed.
Yeah, GE was doing some very nice stuff back then - It's hard to believe it was the same company which only few years later would be turning out, well, there's a reason the American electronics industry died. If they had stuck with this quality, they'd still be selling them.
Do, please, forgive my rabid curiosity, but I'd just love to see more.
Someone recently discussed the portafi in depth, by the way. I am no good at searching these archives, but bet someone will remember.
It's really nice, my style too, but where's the carry handle?
I knew someone who had one of those. He lived in a very 50's tropicana type home and it looked beautiful. Once he played an old LP that demonstrated how stereophonic sound worked, I'm pretty sure it was an Enoch Light album (is that the guy?) and you'd sit there and hear things going from one speaker, across the unit to the other speaker. It was cool.
Nice find. And nice to know there are some people who have the room to accumulate these big items!
Nice find. And nice to know there are some people who have the room to accumulate these big items!
whirlcool
Well-known member
That GE stereo is from 1964. I had an aunt and uncle who had that exact same model. The one you have is the TOL. Most of them came without the reel-to-reel unit. But for the life of me I can't remember what was in the place of the tape unit if you didn't opt for one.
My relatives kept theirs for years. Around the early 70's the controls got noisy. But the unit was quite nice sounding. But compared to other manufacturers at the time, I though the quality of the electronics was rather cheap.
Another nice feature was the large selection of inputs/outputs on a little upfacing part on the back of the stereo. This was one versatile unit!
My relatives kept theirs for years. Around the early 70's the controls got noisy. But the unit was quite nice sounding. But compared to other manufacturers at the time, I though the quality of the electronics was rather cheap.
Another nice feature was the large selection of inputs/outputs on a little upfacing part on the back of the stereo. This was one versatile unit!
Ralph, whether we actually have the room for something like this is a perennial debate around these parts ;-) But, in the interests of domestic tranquility, I have adopted a strict "one in/one out" rule: There's only so many console stereos one needs, after all - although I will always miss my collection of TV lamps and coffee tables.
Now if I could only convince another resident of this house that the garage should be for parking cars, not tools, bikes, chippers, riding lawn mowers (on a city lot), multiple shop vacs, broken post hole diggers, etc..... But he is very accepting of my eccentricities, so I can't complain too much - at least without sounding like a real baby.
Now if I could only convince another resident of this house that the garage should be for parking cars, not tools, bikes, chippers, riding lawn mowers (on a city lot), multiple shop vacs, broken post hole diggers, etc..... But he is very accepting of my eccentricities, so I can't complain too much - at least without sounding like a real baby.
Hey Dan, it sounds like you and your partner have a good arrangement. Your one-in-one-out rule is a good one. No need to hoard. Send those larger fun items back around for someone else to enjoy.
I love your place! Enjoy your beautiful console!
I love your place! Enjoy your beautiful console!
keithelong
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2008
- Messages
- 33
Porti -Fi
We had a GE console stereo with the Portio-fi feature. I could play records or the radio and go to the barn that was 300 feet away and plug in the porti fi and hear the music from the porti fi speaker. I can't remember if the cows liked "In a Gadda Davita" but it made 2 hours in the barn milking cows more fun.
We had a GE console stereo with the Portio-fi feature. I could play records or the radio and go to the barn that was 300 feet away and plug in the porti fi and hear the music from the porti fi speaker. I can't remember if the cows liked "In a Gadda Davita" but it made 2 hours in the barn milking cows more fun.
Dan you have email
laundromat
Well-known member
Where's "The Singing Nun"album??????????"Sound of Music"??????Diana Ross and the Supremes A-Go-Go??????????Petula Clark's"Downtown"??????????????Enquiring minds want to know!
Gawgeous!
I that thing was considered "portable" what does one call those two iPods on top, micro-chips? LOL
What a cool toy Dan!
I that thing was considered "portable" what does one call those two iPods on top, micro-chips? LOL
What a cool toy Dan!
classiccaprice
Well-known member
The 50's/60's definition of portable was stick a handle and some little rubber/metal feet on it. Weight did not matter. I remember I sprained my hand after caring around my ~59 Magnovox portable across campus when I was in college. I bet that thing is 50 pounds and I'm not Arnold.
fonografmaniac
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2007
- Messages
- 271
i want that console, lol! anyway, thatz a nice piece you scored and i like how the 2 tweeter are mounted infront of the woofers. also a console with a tape recorder is awesome too. that unit looks mid-60's or early 70's. btw is the pickup ceramic or magnetic?
fonografmaniac
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2007
- Messages
- 271
ONE RARE GENERAL ELECTRIC GOLDEN CLASSIC STEREO CARTRIDGE..
here's a new collectible!
here's a new collectible!
As an eBay Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
oxydolfan1
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2006
- Messages
- 1,764
wow, the memories
We had a very similar system when I was young.
Ours was purchased, along with a few other furnishings, in 1971, when I was six, at a furniture chain called "Sachs New York", near the new Kings Plaza shopping mall in Brooklyn.
I was so aware of how my parents were so proud. It was their first major purchase at what, for them, was a very upscale store.
I was blown away because of the size of the thing, and the sound, but most of all, the indicator lights! The speakers, legs and top were EXACTLY the same as yours, as well as the turntable. Along the bottom row of the control panel, under the volume/balance/etc. knobs were these chrome toggle switches that glistened. The indicator light inside, was to the immediate right of the slide-rule tuner dial, above the tuning knob, was bright celery green with a luminous red ring around it, and it would light whenever you tuned a "STEREO" station in! The front panel of ours was more recessed than yours, and had a tiny little green light that glowed in the dark.
We were strictly forbidden to even go near it, but we figured out how to wipe any telltale finger prints from all that brushed silvertone and knobs, and ALWAYS turn it back to WQXR, the highbrow classical station, our benevolent "jailers" were off to work, and out came Iggy and the Stooges and Iron Butterfly and Earth Wind and Fire and Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band and Bowie and Captain Beefheart and Blondie and the EAGLES (oh, I'm so embarrassed, lol) and the Doors, and on and on and on....
My sister almost got us KILLED by leaving the power switch on, with that damn green indicator light on, us praying the 'rents wouldn't notice proof of our disobedience....I remember OPENING the blinds on a sunny window to brighten that light out of existence and save our sorry asses...
We were literally one of the family with the plastic "dust covers" on every stick of furniture and lampshade, linoleum to cover all that pesky, archaic parquet flooring....my mom took the concept of "preservation" to new heights!
You probably wouldn't associate GE with stereo sound or fine furniture nowadays, and I think Magnavox was considered higher quality, but there was definitely a sense that this was a "quality purchase" and it sounded great to us.
It was about four times wider than the Grundig retro "hi-fi" it replaced, but that one had a beautiful light on the front that slowly lit up when the power pushbutton was pressed, and SLOWLY darkened when it was turned off.
Dan, doesn't "Porta-Fi" refer to the unit's ability to accommodate external components like reel-to-reel players and the like? There may be a clue on the wording/diagram on the back of the unit.
Thanks for the memories, dan. When I pass by Mom's house, I know she still has the receipt for it (even though the stereo itself has been gone for over twenty years, lol!)
It's always amazing to look at these old receipts and see what things cost back on the day.
We had a very similar system when I was young.
Ours was purchased, along with a few other furnishings, in 1971, when I was six, at a furniture chain called "Sachs New York", near the new Kings Plaza shopping mall in Brooklyn.
I was so aware of how my parents were so proud. It was their first major purchase at what, for them, was a very upscale store.
I was blown away because of the size of the thing, and the sound, but most of all, the indicator lights! The speakers, legs and top were EXACTLY the same as yours, as well as the turntable. Along the bottom row of the control panel, under the volume/balance/etc. knobs were these chrome toggle switches that glistened. The indicator light inside, was to the immediate right of the slide-rule tuner dial, above the tuning knob, was bright celery green with a luminous red ring around it, and it would light whenever you tuned a "STEREO" station in! The front panel of ours was more recessed than yours, and had a tiny little green light that glowed in the dark.
We were strictly forbidden to even go near it, but we figured out how to wipe any telltale finger prints from all that brushed silvertone and knobs, and ALWAYS turn it back to WQXR, the highbrow classical station, our benevolent "jailers" were off to work, and out came Iggy and the Stooges and Iron Butterfly and Earth Wind and Fire and Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band and Bowie and Captain Beefheart and Blondie and the EAGLES (oh, I'm so embarrassed, lol) and the Doors, and on and on and on....
My sister almost got us KILLED by leaving the power switch on, with that damn green indicator light on, us praying the 'rents wouldn't notice proof of our disobedience....I remember OPENING the blinds on a sunny window to brighten that light out of existence and save our sorry asses...
We were literally one of the family with the plastic "dust covers" on every stick of furniture and lampshade, linoleum to cover all that pesky, archaic parquet flooring....my mom took the concept of "preservation" to new heights!
You probably wouldn't associate GE with stereo sound or fine furniture nowadays, and I think Magnavox was considered higher quality, but there was definitely a sense that this was a "quality purchase" and it sounded great to us.
It was about four times wider than the Grundig retro "hi-fi" it replaced, but that one had a beautiful light on the front that slowly lit up when the power pushbutton was pressed, and SLOWLY darkened when it was turned off.
Dan, doesn't "Porta-Fi" refer to the unit's ability to accommodate external components like reel-to-reel players and the like? There may be a clue on the wording/diagram on the back of the unit.
Thanks for the memories, dan. When I pass by Mom's house, I know she still has the receipt for it (even though the stereo itself has been gone for over twenty years, lol!)
It's always amazing to look at these old receipts and see what things cost back on the day.
whirlcool
Well-known member
I believe with this model, Porta-Fi was an option. My relatives didn't have it. On the back panel there was an outline and some writing that said "Porta-Fi Transmitter Goes Here" or similar.
If I remember correctly this unit was every bit of 7 feet wide. It took up a lot of wallspace in their home. It did sound good, but the chrome trim was on plastic controls. That's why I thought it was chintzy on the quality. The underlying electroncs may have been more robust than that. After a few years the chrome on the controls started to flake off and the chrome on the trim around the radio scale started to flake off too.
And the one they had didn't have a "pilot light" on it.
If I remember correctly this unit was every bit of 7 feet wide. It took up a lot of wallspace in their home. It did sound good, but the chrome trim was on plastic controls. That's why I thought it was chintzy on the quality. The underlying electroncs may have been more robust than that. After a few years the chrome on the controls started to flake off and the chrome on the trim around the radio scale started to flake off too.
And the one they had didn't have a "pilot light" on it.
