Bauhaus Stereo by Braun

[whirlcool]

I came across this stereo on Ebay. Quite unusual in design, especially for 1960. It appears to be in impeccable condition. Scroll down the listing, there are quite a few nice photos of it along with some photos of a vintage fan and telephone.

I quite like it, what do you all think?

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[joeekaitis]

I'll bet those buttons make a nice satisfying CLUNK when you press them.

 

[maytagbear]

Allen-

If I had the money, I would be so hitting the "buy it now" link! I don't think these were ever imported to the States.....

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[whirlcool]

Braun is well known for making quality audio equipment in Germany. I'm willing to bet that this unit sounds great. I am betting that this is a reproduction of a 1960 stereo. Look at how clean those tubes and chassis are!

I would probably replace the tonearm with something more modern (and more lightweight). Then it would be great! Wouldn't this look wonderful in a home where the living room is done in chrome and glass? Think 70's.

 

[swestoyz]

I wouldn't put it past Braun on this being original from 1960. Stunning looking design.

 

[foraloysius]

That set was called "Schneewittchensarg" or Snowwhite's coffin.

 

[spookiness]

love Dieter Rams

One of my favorite thrift store finds was when I was in college (late 80's) I snagged a German-made barely-used Aromaster coffee maker for $8.

 

[foraloysius]

The Aromaster looks good, but personally I prefer the older model.

 

[ronhic]

I think I just p**'d my pants....

.....that is one GORGEOUS set....

 

 

 

[mysteryclock]

Stunning, and super-clean. A real closet classic!

 

[westie2]

Allen

 

Indulge yourself this is a greaqt find.

 

 

 

[petek]

Big Braun fan here.

Geeze I absolutely love it.. Would kill to own that and it would fit perfectly in my livingroom decor

I'm a little suspicious of the $189 shipping cost though, that sounds way way way too low.. and what's the chances that it would arrive intact..

 

[whirlcool]

There is a earlier (1956) copy in the Museum of Modern Art of this unit.

For some reason I thought it was a stereo console that sits on the floor, nope it's a table top console. It doesn't look as big as it does in the Ebay photos.

That was really futuristic for 1956, and explains the heavy tonearm. The lightweight tonearm technology hadn't been invented yet!

And even if I did order it, since it's in Germany I'd have to deal with the 220V/50Hz problem.

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=2649

 

[tolivac]

Very interesting set-Never seen one like that.And it is in immaculate condition-no dust whatsoever "cooked" onto the tubes and other internal parts like what you usually find in something that old-like it was NEVER used,or someone did a really good job of "detailing" it.And interesting the tuner does not have a SW band-has Long Wave band,Medium wave and FM.Only see one speaker in the unit-if it was "stereo" was the other speaker and amp in another cabinet?the tonearm on the TT "looks" massive-but appears to be light plastic.no details on the arm-wonder if it is a counterweight type arm.And what sort of cartridge is in the headshell?All in all very interesting-but too expensive to consider-yes "Hi" priced Fi.

 

[mattl]

Whirlcool, look a little closer.  If you scroll down to the interior picture you will see a knurled knob with settings for 240, 220, 150, 125, 110 volts.  Also the transformer has those voltages on it.  Being a tube model the 50/60hz issue may not exist, it's been way too long since I worked on any tube circuits to recall.  Odds are someone here will know.  So don't rule it out on that basis...

 

[tolivac]

Yes,the unit can be tapped to run off other voltages--is there a 60Hz motor pulley enclosed in the set somewhere inside so if you ran the unit from 60Hz you could put the 60Hz drive pulley on the motor shaft-so the TT will run at the right speed.

 

[tomturbomatic]

shayner vort!

Louis, Snow White's Coffin; what a perfect term since it, too, had a see through top. It is a beautiful piece of work.

Allen, Thank you for sharing this beauty.

 

[cfz2882]

sending from overseas

possibility of shipping damage is a concern unless seller is used to sending such
items and packs it just right-about 5 yrs ago i won a couple russian HiFIs on ebay
and had them sent from eastern europe,one made it with very slight damage-the other
was smashed to pieces and good only for spare parts....
The one that survived was tightly packed in a box with about 2"of styrofoam
paneling on all sides and had the tonearm and turntable secured-it still arrived
with slight damage to the end of the cabinet and and most of the tubes were all
leaning in the same direction in their sockets-HiFi worked good still.
The one that got smashed up was in a big cardboard box with a little bit of
padding and the box placed in a big canvas bag-apparently nowhere near enough
protection to survive the journey intact...
The one that survived was made in 1976 and is all tube with selenium rectifiers
it had a voltage selector switch on the back that included a position for 135v
-set it there and works good on 120v. BTW i have quite a few russian radios,hifi,
and other electronics-oldest 1966 transistor pocket radio,newest 1995 cassette
boombox.

 

[whirlcool]

Duh, I should have known about the voltage. I have four German radios, A Grundig, a Saba, a Tekefunken and a Nordmende. They all have voltage switches too. I think if you are powering a radio you don't have to worry about cycles, just the voltage.

I know on some Dual turntables all you need to do is move the voltage switch and the unit takes care of the cycles on its own. But that was on the later models. With most of them you have to order the 60Hz pulley if you import one from Germany or vice versa.