Great pics....I love console stereos.....we had one with a TV/Stereo combination......with many speakers for great sound
I would love to get a hold of a reel to reel....
I would love to get a hold of a reel to reel....
My Old Cabinet Stereo
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Whirlcool nailed it
Boy - you found that Wollensak ad right quick! This gang sure knows its stuff!
Boy - you found that Wollensak ad right quick! This gang sure knows its stuff!
Magnificent Magnavox
Yet again I will mention that I love Twintubdexter's Magnavox.... forgot the name... er.. big display and stereo unit.
I just refurbed a Mag/Collaro phono for my friend Tammy. I've got my glass of wine and will now listen to Belle Barth as a test.
Sorry - I have no Rudy De La Mor vinyl to spin... Or did he record only 78's ?? (ducks and runs).
Yet again I will mention that I love Twintubdexter's Magnavox.... forgot the name... er.. big display and stereo unit.
I just refurbed a Mag/Collaro phono for my friend Tammy. I've got my glass of wine and will now listen to Belle Barth as a test.
Sorry - I have no Rudy De La Mor vinyl to spin... Or did he record only 78's ?? (ducks and runs).
whirlcool
Well-known member
Wollensak was kind of a strange company. I knew them most from their 1500 & 1700 series audio visual products. And they also made cameras.
Back in 1967 I bought a Wollensak 5900. That was the one that hung on the wall with the two speakers next to it in a oiled walnut case. It looked more component than portable (which it was not). It was rather rare, I have never seen another one except in advertising. This product was directed at the home audio enthusiast rather than commercial use. It sounded great! I had it until I went away to college and while I was gone my mother sold it in a garage sale she had! I bought it at Allied Radio on Western Av in Chicago. Now THAT place was HiFi heaven!
Anyway, here is a photo of the 5750 which was a notch or two down from the 5900.
The tape unit was the same, but the 5900 had completely separate speakers that were not hinged and they were normal oiled walnut bookshelf speakers. A beautiful design.
Back in 1967 I bought a Wollensak 5900. That was the one that hung on the wall with the two speakers next to it in a oiled walnut case. It looked more component than portable (which it was not). It was rather rare, I have never seen another one except in advertising. This product was directed at the home audio enthusiast rather than commercial use. It sounded great! I had it until I went away to college and while I was gone my mother sold it in a garage sale she had! I bought it at Allied Radio on Western Av in Chicago. Now THAT place was HiFi heaven!
Anyway, here is a photo of the 5750 which was a notch or two down from the 5900.
The tape unit was the same, but the 5900 had completely separate speakers that were not hinged and they were normal oiled walnut bookshelf speakers. A beautiful design.
whirlcool
Well-known member
I even uncovered an old Wollensak television advert! The 5900 I spoke of is in the ad, but not mentioned. You can see it at 00:30-00:40 of this commercial.
1m1f.com
موقع الفصيح
موقع الفصيح هو موقع يقدم العديد من المقالات المفيدة للزائر العربي في مختلف المجالات. مقالات مفيدة وموثوقة وتساعدك في الحصول على المعلومات التي تبحث عنها.
1m1f.com
That Wollensak is a beaut
Now there is a tape deck that one saves money to buy and then treasures/enjoys it for years.
My friend Rich was a technician for Allied on Western Avenue in the 1960s. He too was an open-reel fan. He took such pride in his hifi. And he always kept his open reels running. He and I worked together in the 1980s.
I have two open-reels, a VM and a SONY which I almost never use. Both were saved from the Salvation Army and both work fine but some tapes play better on one than the other. I am no expert of open-reel but if I find a fun title in a junk bin I want to play it. The fidelity is amazing - particularly on the SONY. I've never touched a Wollensak - maybe because they never broke?? However everyone I knew that owned one kept it many years and loved it.
Perhaps the azimuth is off on one of my open-reels, but I have bigger fish to fry... you know what I mean.
Now there is a tape deck that one saves money to buy and then treasures/enjoys it for years.
My friend Rich was a technician for Allied on Western Avenue in the 1960s. He too was an open-reel fan. He took such pride in his hifi. And he always kept his open reels running. He and I worked together in the 1980s.
I have two open-reels, a VM and a SONY which I almost never use. Both were saved from the Salvation Army and both work fine but some tapes play better on one than the other. I am no expert of open-reel but if I find a fun title in a junk bin I want to play it. The fidelity is amazing - particularly on the SONY. I've never touched a Wollensak - maybe because they never broke?? However everyone I knew that owned one kept it many years and loved it.
Perhaps the azimuth is off on one of my open-reels, but I have bigger fish to fry... you know what I mean.
whirlcool
Well-known member
I was a big reel to reel guy in the 60's. A couple of my friends and I used to make "reel shows" like radio shows and swap them amongst each other. As part of the theater series of classes in high school we all took a radio history and production class. We practiced on these reels and spent hours and hours working on them. I am sure our parents were happy because this kept us off the streets and out of trouble!
Not too long ago one of these friends contacted me on Facebook (before I closed my account) to tell me he still had some of those reels in storage. They were on Mylar instead of acetate, so they should still be listenable. But he didn't have a reel to reel either.
I had probably 30 or 40 7 inch tapes in my collection, but over the years they got lost in my many moves. I always wanted to get a Roberts tape deck, but never did.
I remember you could buy the the latest album on either vinyl or tape. I bought quite a few on tape.
I went to school out of state, and while I was gone my younger sister and brother got into everything I owned. By the time I graduated college and moved back home, just about everything I had collected had either been sold or given away. My father used to tell me "You're a big boy now, you don't need all that crap!".
My Wollensak did have trouble with the FF/Rewind bar getting sloppy in it's working. It'd get a lot of play in the travel back and forth. Wollensak fixed it twice under warranty. I don't think that their last designs were as robust as their 1500-1700 units were. A lot of schools had those in their audio/visual departments and they were built like tanks!
Not too long ago one of these friends contacted me on Facebook (before I closed my account) to tell me he still had some of those reels in storage. They were on Mylar instead of acetate, so they should still be listenable. But he didn't have a reel to reel either.
I had probably 30 or 40 7 inch tapes in my collection, but over the years they got lost in my many moves. I always wanted to get a Roberts tape deck, but never did.
I remember you could buy the the latest album on either vinyl or tape. I bought quite a few on tape.
I went to school out of state, and while I was gone my younger sister and brother got into everything I owned. By the time I graduated college and moved back home, just about everything I had collected had either been sold or given away. My father used to tell me "You're a big boy now, you don't need all that crap!".
My Wollensak did have trouble with the FF/Rewind bar getting sloppy in it's working. It'd get a lot of play in the travel back and forth. Wollensak fixed it twice under warranty. I don't think that their last designs were as robust as their 1500-1700 units were. A lot of schools had those in their audio/visual departments and they were built like tanks!
Joe,
That "Molina" model while Zenith kept changing it's name over the years was made up till 1980 as the TOL Allegro console. This cabinet was the Flagship of Zenith Console Stereo's, I remember it in the Zenith showroom when I purchased a Zenith console stereo for my mothers & fathers anniversary in 1980. I wish I could have afforded that one like yours but it was close to $1200 or more, and I was only in high school so I purchased one for around $600 for them and I still have it today.
That "Molina" model while Zenith kept changing it's name over the years was made up till 1980 as the TOL Allegro console. This cabinet was the Flagship of Zenith Console Stereo's, I remember it in the Zenith showroom when I purchased a Zenith console stereo for my mothers & fathers anniversary in 1980. I wish I could have afforded that one like yours but it was close to $1200 or more, and I was only in high school so I purchased one for around $600 for them and I still have it today.
twintubdexter
Well-known member
so nice...
That Wollensak 5750 is just such a wonderful design...clean, great speaker cloth color and the 2-tone champagne back panel just finishes it off. Such a nice thing to look at!
That Wollensak 5750 is just such a wonderful design...clean, great speaker cloth color and the 2-tone champagne back panel just finishes it off. Such a nice thing to look at!
whirlcool
Well-known member
And the speaker system that came with the 5900 (not swing out speakers, but true bookshelf speakers) were two way speakers and sounded very nice.
wmlask
Active member
Zenith Record Changers
Hi:
The record changers that were used in the top of the line Zenith consoles were made by Zenith. The changers on the tiers down were made by VM.
I have the same unit that is pictured with the reel to reel tape recorder. It is a 1966 model and as stated above the tape unit was made by Wollensak. I have the receipt for it and with the tape recorder/player it cost close to $1,000 which was quite an investment for the time.
I agree that these are great stereo units and I'm glad to see others saving them, enjoying them and giving them good homes.
Bill
Hi:
The record changers that were used in the top of the line Zenith consoles were made by Zenith. The changers on the tiers down were made by VM.
I have the same unit that is pictured with the reel to reel tape recorder. It is a 1966 model and as stated above the tape unit was made by Wollensak. I have the receipt for it and with the tape recorder/player it cost close to $1,000 which was quite an investment for the time.
I agree that these are great stereo units and I'm glad to see others saving them, enjoying them and giving them good homes.
Bill
Sayakasand
New member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2015
- Messages
- 2
Zenith
My mother in law has a Zenith but I can't find anything about it anyone know anything?
My mother in law has a Zenith but I can't find anything about it anyone know anything?
@paulg,
Monarch was a completely seperate company, they evovled into BSR.
During a limited time, Zenith built their own changers, and that's the model that's being shown in the pictures. They were ALMOST audiophile quality, even though ceramic cartridges.
99% of the Cobramatic changers were Voice of Music, and the tracking force could be adjusted easily.
The Lloyds stereo came along late in the game, it's a low end unit with about 4-5 watts per channel, and more than likely two six inch speaker.
@Sayakasand
very Early 70's. The tip off is the VM changer. The quality started going downhill pretty quick after that for the mid and low end models.
Monarch was a completely seperate company, they evovled into BSR.
During a limited time, Zenith built their own changers, and that's the model that's being shown in the pictures. They were ALMOST audiophile quality, even though ceramic cartridges.
99% of the Cobramatic changers were Voice of Music, and the tracking force could be adjusted easily.
The Lloyds stereo came along late in the game, it's a low end unit with about 4-5 watts per channel, and more than likely two six inch speaker.
@Sayakasand
very Early 70's. The tip off is the VM changer. The quality started going downhill pretty quick after that for the mid and low end models.
Sayakasand
New member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2015
- Messages
- 2
@ artcurus do you know anymore about the record player like a rough estimate on how much it is worth in great condition..
@Sayakasand
The record player itself it's a Voice of Music,which does help a little on value. The VM changers are much easier on records, plus it is the 2G arm that tracks a lot lighter.
Honestly, maybe $30 at most. It's a later model. The ones that do better are from the mid 60s, the Cobramatic tonearmed models and the models listed in above pictures that were made by Zenith.
The BSR changers are complete trash, the main reason is they destroy records.
As for the whole unit, it's a mid level Zenith. The speakers MIGHT be two way, which is an improvement, and probably about 15 watts per channel. Best guess, you could probably sell for around $50-$60 with the right buyer.
Again, this just conjecture but it should be pretty close.
The record player itself it's a Voice of Music,which does help a little on value. The VM changers are much easier on records, plus it is the 2G arm that tracks a lot lighter.
Honestly, maybe $30 at most. It's a later model. The ones that do better are from the mid 60s, the Cobramatic tonearmed models and the models listed in above pictures that were made by Zenith.
The BSR changers are complete trash, the main reason is they destroy records.
As for the whole unit, it's a mid level Zenith. The speakers MIGHT be two way, which is an improvement, and probably about 15 watts per channel. Best guess, you could probably sell for around $50-$60 with the right buyer.
Again, this just conjecture but it should be pretty close.
