The Magnificent Magnavox

[rinso]

Today, my companion and I went to visit my ex-sister in law. (we're still friends) In her recreation room, she still has her 1962 tube-type 5-foot Mangnavox walnut console stereo. It has been retrofitted with a CD changer, which plugs into the auxillary input. The original Collaro record changer still functions perfectly.

Listening to some CD's through this ancient machine totally blew me away! The console has two side-firing woofers, two front-firing mid-range speakers and four front-firing tweeters.

I was astonished by the sound that this machine produced. The sound dispersion was out of this world! Instead of the music sounding like it was coming from a 5-foot box, it sounded like it was coming from everywhere in the room. Treble was crisp without being shrill, and the bass was strong but not boomy. I have heard many expensive component systems that didn't sound this good.

She obviously knows what a good system she has, as I offered to purchase it, and she wouldn't sell. Dang!

 

[tolivac]

My Mom had a similar Magnavox Hi-Fi to that-She turned hers into salvation Army after getting a new receiver,speakers from Circuit City.I asked her to save the old Maggie for me-"Not enough room"I grew up with hers.Before she got rid of it-I retrofitted it to use a CD player like the one above.either CD's or records sounded literally "Magnifecent"Hence the name of the units.I liked the tubed Magnavox Hi-Fi's better than the later solid state ones.The tube ones had a cleaner, more realistic sound.did yours have Biamped speakers?The one my mom had did-the two power amps in hers had electronic crossovers on the inputs from the preamp-tuner.then the signal was divided for the tweeter and woofer-a pair of 6V6 tubes for the tweeter and 4 6V6 for the woofer.2 5U4 rectifier tubes were in the power supply.Two of these biamp units were in hers-one for each channel.I am looking for another one of these "Magnificent Maganavoxes"Would LOVE to have one.I have also listened to some very "Hi-end" component Hi-Fis that couldn't equal that Magnavox.Also my Mom's grandmother was a Maganavox salesperson.She had a beautiful BW Maganavox console TV in her basement that worked perfectly.The one my Mom had was the "concert Grand" model.

 

[harvestgold]

Magnovox HI-Fi`s

I have several Tube Magnovox HI-FI`s to me they are one of the best HI-FI systems made at that time.There sound quality was unsurpassed, the set you are talking about has a 15" woofer with a matched horn, coupled that with the 2nd speaker system and you could blow out a few windows with the sound i have several jukeboxes and the magnovox console has it all over them.I have found most of my HI-FI`s in thrift stores for under $50.00 nobody wants them cause they are a piece of furniture and take up too much room oh well i`ll take em !!

 

[tomturbomatic]

My mom still has ours in her apt. It is going to need a bunch of work if it is to work and sound right again. Those great big side-firing bass speakers with a super-heavy magnet, the tweeters and the exponential horns really made powerful music. When my parents were not home I alone or with my brother I would play Virgil Fox and E. Power Biggs recordings at high loudness (not volume) with the timbre maxed out. Other memorable pieces included the 1812 Overture, The Entrance of the gods into Valhalla, Ride of the Valkyries and Brunhilde's Immolation. Most of there were also played at lower levels of Loudness with the folks home as well as lots of opera choruses, music from the swing years and things that they ignored like Inagaddadavida.

 

[thor]

Craiglist

Magnavox Concert Grand on Craiglist.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/fur/210720257.html

 

[thor]

Magnavox brochure on ebay

Nice pictures!

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[tolivac]

The unit my Mom had used front facing speakers-the 15" woofers and a horn tweeter in each SEALED enclosure.It has been said in some terms that speakers for Maganavoxes were made by Jensen-Maganavox owned them at the time-also the Maggie-Jensen tweeters and woofers were used in the famous Leslie rotating baffle-speaker systems for organs and other musical instruments-I knew a fellow that used his Leslie with his Guitar.It did make an interesting "choral" type sound.The Leslie cabinets like the Maggie my Mom had-used electronic corossovers for the two speakers in it-the 15"woofer that had a motor driven rotating baffle in front of it-and the horn mounted on a rotating platform.It was at the top of the cabinet.Two power amps with push-pull 6550's drove each speaker.Each speaker could have 60 watts to it!Showed how tough those Maggie-Jensen speakers were.

 

[rinso]

Sadly, along about 1964, Magnavox scrapped their tube type amps and rolled out their all solid-state Astro Sonic chassis, I'm guessing it's because they are much cheaper to produce, and don't require the complex power supplies that tube-type equipment needs. But, weak bass and dull treble were hallmarks of this design, probably due to the germanium transistor output stages. It was then that it was necessary to use exponential horn tweeters, to compensate for the lack of high end response from the amp. Exponential horn tweeters are very efficient at high freqencies, and disperse sound very well. In the late 60's and early 70's, the chassis was re-designed using much better components, and the Magnificent Magnavox once again provided component quality sound from a console. The clever styrofoam sealed speaker systems with side-firing 12 or 15 inch woofers and front firing angled horns delivered amazing sound response, without having any part of the cabinet resonate. Wish I would have kept my old Spanish-style 6 footer, but it looked more like a coffin than a stereo. Must have been the sliding lids.

 

[jasonl]

I have the almost TOL portable stereo. For being small'ish it ROX! It's solid state but still has a warm sound to it. Yes, it features the clunky but funky Collaro changer.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

I have a 1963ish tube Magnavox. It's not a huge one, it's the 30 watter (4 x 6BQ5) with the 12" woofers, danish modern, with 3 way speakers not horns. I have the catalog from that year somewhere, and they offered both tube and "Astro-Sonic models that year. I've impressed quite a few high-end stereo owners with it. One friend walked over the the Sansui 1000A receiver to turn down the volume, and he was surprised that it wasn't on, it was just the Magnavox playing.

The Astro-Sonic ones sound good, especially the big 100 watt models, but the tube models do sound better if the old capacitors have been replaced.

The Collaro is clunky? I say it's graceful. Of course the later ones with the metal arms aren't as pretty.
You want clunky? get a Garrard changer. ;-)

Ken

 

[rinso]

Ken, you console sounds exactly like what my ex-sister in law's Magnanvox is. No horns, and 12" side-firing woofers. Danish modern cabinet. And, I agree with you about the Garrard changers.

 

[tolivac]

Ken-I worked on one of those Maganavox 6BQ5 amp units as well-was at the college I went to-someone brought it in for repairs.Sweet sounding unit.I also liked the Collaro turntables-The Garrards are comical when run at 78-Put a stack of 78s on a Garrard TT and watch the action-was like you speeded up the film!My grandmothers Hi-Fi had a Garrard TT and a Heathkit tube amp.It sounded pretty good-the speakers were homebuilt by my Grandfather.they mostly had 78's those were fun to listen to.