Zenith MK1025

[Nolan Woodbury]

For the Zenith collectors out there, this unusual little four-speaker set is currently available on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/L-K-VINTAGE-ZENI...QQcmdZViewItem

I have one of these, and it's a pretty neat radio with decent sound. It seems to be holding up OK being used often too. I'll bet it goes pretty cheaply as well!

[Jeffhs]

Nolan -

I just saw (on ebay) the listing for the Zenith MK1025 you mentioned. The bidding has ended at $77.60, so yes, you were right. The radio did go rather cheaply. (BTW, I like the way they put the tuning knob in one of the speaker enclosures; I never saw anything like that until now, even in a Zenith radio.)

BTW, I see Zenith MJ-1035s on the bay every once in a while, so if you are looking for one to replace the set which was destroyed on its way to you earlier this year, that will be the place to find it. If you can't find one on ebay, I'd try putting an ad in Antique Radio Classified.

BTW (2), my Zenith collection is still alive and well here. What amazes me, however, is the fact that the filter cap in my H511Y table model still appears to be good (I don't hear any hum when the radio is on and tuned to a station, so the cap must still be doing its job). Not bad for a set made almost 55 years ago. Still have to replace the speaker (though the original still sounds good despite having numerous tears in the cone) and restring the dial cord, but those are projects for later on in the winter. (The filters in my K-731 are apparently good as well, as that radio still works and sounds great, although I don't use it much--my TransOceanic Royal 1000-1 gets more use than the '731 or the others in my collection although the '731 sounds better than any of the others. Probably because of the two-way speaker system with the electrostatic tweeter. )

Kind regards,

[Nolan Woodbury]

To be honest, shelling out over $77 dollars for that radio is over-paying in my opinion. I mean, it's a neat little set with unusual features, but if I'm getting the drift of radio buffs here, the most important thing to most of us is sound quality and quality of construction. The MK1025 is a bit cheezier (sp?) than most of the Zenith table radios of this era, with copious amounts of plastic and lacking depth of tone. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's a collectable; but paying what you could get (at least) two K731's for isn't what I'd consider a deal.

> BTW, I see Zenith MJ-1035s on the bay every once in a while, so if you are looking for one to replace the set which was destroyed on its way to you earlier this year, that will be the place to find it. If you can't find one on ebay, I'd try putting an ad in Antique Radio Classified.

I look at eBay pretty often, but I haven't seen any MJ-1035s lately...I may be searching in the wrong place? Anyway, I appreciate your offer and I'l take you up on it. I'd love to find a minty MJ-1035 with the remote speaker AND that cool little table/stand I've seen a few of these mounted on! At first, I thought perhaps an owner just found something to put the radio on, but after seeing two or three of these on the (same) stand, it's pretty clear that it was something Zenith offered as an option for this set. So, yes! If you can make it happen, send me the details and I'll take care fo the rest. I may even sweeten the pot and toss another Zenith gem your way, just as a way of saying thanks! I know you have limited room in your apartment Jeff, but I'm SURE you can find the room for a 8-tube H845, right?

As always, it is good to hear you are enjoying your Zeniths, and that they are working well...even the old, original ones! I concur, most of the radios I enjoy haven't been touched, and I use them alot. And while I know there are many, many other antique and collectable radios out there to collect and enjoy, the quality, tone and construction of the Zenith brand continues to amaze. I'm hooked!

[Jeffhs]

Hi Nolan,

Thanks for your reply. It's always good hearing from a fellow Zenith collector.

The MJ-1035s are out there; it just takes some looking to find them. This model isn't exactly rare, but they don't show up on ebay every day either (as you no doubt have noticed).

I'd try searching under "Zenith radio", which will return all listings for every Zenith radio currently up for auction on the site. A model-specific search, such as "Zenith MJ-1035", will return listings only for that specific model. I'm sure both searches will work, as I've tried it with several different Zenith (and other) models of radios and TVs in the past; it's always returned the model(s) I was after. Just to be 100 percent sure, though, I'll do a test search after I send this message.

BTW, you are probably right as to $77 being too much to pay for a radio of 1960s vintage (I only paid something like $25 for my K-731 a couple years ago). I guess some folks don't really know the value of these radios and are trying to get as much money as they can from the auctions. I've seen this happen when the seller says he or she "must sell" the radio ASAP; this often means the seller needs the money in a hurry and/or in the worst way. Another tipoff to a seller that wants or needs the money from an auction fast is a note with a link under the "Buy it Now" button which states "immediate payment required" or similar wording.

Again, good luck finding another MJ-1035. I've never owned one, but I've heard very good things about them, so they must be good radios even today, 40+ years after their introduction.

Kind regards,