[Jeffhs]

I have a Zenith C845 that works great. Never saw or heard a table model with such wonderful sound and sensitivity as the '845 series has (C/H845). This was one of the very best table radios Zenith made in the late '50s-early sixties. Two speakers, a true tone control, an RF stage that works on AM as well as FM, two IF stages on both bands, and terminals for an external speaker--this is a high-performance, high-fidelity radio for sure. When Zenith halted production of these high-performance sets after about 1965, they broke the mold. These radios (and others in the 800 series) show up quite often on eBay (Zenith must have made a blue million of these in their heyday--I always see at least one in my daily perusings of eBay's antique radios), so you shouldn't have any trouble finding one. When you do, you won't be disappointed.

The model K731 is also a good set that shows up often on eBay (I saw one while browsing the site earlier today). A 5x7" oval main speaker, an electrostatic tweeter, and of course a true tone control, not to mention good sensitivity (even on AM, despite the fact that the '731 does not have an AM RF amplifier stage as does the C/H845), make this an excellent addition to any vintage radio collection. The K731 owes its wonderful sensitivity to the fine design of its signal circuits; the radio has two IF stages and a limiter stage, the last acting as a third IF so this set will bring in stations like a magnet. I have a K731 in an Early American cabinet (this radio was offered in several different cabinet styles) that was an eBay find several years ago. The sound is very good and the bass response is darn near incredible for a table radio of this size. I listen to an oldies radio program every weekend on this radio; honestly, I think the oldies sound better on it (and on my C845) than they would on today's cheap one-chip plastic sets.

BTW, the only difference between the C-845 and the H-845 (except for slight differences in the front panel, specifically the tuning scale and the knobs; also, some models in this series used a slide switch to change bands, rather than using a switch concentric with the tuning control as does the C845) is that the former does not have a dial light, while the latter does. The K731 never had a dial light, although I'm sure one could be added if a neon bulb (with a suitable dropping resistor) were placed behind the dial, or in such a position that it illuminated the track (between the AM and FM dial scales) on which the dial pointer moves. You may have to restring the dial, as some of these radios show up on eBay with broken dial cords.


Kind regards,