Best early (late 40's) set? Admiral. I have two 24A12s that I restored at the same time. They both are flawless performers. All I have to do is turn them on. Plus, they were an easy restoration. Bakelite is easier to restore than wood.
...and, they keep on running. I haven't had to go back into either of them. Good, solid picture and sound. Can't say that for the rest of my late '40s sets.
Second best? Philco 48-Series sets. I have a 48-1001, and even though I had to go back into it a second time (for a couple of dead 1/2 watt resistors in the first and second stage IF's, plus a 2 watter in the audio stage) it's been my best performing early B&W 10BP4 set. Great picture, sound is fair to good. But, it's a difficult restoration if you run into trouble. There are a gazillion caps in those sets.
Close Third? 1947-48 DuMont RA-103 series, and their clones (like Stromberg-Carlson). Easy sets to restore, good performers, well engineered. Easily the best sounding of all my early television sets. (Excuse me..."Televisor") Tuners are a little fidgety, no ALC, but they have FM as a bonus.
...but, I love all of them.
