Some folks are into old radios for the look, others to re-live/honor the past. A few are into it for the sound. As one acquires and listens to tube radios and understands some of the science behind the tube vs. transistor sound disparity, one knows how to find radios that sound better than new radios.

Yes, some some things were made better in the past. More money was spent in their construction. Homes, cars, furniture...and old radios are often included in this list. Technology progresses but often the quality of workmanship is left out in the pursuit of higher profits and built-in obsolescence.

Some awesome table tube sets and wood consoles were made in the late fifties/early sixties. For example, a good '59 Panasonic K-782 with the wood case has a very rich sound and reproduces vocal audio frequencies better than many a BOSE speakered high end tuner sold today. This can be attributed to the way waves are treated by tubes versus transistors and the sweet design of a 12AJ7 triode-heptode tube. The best speakers in the world are not worth much if the signal that goes into them isn't as rich and diverse as it should be.

Almost any am/fm tube radio table set in working order will outperform any of the cheapy cd players/cassette/tuner systems sold mass-market these days.

And, as all folks with wood consoles or boat anchors know, they get awesome bass response from a tube console. Combined with rich vocals you have the best tool for reproducing music.

Nothing is sweeter on the ears than an excellent stereophonic tube console from the 59-63 era. Refresh the speakers, any necessary tubes, etcetera and get it back in beautiful shape and let the magic begin! That fine wood can be refinished & lacquered to look like a million bucks is just an added bonus!

I see old radios as quality furniture, rather than decoration, and furniture is meant to be used and enjoyed.

Not that there's anything wrong with staring at an old radio on a shelf or collecting them the way one might collect stamps, but I prefer finding the nice ones and <I>listening</I> to them.