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Originally Posted by TryHiFi
Some awesome table tube sets and wood consoles were made in the late fifties/early sixties.
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.
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Zenith made some great table radios from the '59-'63 era. I have one, a Zenith K-731. It's in a walnut wood cabinet and has a two-way speaker system--a 5x7 oval speaker for lows/midrange and a 3" electrostatic tweeter, the latter driven directly from the plate of the 35C5 output tube, for the highs. Needless to say, it sounds great. The bass response is incredible for a table model; in fact, I'm a little afraid to set the tone control to full bass for fear of damaging the main speaker. I usually set it to midrange and leave it there; that's where my ears tell me it sounds the best.
I have also read reports here on AK that Zenith's C-845 table model also has incredible sound quality for a table set. Several people here have these little sets and seem to like them a lot; I can understand why. These sets were made for high fidelity (that "high fidelity" script logotype on the front panel isn't just an advertising slogan--Zenith obviously meant it, in spades).
I often wonder, though, why Zenith did not include a phonograph input on the K-731, but
did put one on the C845. The '731 is a great-sounding radio and, IMHO, would work well as a phono amplifier. I've never heard a C-845 playing, but I'd think it sounds every bit as good as the '731. Are the audio stages in the C-845 that much better than those in the '731? I would think, since the C-845 has two ordinary cone-type speakers and the K-731 has an oval 5x7 and an electrostatic tweeter, that the latter would work every bit as well as a phono amp as would the '845.
I would love to have a nice wood console stereo, such as an older Zenith (I like anything in walnut or other dark wood), but, unfortunately, my apartment is far too small. Oh well. That's why I got my Zenith 731 on ebay a couple years ago; I liked the looks of the cabinet and, since I always wanted a console, this radio is about the closest I'll come to having one. When the set arrived here, I plugged it in, turned it on, and it worked right out of the shipping box. The sound was and still is excellent. I am still amazed I did not have to do anything to it (new caps, etc.) after I got it--as I said, it played as soon as I powered it up, and the cabinet had almost no damage at all (save for a couple tiny wear spots on the front, above the speakers; one can hardly see them unless he/she looks for them). This set is the pride of my entire Zenith collection; you can be sure I'll hold on to it a long time. The one thing I know I should do but haven't, yet, is replace the selenium B+ rectifier. That's a project for some time in the future; I'm in no hurry, since the radio sounds great at this point ("if it ain't broke, don't fix it").