Another roundie found local, truetone.

[ARC Tech-109]

Detrola was a Western Auto brand for the radio side, I always thought Trutone was a Wards name

[Tube TV]

Originally Posted by ARC Tech-109

Detrola was a Western Auto brand for the radio side, I always thought Trutone was a Wards name

Airline was Wards.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by ARC Tech-109

Detrola was a Western Auto brand for the radio side, I always thought Trutone was a Wards name

Never heard of Detrola badged sets being sold by Western Auto. WA's house brand was always Truetone. I've had a number of Truetone radios and they were always listed under Western Auto in Riders perpetual troubleshooters...IIRC Truetone radios always had a reference to Western Auto in the internal labels.
IIRC Detrola built some store brand sets so it's possible some Truetone radios were Detrola built.
From what I've read Detrola never built TVs. There were a couple of Wilcox/Majestic sets that got rebadged Detrola but never a Detrola built TV.

And I second that Montgomery Wards house brand was Airline....I've owned Airline radios and TVs.

[AlanInSitges]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Never heard of Detrola badged sets being sold by Western Auto. WA's house brand was always Truetone. I've had a number of Truetone radios and they were always listed under Western Auto in Riders perpetual troubleshooters...IIRC Truetone radios always had a reference to Western Auto in the internal labels.
IIRC Detrola built some store brand sets so it's possible some Truetone radios were Detrola built.

I remember as a kid in probably Jr. High wandering into the Western Auto store in town on the way home from school and seeing some stereos on display; one had a TRUETONE logo that was crooked and was clearly just a sticker that had been slapped on the front. Of course I peeled it off, revealing that it was actually a SOUNDESIGN POS. After that I realized they probably knew it was me who revealed the secret behind the TRUETONE brand and was a too scared to ever go back in the store.

[Tube TV]

Originally Posted by AlanInSitges

I remember as a kid in probably Jr. High wandering into the Western Auto store in town on the way home from school and seeing some stereos on display; one had a TRUETONE logo that was crooked and was clearly just a sticker that had been slapped on the front. Of course I peeled it off, revealing that it was actually a SOUNDESIGN POS. After that I realized they probably knew it was me who revealed the secret behind the TRUETONE brand and was a too scared to ever go back in the store.

I remember some of those soundesign console stereos. Damn they were lousy. 5 watts a channel, 6 or 8" woofer and a 3" tweeter, BSR turntable, 8 track, and a reciever with such a weak amp that a table radio could keep up in performance.

"Simulated woodgrain" sawdustboard cabinet. The wood detailing was hard foam that was blown into molds and painted brown with little black flick and smudges to try to hide to fact that the speaker grill and all the detailing was foam.

Circuit board screwed right to the sawdust board, and a little transformer sitting in the bottom of the cabinet. Powering everything but the turntable motor.

[KentTeffeteller]

Originally Posted by Tube TV

I remember some of those soundesign console stereos. Damn they were lousy. 5 watts a channel, 6 or 8" woofer and a 3" tweeter, BSR turntable, 8 track, and a reciever with such a weak amp that a table radio could keep up in performance.

"Simulated woodgrain" sawdustboard cabinet. The wood detailing was hard foam that was blown into molds and painted brown with little black flick and smudges to try to hide to fact that the speaker grill and all the detailing was foam.

Circuit board screwed right to the sawdust board, and a little transformer sitting in the bottom of the cabinet. Powering everything but the turntable motor.

Those are what is referred to as "Jimmy Swaggart" consoles. Usually when original owner or family dies off, you find Jimmy Swaggart, or private label vanity Gospel records and tapes inside said console or Christmas records. RadioTVPhonoNut says it well. Cheap mother of particle board junk.

[Jeffhs]

I had a Zenith 4-mode integrated stereo system in the 1980s, their model IS-4041. Five watts per channel, AM/FM/stereo FM radio, BSR record changer, cassette deck, and 8-track. It all worked very well for me (and sounded great, despite the low audio output power) the 17 years I owned it; typical Zenith.

I didn't replace it until I moved to an apartment in 1999 (long story and OT), the replacement being an Aiwa CX-NA888 AM/FM/stereo FM/cassette/CD bookshelf system. That is my current stereo system and, despite the cassette decks having failed for good a few years ago (after I had them repaired twice), is still working as well as when it was new. I actually like that system better than the Zenith because the Aiwa system has four amplifiers, 50 watts per channel, for a total of 200 watts; however, I do not use two of those amplifiers since they are meant to be used with two additional surround speakers, which I have no room for (my apartment is very small) and don't think I could find anymore, even if I had the room for them. The loss of the cassette decks doesn't bother me either, since I can find most of the music I had on cassette on CD (I have been replacing cassettes with CDs for years now) which sound better than cassettes ever did (IMHO) anyway. The Aiwa stereo system has an excellent CD changer which sounds incredibly good through the system's own amplifiers, in my opinion (I don't dare play it full-blast in an apartment, for obvious reasons; just as well, I guess, since at my age I don't care for very loud music anymore).