"Branded" stereo tube receivers |
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Among the American and Japanese stereo tube
receivers, one could distinguish a specific group of products for
self-assembly or ready-made products - which were given the
"brand" by the seller, not the manufacturer. One of the smallest receivers was the SMX-50 model provided by Monarch Electronics International Inc. He worked in the SE system using 6BM8 / ECL-82 tubes. A quite popular stereo amplifier from this company was the STA-400X model with 6GW8 / ECL86 power tubes and 5AR4 / GZ34 rectifying tube. Branded products were offered as Lafayette. It was a company dealing in the distribution and mail order sale of widely understood consumer electronics and electronic components. Tube receivers offered by Lafayete were made by TRIO or KENWOOD. They had a very similar or sometimes identical electronic design to the original models. The only difference was the different design and markings. All LAFAYETTs began with the letters "LR". OLSON was another company offering mail-order purchase of equipment. The names of their receivers began with the letters RA and additionally three numbers. Both Olson and Monarch in some of the receivers offered by both companies used 6GW8 / ECL-86 tubes in the P&P circuit in the end amplifiers. It was a rarity, because the 6BM8 / ECL-82 tubes operating in the PP circuit filled the lower segment of the market when it comes to power. And the P&P amplifier on the 6GW8 / ECL86 could easily compete with the same circuit on the EL-84, being much cheaper to produce - as on the 6BM8 / ECL-82 tubes (two noval sockets less). Yet another company that offered models starting with the letters RA was REALISTIC. A company called TOSY HAMLIN sold an receiver that was a clone of one of the PIONEER models of the SM-Gxx series under its own "brand" A fairly well-known brand (mainly in the West Coast area) was MARTEL ELECTRONICS from Los Angeles, California. MARTEL admitted, however, that the products they sold were "Manufactered by ROLAND ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., TOKYO, JAPAN". This information was provided by this company on the rating plates of its receivers. Martel marks, and always began with FAX letters, and then there were three numbers and sometimes a letter. MARTEL was distinguished by a very good quality of production compared to other products from Japan - assembly on printed circuit boards, a small number of oil capacitors. At the same time, some Monarch models were also sold as Martel. The listed companies do not exhaust this topic. There were many other companies that sold one model and only a few survived. But there is no information about this company. At the end of the production of the tube stereo, the companies wanted to get rid of the stock of components as soon as possible and assembled receivers just to "manufacture" the remaining parts. Hence, there were models of which there is no trace of who and where produced them. |
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L.A.2008