This page is devoted to stereo
tube receivers. These devices were manufactured in the USA and Japan
from the second half of the 1950s to the 1970s. The market where they
were mainly sold was the USA, but also Australia, Canada and, to a small
extent, Europe. And of course Japan. Due to the country of the
manufacturer and differences in the design, quality of components and
assembly, types of tubes used, the receivers can be divided into
American, Japanese and other - "brand" - with an indefinite (most often
Japan) country of the manufacturer.
Stereo receivers are a combination of two
elements, i.e. an amplifier and a tuner in one housing, having a common
power supply. This combination is the most universal system that allows
you to reduce costs while maintaining high parameters of the components.
An important feature that distinguishes the receiver from the radio is
the lack of speakers in the housing. The first receivers were monophonic
designs and appeared in the first half of the 1950s. After them came the
era of stereo equipment and an avalanche of designs that set the
standards for this audio category for the next 30 years.
At the beginning of the 1960s, there was no major
producer of consumer electronics on the American market that did not
produce devices in this segment. And since electron tubes dominated back
then, stereo tube devices became almost as common as radios in Europe.
The Americans then overtook Europe, which then produced, with few
exceptions, various types and sometimes even stereophonic clones of the
so-called table receivers. The production of stereo tube receivers
lasted until the 1970s.
Apart from insignificant Western European exports,
the American audio equipment market was powered primarily by the local
production potential of such companies as H.H Scott, Fisher, Bogen,
Harman-Kardon and Japanese exporters such as Pioneer, Sansui, Trio
(later Kenwood). Not only receivers were delivered to the market, but
also integrated amplifiers, preamplifiers, monoblocks, tuners,
equalizers, audio kits for self-assembly, console and wall-mounted kits.
A separate category of suppliers were companies giving only the "brand".
They used the production potential of mainly Japanese and rarely
American producers and sold their products under their own brands such
as Lafayette, Monarch, Olson and Martel.
It was a surprise for many people who came into
contact with stereo tube equipment from the 1950s and 1960s for the
first time to the fact that they were still functional. Another surprise
was the sound quality that is obtained from these devices. Older people
who have had contact with tube devices such as table radios may to some
extent know how a tube device "sounds". But younger adults in the mp3
age do not have such experience. Sometimes it is hard for them to
believe that a 2 x 10 W tube amplifier sounds like the advertised home
theater with a power of hundred Watts, creating a sound space
more complete than the said cinema. It's worth listening to. The value of these
vintage stereo tube devices is steadily increasing and their
availability is declining.
Most of this site contains descriptions of
Japanese receivers. This is not due to any particular advantages, but to
the fact that they were most often (but not all) made for supply
voltages compliant with the American 110V (117V) and European 220V
(230V) standards.
All the presented photos show the devices as they
were found. And therefore they may have some components, such as a knob
or a switch, not original and even missing.
