[vintage cltr]

I have been on somewhat of a incredible run as of late.


I mean within a years time, I bought:


(3) Magnavox consoles (2 of which were Concert Grands and the last being the 200H)
(2) Bell and Howell tube consoles.
(1) RCA mono unit - awesome one owner piece.


And just today, I have found what I consider to be a major unit.


Today I bought a GE Musaphonic. This thing is just beautiful. Comparable to the Magnavox Windsor of that era.
One family non-smoking owned unit.


I will post more pictures.


Enjoy

[TC Chris]

More photos? 

I recall my uncle having one of those.  He had a component mono hi-fi but he said once that he thought the GE sounded better.  It was a long time ago. 

GE is an interesting company in some ways.  They made my AM portable P-780 in the 1950s to very high standards.  At the end of the tube era they made a couple of 6-tube table radios.  One was optimized for reception and identified as a "long distance," and the other was optimized for sound and called, like your much finer device, "Musaphonic." And of course they have made the Superadios (I, II, and III).  I have a big console radio, model F-107, from 1937 or '38 when motor-driven automatic tuning was all the big gimmick.  And then there's the Model 250, a tube portable radio that had a wet cell battery and a vibrator power supply. The idea was to avoid the expensive A-B battery sets that most tube portables required.

Chris Campbell

[amglow]

Wow! Very nice console.  It looks like the Musaphonic #44, St. Martin's.  I think models 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 all have the same electronics, just the cabinet style changes.  I was lucky enough to find one local last year; a model 41 Berkeley Square.  I have a mint owners manual for it.  If I get a chance tonight, I'll scan and upload it to VintageHiFi.net.

[amglow]

You must live in radio console heaven.  High end consoles rarely pop up in my area.  My 1950 Magnavox Windsor and GE Musaphonic are the only two I've come across in the last 3 years.  Of course, the Concert Grand stands at the top of my search list, as well as a "Bell & Howell" branded hifi (I've got a "Columbia Masterwork" version).  However, to date, a big fat zero, zip, nadda. :-(   That's part of the fun; the hunt.  Maybe one day. The biggest disadvantage I have is I don't live in an area of "old money". 

[vintage cltr]

yeah, the manual would be a huge help.

as far as finding them, I have had some and good luck. the luck part came from this site with relation to both Bell and Howell consoles.

the CG's I had help via a little console guardian who worked with me to secure these.

[amglow]

I uploaded the owners manual for the GE Musaphonic models 41, 42, 43, 44, 45
It's located in Downloads > Vintage HiFi Files > Manuals and Documentation

[amglow]

I also uploaded the service manual for the GE Musaphonic HiFi models 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45.
It's located in Downloads > Vintage HiFi Files > Service Manuals and Schematics

[Harbourmaster]

That's another gem Tracy!!


I have been watching for one of these for about 2 years now and have yet to see one for sale anywhere.

[TC Chris]

Thank you for posting the manuals!  Interesting... it uses a variable reluctance pickup, which GE later offered in various models to the hi-fi market when LPs came along.  It was a big improvement over crystal cartridges and most ceramics too.

And it uses inductance tuning, something that Zenith favored for FM, but on this one it's AM, FM, SW.

Then there's the output amp, 4 6V6s like Magnavox favored, with the two 10" speakers.

How does it sound, and what is the FM performance like on the modern band?

Chris Campbell

[vintage cltr]

Updated: pics

[vintage cltr]

More

[Harbourmaster]

Some big iron on that Amp!

[TC Chris]

Some big iron on that Amp!

I haven't gone back to peek at the schematic, but I assume there's a power transformer, and output transformer, and that the third device we can see is probably a choke for the power supply?  As I recall, the parts list and schematic showed PM speakers and only one output transformer.

Chris Campbell

[AstroSonic100]

Changer appears to be a Webster-Chicago.  Not sure of the model.  The GE magnetic cartridges from this era had the stylus permanently attached.   Not sure if GE used sapphire of diamond for their first generation cartridges.  The GE cartridge you have can be replaced with one of the later VRs that had a replaceable stylus.

[Motorola Minion]

That is quite a tuner - and the old FM band dials rarely show mc, but channel numbers instead.

I have never seen a post-war GE that is so high end! I have a few console GE's from the late 30s. The E-105 has the red-green colorama dial.

I think Ill go look at the schematic