You will not find quality to this very high standard today. That fact that equipment of this vintage can be repaired and refurbished is testament to the excellent original care and engineering that went into it. Today we are trying to make manufacturers turn out products that last longer than 12 months before they break and are thrown away. They were already doing it as standard in the 1950’s.
Oh my... lovely restoration❤ My parents had one in London in the 60s! Nostalgia 😊 Probably what got me into Hifi all those years ago. I remember recording reggae time off fm radio inthe 70s! 🎵🎶😎🎶🎵
and what a marvel !! I saw the valves on, this is beautiful !! I love why I work with it, and I think it's beautiful! from the pick-up, the Radio and the beautiful reel recorder
My folks have one they bought back in the mid-50s and I remember it having such a great sound. My mother will not part with it. There is no tape deck (right) but there is a turn table - tho that was replaced years ago in the 70s. I remember the former needle arms being the color and shape of yours. Very nice condition! Thank you for the wonderful demonstration!
Wow !! What a piece of kit ! 1950s answer to the ultimate Hi fi ! Complete with reel to reel tape deck-record from Radio,turntable or mic ! This pre-dates the 1970s music centre by some 20 years. This unit is one of a kind !! Real beauty !!!
What a beautiful piece of vintage equipment, great that you have restored it to full working condition, I would be interested in a more in-depth description of the work and repairs you carried out.👍
Fantastic video. This brings back memories... Well just kidding, I'm 30. But it was my grandfather's 1968 tk145 that started it all, and as a teen I was already dealing with some domestic hifi and wondering a lot about mechanics, electronics and so on. I own a tk47, a tk16, a tk125, among others. The tk 16 shares the mechanics with the one mounted in this console. It is interesting to note the solenoid operated head block, the motor reversing rotation and the reel holders that hide a magnetic coil each. This system acts as a clutch, thus setting the correct tape tension in all operating modes. Unfortunately it doesn't make any sound due to a fault in the amp unit. Hopefully I will find the time one day to restore mine and maybe a console with tape deck, too. Congratulations for the work in restoring such a nice piece of electronics. Cheers from Italy!
Best looking radiogram I've seen. I like the little notes that light up. We had a radiogram right through the 1970s. The sound from the speakers was excellent. I have very happy memories of it. I wish I still had it today sigh.
Amazing instrument Edward, it must have cost a fortune when new , probably more than a small family car and well done on such an amazing restoration.I love vintage radiograms and have the entire ' home grown ' Pye stereophonic range from the latter 50s to early 60s,including a few pre-war examples.
Thank Roger, I will make a better updated video of it in the summer time. I do have a newspaper advert listing the radiogram at 195 GNS without the tape deck! and the TK820 listed in the same newspaper at £102 which uses the same tape chassis so that puts the radiogram with the tape deck fitted at around the £300 mark id say
Tape deck looks similar to Grundig TK 820 Specialist reel to reel recorder and Soviet Melodia MG56, which is refurbished Soviet copy of the TK820 (internally redesigned for Soviet parts)
Fala Edward. Amigo esta rádio vitrola é nota 10, além de ser valvulada, tem Ondas Curtas e gravador de carretel. Parabéns. Abraço! Rio de Janeiro Brazil
What a beautiful system. I wonder if they sold any kind of stereo conversion kits for these things; it must have been a shame to have such a nice cabinet but miss out on the latest thing. A stereo phono pickup could have fed a small stereo amplifier for the electrostatic tweeters (it wouldn't have even needed an output transformer) and sent both L and R into the original amp for the other speakers.
Pure luck found them on ebay, took me a few years to get the service manuals together, I had to make do without for the restoration but found them once i finished... typical!
Could do with a sharper picture but all in all a very informative video. I don't believe I've ever seen a radiogram/record player & Tape Deck. I had a Sharnsberg Radiogram which belonged to my late Father and that had an awesome sound quality playing records or listening to the radio back then. Thanks for upload.
Hello, I made this video back in 2016 with the very poor quality camera on my phone. if you'd like to search my channel there are much more up to date videos of this very radiogram in a far better quality for you to enjoy, Thanks for watching!
Hi Edward, do you fix these as a job? I have the same exact unit but my record player is not working and I love this thing. It was my granddad's so reminds me very much of him.
look my friend, I noticed that before you started the reel recorder, I noticed a chime of a winding watch !, you know! I also have one, but look, I loved your HI-FI, ah! yes can you tell me the name of this song that played on the reel recorder? please love these old songs
+M Caldeira it cost around £250 in 1956 on an inflation calculator that equates to £5700 or there abouts today. Model number is Grundig Arundel 8055W/3D GB the "GB" is important as the German market 8055 is a much cheaper and simpler set I have only seen 3 others of this GB set here in the UK and not all have the optional tape deck
yes lol it was something quite special in its day, however I wonder if the original purchaser was still happy with it once stereo became the "new thing" a few years later!
no that is not possible but the tape recorder has 3 inputs.. radio, gram and microphone... so you could record a record while listening to a radio station just not the other way about as the tape recorder uses the amp of the radio if that makes sense
Record deck is obviously a Collaro, made in UK, and I think the tape deck might be also. Surprised to find this in a Grundig radiogram. Is it made in Britain or Germany? I have several Grundig TK series tape recorders and I read somewhere that they were made in a factory in Northern Ireland - they're certainly made in UK as it's written on them.
Your right the record changer is a Collaro it's a Collaro 456 I have no idea why Grundig did this but this set is from 1955 so before Grundig opened a factory in the UK. The tape deck is the Grundig TM 819 which is the radiogram version of the TK 819. This radiogram is a special model made for the UK only but built in Germany. I have the original service manual which makes reference to the collaro 456 changer, phono preamp and collaro hifi cartridge. This model has no German or other export equivalent....
hi , my mate just got one of these but main wires cut for safety , could you send a video of your main wires and where they plug in as the wires have been removed completely , also where is the on/off switch located , thanks
Hi Allan, this radiogram is in storage so I can't make a video of it again at the moment but from memory the mains live goes to the fuse on the voltage selector section on the right hand side of the chassis, leaving the neutral to go to one side of the transformer... the power switch is any one of the function buttons and is switched off via the off switch.. I would strongly recommend you get a service manual for the chassis. It will make things easier in the long run. Some of the Grundig table radios use the same chassis so service info for something like the Grundig 4055 will help just as well.
Peter Pereira - well.... if the heat was that extreme, they would have fitted a thermostatic cooling fan in it, but it would make an annoying sound in the background and internal dust buildup. 😐
hi the tape deck is a big deal for the time bio tape transport back in the 1958 would be big money my dad had tapes the same as you got akai made a akai 355 with bio tape never buy one they are bad new i am working on one mono each side with dio tranpsport nice to have
i totally agree it was a very old camera phone there are however other videos of this very unit on my channel that are filmed with a better camera if you want to explore more
The earliest date of manufacturer is 1955 according to the date stated on the original Grundig service manual. But they would have made this UK model for a few years of course