12-22-2008, 03:49 PM
Well, as a fatter of mact, I have a Zenith table model set, 12S445. It has the shutter dial, 12 tubes, and I guess it's about as good as Zenith ever got. The flywheel dial is something one could get entranced with. If no other gimmick ever sold a radio for Zenith, the flywheel dial certainly did. I anso have the 10 tube version of that set, and it doesn't have the shutters, nor the flywheel. It does have the same audio, so I suspect that if and when it gets restored, it will run neck and neck to the 12 tuber.
I've seen several of the big 1000Z Stratospheres, and knowing their circuitry, I have no desire to own one. They're one great big console, with a manhole size dial, and eight 45 tubes in parallel push-pull, driving the speakers. (Remember about bloated tube counts?)
Of course, Zenith comes off as innocent, after you've seen one of the 37 tube Crosleys (the service notes, at least). They were the champion of the universe for the use of tubes, and the illogical applications of them. They were tri-amplified, with a very mediocre receiver section. Those monstrosities were all audio and power supply.
I've seen several of the big 1000Z Stratospheres, and knowing their circuitry, I have no desire to own one. They're one great big console, with a manhole size dial, and eight 45 tubes in parallel push-pull, driving the speakers. (Remember about bloated tube counts?)
Of course, Zenith comes off as innocent, after you've seen one of the 37 tube Crosleys (the service notes, at least). They were the champion of the universe for the use of tubes, and the illogical applications of them. They were tri-amplified, with a very mediocre receiver section. Those monstrosities were all audio and power supply.
