12-04-2015, 11:10 AM
Hi,
Arran, good thought on a possible standard 690X... I had the same thought floating around in the back of my head too. As I thought it through, it would seem that had there been plans for a standard 690X they might have mentioned it in drafts of the ads (most likely as a footnote, as with the 116X and 675X). Assuming the issue was caught upon review, they would then have needed to delete the footnote from the copy prior to release, a relatively easy edit, leaving the words 690X De Luxe together in general descriptions/feature overviews, to avoid more costly edits. As you say, we'll likely never know & it's all just conjecture.
I've lost count of how many times early ads show incorrect knobs, trim etc. (or even the incorrect model)! These inaccuracies sometimes persisted for months after a set was introduced, only being corrected if a later version of the radio was released. It perhaps just goes to show how many last minute changes were being made to the models.
What seems clear is that early on, some Philco sources refer to the auto-tuning-only 690X as a De Luxe, along with the 116X and 675X which came both with/without auto-tuning. Somewhere along the way, they appear to have dropped the De Luxe for the 690X. When the 9X, 10X and 11X auto-tuning models came out mid-season these were not called De Luxe (they came only with auto). When the standard-tuning 116X and 675X variants were discontinued, the auto versions continued to be called De Luxe in advertising.
This all seems to point to either an evolved De facto use or a pre-planned use of De Luxe as a means to distinguish auto tuning versions from standard versions.
Paul
Arran, good thought on a possible standard 690X... I had the same thought floating around in the back of my head too. As I thought it through, it would seem that had there been plans for a standard 690X they might have mentioned it in drafts of the ads (most likely as a footnote, as with the 116X and 675X). Assuming the issue was caught upon review, they would then have needed to delete the footnote from the copy prior to release, a relatively easy edit, leaving the words 690X De Luxe together in general descriptions/feature overviews, to avoid more costly edits. As you say, we'll likely never know & it's all just conjecture.
I've lost count of how many times early ads show incorrect knobs, trim etc. (or even the incorrect model)! These inaccuracies sometimes persisted for months after a set was introduced, only being corrected if a later version of the radio was released. It perhaps just goes to show how many last minute changes were being made to the models.
What seems clear is that early on, some Philco sources refer to the auto-tuning-only 690X as a De Luxe, along with the 116X and 675X which came both with/without auto-tuning. Somewhere along the way, they appear to have dropped the De Luxe for the 690X. When the 9X, 10X and 11X auto-tuning models came out mid-season these were not called De Luxe (they came only with auto). When the standard-tuning 116X and 675X variants were discontinued, the auto versions continued to be called De Luxe in advertising.
This all seems to point to either an evolved De facto use or a pre-planned use of De Luxe as a means to distinguish auto tuning versions from standard versions.
Paul
