Tube table top radios

Thanks all,

Bbro - It's my preference to buy knew. I've had my eye on tube radios at Quest for sometime. However, I've tried ordering one of these several times in the past and have been told they're not available. I'm certainly going to try them once again.

Purchasing used from ebay is possible. However, I do have concern about buying something that breaks down and then having to find someone to repair, or even finding correct tubes..

They may not be available due to failure issues. Look at the end of the 6moons review. Sounds like buyer beware.. Too bad, they look great.

If you want new and are taken by 60s nostalgia, I can recommend the solid state Tivoli Model One radio, which is a dead ringer for the KLH table radio that everyone owned in the 60s. After looking at them in other people's homes for years, I just bought one for our kitchen. It's great.

Yogiboy, I used to listen to The Lone Ranger on a black Zenith tube radio, when I was a child in the early 50s. I never realized it dated back to the 30s.

01-23-12: Lewm
I used to listen to The Lone Ranger on a black Zenith tube radio, when I was a child in the early 50s. I never realized it dated back to the 30s.

Lew, you might find this page to be of interest. Note that each set can be clicked on to expand the photos and for more information.

If it was a tabletop set where the height was significantly greater than the width (referred to as the "tombstone" style), it was almost certainly from the 30's. If it was wider than it was tall, it may have been from the 40's or from the late 30's.

The 1930's black dial Zeniths are very popular with collectors.

Best regards,
-- Al

I've had 2 of the tube radios (in walnut) from Quest, 1 mono and 1 stereo, since they first came out. Neither has given me a hiccup of a problem. Maybe some batches of them afterward had issues, who knows. I have heard of people not using the proper input tube (6n? or 6f?) with bad results. I've used many brands of the el84 output tube and they all work fine.

Our stereo one sits in my wifes craft room and goes unused most of the time lately. If you can't find any for sale, I might be able to persuade her to let go of it.