Any old console gurus out there?

[capo72]

I've got a line on a 1961 SABA console unit. Tube tuner, tube amp, and turntable. It is made in Germany. The guy i'm talking to is the original owner, and bought it new in 1961 for $1051. He says it was built for SABA's 125th anniversery. It's about 6ft long and about 300 lbs. The price he is asking seems very fair to me. I have not had a chance to do any research yet. I just wanted to throw out a quick feeler to my forum buddies to see if anyone knows anything about it. Any help is appreciated. Thanx,

Jeremy

[thebes]

Not familiar with it but at that price in 1961 it was very much top
of the line. I have a Grundig and a Telefunken and several others
that are just glorified radios and not worth it as far as converting
for a serious setup. I've also pulled Fishers and Scotts from
console and that's a different deal altogether.

See if you can get him to shoot a photo with the back off . They usually have an interlock but that's no big deal.

Visually if it's cheap and looks cool it's a great
place to setup your gear on with a little conversational factor thrown
in.

Alan and Fini are obvious sources of info on something like this.

[scott0527]

Jeremy,

I thought Saba just made speakers. Are the components all Saba too? If it's got tubes, is well made, looks cool and doesn't cost much buy it! It's only 300 pounds.

[NOSValves]

If it cost over a grand USD in 1961 it almost surely has to have some real nice tube electronics on board or the guy got horibly ripped off. One could of built a serious McIntosh or Marantz system with Khorns for that kind of cheese in 1961!

[Audio Flynn]

If it cost over a grand USD in 1961 it almost surely has to have some real nice tube electronics on board or the guy got horibly ripped off. One could of built a serious McIntosh or Marantz system with Khorns for that kind of cheese in 1961!

My parents top of the line Motorola was a little under 600 usd in 1959.

Sounds like in the range of AMPEX consoles in cost. Someday I would like to have my parents amps rebuilt and sneak a pair of RB XX in where the old drivers were.

[capo72]

I got a look at the amp, and tuner and it did not look like any Mac or Fisher stuff i have seen before. I think it had a SABA sticker on it. The guy told me it has 7 speakers in it. He said the speakers were very good. He told me that they made a similar model with a tv in it, and it was $50 cheaper when new. He claimed it had less speakers in it, so it was cheaper than the unit like his, with 7 speakers. The on/off switch is touchy and doesn't work all the time, but he claims the unit works. I think the hardwood alone is worth more than what he is asking. He is desperate to sell it, as he needs the room. He even offered to deliver it. My wife was not too thrilled with the whole idea of dragging this beast into her house. It is in fair shape. To me it is either worth flipping, of gutting it for the electronics and salvaging the hard wood. I don't want to push the delicate balance we currently have (she let's me get away with quite a bit [] ) If this is a screaming deal, she can be convinced. Thanx for the replies so far.

Jeremy

[turntable3]

Good day capo72,

maybe here is the right link to answer your question:

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/saba_breisgau_automatic_125_st.html

or check out this one

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/saba_baden_vollautomatic_125_s.html

Merry christmas and a happy new year

Jack

[capo72]

Thanx for the info Jack! It looks like the one in that 2nd link. That seems to make some sense with the model #125. He said it was built for the 125th anniversery of SABA. Hopefully I can pull this off soon. Bad week with the Holiday and all. Wish I could find some more info on the amp though.

Jeremy