Sound Quality on Vintage TV sets

[Hybrid tellies]

There was some mention of TV audio quality in missing sets. It got me thinking, audio is in many sets the poor relation of video. Some makes did actually try by using a decent output stage and speaker. Quite clearly many didn't with many sets sounding tiny rattly boomy and distorting at modest levels of volume.
I think the best sounding mono sets were the RBM A640, especially some of the Murphy models with the fancy cabinets with all the controls mounted on the top of the set. The 20/24" Decca mono's (single standard 625 chassis) also had great sound through the large eliptical front facing speaker and well designed output stage. Yes I know both used the less reliable PCL82, but on both these sets they did perform well.
For colour sets, again the Decca Bradford, nice warm natural sound thanks to the PCL82 output stage driving a nice front facing eliptical speaker in a wooden (chipboard) cabinet. I did like the sound from the ITT CVC5 family of sets with it's PCL86 output stage, the speaker was more modest though so you had more volume but the tone was inferior to the Bradford. I thought the sound from the PYE CT205 with its transistorised module was this sets strongest point it gave plenty of volume through a fair sized speaker with a pretty reasonable clear tone to it. I also give top marks to the sound quality from the RBM A823 colour chassis. Plenty of volume and a nice warm to mellow tone with a good natural bass to it, and all from a simple ge output stage. It was probably helped by their quite substancial wooden cabinets.
I would love to hear your thoughts or opinions on this often overlooked, but important subject.

[Tazman1966]

Originally Posted by Hybrid tellies

...I thought the sound from the PYE CT205 with its transistorised module was this sets strongest point it gave plenty of volume through a fair sized speaker with a pretty reasonable clear tone to it...

Hi Simon.

Sorry to quench your flames but I think the sound on the Pye CT205 variant of the 697 chassis was pretty poor. Very lacking in bass and depth. On the other hand the Dynatron CTV16 version of the 697 chassis had nice sound. This difference must surely be down to speaker and cabinet cos the Mullard sound module was the same in both. I still have both versions in fully working order

My favourite for sound quality was the Luxor/Rediffusion Hybrid set from the early 70s with the side mounted woofer and forward mounted mid-range/tweeter with tone control. Superb!

Good thread BTW

[ben]

the philips k40 sets were always pretty good in tone. separate bass driver and tweeter IIRC

[ppppenguin]

If you want really good TV sound then the big HMV/Marconiphone prewar sets had large speakers and powerful amps. At the time, the sound qaulity of the transmissions was better than anything possible on the radio, mainly due to effectively unrestricted bandwidth.

[Mikey405]

The Beau-Decca mirror-lid set of 1948-ish had 3 forward facing 7-inch speakers and used 2 PX4s in the audio amp. As for colour sets, the best sounding sets had to be made by Philips - The K4 was absolutely the best with a 2-cone woofer / tweeter in the bottom and a separate mid-range speaker at the top. Then the K70 with the side mounted woofer and front facing tweeter, and then the K12 with a little subwoofer in its own enclosure. As for Pye CT205, I'm not sure the sound was the best thing since sliced bread, however it wasn't all that bad. As Simon said, the big Murphy "Accoustic Deluxe" sets had pretty good sound quality, but I still don't think they were up to the standard of, say, the Philips K70.

[Mike Phelan]

I never liked the sound 'quality' of the CT205; the crude FM slope detector did it no favours, either.
One of the worst sets for sound was the Kuba Florence; otherwise an excellent and reliable set with a superb picture.
The K70 has to be the best in the hybrid era; my B&O 7702 is probably the best sound I have encountered.

[chipp1968]

My Bush TV1 has very impressive sound quality . equivalent to a 40s console radio and has a large speaker.

[murphyv310]

Tandberg CTV3 built in Scotland I may add, gave brilliant sound with good bass and treble controls.
The PYE CT205 in my opinion was rather poor, of my collection the TV22 is good, albeit with only average top end, the PYE V4 is also ok as is the Murphy V310 with the sound mirror lid, the worst sets are the EKCO TMB272 & the Sony TV9-90. The old Decca 1000 projection set is very good no doubt enhanced by the size of the cabinet.
Trevor

[Zelandeth]

My old Mitsubushi just manages to squeeze into the vintage category I think being made in 1984. The CT2023B to my mind has the best audio by far compared to any other set that we've had since. It too had a separate tweeter - unfortunately the audio was always let down by a somewhat touchy volume slider at higher levels.

The modern set we've got now can probably outstrip it in terms of sheer volume - but for clarity and tone, the old Mitsubishi wins hand down.

[johnlees]

The sound quality on my 1957 Defiant amazed me immediately I acquired it from Chipp. It was instantly noticeable. It's far better than the 1978 (approx.) Philips set still in use as the main set (exact model unknown to me). There is far more "depth" to the sound.

[Steve_P]

The best TV sound I ever heard was on Gerry's 1938 RGD. Of the ones in here, the K70 is the best at the moment. There's a Murphy Version of the Bush TV128 in the hall, and the sound on that is pretty good, and will hopefully be better when I've changed a few caps.

Don't know about the Telefunken Sets - never had one through my hands.

It's like a Radio - Change that cap!!

I agree that a lot of portables are bad. I have a 12 inch Toshiba and the sound on that is bad because of the awful design. Picture Great - Sound.... yuk!

I had to visit my dad's today and he had that awful excuse for a TV on. Looked dire and sounded worse.

Cheers,

Steve P.

[dominicbeesley]

People are always quite impressed that the sound on my TV24 and Decca Bradford is more powerful and nicer than their newly bought but tinny LCD/Plasma TVs.

The TV24 seems to be pretty good though, is that just due to the Aurora or did the BBC still transmit with a big audio bandwidth in the 50's? I've read quite a bit in the 30's and 40's about TV sound quality but not much later, did they have to knock it on the head to fit in the extra channels? Or was it down to the seperate audio/video transmitters at AP?

I find a lot of the "distortion" I've tracked down in modern plastic sets is due to the case rattling about and sounds much nicer if you remove the speaker to a wooden baffle isolated from the chassis by soft rubber washers, a modification I keep meaning to make to the Sony set in the living room which sounds like a bee in a bottle even at very low volumes!

Dom

[ppppenguin]

For 405, the sound and vision TX were always separate. It's possible that some very low power stations had a combined TX but I doubt it. There's no reason to limit audio bandwidth at the TX but there are a lot of stages between the microphone and the TX where quality can be lost.

Recording and Post Office lines were probably the worst offenders.

[peter_scott]

Originally Posted by dominicbeesley

I've read quite a bit in the 30's and 40's about TV sound quality but not much later,
Dom

Is it not just that prior to radio broadcasting on VHF the standard of TV sound was markedly better but once the bandwidth for radio was improved TV was simply on par?

Peter

[ianj]

I liked the sound from the Philips G6s and G8s--nice and pleasant, enough bass without boom, and nice speech as well. ianj

[Hybrid tellies]

The G9's were quite good as well especially the Roberts version where they had seperate bass and treble controls and even had a tweeter unit fitted as well.
Another set that I owned for a year or two was the Bush TV105, a single standard 405 line set with a nice cabinet and a built in FM radio. The clarity and the tone was very pleasant from a fairly modest speaker driven by a PCL82 output stage. This was another set that I had to let go a few years back.

[Welsh Anorak]

Hi
I agree with Mike P - the K70's sound was the best I have come across in the (monophonic) (and stereophonic, come to that!) colour era, with the Sony KV2704 and hybrid B&Os a close second.
I also agree that the Pye 205's best feature was its tinny sound. Enough said!! (sorry...)
Mind you, I've been trying to get an under warranty plasma set to produce acceptable sound - eventually I've had to stuff the enclosure with deadening material.....
Glyn

[Nickthedentist]

Anyone remember a big (26"?) late 1970s Grundig set which had a speaker grille running the width of the cabinet under the tube. Behind this was a sealed bass-reflex enclosure containing a round woofer, plus a small tweeter. This was driven by a separate amplifier chassis, complete with its own linear PSU. It sounded amazing, of course.

I also had a Grundig 8632 from the same era, which had a powerful TDA2030 output stage. The internal speaker was nothing special, but when coupled to a good-quality 2-way external speaker (saved from a discarded Toshiba music centre) via the DIN sockets on the rear, the sound was breathtaking. Everyone who heard it commented how realistic it sounded.

Many upmarket modern CRT sets are/were excellent too (e.g. the big Panasonics with the Euro 2 chassis and a subwoofer), but as people have said, the latest flat sets are generally very ordinary indeed, with the sound often clipping horribly on bassy bits.

Nick.

[Hunts smoothing bomb]

Originally Posted by Tazman1966

My favourite for sound quality was the Luxor/Rediffusion Hybrid set from the early 70s with the side mounted woofer and forward mounted mid-range/tweeter with tone control. Superb!

Hey Tas, Would those Luxor sets be similar to the Philips K70? Cos that sounds very like the K70 setup driven by a single PCL86, The sound is second to none and sounds like Hifi. Very rich deep bass and crystal clear treble with good volume.

Cheers
Lee

[Tazman1966]

Originally Posted by Hunts smoothing bomb

Would those Luxor sets be similar to the Philips K70?

No mate although having heard your K70, the sound quality is exactly the same as far as I remember.

Here's a (not very good) picture of my Luxor/Rediffusion RT531 (I think that's the number) in my room when I was in halls of residence in my first year at Coventry Polytechnic.

http://www.oldtechnology.net/tazman1...n_Cov_Poly.jpg

Happy days