Medley Hi-Fi Compact music centre

[Gulliver]

Back when I were a wee lad, in the 70's, my dad had a Medley record player.

He said he'd had it since the late 60's which fits in with it having what I take to be a Garrard 2025 deck or something very similar. The deck was mounted in quite a pleasant looking wooden enclosure with a silver front fascia having a blue stripe across it. It had an amp inside but this died circa 1978 and thereafter until 1979 when it was replaced it was played through a receiver.

As this was the very first record player I ever used I have always been curious about the Medley brand. I have seen nothing else by Medley nor have I ever uncovered any info on the internet.

So my simple question is, does anyone know anything about them? Where were they based? Was it some local or even shop's own brand? Dad is no longer alive so I can't ask him but he had the impression back then that Medley was started by ex Ferguson people. I have no idea if that's true.

[AVO_VCM163]

Could it possiby be the RCA HFP "Medley" model?
See
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/rca_rs_...medley_rp.html


This dates from about 1958.

Roy

[Nickthedentist]

I think this one!

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/L...jectID=3096755

Has a very "low production run" look about it, which might explain why there's not much online.

[Gulliver]

Thanks, it is very similar to the 'Keith Richards' model. Certainly that is the style, I would say the auctioned item is very closely related to my dad's. His came with a different set of Goodmans speakers (14" elliptical with twin tweeters mounted on a bar across the middle of the 14" units, non reflex cabinet), and the teak housing of the record player didn't extend above the base. But otherwise that unit looks nigh on identical.

The silver faceplate with blue stripe, Medley logo and the knobs are identical. As is the general look of the unit.

BTW my mum still has it in her attic.

Thanks I've looked and not found any information.

[Nickthedentist]

I suspect the 'speakers you describe were 13"x8". EMI seemed to be the main manufacturer of these.

If the unit still exists, dig it out and take some pics for us.

Nick.

[Gulliver]

The speakers but the dust in the 80's, the material disintegrated. But the Medley record player exists. Next time I visit my mum I shall get some pictures. I should have photos of the whole system taken circa 1977 somewhere too.

Some googling brought up EMI 92390 speakers...those were definitely the speakers. I remember them well, the ones supplied with the Medley had Goodmans stickers on the back of the drive unit.

[Gulliver]

Originally Posted by Nickthedentist

If the unit still exists, dig it out and take some pics for us.

Here are a couple of photos of the Medley record player. I only had a couple of minutes so all I could really do was remove the lid a bit and snap some poor pics. The deck looks possibly very rusty

I didn't have time to look at the back or bottom for distinguishing marks suggesting where it might have been made. But the similarities to the Keith Richards unit that was auctioned recently are there to see, same knobs and front plate...Garrard deck...just a different styled enclosure.

[Nickthedentist]

Thanks for those.

The deck does indeed look like a 2025, and is fitted with a Sonotone 9TA or 9TAHC cartridge, one of the best ceramics around. So if you have to "let it go" one day, do save the cartridge (+ its mounting bracket and connecting plug).

Nick.

[TrevorM6TSE]

Agreed,

I have a 2025 with the Sonotone cartridge and I would say it's one of the best of breed for the time.

If you do let it go, please send it my way :p

All the best,

Trev

[julie_m]

That looks well worth saving, just needs a spot of TLC. Cartridge looks like a Sonotone. They were good.

[Herald1360]

The deck underneath it looks interesting too- possibly your Dad upgraded later?

[Gulliver]

Originally Posted by Herald1360

The deck underneath it looks interesting too- possibly your Dad upgraded later?

The deck underneath is a cheap Memorex from Tandy/Radio Shack.

The history is that my dad bought the Medley sometime in the late 60's. I don't know if it was new or used. He would have been working either for Hawker-Siddley aero or Irvin parachutes at the time (designing stuff, sometimes secret) but wasn't especially well paid. He also did a spell at the RNLI designing the hull of the Arun class lifeboat. But in none of those jobs was he paid highly. So it might well have been bought used. He certainly had it by the time he met my mum in 1969. I have a few photos with the Medley in dating back to 1972.

By 1978 the internal power amp developed a fault and after having an electronic engineer friend attempt to fix it, my dad gave up and bought a receiver - Harman/Kardon HK330c which I still have as the heart of my rig. When we moved house in May 1979 he replaced the Medley with a Sony PST-15 direct drive TT and gave the Medley to me, buying me a Realistic SA-10 micro amp to use with it - I still have this, it's used at work as am amp for my desktop PC there.

I used the Medley myself, eventually mated to the HK330c when my dad bought a new receiver for himself in 1984. By 1987 the Medley was running slowly and he bought me the Memorex deck (can you tell, we liked Tandy/Radio Shack?).

I remember the Medley sounding pretty good, with extended but tight bass. For a while I used the 13x8 elliptical speakers that came with it (which I now know to be EMI) but they disintegrated in the mid 80's. It also played 78's which was something of a bonus as we picked up a few down the years.

I have attached a crop of the cartridge for those interested in identifying it. Next time I get a chance I shall see if I can bring the Medley down from the attic and maybe coax it into life. If memory serves the manual gave the frequency response as 10-30KHz which seems optimistic.

[Gulliver]

One other little detail of course it's an autochanger. It came with two 'spikes'. The one fitted now is a small one which doesn't take advantage of the autochange mechamism.

There was (possibly is still) a longer one for holding 10 records but it doesn't fit with the lid on. The deck has been stored with the lid on for 25 years but I hope the larger 'spike' is still there.

It is interesting that the Medley brand seems to have left very few traces.

[Darren-UK]

Originally Posted by Gulliver

It came with two 'spikes'.

Spindles . The usual arrangement was for the spindle not in use to be parked in a clip located on, or adjacent to, the deck.

[Gulliver]

I always called it a spike, but I was *very* young when my dad taught me how to use it....so young I could not pronounce spike and said "fike".

There was no clip that I recall for the 2nd spindle I just used to rest it on the deck.

[Gulliver]

I've been googling Garrad 2025 decks, can anyone tell me the differences between the 2025 and the 2025T? The Medley has one of those, definitely not a 2025TC.

[julie_m]

2025 had a square-section tonearm with a universal-fitting headshell.
2025T had a tubular-section tonearm and narrow headshell for a clip-in cartridge.
2025TC had a tubular-section tonearm and cueing lever.

[Gulliver]

OK then it's a 2025. Of course I recall the number is in red on the raised section with the speed and start/stop controls.

I'm going to make an effort to spend some time with the Medley next time I visit my mum...always difficult as she has various jobs for me to do around her house.

[Gulliver]

I finally had some time to get the Medley down from mum's attic and have a good look. It's rusted but I expect it can all be coaxed back into life. It was somewhat protected by its lid but that was broken by having a very heavy box placed on top. Hence the metal arm that goes on top of the records is bent but again this can be fixed.

No more identifying marks such as where it was made. There used to be an instruction manual but it's gone.

I've posted some more pics. I will try to fire it up next month.

[Gulliver]

And one more pic. This is of the Medley record player taken circa 1975.