Regentone NINE-3 the first stereo radiogram? - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

regentone001 · 30th Jun 2016, 7:12 am

During the thread on the UA14 respray Edward's comment about this Gram not being stereo got me thinking.
I know they and when I got this one 7 or 8 years ago it came with all the documents including the ones in the photo where its claimed to be "the first fully stereo radiogram", I even got the ticket taken off the back panel saying where the legs were stored. The circuit only appears in the 1961 vol of R & TV servicing books but it actually was released in 1958, I believe it was shown at the "Ideal Homes" exhibition. The final inspection ticket for mine is dated 18/11/58.
I have only ever seen or heard of the one and that's the one I own. The cabinet needs re lacquering,I just tidied it up enough to make it look presentable.
Does anyone know if the claim is true? Have they heard of any more as early as this one.
Steve

vidjoman · 30th Jun 2016, 8:53 am

I bought a Decca SRG 300 together with some LP's - Decca SKL4001, Journey Into Stereophonic Sound, Hits I Missed by Ted Heath Band and Edmundo Ros on Broadway. The record sleeves show 1958 as release date so I think the SRG 300 also came out in 58. I still play them and the recordings are excellent.
As 1958 was when the records appeared I guess most of the manufacturers had a radiogram at that years 'Radio Show'.
I was a young apprentice at the time and it cost about a years wages.

Edward Huggins · 30th Jun 2016, 11:38 am

I would also agree that the DECCA SRG 300 was one of the very first. It came out in Aug/Sept 1958 and was fitted with BSR's all new UA12 autochanger with the BSR TC8S crystal cartridge, I think the first manufacturer to use this - "made for stereo" as the contempraneous BSR brochure stated. This also co-incided with Decca's first ffss Stereo LP releases, many of which had a quite exagerrated seperation.
Edward
PS Still embarassed about confusing the "NINE 3" with a "Continental" with its 3D sound (mono) sound. Arghhhh these mistakes are so public!!

vidjoman · 30th Jun 2016, 1:50 pm

The Decca had a Garrard deck and came with 2 headshells. For mono it was a GC8 ? Turnover and a GCS 10 ? For stereo. With the common transmission style bass unit facing down the bass response was good and the satellite mid/treble units gave wide separation.

Edward Huggins · 30th Jun 2016, 2:48 pm

There must have been a filter that allowed everything, including upper bass c.125cps, to be filtered to the 2 satellites and below that, the Bass to the common (elliptical) unit. Edward

vidjoman · 30th Jun 2016, 6:58 pm

The bass unit in the SRG 300 was an 8 inch round driver with a twin speech coil. There was a separate crossover for each channel with chokes and capacitors. I think the satellites were 7 x 4 but in the front of the main cabinet were 2 back sealed mid/treble units about 6 x 4 that were switched out when the satellites were used. Output power was about 8 watts per channel using 2 x ECL82's push pull per channel. Don't think the following models sounded as good due to cost cutting.

Edward Huggins · 30th Jun 2016, 9:09 pm

Thanks for these details of the DECCA's speakers. You can see the amount of thought that went into this. The twin voice-coil on the 8" (not elliptical, my mistake) presages today's Sub-Woofers. Those Decca engineers were always clever. Mind you, by the 1970s, most of their products were undistinguished. Edward

30th Jun 2016, 7:12 am	#1
regentone001 Heptode Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Coventry, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 519	Regentone NINE-3 the first stereo radiogram? During the thread on the UA14 respray Edward's comment about this Gram not being stereo got me thinking. I know they and when I got this one 7 or 8 years ago it came with all the documents including the ones in the photo where its claimed to be "the first fully stereo radiogram", I even got the ticket taken off the back panel saying where the legs were stored. The circuit only appears in the 1961 vol of R & TV servicing books but it actually was released in 1958, I believe it was shown at the "Ideal Homes" exhibition. The final inspection ticket for mine is dated 18/11/58. I have only ever seen or heard of the one and that's the one I own. The cabinet needs re lacquering,I just tidied it up enough to make it look presentable. Does anyone know if the claim is true? Have they heard of any more as early as this one. Steve Attached Thumbnails

30th Jun 2016, 8:53 am	#2
vidjoman Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: East Sussex, UK. Posts: 3,327	Re: Regentone NINE-3 the first stereo radiogram? I bought a Decca SRG 300 together with some LP's - Decca SKL4001, Journey Into Stereophonic Sound, Hits I Missed by Ted Heath Band and Edmundo Ros on Broadway. The record sleeves show 1958 as release date so I think the SRG 300 also came out in 58. I still play them and the recordings are excellent. As 1958 was when the records appeared I guess most of the manufacturers had a radiogram at that years 'Radio Show'. I was a young apprentice at the time and it cost about a years wages.

30th Jun 2016, 11:38 am	#3
Edward Huggins Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Southwold, Suffolk, UK. Posts: 8,340	Re: Regentone NINE-3 the first stereo radiogram? I would also agree that the DECCA SRG 300 was one of the very first. It came out in Aug/Sept 1958 and was fitted with BSR's all new UA12 autochanger with the BSR TC8S crystal cartridge, I think the first manufacturer to use this - "made for stereo" as the contempraneous BSR brochure stated. This also co-incided with Decca's first ffss Stereo LP releases, many of which had a quite exagerrated seperation. Edward PS Still embarassed about confusing the "NINE 3" with a "Continental" with its 3D sound (mono) sound. Arghhhh these mistakes are so public!!

30th Jun 2016, 1:50 pm	#4
vidjoman Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: East Sussex, UK. Posts: 3,327	Re: Regentone NINE-3 the first stereo radiogram? The Decca had a Garrard deck and came with 2 headshells. For mono it was a GC8 ? Turnover and a GCS 10 ? For stereo. With the common transmission style bass unit facing down the bass response was good and the satellite mid/treble units gave wide separation.

30th Jun 2016, 2:48 pm	#5
Edward Huggins Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Southwold, Suffolk, UK. Posts: 8,340	Re: Regentone NINE-3 the first stereo radiogram? There must have been a filter that allowed everything, including upper bass c.125cps, to be filtered to the 2 satellites and below that, the Bass to the common (elliptical) unit. Edward

30th Jun 2016, 6:58 pm	#6
vidjoman Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: East Sussex, UK. Posts: 3,327	Re: Regentone NINE-3 the first stereo radiogram? The bass unit in the SRG 300 was an 8 inch round driver with a twin speech coil. There was a separate crossover for each channel with chokes and capacitors. I think the satellites were 7 x 4 but in the front of the main cabinet were 2 back sealed mid/treble units about 6 x 4 that were switched out when the satellites were used. Output power was about 8 watts per channel using 2 x ECL82's push pull per channel. Don't think the following models sounded as good due to cost cutting.

30th Jun 2016, 9:09 pm	#7
Edward Huggins Dekatron Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Southwold, Suffolk, UK. Posts: 8,340	Re: Regentone NINE-3 the first stereo radiogram? Thanks for these details of the DECCA's speakers. You can see the amount of thought that went into this. The twin voice-coil on the 8" (not elliptical, my mistake) presages today's Sub-Woofers. Those Decca engineers were always clever. Mind you, by the 1970s, most of their products were undistinguished. Edward