Originally the styling attracted me to these units. It wasn’t till I started listening to the quality produced by its audio that I fell in love with them. An opportunity to purchase a Telefunken Hymnus floor counsel finally presented itself and I jumped on it. The cabinet of this piece is in great shape and much to my surprise it actually worked when turned on! Once I got the unit home I started looking through it and I found all kinds of paperwork to it. I found electrical schematics, receipts of purchase and other little things. This unit came equipped with the Am/FM/SW radio, record player and the original owners even purchased the option reel to reel unit! A cool feature with this unit is it has swing out speakers on the side. All I have had to do to this unit is oil it and dust it. Mel and I are really happy with our purchase.
Here is a little history:
Telefunken was established on May 27th 1903 in Berlin and it was a joint venture by Siemens & Halske and the Allgemeine Elektrizitas-Gesellschaft (General Electricity Company). In the beginning Telefunken predominantly worked on military and governmental projects but later moved towards the civilian market. Telefunken was active in the radio and television marketplace, recording, and records manufacturing. They had become a household name in Germany and Throughout Europe. Due to vast mismanagement Telefunken started their long slide to oblivion in 1970. It is such a shame to see a company that made such a great product dissolve not because of its quality but because of mismanagement.
I really recommend, if you haven’t already, giving one of these units a listen. The have such a rich and deep sound to them that you might just run home and throw out all that “Made in Japan” stuff and buy one of these fantastic units.
Here are some pictures of our unit!
Hepcats Haven 
I swear, you guys find THE coolest stuff! This is a beauty. Bet it weighs a ton too! I bought a beautiful old Stromberg-Carlson & was enjoying the old vinyl immensely until alas the phonograph motor went ka-put. Michael says it’s not fixable darnit so I use the radio occasionally. Would love to find a new one but would hate to discard this gorgeous piece of furniture.
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That’s a shame. If you do want it fixed there are people out there who can repair it. I use a guy name Luis, he has a store downtown called the Stereoadvisor. He has 30+ years in the business.
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I have the exact same model Stereo as this. When new, it was a VERY high end set. I picked it up super cheap, because these big consoles are hard to sell. They right collector will pay a lot, but they’re so big and heavy. and shipping them is so difficult and expensive that most are listed local pickup only. I got it restored by Bob Eslinger of Oldradiodoc.com, who makes a living restoring old tube radios. He did the turntable too. The restoration cost a lot more than I paid for the set, but it was worth it, and the thing should now outlast me.
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I have a local audio repair guy who tells me you can not go wrong with Telefunken. He advised that they always made a great counsel. I find that a lot of the time repairs cost more then the actual item you are repairing when it comes to these vintage gems. I am glad you decided to invest in these great radio units.
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A fellow gave me one of these yesterday. The fold-out speakers are vertical, not horizontal like yours, the reel-to-reel is a Magnetophon 77, and the wood grain on the interior is blonde, creating a beautiful two-tone look, but other than that, they’re the same model, I guess. A really beautiful unit!
The owner’s manual has a publishing date of 1965.
He said the unit worked for a few minutes for him (he played a record), then quit. He thinks it’s a fuse or tube or something, but doesn’t know for sure. Now I have to find someone to repair it. Do you know how much these are worth in working condition? I assume quite a bit!
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I paid around $100 for mine but had to get all the equipment tuned up to play again (good for $300-$400). You might be able to get $400-$600 if it is mint, fully functional and has all the paperwork but usually that isn’t the case. As with anything it is only worth what someone is willing to pay.
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I’m talking with a music store owner here in Shreveport, LA, and he thinks his tech guy might be willing to work on the unit, so we’ll see. Thanks for giving me a price range as to value of the unit. Not that I intend to part with it!
I also have a non-working Pioneer QX-949 quadrophonic receiver. I wonder if they’ll fix it too…
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Okay, update: I’m looking at the unit closer, and I see now that I own a Hymnus 5014, like the one in the photo of your bedroom. Very groovy.
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Fantastic! I love my unit. I played some Dino on it today and love the sound!
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I have a telefunken Americana 5436 mx hi-fi stereo. I am thinking of selling it. Do you know what it’s worth? Very good condition.
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Hi – Assessments can be ordered at http://www.fiverr.com/hepcatresto/provide-an-assessment-on-a-mid-century-retro-or-vintage-item?
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