Magnavox
The Magnavox category holds the oldest item in the archive: an AC-2 amplifier from 1921, built to drive a loudspeaker from a battery radio or crystal set. It uses two UV-201 tubes, one per stage, runs on batteries or a regulated DC supply, and came with its original hang tag and cabinet label. It is a reminder that amplifiers were a consumer product before most homes had mains electricity in every room.
The other page is the original site's early history of the company, which traces Magnavox to Edwin Pridham and Peter Jensen's moving-coil loudspeaker in Napa, California.
Later Magnavox tube amplifiers, mostly from console stereos, are common on the used market and often pulled from their cabinets for stand-alone use. The Magnavox maker page covers the company through the Philips takeover of 1974.
3 entries
Magnavox
Magnavox AC-2 Amplifier, 1921
The oldest amplifier in the archive: two UV-201 stages on battery power, 1921.
Magnavox
Magnavox 8802 6V6 Stereo Tube Amplifier
A console amplifier pulled out and made to work on its own.
Magnavox
Magnavox, USA: Early History
How two Napa inventors and a moving-coil speaker became Magnavox.