RCA Photophone MI-1223-A Theatre Tube Amplifier
Archived listing from the original vintage-amplifier.com. Prices, seller details and purchase links have been removed; this page is a reference record, and nothing here is for sale. About this archive.
RCA Photophone Model MI-1223-A Theater Tube Amplifier in Very Nice Condition. Looks all original, I don’t think it ever had a tone knob, there is no wiring for it. The brass tag at the top says model MI-1223-A and the tag in the center by the volume knob says model MI-1283-C. Very nice old amplifier, in great shape for it’s age. This will mount on the wall or stand. Amplifier is 22″ tall, 17″ wide. and 8″ deep, it weighs 62 pounds. This power supply was working fine right up until 35 years ago when the owner and collector passed away. His widow has guarded it since. He was an electrician and projectionist from the 1930’s and 1940’s. I recently purchased an estate full of vintage theater equipment, a lifetime collection, watch for other listings.
About this model
Despite its address, which the original site seems to have reused from an earlier post, this page is about an RCA Photophone theatre amplifier: model MI-1223-A on its brass tag, MI-1283-C on the tag by the volume control. It is a wall- or stand-mounted unit, 22 inches tall, 17 wide and 8 deep, weighing 62 pounds, and it came from the estate of an electrician and projectionist who worked in the 1930s and 1940s.
RCA Photophone was RCA's sound-on-film system. Wikipedia describes it as one of four major competing sound-film technologies of the late 1920s, an optical variable-area system developed from General Electric work; RCA Photophone Inc. was set up in April 1928, and RKO used the system as its main sound process. Theatre amplifiers like this one drove the cinema loudspeakers behind the screen.
| Maker | RCA Photophone, USA |
|---|---|
| Model | MI-1223-A (tag); MI-1283-C (second tag) |
| Type | Theatre sound amplifier |
| Size | 22 × 17 × 8 in (listing) |
| Weight | 62 lb (listing) |
| Mounting | Wall or stand (listing) |
Questions collectors ask
What was RCA Photophone?
RCA's optical, variable-area sound-on-film system, one of the main competing sound-film technologies of the late 1920s. RCA Photophone Inc. was formed in April 1928.
Why does this RCA page have a tube tester address?
The original site gave it that address. We kept it so that existing links continue to work.
Sources: Wikipedia: RCA Photophone.
