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Originally Posted by Nolan Woodbury
Still, as nice as the Z434 is, it can't match the mighty 8-tube C/H845 for tone, reception or presence, but that isn't its fault. Few (if any) table radios are of that status, including Zenith's own MJ 1035 which should be better, but I believe is let down somewhat by its speakers. After the 845, everything else is an also-ran!
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I agree with everything you said, Nolan. My C-845 still sounds great; in fact, it sounds better than my K731. If my apartment was on fire, I'd get out ASAP, of course, but not before grabbing the '845 if I could. The C/H845 was probably one of the best table radios Zenith ever made. Sounds good, looks great, and the reception is better than most of the other radios in my collection, even using just the line-cord FM antenna.
There is a classical music station some 50 miles west of here that is right next to a very strong country station on the dial (the country station is on 104.7, the classical station is on 104.9). The C845 will get the classical station just fine with the AFC off. This radio was obviously made not only with high-fidelity sound in mind, but for good performance in far-suburban or near-fringe FM reception areas as well. I live some 40 miles due southwest of all but one of the Cleveland FMs and can get every one of them as clearly as if I were living 5 miles from the transmitters. I can also hear most stations from a town some 30 miles from Cleveland and even one right next to a 16kW Cleveland station on 107.9 (just 0.2 MHz down the dial), again with the AFC off.
BTW, how is the stereo speaker input on the C845 supposed to work? I noticed a warning on the schematic that, quote, "coded stereo speaker leads must be connected to coded speaker terminals." I do not see such coding on the speaker terminal strip on my set. Was there the danger of a short across the audio output stage or the power supply if the external speaker was connected backwards?
I'm surprised that the C845 actually outperforms the MJ1035, as you have mentioned several times in your posts. (I never owned a 1035; I'm just going on your obervations.) I would have thought it would be the other way around, considering that the MJ1035 is set up for stereo FM. You said it is "let down somewhat" by its speakers. How big are the speakers in the 1035, including the external speaker? If one were to connect the MJ1035 to a good set of hi-fi speakers, would it sound that much better, maybe even surpassing the sound quality of the C-845? From what you say, it would seem to me that the MJ1035 would sound every bit as good as the 845 if not for the speakers.
The Z434 being solid-state, it cannot match, as you mentioned, the C845 or any of Zenith's better tube powered radios because solid state audio systems don't, indeed cannot produce that warm, full-bodied sound any good tube audio stage can. I have a 200-total-watt bookshelf stereo system (solid state) with an 8-band equalizer, surround sound, etc. that sounds great in its own right, but I think both my K731 and C845 have it beat by a country mile when it comes to sound quality, presence, and so on, even if they are monophonic. One reason, I think, is that the C845 has a true tone control that doesn't just cut the highs, as most others do. I doubt very much if even Zenith's last so-called hi-fi table radio made in the early 1980s, which had bass and treble tone controls and a tuning meter, sounds as good as the C845/H845 series does--again because that so-called hi-fi radio is solid-state and probably has a so-so speaker.