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The OTHER Commander's Console

TheRed1

TheRed1

Console Conservationist
See my post in the Dollars & Sense forum for more details:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=5566469#post5566469

What the heck am I going to do with another 3-piece Yokohama Hi-Fi Cabinet Maker Co. behemoth? This one is even bigger than the original with black lacquer finish, Asian inspired hardware and speaker grills - in very good condition. All lined up I'd estimate the total length to be about 10 feet.

Fisher TX-300 integrated amp, Dual 1019, all-tube Akai 345NC R2R, unfinished AR3 speakers with possible additional Wharfedale woofers all housed in enormous separate cabinets. The tuner was missing but I bet it was either an R-200 or R-200-B since it looks like this Navy Commander was building his console to President specs. Based on dates in the unfortunately incomplete documentation, this Commander's Console appears to have been built circa 1965.

Here is some of what I fit into the car today:

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Hiya,

Nice Nice Snag Carter.

That TX-300 is pretty and rather stylish. Can't wait to see the Cabs this comes with.

Frannie
 
I haven't a wall in the house that's 10 ft in length uninterrupted!!! DAMN!!! I could put it on 3 different walls, tho!

(Mine said, UH HUH! Yeah RIGHT!, NO F#$%^% WAY!) "But it looks pretty....."the CDRs' Console.

Larry
 
I went over to pick up the cabinet and speakers today and had the good fortune of running into the Commander's son. He told me all about his dad and the console which, indeed, was built in Yokokama, Japan in 1965. Apparently the Commander was very protective of his Hi-Fi and attempted to enforce a 'hands-off' policy. However, according to his son, when the parents weren't home . . . "That thing would crank!" Although somehow the Commander always seemed to know when someone had been messing with his Hi-Fi.

The son was also able to clear up the mystery of the Wharfedale that I assumed occupied the lower half of the speaker cabinets. It turns out there were originally a pair of Wharfedale W-70 remote speakers in the basement that the Commander's son still had. The lower half of the Yokohama speaker cabinets is record storage which can be accessed by opening the front of the speaker - a very cool design.

The Commander's son was also able to find the Yokohama Hi-Fi Cabinet Maker Company's drawings for the cabinet - see below. Note that the missing tuner was apparently a Fisher TFM-300 which, of course, was the intended companion for the TX-300. Also of interest is the depiction of the Wharfedale W-70s and that the turntable was originally meant to be a Garrard LAB 80. For comparison purposes I have also included the Yokohama drawings for the original Commander's Console.

Amazingly, I was able to cram all 10' 1" of console into my wife's RAV4 which she, begrudgingly, let me use to retrieve another one. I have found a place to store it temporarily - hopefully I can find it a good (large) home.

The Commander's Console II (1965)

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The Commander's Console (1963)

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Glad to hear you got her home! BTW I was able to snag a couple of carts while I was there I also have the original Box that the Shure came in. A nice wooden one. Also when the sale started they thought the speakers were side tables. I had to tell them on day one what they had. I would be interested in seeing pictures of what the insides look like.
 
Hiya,

Carter does a great service to anyone who sells a beloved member of the family such as this console. I have always said and will continue that Consoles unlike many other things impact our lives much more than we think.

Frannie
 
Commander's Console II Update

The cabinet is now safely tucked away somewhere in the Virginia countryside west of Washington DC. I took a few quick photos before loading it up on the dolly and hauling it inside. To lighten the speaker cabinets I slid out the AR3's which were snugly sandwiched into their time capsule compartments with several squares of cardboard. Being inside the Yokohama cabinets all these years has really preserved them in excellent condition. I haven't hooked them up yet but I did look them up on eBay - Yikes! I don't understand why the unfinished pine model AR3's are so coveted but I suspect these are now the most valuable items in my collection.

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MAN THE SPITTOON's!!!!! HEAVY DROOLING AHEAD for AR3's!!!!

Oh man does that cabinet send shivers up and down my spine. Hopefully the finish is better than the Picture depicts. Even at that, some elbow grease and some wax will do her up pretty!!!

How about the front panel on the cabinet. Is it parallel to the doors or canted back some??

And that scroll work on the speaker cab's. Talk about a puzzle. SWEET!!!

Larry
 
Larry, those photos definitely accentuate every last ding, scrape and smudge. They looked much better in the subdued lighting of the Commander's living room. The main cabinet resided immediately inside the front door and certainly received more than its fair share of incidental wear over the decades. During the estate sale its top was being used as the hold/sold area. I relocated the items on top while I did the disassembly and found an old sheet to cover it with when I left. Or course, when I returned the sheet was gone and the top was again covered with junk.

Fortunately the speaker cabinets were well out of the way flanking the fireplace on the opposite side of the living room. They are in pretty good condition. I think a few coats of black 'Cabinet Coat' paint would be all it would take to have them looking like new again.

The panels that mounted the amp/tuner and R2R were not angled like that one in Portland. The Yokohama Hi-Fi Cabinet Maker Co.'s drawing accurately depicts the interior layout which I prefer to the original Commander's Console - if only it wasn't 6 feet long! I like the placement of the turntable pull-out above the record storage in the left bay. Another nifty feature is the recessed lighting activated by a pressure switch when you pull out the turntable that illuminates the fronts of all three bays. The bulbs looked like normal 7.5 W, 7 mm sockets, too - unlike some of the wacky European bulbs that Avery's 'Dutchmen' spec'ed in Fisher's Fonolites!
 
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Luckily the fonolite in the 510/610 is still working. Bulbs are NLA. I have a friend in the lighting business and she called OSRAM for me. They told her they haven't made that bulb in at least 15 years. So unless something comes up on e-prey, don't hold breath for one of those.

For some reason my eyes disagree with the drawings and math. the overall length states 6 <space> 3" , the question is, is this 6ft 3" or 63" which is 12" difference. If you add together the individual sections (total 60") plus the 4-3/4" bulkheads (3"total), plus 1" for top overhang, I get 5'-4" or 64".

I'm betting on 63" and the draftsman just spaced out the 6 & 3 when he did the drawings.

Larry
 
I think your right, Larry. In fact, I actually measured the length prior to loading it and I think it was something like 64". Of course, when I looked at the Yokohama drawing I saw what I took as 6' 3" and just accepted it without really thinking.

That's good news that the Fonolite bulb in the 510/610 cabinet still works. I think Lieut. Mitchell Jamieson USN would be very pleased that your putting his old Fisher to use again. I certainly am.
 
Here are the original Shure V15 case and the replacement stylus case from the same sale.
 

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