From Audio Classics in Vestal, New York, here’s a gorgeous, 16-pound Sherwood Electronic Labs S3000 III FM tube tuner from the early 1960s. Sherwood was founded in Chicago in 1953, initially to manufacture an amp designed by legendary audio engineer Ed Miller. Sherwood was one of the first true high-end US manufacturers. When the stereo era began in earnest near the end of the 1950s, the company was already established in the FM tuner market segment. The Sherwood products were slimmer than competitors such as Fisher and Scott. They had beautiful enamel fronts and knobs where the others had square, stark faceplates. Their product lines grew to include not only amps and tuners, but receivers and even speakers.
Sherwood Model 3000 tuners were made in five versions – the original, then the S-3000 II, followed by the S-3000 III, S-3000 IV and S-3000 V. By the time of this S-3000 III, stereo was well-established. Thus, this model accepted an optional multiplex (MPX) decoder (not present on this example) which would make it a true stereo tuner. This model was also manufactured with silver trim. Both versions are stunning, and dig that Hush control!
Photos courtesy of Howard Kneller.
Philips Novofonic sound, 1959 style.
Made from around 1970 to 2004, Bose 601 Series loudspeakers were an…interesting concept in speaker design.
Howard Kneller’s audiophile adventures are documented on YouTube (The Listening Chair with Howard Kneller) and Instagram (@howardkneller). His art and photography can be found on Instagram (@howardkneller). He also posts a bit of everything on Facebook (@howardkneller).
