Philco 38-690 Super 'Hi-Fi' Console Radio 1938 Bluetooth

The 38-690 was Philco’s top-of-the-line radio for the 1938 model year. It is a 20-tube all-wave receiver housed in an impressive cabinet that for sure embraces the fundamental essences of Art Deco machine-age design. Referred to by Philco as Super High-Fidelity, it embodies seven speakers and clarifiers, beam-power output, automatic bass compensation, variable IF bandwidths, automatic tuning, magnetic tuning, Philco’s Foreign Tuning System and five spread-band tuning ranges. It is regarded today as being one of the finest domestic tube radios ever made.

The cabinet has a Disappearing Tambour Door that concealed the inclined control panel when rolled down but left the loudspeaker baffle open to the room, allowing the set to continue being listened to. The control panel has the same knob layout as the 1937 model but features a redesigned escutcheon for the automatic-tuning dial. The 5-band uses 20 tubes divided between a 14-tube upper tuner chassis and a 6-tube lower power supply and amplifier chassis. This consists of a 14″ primary loudspeaker, four 8″ acoustic clarifiers, and a pair of 6″ high-frequency speakers. The cabinet has been completely restored and the both chassis have been gone through for replacement, tubes, wiring or anything necessary.

This is a super high-end console radio, the sound is amazing and can get very loud but the quality is great. We’ve added a 1/8 inch adapter which will allow you to use this with your Bluetooth connection, iPhone, smartphone, iPods, or record player. Access your old vinyl, or tune into Pandora, Apple Music, or the playlist on your computer to provide the tunes and use the Bluetooth connection to bring the warm, bright, analog sound of a tube amplifier to any music or recordings you choose. The quality of the sound is excellent – just ask any guitarist since these kinds of tube-based amps are still being made and used today. You will have the best of “digital” and “analog” combined.