Brown SK 4
The Braun SK 4 or Phonosuper SK 4 is a radio / record player combination that was introduced by the Braun company in 1956 . It consists of a tube radio and a record player in a fully enclosed housing made of metal and wood with an acrylic glass cover . The housing of the Phonosuper SK 4 was designed by Hans Gugelot and Dieter Rams . It was one of the first Braun products to represent the company's new product design at the time.
Emergence
As early as 1952, Artur and Erwin Braun , managing directors of Max Braun OHG , decided to change the appearance of Braun products. The Department was for this target shaping set up whose task was to develop clearly designed and functional products for Braun. One of these products was the Phonosuper SK 4, which differed not only in the materials used, but also in its compact visual appearance from the music cases popular at the time .
A special feature of the Phonosuper SK 4 is the continuous cover made of Plexiglas , a novelty for consumer electronics products at the time . Originally, Hans Gugelot and Dieter Rams had planned a hood made of sheet metal for the SK 4 , but it turned out that it would rattle at higher volume. As a solution, Dieter Rams suggested a hood made of acrylic glass, a material that had just appeared on the market at the time. The clear cover had a formative effect for decades and earned the device the colloquial name “Snow White's coffin”. The name was initially meant a bit derogatory. Hans Gugelot was also skeptical because he thought plexiglass was a fad. The Phonosuper SK 4 was presented in the Braun Radio brochure from November 1956 as a “new type of radio-phono combination in a fully enclosed metal and wood housing” and cost 295 DM; the average gross collectively agreed wage was DM 377 (45-hour week).
The SK 4 is one of the early Braun products, which stands out due to its timeless design and which became groundbreaking for the development of subsequent devices for the entire consumer electronics industry.
The Phonosuper SK models
SK 4
Radio section
The tube radio in the Phonosuper SK 4 (type SK4) is designed for FM and medium wave reception and has 15 receiving circuits, six circuits for amplitude modulation (AM) and nine circuits for frequency modulation (FM). The narrow frequency scale for VHF and MW was printed on paper and glued to the sheet metal of the radio chassis provided for it.
The device is equipped with five electron tubes of the types ECC85, EF89, EF89, EABC80 and EL84. As with the Braun SK 1 table radio , it is a small superhet radio receiver, an electronic circuit that uses as few electron tubes as possible.
The SK 4 has a built-in ferrite rod antenna , a connection for a dipole antenna and a loudspeaker connection for an external loudspeaker box . The output power is 3 watts , which is delivered to an oval speaker that can be switched off . The timbre can be adjusted using a tone control.
Record player
The Braun record player model PC3 was designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld . It has an asynchronous motor with friction wheel drive and has no automatic, only a motor stop. It has three speeds: 33, 45 and 78 revolutions per minute. The tonearm has no counterweight and no anti-skating function . The mono record player has a crystal pickup that has been fitted with two sapphire needles. The PC3 record player was also used in other Braun products, such as the PC3 phono case or the Atelier 1 control unit .
Housing
The lacquered sheet metal housing with punched-out ventilation and loudspeaker slots goes back to Hans Gugelot; the typography of the scale follows Otl Aicher's specifications . The side wooden walls with reddish elm veneer create a connection to the traditional furnishing style of the time. The goal of making operation as simple as possible was achieved by omitting all dispensable elements and arranging the required ones. So all controls of the radio and of course the turntable are attached to the top and no longer, as was usual until then, on the front of the device. All controls and buttons are light gray, as is the turntable chassis. The plexiglass cover has a rectangular cutout on the back , which also allows long-playing records to be played that, due to their large diameter, protrude beyond the rear of the device.
SK 4/1
The revised Phonosuper SK 4/1 from 1957 is identical to the SK 4, but has separate treble and bass controls , the turntable model PC3 has been expanded from three to four speeds compared to its predecessor: 16, 33, 45 and 78 revolutions per minute . Five instead of three rubber pads have been attached to the turntable. The rear section of the plexiglass hood was initially designed as a rounded rectangle but was changed to a circular arc cutout in the course of production. Until the end of the Phonosuper SK production, the circular arc cut-out was retained because the angular cut-out is very sensitive to cracks.
SK 4 / 1a
Identical to SK 4/1
SK 4/2
Identical to the SK 4/1 but the frequency scale was printed directly on the sheet metal of the bracket.
SK 5
The SK 5 is identical with the SK 4/1, the radio part is but for the long wavelength extended -Reception (LW), the disc player model PC3 SV was measured with a stereo Kristalltonabnehmer equipped system and thereby for playing S tereo v orbereitet (SV). To listen to stereo records, however, the SK 5 has to be converted, so it remains a mono system.
SK 6
The SK 6 (type RC4) was the first stereo model from the Phonosuper series. To enable stereo playback of records, the electronic circuit of the SK 6 had to be changed. The radio part was equipped with six electron tubes: ECC85, EF89, EBF89, ECC83, EL95 , EL95. In the previous models there were only five electron tubes. The stereo tube amplifier has an output power of 2 × 2 watts as well as a slide switch on the back, which allows the speaker boxes to be changed during stereo playback.
Another change was that the new Braun stereo record player model PC4 was installed, which has an ELAC KST102 stereo crystal pickup and a semi-automatic placement aid. The turntable was initially equipped with a light gray rubber ring instead of the five rubber pads previously used and no longer had a centering star for single records , but a round centering piece (center hole adapter). The previously built-in treble and bass controls were replaced by a tone control and a balance control.
SK 61
The SK 61 (type RC41) from 1962 is outwardly and in its functions identical to the SK 6, but differs in its electronic structure. The receiver part of the radio works with six circles for AM and 10 circles for FM. The previous models had six AM circuits and nine FM circuits. The receiver part consists of three electron tubes of the type ECC85, ECH81 and EBF89, which are switched off during turntable or tape operation, while the second output stage tube (EL84) is switched on. A second external loudspeaker had to be connected for stereo playback. Stereo playback in radio mode was not possible; It was not until 1964 that radio transmission began with stereo sound on VHF.
The stereo tube amplifier of the SK 61 works with an ECC83 as pre-stage and two output stage tubes of the type EL95 and EL 84, the output is 3/2 watt. A slide switch on the back allows the speaker boxes to change sides during stereo playback. The PC4 stereo record player with semi-automatic positioning aid was also installed in the SK 61 . This has an ELAC KST102 stereo crystal pickup and a straight white tonearm .
When the Stereo Phonosuper SK 61 was presented in 1962, it costs 448 DM and in 1963 it costs 495 DM.
SK 55
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The SK 55 (type RC32) from 1963 is the last model from the Phonosuper SK series and also shows the greatest change compared to the previous models. The two previously unevenly long cut-outs on the front and back of the device for the ventilation and loudspeaker slots were standardized. The previously longer slots in the area of the loudspeaker were given a central bar, which increases the stability of the lamellas.
The color of the transmitter tuning button was now white and has an orange-red point, corresponding in color to the pointer of the scale. The pre-series models of the SK 55 were presented with a completely orange-red transmitter button, but this was no longer used in the later series production. The color of the controls and buttons was no longer light gray, but graphite, just like that of the cartridge housing of the new record player model P2. The labeling on the controls is in lower case: height, depth, volume , on the buttons: on, off, phono, lw, mw, ukw and sender.
The turntable P2 has a curved aluminum tonearm with adjustable counterweight, as well as the stereo crystal pickup ELAC KST107 . The turntable chassis was now white, just like the housing and the speed of 78 revolutions per minute was dispensed with, as this is only required for shellac records . Since shellac records had not been produced since 1958 and were replaced by vinyl records, there was only a small supply in 1963.
The SK 55 has the wavebands VHF, MW and LW and is only designed for pure mono playback. The receiving part has six circles for LW and MW and 10 for VHF and five electron tubes are used again: ECC85, ECH81, EF89, EABC80 and an EL84 as output stage. The amplifier output is 3 watts. The Phonosuper SK 55 cost 438 DM in 1963, and is priced at DM 398 in the 1967 brochure. Until 1968 it was sold in parallel with the Phonosuper SK 61 , which was slightly more expensive at 495 DM .
The export models
For the US and Canadian markets, export models were also produced by Braun from 1958. These were sold by the Canadian consumer electronics manufacturer Clairtone . As with all Braun products sold by Clairtone, Clairtone is also placed above the Braun logo .
The Phonosuper SK 5-c (c = Clairtone ) from 1960 is identical to the SK 5, also has a VHF and medium wave reception range, but instead of the long wave receiver it has a short wave receiver . The VHF range extends from 87 MHz to 108 MHz, the power supply unit for the power supply was only designed for 110 volts. The labeling on the controls is in English; the controls are labeled Tone, Balance, Volume Control and Tuner; with the buttons on off, PH, AM, SW and FM.
In 1962 another export model appeared, the Phonosuper SK 61-c (type: RC 41-C), which is identical to the SK 61 .
Trivia
With the money that Günter Grass received from Bayerischer Rundfunk in 1958 for his first radio reading, he bought a Braun SK 4.
Model overview
Overview of all Phonosuper SK models offered by Braun from 1956 to 1968.
| The Phonosuper SK models from Braun | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| model | Publishing year | Radio chassis type |
Turntable chassis |
Record player type |
comment |
| Phonosuper SK 4 | 1956 | SK 4 | PC 3 | PC3 | Mono system |
| Phonosuper SK 4/1 | 1957 | SK 4/1 | PC 3 | PC3 | Mono system |
| Phonosuper SK 4 / 1a | 1957 | SK 4 / 1a | PC 3 | PC3 | Mono system |
| Phonosuper SK 4/2 | 1958 | SK 4/2 | PC 3 | PC3 | Mono system |
| Phonosuper SK 5 | 1958 | SK 5 | PC 3 SV | PC3 SV | Mono plant; Stereo prepared |
| Phonosuper SK 5-c | 1960 | SK 5-C | PC 3 SV | PC3 SV | Mono plant; Export version |
| Phonosuper SK 6 | 1961 | RC 4 | PC 4 | PC4 x | Stereo system |
| Phonosuper SK 61 | 1962 | RC 41 | PC 4 | PC4 x | Stereo system |
| Phonosuper SK 61-c | 1962 | RC 41-C | PC 4 | PC4 x | Stereo system; Export version |
| Phonosuper SK 55 | 1963 | RC 32 | P 2 | P 2 | Mono plant; Stereo record player |
Loudspeaker box L 1
The loudspeaker box L 1 from 1957 is an external loudspeaker for the Braun compact device Atelier 1, a radio-turntable combination without built-in loudspeaker, but was also offered as a supplement to the Phonosuper SK 4 and also for stereo operation of the turntable in the SK 61. The housing of the loudspeaker box made of wood with a white plastic surface and side panels made of elm veneer contains a 34 × 18 cm oval concert speaker and a 10 cm tweeter, both by Isophon . The load capacity is 6 watts; the dimensions are 58.5 × 23.8 × 29 cm. In 1957 the price was 110 DM.
photos
Phonosuper SK 5 from 1958
Phonosuper SK 61 from 1962
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literature
- Hartmut Jatzke-Wigand, Jo Klatt (eds.): Design + Design Zero. How the Braun design came about. 3. Edition. Jo Klatt Design + Design Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-9811106-4-7 ( designundtext.com [PDF; 76.5 MB ; accessed on June 28, 2020] final issue of the magazine).
- Hans Wichmann: Courage to set out. Erwin Braun 1921–1992 . Prestel publishing house, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-7913-2023-8 .
- Industrie Forum Design Hannover (ed.): Dieter Rams, Designer, The quiet order of things . Steidl Verlag, Göttingen 1990, ISBN 978-3-88243-167-4 .
- Sophie Lovell: Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible . Phaidon Verlag, London 2011, ISBN 978-0-7148-4918-8 (German edition under the title: Dieter Rams: As little design as possible . Edel Books, 2013, ISBN 978-3841901903 ).
Web links
- SK 4 data
- Circuit diagram of the SK 4
- Photos of the following models SK 4/1 , SK5 , SK 55 , SK61 , SK61c
Individual evidence
- ↑ Exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art , San Francisco, USA: Less and More, The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams ( Memento of the original from September 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , August 27, 2011 - February 20, 2012, photo from the exhibition on SK 4
- ↑ Guus Gugelot about the SK 4
- ↑ Snow White's Coffin
- ↑ Bernd Polster (Ed.): Wohndesign Deutschland: Die Klassiker , 572 pages, Dumont, Cologne 2008, page 1956/1
- ↑ G. Grass / H. Detering: Lately. A conversation in autumn. Göttingen 2017. p. 66.
Remarks
- ↑ In restored devices, the hood is sometimes installed with the cutout turned to the front, as it is mistakenly mistaken for a handle.
- ↑ Presumably, the two areas at risk of breakage on the inner radii could be prevented by the greater strength of the later circular arc.
- ↑ Type as stated on the nameplate.
- ↑ With incorrectly twisted built-in plexiglass hood