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Beautiful DeLuxe German Siemens Radio 1955 Model M-57, the "Kammermusikschatulle", 11 Tubes, 4 Speakers, FM AM SW and LW Bands, Phono Tape Aux Inputs, All Original - Mint Serviced and Working
In a Nutshell
Kammermusik = Chamber Music + Schatulle = Casket (Jewel Case not Coffin)
With this early M-57 Schatulle your eyes get as much radio as your ears, or as little radio as you want when closing the doors
Introduction:
In the 1950's, shortly after UKW (Ultrakurzwelle = FM) but before transistors and stereophony (not available until 1963) came up, a large number of big German tube table radios flooded the market from manufacturers like AEG, Blaupunkt, Graetz, Grundig, Koerting, Loewe Opta, Nordmende, Saba, Schaub-Lorenz, Siemens and others. The phenomenon was part of the "Deutsches Wirtschaftswunder" (economic miracle), a period of post-war prosperity under chancellor Konrad Adenauer and his minister of economics Ludwig Ehrhard (born in Grundig town of Fürth in Bavaria). The Kammermusikschatulle has a long history. The Schatulle series started in the mid 1930's with several radios in bakelite and wooden cabinets and then took up again in the mid 1950's with several high-end all-wave radios, the last of which was the M57. Common to all Schatulles are two doors that when the radio is in power save mode were hiding it and letting it look like a piece of furniture. The M57 from 1955/56 (11 tubes 4 speakers) is second only to the top model Kammermusikschatulle P48 1954/55 (14 tubes 4 speakers, 5 station buttons), the biggest table top radio ever made (80 cm wide, 44 cm high and 33 cm depth). The original price tag was a hefty 598 DM (purchasing power today US$~1800), more than an automatic Saba radio of the same vintage.
For the techies only:
The radio has a minimal automatic tuning through the push-button "O-M" (Ortstaste Mittelwelle = tuneable local Broadcast Station, second from right in pict.21), and by having separate tuning devices for FM and the rest.
A unique feature of this radio is the power saving mode with closed doors. Closing the left door unpowers the magic eye tube, closing the right door disables all dial lamps. The only lamp staying on then is the on/off switch (push - not turn) - volume transparent and indirectly illuminated volume wheel (pict.44).
The radio has its original set of 1955 Siemens tubes, including an early version of the magic eye tube EM80, that is very rare (pict.39). That tube has a pattern-embossed luminescent screen (pict.25 left), whereas all other brands including the Russian remake 6E1P have a solid sheet metal screen. As picture 42 shows, the tube is still working with reasonable brightness. A brand-new 6E1P is included for an additional $15.
The radio's performance can be (not very much, though) increased by two measures:
1.) replacing the original and still perfectly working Selenium rectifier B250C150 by a modern Si diode bridge rectifier plus a 40Ω power resistor in series (please ask for details).
2.) replacing some of the original Siemens tubes by selected tubes with better performance. All tubes are within specs, but could be optimized.
Additional information:
ref. 1. http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/siemens_kammermusikschatulle_m57.html
ref. 2. http://www.egrund.de/M57-scha.html (in German)
ref. 3. http://www.tube-radio.de/radios/siemens.htm
ref. 4. http://www.georg-knoechel.de/radio-sammlung/radio-main/siemens-schatulle-m57-va1-detail.html
About my radio:
I bought the radio in a furniture store here in Vancouver as not working. It turned out it was still switched to a 220V line voltage! It came with complete German paper work (pict's. 48, 49, included in sale) saying it was bought by a French speaking person in 1956, who had someone translate everything into French. The chassis was covered with a thick layer of benign dust, to be easily removed with puffs and brushes. All 11 tubes were Siemens brand, and there were no signs that the back plane was ever removed. I believe, the radio was bought in Europe, brought to Canada and never really used. After cleaning the chassis, changing the line voltage to 110V, replacing the defect on/off indicator lamp the radio played instantly loud and clear and with superb sensitivity and selectivity on all bands. All tubes are Siemens branded (pict.39) and have been tested and found to perform not at the top, but within allowed margins, including the rare early version of the magic eye tube EM80. The line voltage was switched to 110V (not 125V) in order to boost the rectified voltage, still generated by the original Siemens Selenium rectifier B250C150. See techies how you can with little changes bring out the radio's best performance by compromising a little on the authenticity and originality. The 12W push-pull amplifier and the various connectors at the back (pict.36) enable the radio to play-back (mono) modern components, like turntables, CD and mp3 players etc. (see movie file clicking on pict.50). Please
e-mail me (Kris) for any questions, ich spreche Deutsch, je parle Français.
Here are the specifications:
| Technical Description of Item |
| Manufacturer |
Siemens und Halske Aktiengesellschaft , Karlsruhe, Germany |
| Model |
M-57 "Kammermusik-Schatulle" |
| Type |
11-tube LW, MW, SW, FM Superheterodyne radio receiver |
| Features |
Active doors, phono tape aux inputs, push-pull EL84 audio |
| Production Year |
1955/56 |
| Serial Number |
306399 |
| Cabinet |
Walnut wood with piano finish, golden metal |
| Dial |
Illuminated reverse painted glass |
| Knobs |
2 original bakelite knobs with brass fittings, lit lucite on/off-volume wheel |
| Frequency Range |
LW 140-350 kHz, AM 510-1640 kHz, SW 5.9-18.5 MHz, FM 87-100.5 MHz |
| Controls |
On/off-volume, antenna, tuning, tone ctrls, push-button function selector |
| Tube line-up |
2xEC92, 2xEF89, ECH81, EF80, EABC80, ECC83, 2xEL84, EM80 |
| Speaker |
2 x 8" main, 2 x 4" tweeter PM dynamic, 12W output power |
| Price in 1955 |
598 DM (purchasing power today ~US$ 1800) |
| Size (WxDxH) |
27" x 13" x 18", 685 x 465 x 330 mm |
| Weight |
43 lbs = 19.6 kg |
| Comment |
Original and mint condition, serviced and perfectly working |
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