The first approach to the Imperial I350W Stereo is visual. And it has a lot of curb appeal.
The cabinet has a really good appearance. Every detail is designed with good taste.
The soft curves and the inclination of the front part make the cabinet look lean, while it is actually very sturdy.
The shades create a series of contrasts of light and shadow which further lighten the shape of the cabinet. The shades, moreover, reveal an ancient craftsmanship.
Finally, there needs to be a “family look”, represented by three peculiar golden pointy segments.

The restoration of a cabinet with such features is very difficult. In order to reproduce the shades it is necessary to perform rigorously several sequenced steps.
In case of mistake it is necessary to strip paint off the cabinet and start over.
The final result is impressive, the cabinet is very shiny and its shaded edges draw attention to it, no matter where the cabinet is located in the room.

What strikes most about the sound is the clarity of the medium-high part. This feature can be verified by listening to the recordings on the Compilation page.
Bass frequencies are very fast, with a good transient response, as they are reproduced by two elliptical loudspeakers, rather than by a very big one.
This device is specifically suitable for the reproduction of vocal music and electronic instruments.

The tuning is stable and also in the AM bands there is significant sensitivity.

Its only oddity is in the name Stereo, deriving from the use of two loudspeakers located at the sides, but the device is not really stereophonic as we understand it.

In 1923, long before the official launch of broadcasting in Germany, a little crew of specialists began AG in Staßfurt the development and production of radio devices.
At that time, workforce barely reached 20 people, but soon after the introduction of broadcasting in Germany, the number of employees grew to 400.
In 1927, more than 25.000 radios and a lot of components had been produced.
In 1928 it was the first German company to launch the superheterodyne receiver into the market.
The production of IMPERIAL receivers, which become known by the name “"Staßfurter Imperial", is started.
The products of this company quickly gain excellent reputation and sales increase to such an extent that the number of employees rises up to 600 in 1932.
In 1938 a more modern factory is built, of about 7000 square meters besides administration buildings and laboratories.
In 1939 the production increases and the number of employees rises up to 850.
During the war, the production of civil radio is interrupted, to make room to that of communication devices for Wehrmacht.
Another warehouse of 6000 square meters is built and the number of employees increases to 1700.
After the end of the War the company is expropriated but, thanks to the staff's strong persistence, the production is restarted.
In 1947, another company is created in Osterode / Harz under the name Continental Rundfunk GmbH.
In 1955 the number of employees rises up from 100 to over 500.
In 1958 the company is taken over by Gerhard Kubetschek, owner of KUBA, to whom the know how of the Continental Rundfunk are transferred.
The story of Kuba... is another story.

Year of production: 1955/56

Superheterodyne IF 468/10700
7 AM Circuits
19 FM Circuits

Wavebands:
Medium Waves(MW),  Long Waves (LW)
Short waves (KW), FM (UKW)

Loudspeakers;
2 mid-woofer
1 electrostatic tweeter

Dimensions (LHD): 580 x 390 x 280 mm / 22.8 x 15.4 x 11 inch
Net weight: 12 kg / 26 lb 6.9 oz
6 Tubes: ECC85 ECH81 EF85 EABC80 EM80 EL84

Turnable ferrite Antenna for AM bands.

The tones control system is very efficient. Above the large tone control knobs there is a band that lights up gradually indicating the emphasis on the band on which it acts.

Inside the cabinet there is a dipole for FM reception and a ferrite rotating aerial for AM reception.
Ferrite aerial can be rotated from the outside to achieve a perfect tuning of the device in the AM.
In this picture see the rotation mechanism and the position indicator of the aerial.
The reception sensitivity with internal aerials is very good. This unit was in fact produced in a period when there were not many radio stations and those available fairly apart from each others.
Using an external aerial sensitivity is further increased.

The magic eye has of course been replaced.

Two beautiful Isophon elliptical loudspeakers are located on the front, in a reclining position towards the sides.
On the sides there is an opening.
In this way the sound is perfectly audible both frontally and laterally.
Put to the test, this solution is better than the classical lateral positioning of the tweeters, as in this way the whole audible band is reproduced laterally, not only high frequences.

The loudspeakers are supported frontally by an efficient electrostatic loudspeaker.

The result is a very clean sound, especially in the listening of liquid music through bluetooth.

On the loudspeakers panel  we find the magic eye indicating the perfect tuning of each station.
To the left is the volume control (with built-in loudness).
Below we find the knobs for controlling bass.

The AM scale for Court Waves, Medium and Long.
The FM scale.

Then in the order the following keys:
- OFF
- Turntable
- LW
- Ferrite Antenna connection for  MW and SW
- MW
- SW
- FM
The treble control knob with its indicator.
Coaxially to the tuning knob we find the Ferrite Antenna control knob.

Output for external speakers.

Socket for recorder (tonbandgerat).

Turntable input (Tonabnehmer)

AM and FM aerial inputs and ground socket.

Warning: the sockets “turntable entry/input” and “additional loudspeakers output” are inverted as opposed to what specified on the rear panel.