Saba Stereo I SRI-16–SRI 18 – Luxuryradios – 古董收音机和高保真音响修复

Saba Ster…

15th 4 月 201720th 5 月 2017
by giovanni

The translation for Steuergerät is Control Electronic Unity. It encloses the tuner and the speaker, both stereophonic and you can connect a record player as well as a CD/DVD player along with any other kind of acoustic source. What interested me of this device was the great SABA experience on Steuergerat. Before getting to the SRI-16 SABA produces the Freiburg Studio in 1962, the Freiburg Studio A in 1963 and the Stereo Studio 1 in 1964 to finally produce this new and wonderful device in 1965.
SABA quality is really visible and audible.
Its line is different from any other device of that time. a big single serigraphed glass screen with a big stylized indicator of the ferrite curve’s position on the right. Small knobs, all looking the same with different serigraphies according to their function, a single keyboard gathering all functions.
A design that puts functionality first. Elegant and not tiring.
Its musical features deserve a detailed description, which will be given further on.
I coupled this device with a pair of wonderful Celestion 120, the popular boxes built in the Ditton factory. The following boxes will be sold as Celestion Ditton. They represent the utmost expression of English musicality of that time among affordable devices.
These boxes’efficiency is enough to make the SABA sound out loud. Even in this case I tried to couple it with another pair of boxes among my favorites, some 600 Grundig boxes, but the result was not satisfactory. A bass sound excess was immediately noticeable. Acute sounds were precise but the Celestions give a clearer sound image.

蓝牙

加装蓝牙接收器

多平台的连接

每台收音机都配备了一条连接到任何数字设备的音频线。

- 加装蓝牙接收器 - 此收音机配置了蓝牙接收器，由接收器电源直接供电。这使得它可以从任何外部数字设备控制放大器，如iPad、智能手机，或一个复杂的多媒体站。所以你能无线拨放您喜爱的网站或Apple lossless音乐。无线接收器可依客户需求配置。

- 多平台连接 - 一个定制的音频线，可以连接任何数字设备，如手机，智能手机，笔记本电脑，光盘播放器等，收音机接收音频。这种特殊的音频线适合现代设备和接收器之间的不同的阻抗。此外，两个立体声信道流入一个不增加负载到输入单元。

SABA是德文Schawarzwälder-Apparate-Bau-Anstalt的缩写，也就是黑森林技术设备工程学院。

公司在1835年由Joseph Benedikt成立，最初的公司名称是Jockele-Uhren，但只有1923年起的无线电设备生产开始，公司才以SABA的名义。
在20世纪末，SABA因制造S35而闻名.和在随后的几年，它仅次于TELEFUNKEN成为德国第二制造厂。战争期间，SABA生产军事装备并于1945年公司被彻底炸毁了。
1947年SABA是以收音机制造东山再起，和之前不同的是，现在是前卫和高质量的生产

他们也开始生产电视机（第一台PAL彩色电视就是SABA所生产），家用电器和医疗设备。许多意大利人曾经在那里工作。Alnico Greencone扬声器的高线性，高功率容量，恒定阻抗而成为流行.当时每一Hi-Fi音响设备都采用。

收音机电动调谐成为流行，同时SABA因其高质量、可靠性和精密度成为德国代表品牌。1970年代衰落开始。根据当时的专业杂志报导，如果你未拥有日本收音机，就表示你未曾拥有Hi-Fi。在上世纪80年代，Thompson（汤普森）接手SABA。在90年代，相反的，如果你拥有日本收音机，就表示你未曾拥有Hi-Fi。他们发现他们有96%逆反应，即便设备从1到100千赫只有0.001分贝的延伸也不一定是好声音。

即便没有好的目的，我们总会不相信自己的耳朵，而是相信别人所说的。

2007年：自从TLC（中国）和汤普森（法国）合资经营后，SABA因财务困难而不复存在。

At the top on the left we find the magic eye divided in two sections, the first indicated whether the station is in stereo, the second indicates the perfect tuning of each station. Next to it we find the Short, Medium and Long Wave AM bands scale.
The lower scale is the FM bands scale.
The buttons starting from the left:
On/Off- Long Wave – Medium Wave – Short Wave – FM – Phono – Mono/Stereo
The first knob on the left is the acute sounds control. Then the bass sounds control and the volume control (with incorporated loudness) knob.

On the same axis we find the knob of the balancing between the right and left channel.
There are then two separate knobs for the tuning control in the AM and FM bands. On the same axis of the tuning knob there is the rotating switch inserting the AFC (frequency automatic control- preventing the tuning slipping once the station is centered)
Note that on the tuning knobs there is a point of the same color of the index where the knob operates.
The last knob on the right is the one that allows the rotation of the ferrite curve for the AM bands. Above this one we find a big stylized indicator of the curve’s position with the automatic switch in the zero position.

Important disclaimer: I am not an expert audiophile and my impressions have the value of mere personal impressions.
The radio section is perfect, stable and with a perfect selectivity still today and with an easy tuning thanks to a long scale.
Other competitor devices (as far as the Graetz Stereo Unit 250 or the Grundig Stereomeister 3000 are concerned) had 5/6 pre-selectable and memorizable stations, but on this one, the Stereomeister, this gem became the source of many problems.
My testbeds have been Hosianna Mantra, the masterpiece of Popol Vuh and The 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites by Bach played, or better, interpreted by Yo-Yo Ma.The CD player is a Grundig CD35, the best machine I ever had the pleasure to work with. Even on this device the roundness, the smoothness and the richness of bass sounds and the never worn out high sounds are its main features.
The listening struggle with the couple Saba/Celestion never comes.
Compared to other machines using the same counterphase you have the feeling to have more power, but this is only a feeling: power is around 9 W RMS per channel. Too loud and efficient loudspeakers could modify the features of the final stage.
I am trying to figure out whether I should include Allevilive by Giovanni Allevi among the reference CDs that I use to test the devices.
With the Saba/Celestion couple Allevi’s piano is always very lively and rich of harmonicas. It requires the volume to be high, the piano is a very difficult instrument to reproduce. I do not have the listening reference with other devices.