This 1934 Zenith cathedral radio is a real conversation piece. With its gothic arch and amber dial, it is the focal point in any room. It’s got a five-tube chassis and receives two band (AM Broadcast and Shortwave). It has been fully restored and retrofitted with Bluetooth. The wood cabinet gives everything it plays a deep, rich sound.
History – The Zenith 805 was first introduced in the winter of 1934. Zenith didn't make a lot of cathedral radios. They were late in the market as Philco had introduced their "Baby Grand" cathedral and became industry leaders with the design. The "Zenette" cathedrals helped the company out of some financial difficulties, but Zenith had few cathedrals and lagged other companies. The 805 was the last cathedral Zenith produced.
Today, this attractive radio is sought after by collectors but seldom found in this condition. We acquired this one in early 2019 from a collector who had not restored it. The cabinet was in fair shape and had the original finish. The chassis was no working and needed a full restoration and upgrade.
Cabinet – The cabinet got a complete restoration. We stripped the original finish and toned the top edge, piping pin stripes and footer, and added grain filler. The entire cabinet sealed with a flat satin lacquer. This made the original multi-colored veneers and book-matched walnut veneers pop. We added period correct grille cloth, but we retained the original control knobs. The result is this stylish looking Art Deco radio that will last many, many years into the future.
Dial – The backlight amber dial was in very good condition. However, tuning wheel was sticky, so we cleaned and lubricated it. The brass escutcheon was cleaned only enough to keep the original patina well into the future.
Chassis – The chassis was very dirty, and we took extra steps to clean off build-up of ancient dust. We went through the entire underside of the chassis replacing all the capacitors and resistors and wires where needed. It now plays very well across the dial and all bands even with the simplest of antennas. All tubes were checked and replaced where needed with NOS (new old stock) tubes. We removed, cleaned, and lubricated the main tuning capacitor for smooth tuning operation plus we added new silicone rubber mounts.
The detector/selector coil was bad, so we got replacement off a parts chassis. A new vintage power cord and voltage dropping resistor were installed for electrical safety. Four new silicone rubber chassis mounts were added for better vibration isolation. We added an auxiliary input and switch on the back and aligned the radio for the Bluetooth adapter.
Speaker – When we got it, it was clear the speaker had been repaired several times. So rather than just use it as is we sent it out for recone. The result is clear audio across the entire audio frequency range. This radio produces exceptional bass tones for its size and the great sound fills the room. See link to demo on YouTube below.
Bluetooth - Additionally, this radio has been fitted with our custom Bluetooth / MP3 adapter which allows you to switch between the radio or your smartphone or music device. Access your streaming audio service or the playlist on your smart device to provide classic tunes and bring the warm, bright, analogue sound to any music or recording you choose. The quality of the sound is excellent. You will have the best of “digital” and “analogue” combined.
Year of Manufacture: 1934
Dimensions: 13 x 15 x 9 inches
Band Frequency Ranges:
AM Broadcast Band..............540 – 1600 KHz
Shortwave Band………...…..…….1.5 – 5.0 MHz
See demo on YouTube here: youtu.be/wIKdnGItbDc
History – The Zenith 805 was first introduced in the winter of 1934. Zenith didn't make a lot of cathedral radios. They were late in the market as Philco had introduced their "Baby Grand" cathedral and became industry leaders with the design. The "Zenette" cathedrals helped the company out of some financial difficulties, but Zenith had few cathedrals and lagged other companies. The 805 was the last cathedral Zenith produced.
Today, this attractive radio is sought after by collectors but seldom found in this condition. We acquired this one in early 2019 from a collector who had not restored it. The cabinet was in fair shape and had the original finish. The chassis was no working and needed a full restoration and upgrade.
Cabinet – The cabinet got a complete restoration. We stripped the original finish and toned the top edge, piping pin stripes and footer, and added grain filler. The entire cabinet sealed with a flat satin lacquer. This made the original multi-colored veneers and book-matched walnut veneers pop. We added period correct grille cloth, but we retained the original control knobs. The result is this stylish looking Art Deco radio that will last many, many years into the future.
Dial – The backlight amber dial was in very good condition. However, tuning wheel was sticky, so we cleaned and lubricated it. The brass escutcheon was cleaned only enough to keep the original patina well into the future.
Chassis – The chassis was very dirty, and we took extra steps to clean off build-up of ancient dust. We went through the entire underside of the chassis replacing all the capacitors and resistors and wires where needed. It now plays very well across the dial and all bands even with the simplest of antennas. All tubes were checked and replaced where needed with NOS (new old stock) tubes. We removed, cleaned, and lubricated the main tuning capacitor for smooth tuning operation plus we added new silicone rubber mounts.
The detector/selector coil was bad, so we got replacement off a parts chassis. A new vintage power cord and voltage dropping resistor were installed for electrical safety. Four new silicone rubber chassis mounts were added for better vibration isolation. We added an auxiliary input and switch on the back and aligned the radio for the Bluetooth adapter.
Speaker – When we got it, it was clear the speaker had been repaired several times. So rather than just use it as is we sent it out for recone. The result is clear audio across the entire audio frequency range. This radio produces exceptional bass tones for its size and the great sound fills the room. See link to demo on YouTube below.
Bluetooth - Additionally, this radio has been fitted with our custom Bluetooth / MP3 adapter which allows you to switch between the radio or your smartphone or music device. Access your streaming audio service or the playlist on your smart device to provide classic tunes and bring the warm, bright, analogue sound to any music or recording you choose. The quality of the sound is excellent. You will have the best of “digital” and “analogue” combined.
Year of Manufacture: 1934
Dimensions: 13 x 15 x 9 inches
Band Frequency Ranges:
AM Broadcast Band..............540 – 1600 KHz
Shortwave Band………...…..…….1.5 – 5.0 MHz
See demo on YouTube here: youtu.be/wIKdnGItbDc