Another rare Sony... Might have to grab it.
 

I was (dangerously) surfing Craigslist yesterday, and I found another fairly rare Sony big-screen. I say rare because I was a Sony factory authorized tech all through the 90s, and only ever saw two of these out of thousands of other Sony projection sets. It's a KP-61XBR38 with the Tamo Ash cabinet panels and the original surround speakers, etc. About 5' tall at 400 lbs. If I get it, I'll have to stick it some place, as my wife will never allow ANOTHER huge elephant of a TV in the house along with the 512-pound dual-cabinet KV-3000R.

(Link for reference only; no connection)
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...448715081.html


Charles

Go for it, Charles ! (grin)

Phone calls exchanged... Appointment to go see it (yes, with truck & dolly/blankets) is for later this afternoon. The set is up a few stairs, so I probably will have to pull it all apart to move it safely. My wife doesn't know how big it is, so I think it might have to get stashed someplace for awhile. There is still a KV-25XBR with the rare foot-pedal remote, in the entrance hall, that bit me thorough eBay last week. Oops! The 61XBR38 owner sounds very happy that I'm a Sony nut, and that I'm planning to preserve it. He thought it probably would only go to someone with kids to play video games in the garage, or something that would lead to an early demise for the expensive flagship Sony.

Charles

400 lbs! if it was the last one on Earth I'd have to pass. :yes:

61" XBR, that must have cost a serious fortune back in 95.

Charles, I'm glad you're "Buff", if you were a broken-down ol' lardass like me, this hobby would KILL you...(grin) I remember hoistin' MY 25XBR by my lonesome back in '84 when I got it, & that was about All I Wanted..Then, in '95 or so when I got that Rohde & Schwarz EK-07 leviathan Boatanchor at 152 lbs & saw "Stars 'n' Moons" when I lifted it, I decided that this "Totin' & Gruntin'" shyte was for the byrds...Or a guy WAY younger than me....

I got my first projection "big screen" back in 1997. I traded a set of snow tires for a pair of Sylvania 46" TVs. One worked, one didn't. I moved BOTH of those tvs out of a guy's basement, and then into my basement. Then I moved, and moved them out of that basement, and into another basement. I sold them to a friend and told him to bring help, because I am not touching them again! Heh, I about dislocated my shoulder on that last move. That sucker is like moving a piano! I miss that old TV though. It wasn't too bad for a 1983 model. Good luck with the move, and watch those shoulders (and your back)!

Yeah what everybody else says be careful,don't hurt yourself.We still get the the big projections in for repair and I despise lifting on them even with help. Some of the large older models are worse than jukeboxes...lol and I got several of those to move on moving day coming soon.

I have an 8mm deck that matches that big Sony.

I worked for a large box store, and went out and set up one of these sets for a customer. It had a beautiful picture when new.

Congratulations, Charles! Please keep us informed on progress!

Bruce

Charles, I know what a KV-3000R is but what's a dual cabinet KV-3000R?

What makes it weigh so much? It doesnt have the glass or a bunch of heavy steal transformers. Where does the weight come form?

If it's like the ones I had, a solid 3/4 or 1" thick wood box starts the weight. Then a steel frame with 3 CRTs and thick lenses adds to it. Add some nice big speakers, wooden circuit board mounts, a big glass mirror, etc. It all adds up.

I'm officially burdened with it :music: ... The seller was NOT kidding, and I thought he was exaggerating about the "400 lbs" remark in the ad. He was exaggerating slightly; 397 lbs 5oz!!!!! And it's 5 feet tall by 5 feet wide, and nearly 3 feet deep. It's nearly double the weight of the standard cabinet 61" Sony. It was up one flight of steps. I took it apart in the seller's house; COMPLETELY apart, but it was still a hard workout for him and me to get the elephant safely out and into my truck. Next problem will be explaining it to my wife. I went and stuck the truck with TV still loaded, in a garage down in Los Angeles County where I keep my Toyota Diesel collection. It BARELY by MILLIMETERS cleared the door header in the garage, which I had built overheight to accommodate 4x4 trucks. And the little red Toyota Diesel is a low 2WD truck, and had the springs not been tired, it would not have cleared.

The set is as-described; near mint and perfect screen! No scratches, smoke, or problems, and the tubes are still strong. Amazed about that! I need it like a hole in the head, but had I not bought it, he was going to scrap it.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...KP-61XBR38.jpg <a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/kx250racer/?action=view&amp;current=SONYKP-61XBR38inTrk.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m174/kx250racer/th_SONYKP-61XBR38inTrk.jpg" border="0" alt="Monster Sony 61 inch TV" ></a>

It's the Tamo ash wood slabs. I totally stripped the cabinet of the mirror housing, chassis, front & rear covers, speakers & sounding board, and it was still about 250-275 lbs. The KV-3000R weighs 510 lbs.

The set came with a floor-standing matching accessory rack, made of the same Tamo ash. I have one with my set, but a lot of them are missing since original owners kept them as furniture after retiring the KV-3000.

Charles

It's the Tamo ash wood slabs. I totally stripped the cabinet of the mirror housing, chassis, front & rear covers, speakers & sounding board, and it was still about 250-275 lbs. The KV-3000R weighs 510 lbs.
[/QUOTE]

Holy crap. That's almost 2 jukeboxes. Even my Seeburg HSC1 console album player that's 6 ft long is only around 400 lbs.

Great find!:banana::banana::banana:
Weight wise, are those about the max for consumer TVs or are the 40" CRT sets heaver?
jr

Ho-Lee Chee-It....(grin) Ahh, The Mighty Valdez coulda swallered it, no problemo...Mbwahahahahaha..Y'all 'n' yer itzy-bitzy Tonka-Toy Twux....397 lbs ? Ha ! And again, HA !! That's about what a full tank-42 gallons-of fuel weighs for The Mighty Valdez...Of course, it ain't had one of THOSE in a LOOOOOOOONG time...(Sob)

I bought my first rear-projection TV in 1995, it was a Sony KP-61V15. That one retailed for $3995, but with a coupon and a 10% off sale, I got it for a bit over $3000 if I remember right. The regular 61" XBR was $5000, and they may have had this model for $6000, I don't remember.

Charles, does that set do line-doubling? I seem to remember that the XBR sets did that when I bought mine, or maybe that feature came out in the next year or two later.

I don't know, but if the V series in 1995 did, I'd expect that the XBR series 1996 does as well. You need it on that huge screen, or you'll be seeing a screen full of scanning lines.

The TV is still in the truck, so maybe this weekend, I'll rearrange the room where I want to try to shove it, and bring it home...

Charles

No, the V series definitely did not have line doubling. What I don't remember is if the XBRs did when I bought my set or if that came out later. In 2000, I bought a KP-61HS10 and sold the V15. The HS10 was Sony's first relatively-low-priced HD-ready TV; one reason for its price was that it was a 4:3 set, not widescreen.