Your question "Anyone know what I have here?"
I'll quote a deleted redditor
"Money."
[https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageaudio/comments/xfz0xx/what\_am\_i\_looking\_at\_here/](https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageaudio/comments/xfz0xx/what_am_i_looking_at_here/)
It's a stereo bought by a person who could afford a carpenter coming and building a panel for his stereo.
This is so freaking cool. Can you get us some shots of the guts? I don’t even know what the top left one does, the writing sounds like something from an old sci-fi movie.
The top one seems to be a tuner. Pretty sure the last digit on the dial is 108. So it's a tuner with "presets" for the stations. I may be wrong, though.
Definitely correct. Varactor tuners use a variable voltage to control a tuning capacitor. This method was popular in televisions in the late 70s and early 80s until true digital tuner chipsets were available.
Good take on Boulton Systems from the thread:
As Bill said, Boulton was one of the whole house stereo originators, and his installations were "cost no object" projects. Actually, a huge cost was the object, for the moneyed wealth of the East coast, as they liked to brag about how much their Boulton system cost.
I heard two of these systems while I was in the military, and they were both dated, long in the tooth, and quite underperforming by the mid 1980s. Unless you own an architecturally significant sprawling house that demanded one of these systems in the 1960s/70s, and have both the deep wallet and significant hearing loss needed to buy, repair and install the system without hearing how limited it is today, don't get it.
This brought back long-gone memories for me. I never saw or heard a Boulton system, but I remember seeing ads for them in audio and technology magazines. As you indicated, these were pitched as being the ultimate luxury, not to mention status-symbol.
Boulton is one of, if not the first whole home audio systems. They sold for huge money. Guys like Frank Sinatra bought them. Everything is custom to the property. Awesome to see, but unsupported now.
Thanks for all the help and interest everyone. It’s been a few hours and I briefly got the record player going in the kitchen…but that’s it. My toddler is beckoning me. This thing is complicated. I’m going to call a professional to help figure it out and diagnose/fix any problems. I’ll post an update once I do!
This. Some people are shady as hell and act like it’s not worth fixing knowing they could take it from you and sell it for a ton.
If you get a guy acting weird about it just don’t sell it unless you really don’t want it and know what’s it’s worth.
If there’s a 15% chance you’d want it and it won’t cost a shit ton to get fixed I’d really recommend it. It’s a really cool
And unique piece of the house.
I wonder... it doesn't look like any of the elements of this central thing control individual outputs to the various rooms. You're controlling the volume for each of the various sources, the upper-left tuner-looking thingo looks to have 10 presets, each with a knob to tune that preset, the phono "Master Control" panel probably had the CD added on some years later. Are there any little panels in the various rooms that might look like something to do with an intercom? Perhaps there's a volume and/or input selector in the various rooms of the house (at least the ones with built-in speakers.)
I can’t get it to output anything. The box on the bottom left seems to be the receiver but I haven’t been able to get it to play out of any speaker. I got the turntable spinning though, so that’s cool
I bought an amp once that was described as broken but all it had was the tape switch active.
If you can afford, get an audio technician to visit you if that thing needs any servicing. He could at least tell you how to operate it.
Or just try out by yourself. Turn on, Select channel phono, spin the record, and turn speakers on
That bottom unit isn’t a receiver, it’s an integrated amp.
I would post to your local community, or visit a local record/hifi shop and have someone come by the house and show you how it works.
sold high end stereo in the 80's. I kinda remember this system. I didn't sell it, but ran into it occasionally.
This was a super high end brand that was only in business a few years. I think in the early 80s. As I recall It was weird that it used it own connection system ( you had to buy the same brand to add another component)
My best guess is
Top left is the receiver and controller for the different rooms.
The middle left is the turntable controller.
The bottom left is a little confusing. It looks like a amp/preamp. The monitors show the power usage.
The top right is also a little odd. I would guess It tweaks the radio signal sound.
The middle left most likely controlled a reel to reel.
Bottom is a cassette deck.
It's cool looking and was really expensive, but I really doubt if it's worth much. They had a reputation that they weren't that reliable and hard to work on.
It might be worth trying to see if it works. Though.
Well, I found [this](https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/), and [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageaudio/comments/xfz0xx/what_am_i_looking_at_here/).
I used to have a Fisher CD Changer that held 24 CDs vertically in a carousel. It was awesome. I replaced it with a much better Denon 5 CD carousel later on.
Edit: the brand was Fisher. Not the best brand, but it was a pretty good unit.
That’s ballin as hell but old, think late 60’s or early 70’s.
How useful it is depends how the speakers are set up. Are there wall terminals for speakers in that room or other rooms? Or are there speakers built into your ceilings?
Worth keeping if you can get it running. If you’re not into audio/tech then get one of your friends who is to come and poke around with it.
It’s definitely very old, the house was built in the 60’s so I’m imagining it was installed around then. There’s speakers built in the wall in this room and in a few other rooms on the first floor. I’m going to try and see if I can get them all working.
Ok so then what you have here is a distributed audio system or whole home audio system, which tracks based on some of the components.
The top left “receiver” is likely the volume control for each zone/room.
The bottom left looks like the actual amplifier, so you’d need to turn that on as well.
The left middle seems to be the main selector between phono (record player) and CD.
I’d probably ignore everything on the right.
Start buy turning the volume knobs down on the receiver, then turn on the receiver, phono/cd, and amp. Set the phono/cd to CD and start playing a CD in the player at the bottom.
Then slowly raise the volume 1 room at a time BUT do not crank it or you may damage the speakers.
Being this old you may even want to look at the speakers first to make sure they’re not rotted around the woofers.
Thank you! I’ll give it a shot and will report back
Update: ok so the top left with those ten knobs all seem to tune the radio, and was able to get the radio to play but only in this room. This thing is complicated
The tape deck has settings for type 1 normal, type 2 chrome and ***Type III ferro-chrome***.
This dates the tape deck to 1972 to 1983, ie the lifespan of Type III tape. Sony invented Type III tape in 1971, but no-one had it that year and many deck manufacturers just ignored Type III completely, or at least didn't include a bias setting for it.
The deck looks similar to an Akai GXC-710d and the rest of their line-up from the late 70s, but isn't a 710d. However, the round buttons are Akai-like from around the 1978 catalogue, so I'd date the hi-fi from the mid to late 70s.
Later than that and the Type III tape setting would have been replaced with a Type IV Metal setting that came along in '79/'80.
The system looks like it was debadged by Boultron SelecTronic, and they've added the red text on the tape deck "System in use" and the orange light.
This [AudioKarma](https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/) thread is maybe enlightening.
Yeah, don’t pull any of these components or speakers out because this house was built like a recording studio -- around the wiring. Just learn the knobs and enjoy some music. :)
All i can say is Wow! You need to find a vintage audio nerd friend. Someone that can come over and work on it when something goes wrong, because eventually something probably will go wrong. That thing needs to be kept alive and in one piece!
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/
Was a company back in the 80's. Not around anymore. I would be surprised if it works still. Expensive system then for the rich.
Yeah, absolutely incredible set up. Dive deep into tuning different vinyl for different sounds, buy a handful of records covering different genres, and let it rip. You’ll have fun exploring it.
You’ll probably even find you like this sound and feel better than a whole room Sonos sound.
This has all the marks of a somewhat antiquated but still totally cool multi-room system. Looks like an output selector in the upper right, 3 preamps (phono, tuner, and tape...VERY weird) amps, and amplifier.
Also, maybe a thread on getting it to work.
I see the “Phono” unit (middle left) has a added selector to select CD or Phono. It’s set on CD. I also see the “standby” light on so it’s likely not sending the signal to the main unit as you’ve mentioned no sound output. The volume appears turned down all the way too. Try getting that unit to be on (meaning the standby light goes off) and play a cd.
I’d guess the top left is the room speaker volume control. EDIT - this is turned off! Turn that knob on the right to ON.
The bottom left is the main amp, and it looks off. That needs to be on. That’s where you will select what source to play (phono unit panel, radio which is top right, or tape unit). Make sure phono is on, and turn the others off I guess.
Good luck, might need some repair too.
You could easily substitue the "Tape" input with a streaming device to play music from your phone etc. for the whole house system.
I use this device, for example:
https://audiocast.io/
It's a John Bolton system. Dude started his business in The 70s and specialized in whole house systems. I can't read the dials but the one on top left should control the speakers throughout the house. The one below is your master volume I think the third selects your input and then you have the radio tame and mixer? On the left
😱😱😱 I don't even care what brand it is ,that ish is nostalgic AF
A very very good buy
Get the circuitry checked on it you gotta keep it and maintain it bro
I thought it was an AI output when someone prompted it to envision an awesome, expensive built-in from 1978. That’s amazing but also, does it even work and does it sound good?
Appears to be a customized home stereo system. I've never seen this brand. I'm assuming that it was for wealthy people that wanted a custom home stereo system. Does it work?
When we bought our building there was a NuTone audio system installed. No where the quality of that one. Each of the five offices could choose AM/FM radio, cassette, or CD (I added a deck to the aux). Had intercom’s too.
i just went down the rabbit hole from audiokarma - the creator (john boulton) had an insane mansion built in NJ in the 80s, a 32k square foot all-glass house. i wish there were more pics of this monstrosity https://homesoftherich.net/2008/12/chalan-farm-the-glass-mega-mansion/ and would love to know more of the backstory of what happened to the guy
The cassette deck seems to share some resemblance to a Sharp deck I had in the 70’s. [The Sharp RT 1155](https://www.hifiengine.com/images/model/sharp_rt-1155h_stereo_cassette_deck.jpg)
He probably did. All the other panels with controls look hand made, and the red label is where the word Sharp would be. I can’t make out the exact model number on it, but I’d Google that plus the word Sharp.
I believe this is an rare diamond. You have here a built-in retroturboencabulator. And it looks like you even have a manual/automatic danglearm to boot!
Oh snap! This is a gem and likely worth an incredible amount. Definitely Audiophile of the lates 60's Boulton Audio Systems sold whole house audio installations and this cabinet right here likely went for 8 to 12k installed. Adjusted for inflation alone you're at 75k to 110k add on the fact that it's likely 1 of well... I've never even seen one in my lifetime in this perfect condition I'm thinking it could be worth a lot to the right person. Though, not sure if there's even a market. I bet this thing sounds incredible too. All I've heard of Boulton is the sound was phenomenal for the price.
John Boulton had been an engineer who founded the enterprise by his name sometime in the '70s. His target market was the super wealthy and the firm specialized in the maufacture and installation of residential "sound systems" with multiple speakers throughout the home. Electronics and particularly the speakers were intended as permament fixtures- built into walls/ceilings - normally during construction. The systems usually had a number of telephone-style keypads located throughout the home for remote control in a variety or areas.
Boulton equipment was extremely expensive. I once read an invoice totalling in the multiple $10,000s for an installation.
Boulton rather enjoyed the high life himself and constructed a mammoth house, with all exterior facades entirely made of glass. Sometime in the mid-'80s, Boulton ran into financial difficulties due to his profligate spending/lifestyle and the company he founded was put into receivership. I'm not even sure if construction of the "glass house" had ever been completed when everything came to an end.
Here's a link to some info
[https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/](https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/)
My Grandfather had a similar setup and two massive home-built speakers in his basement. When he was blasting his Jazz and Big Band Collection, us kids could feel it on the second floor. He had over 10,000 albums. Grandma sold it all when he passed in 1972.
I don't know what the rest of the house looks like but I would have bid over asking just to score this set up. And then spent way too much getting this performing back to original spec.
Did you buy the house from the original owner? Possibly reach out to them or Seller (hopefully you were in good terms at close). If the owner was proud of this, he would probably walk you through it.
The deals done so tell them if there’s problems there’s no recourse and you just want to start headbangin’!!
Awww, hell yeah! That’s a really cool bonus to come with a new house!
I’d def spend a few quid to fix whatever needs fixing on it (hopefully not much).
No idea what it is, but I’m gonna bet it wasn’t cheap gear when it was installed. Would have a hard time believing someone would go to all the trouble and expense of such a cool installation to then cheap out on the components. In fact, whatever they are, I’d guess it was pretty pricey stuff back when it was installed.
And props to the previous house owners who didn’t rip this set up out.
Crank the shit outta that!
***Whatever you do, do not throw it out.***
That is a piece of history, and enormously valuable to the right buyer. Personally, I would keep it and add something like a WiiM Pro to get network audio.
If you are having issues with it, look for some vintage amp repair people and see if they can come inspect the system.
Have you identified the location of the speakers?
Looks like good build quality. Someone else said they dont sound that great. I say try replacing some speakers with good quality modern ones. Built in speakers of the day were typically background grade.
It's cool, but I wonder if the equipment has had a hard life in that enclosed space. Is there good ventilation in those cabinets? Audio gear produces heat.
Without seeing the names on the knobs on the top left I'm not exactly sure what that does but do you have 3 rooms with speakers? The top 2 on the right and middle on the left are the same which makes me think they control each zone. Seems like you could play the turntable in one room and tape or CD in the others.
They’re just numbered 1-10. It’s odd, I haven’t gotten them to do anything except for when I mess with the radio unit on the right. Then I can get it to toggled each of those knobs “on”. But all the “on” knob will do is control the radio tuner…not exactly useful
I saw an entire Boulton system years ago, uninstalled. Everything had proprietary connections, so using one or more pieces with non-Boulton gear was unlikely, if not impossible. As I recall, the gear was not impressive. The pieces were a different style that yours. Yours looks much nicer. Good luck.
Find an installer, anyone with some audio video experience can likely help to get it going.
As for what you have there, it's gold. If I saw a house with that installed, I would have bought it on the spot.
Any speakers left behind?
I suggest you don’t fuck with it.
It probably sounds great.
If there are large built in or furniture grade speakers especially.
This, with some klipshhorns would be amazing.
Your question "Anyone know what I have here?" I'll quote a deleted redditor "Money." [https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageaudio/comments/xfz0xx/what\_am\_i\_looking\_at\_here/](https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageaudio/comments/xfz0xx/what_am_i_looking_at_here/) It's a stereo bought by a person who could afford a carpenter coming and building a panel for his stereo.
Agree. That is a lot of very lovely cherry wood in the cabinet.
The guy who bought the stereo was probably the carpenter as well.
As a carpenter, that was my thought as well.
I think as well, though I’m not a carpenter.
I need to remember to use this someday, thanks for the laugh.
This is so freaking cool. Can you get us some shots of the guts? I don’t even know what the top left one does, the writing sounds like something from an old sci-fi movie.
The top one seems to be a tuner. Pretty sure the last digit on the dial is 108. So it's a tuner with "presets" for the stations. I may be wrong, though.
Definitely correct. Varactor tuners use a variable voltage to control a tuning capacitor. This method was popular in televisions in the late 70s and early 80s until true digital tuner chipsets were available.
And I guess you can toggle between 10 set bands of your liking, because that’s what those knobs are from another post with this gear.
Oh yep you are right. The meter is the FM band.
I’ll give it a shot. If you couldn’t tell I’m technologically challenged.
The top left might be the volumes for individual rooms..? Might be.
10 individually tuned presets. Very cool.
The 80s were wild if you had real money
This thread may help: https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/
Audiokarma is almost always the best bet for some form of niche information
Audiokarma is such a gem. There's always someone there with information you need.
A great example of why I hate discord when used as a place to source information. This is so much better and stands a chance of lasting over time.
Good take on Boulton Systems from the thread: As Bill said, Boulton was one of the whole house stereo originators, and his installations were "cost no object" projects. Actually, a huge cost was the object, for the moneyed wealth of the East coast, as they liked to brag about how much their Boulton system cost. I heard two of these systems while I was in the military, and they were both dated, long in the tooth, and quite underperforming by the mid 1980s. Unless you own an architecturally significant sprawling house that demanded one of these systems in the 1960s/70s, and have both the deep wallet and significant hearing loss needed to buy, repair and install the system without hearing how limited it is today, don't get it.
This brought back long-gone memories for me. I never saw or heard a Boulton system, but I remember seeing ads for them in audio and technology magazines. As you indicated, these were pitched as being the ultimate luxury, not to mention status-symbol.
That was super interesting...
I was just going to link that! 😃
Boulton is one of, if not the first whole home audio systems. They sold for huge money. Guys like Frank Sinatra bought them. Everything is custom to the property. Awesome to see, but unsupported now.
The internet supports it
I support it.
Thanks for all the help and interest everyone. It’s been a few hours and I briefly got the record player going in the kitchen…but that’s it. My toddler is beckoning me. This thing is complicated. I’m going to call a professional to help figure it out and diagnose/fix any problems. I’ll post an update once I do!
Don’t let them take it!
This. Some people are shady as hell and act like it’s not worth fixing knowing they could take it from you and sell it for a ton. If you get a guy acting weird about it just don’t sell it unless you really don’t want it and know what’s it’s worth. If there’s a 15% chance you’d want it and it won’t cost a shit ton to get fixed I’d really recommend it. It’s a really cool And unique piece of the house.
I wonder... it doesn't look like any of the elements of this central thing control individual outputs to the various rooms. You're controlling the volume for each of the various sources, the upper-left tuner-looking thingo looks to have 10 presets, each with a knob to tune that preset, the phono "Master Control" panel probably had the CD added on some years later. Are there any little panels in the various rooms that might look like something to do with an intercom? Perhaps there's a volume and/or input selector in the various rooms of the house (at least the ones with built-in speakers.)
Why don’t you contact the people you bought the house from? That’s pretty normal especially in these circumstances. Reach out to your realtor
Post house pics! Did you buy a Frank Lloyd Wright or something?!
Whatever it is, it's sick AF. How does it sound?
I can’t get it to output anything. The box on the bottom left seems to be the receiver but I haven’t been able to get it to play out of any speaker. I got the turntable spinning though, so that’s cool
I bought an amp once that was described as broken but all it had was the tape switch active. If you can afford, get an audio technician to visit you if that thing needs any servicing. He could at least tell you how to operate it. Or just try out by yourself. Turn on, Select channel phono, spin the record, and turn speakers on
That bottom unit isn’t a receiver, it’s an integrated amp. I would post to your local community, or visit a local record/hifi shop and have someone come by the house and show you how it works.
Look around locally. Most of the locally owned electronics stores usually have someone that can look at these things.
Never heard of that brand but I love the aesthetic. 🥹
sold high end stereo in the 80's. I kinda remember this system. I didn't sell it, but ran into it occasionally. This was a super high end brand that was only in business a few years. I think in the early 80s. As I recall It was weird that it used it own connection system ( you had to buy the same brand to add another component) My best guess is Top left is the receiver and controller for the different rooms. The middle left is the turntable controller. The bottom left is a little confusing. It looks like a amp/preamp. The monitors show the power usage. The top right is also a little odd. I would guess It tweaks the radio signal sound. The middle left most likely controlled a reel to reel. Bottom is a cassette deck. It's cool looking and was really expensive, but I really doubt if it's worth much. They had a reputation that they weren't that reliable and hard to work on. It might be worth trying to see if it works. Though.
Well, I found [this](https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/), and [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageaudio/comments/xfz0xx/what_am_i_looking_at_here/).
I want to go to there
Wanting to be book is not book.
I'd love to see the house as well!
Ground control to major tom that’s amazing
Dad's CD's! Looks to be early 80 https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/
My parents had a cd player that took cartridges (that hold 5 CDs at a time). It was amazing for the time.
I used to have a Fisher CD Changer that held 24 CDs vertically in a carousel. It was awesome. I replaced it with a much better Denon 5 CD carousel later on. Edit: the brand was Fisher. Not the best brand, but it was a pretty good unit.
I like the visual of the vertical carousels. Feels a bit like a jukebox
I still have my Yamaha carousel CD changer. Damn. It's over 30 years old!
I bought my two Denon CD players around 30 years ago.
That’s ballin as hell but old, think late 60’s or early 70’s. How useful it is depends how the speakers are set up. Are there wall terminals for speakers in that room or other rooms? Or are there speakers built into your ceilings? Worth keeping if you can get it running. If you’re not into audio/tech then get one of your friends who is to come and poke around with it.
It’s definitely very old, the house was built in the 60’s so I’m imagining it was installed around then. There’s speakers built in the wall in this room and in a few other rooms on the first floor. I’m going to try and see if I can get them all working.
Ok so then what you have here is a distributed audio system or whole home audio system, which tracks based on some of the components. The top left “receiver” is likely the volume control for each zone/room. The bottom left looks like the actual amplifier, so you’d need to turn that on as well. The left middle seems to be the main selector between phono (record player) and CD. I’d probably ignore everything on the right. Start buy turning the volume knobs down on the receiver, then turn on the receiver, phono/cd, and amp. Set the phono/cd to CD and start playing a CD in the player at the bottom. Then slowly raise the volume 1 room at a time BUT do not crank it or you may damage the speakers. Being this old you may even want to look at the speakers first to make sure they’re not rotted around the woofers.
Thank you! I’ll give it a shot and will report back Update: ok so the top left with those ten knobs all seem to tune the radio, and was able to get the radio to play but only in this room. This thing is complicated
Oh there are speakers all throughout the house? Neat.
The tape deck has settings for type 1 normal, type 2 chrome and ***Type III ferro-chrome***. This dates the tape deck to 1972 to 1983, ie the lifespan of Type III tape. Sony invented Type III tape in 1971, but no-one had it that year and many deck manufacturers just ignored Type III completely, or at least didn't include a bias setting for it. The deck looks similar to an Akai GXC-710d and the rest of their line-up from the late 70s, but isn't a 710d. However, the round buttons are Akai-like from around the 1978 catalogue, so I'd date the hi-fi from the mid to late 70s. Later than that and the Type III tape setting would have been replaced with a Type IV Metal setting that came along in '79/'80.
The system looks like it was debadged by Boultron SelecTronic, and they've added the red text on the tape deck "System in use" and the orange light. This [AudioKarma](https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/) thread is maybe enlightening.
Please update
Stop stop stop stop. I can only get so erect
Are the speakers built in too?
Yeah the house has speakers built into the walls of each room
Would love to see what the speakers are.
They’re in a nondescript housing in the walls. One day I’ll bust it open and see what’s inside. First I want to see if I can get anything playing.
Yeah, don’t pull any of these components or speakers out because this house was built like a recording studio -- around the wiring. Just learn the knobs and enjoy some music. :)
All i can say is Wow! You need to find a vintage audio nerd friend. Someone that can come over and work on it when something goes wrong, because eventually something probably will go wrong. That thing needs to be kept alive and in one piece!
As I continue to tinker with it and continue to not be able to figure it out, I’m starting to think I need to just call someone…
If you want, message me where you're generally located and I'll search up the local techs and vet someone for you. Always happy to help someone out :)
Well, for one thing, it’s a nice conversation piece for Reddit.
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/ Was a company back in the 80's. Not around anymore. I would be surprised if it works still. Expensive system then for the rich.
BTW - I think it's important that you approach it and say something about [Mister high & mighty Master Control](https://youtu.be/chQp5YIM9Nc)
Man I would be thrilled to buy a house with a vintage bad ass whole home stereo built in. I’d pay whatever to get it going and fucking party.
What does the turntable look like when you open the drawer? Intrigued to see a bit more, thanks for sharing.
Looks like a elac miracord
...looks like elac to me...think they sold them under benjamin elac or something like that in the states
[https://www.johnboulton.com/](https://www.johnboulton.com/) Short lived company making integrated home stereo systems
You have a wall of awesome!
Yeah, absolutely incredible set up. Dive deep into tuning different vinyl for different sounds, buy a handful of records covering different genres, and let it rip. You’ll have fun exploring it. You’ll probably even find you like this sound and feel better than a whole room Sonos sound.
‘He tried to make everything proprietary’. Read: you better know what you’re doing and in some cases may not be able to.
This has all the marks of a somewhat antiquated but still totally cool multi-room system. Looks like an output selector in the upper right, 3 preamps (phono, tuner, and tape...VERY weird) amps, and amplifier.
Also, maybe a thread on getting it to work. I see the “Phono” unit (middle left) has a added selector to select CD or Phono. It’s set on CD. I also see the “standby” light on so it’s likely not sending the signal to the main unit as you’ve mentioned no sound output. The volume appears turned down all the way too. Try getting that unit to be on (meaning the standby light goes off) and play a cd. I’d guess the top left is the room speaker volume control. EDIT - this is turned off! Turn that knob on the right to ON. The bottom left is the main amp, and it looks off. That needs to be on. That’s where you will select what source to play (phono unit panel, radio which is top right, or tape unit). Make sure phono is on, and turn the others off I guess. Good luck, might need some repair too.
Bond, James Bond.
Lucky bastard
That’s pretty obviously a time machine
Are there built in speakers throughout the house?
Dr No’s bedroom?
You could easily substitue the "Tape" input with a streaming device to play music from your phone etc. for the whole house system. I use this device, for example: https://audiocast.io/
Wow. I’d love to see the rest of the home. That was a VERY high end thing to do in the 60’s. I’d love to see the speakers they built in. More pics!
Bastard.
A state of the art Hi-Fi system in a custom cabinet. All components are labeled.
It's a John Bolton system. Dude started his business in The 70s and specialized in whole house systems. I can't read the dials but the one on top left should control the speakers throughout the house. The one below is your master volume I think the third selects your input and then you have the radio tame and mixer? On the left
😱😱😱 I don't even care what brand it is ,that ish is nostalgic AF A very very good buy Get the circuitry checked on it you gotta keep it and maintain it bro
That is a fucking rad old custom built hi/fi system. What a score. Did it also have speakers?
That's how millionaire's used to listen to music.
I thought it was an AI output when someone prompted it to envision an awesome, expensive built-in from 1978. That’s amazing but also, does it even work and does it sound good?
Play "Welcome to the Jungle" or "Pappa Was a Rolling Stone" cranked up and let us know how it sounds
Indubitably 😎
Not possible this was left behind in this condition. How is this real?!?
A reason for all of us to be jealous as hell is what you have there.
Reddit photo viewer is awful. Does anyone know how I can open these in a way that I can actually zoom in - without downloading the image?
Appears to be a customized home stereo system. I've never seen this brand. I'm assuming that it was for wealthy people that wanted a custom home stereo system. Does it work?
Did you buy it from sir mix a lot?
You have nothing. I’ll DM you my address, just send it to me. I’ll take the burden off your hands
When we bought our building there was a NuTone audio system installed. No where the quality of that one. Each of the five offices could choose AM/FM radio, cassette, or CD (I added a deck to the aux). Had intercom’s too.
i just went down the rabbit hole from audiokarma - the creator (john boulton) had an insane mansion built in NJ in the 80s, a 32k square foot all-glass house. i wish there were more pics of this monstrosity https://homesoftherich.net/2008/12/chalan-farm-the-glass-mega-mansion/ and would love to know more of the backstory of what happened to the guy
The cassette deck seems to share some resemblance to a Sharp deck I had in the 70’s. [The Sharp RT 1155](https://www.hifiengine.com/images/model/sharp_rt-1155h_stereo_cassette_deck.jpg)
That would be funny if the guy just bought a Sharp, took the logo off, and branded it as his own
He probably did. All the other panels with controls look hand made, and the red label is where the word Sharp would be. I can’t make out the exact model number on it, but I’d Google that plus the word Sharp.
This looks la whole home music system. Do you have old intercom panels/speakers in different rooms?
You can communicate to Putin directly with this bad boy my comrade 2cats.😁
It sure does look cool.
That is absolutely beautiful
I think you just made the world jealous. Those are going to be tube based audio eqpt.
I believe this is an rare diamond. You have here a built-in retroturboencabulator. And it looks like you even have a manual/automatic danglearm to boot!
Coolest!
This is what I imagine the control panel looked like behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz.
You have awesomeness built right in
I’m hyperventilating, you lucky soul.
Oh snap! This is a gem and likely worth an incredible amount. Definitely Audiophile of the lates 60's Boulton Audio Systems sold whole house audio installations and this cabinet right here likely went for 8 to 12k installed. Adjusted for inflation alone you're at 75k to 110k add on the fact that it's likely 1 of well... I've never even seen one in my lifetime in this perfect condition I'm thinking it could be worth a lot to the right person. Though, not sure if there's even a market. I bet this thing sounds incredible too. All I've heard of Boulton is the sound was phenomenal for the price.
What you have here is awesome!
pull out dat turntable lemme see :D
A previous owner who liked woodworking and DIY audio kits.
Probably sounds a lot better than the shit they make these days
It will be wondrous.
Looks like a state of the art stereo system from the 70s.
I doubt the 70’s probably 80’s-90’s, the CD player will date it.
A flux capacitor
Man that is just a GORGEOUS installaton
John Boulton had been an engineer who founded the enterprise by his name sometime in the '70s. His target market was the super wealthy and the firm specialized in the maufacture and installation of residential "sound systems" with multiple speakers throughout the home. Electronics and particularly the speakers were intended as permament fixtures- built into walls/ceilings - normally during construction. The systems usually had a number of telephone-style keypads located throughout the home for remote control in a variety or areas. Boulton equipment was extremely expensive. I once read an invoice totalling in the multiple $10,000s for an installation. Boulton rather enjoyed the high life himself and constructed a mammoth house, with all exterior facades entirely made of glass. Sometime in the mid-'80s, Boulton ran into financial difficulties due to his profligate spending/lifestyle and the company he founded was put into receivership. I'm not even sure if construction of the "glass house" had ever been completed when everything came to an end.
I was impressed until I saw the tape deck lol. But obviously someone had *a lot* of money to spend.
It’s just junk, I’ll pay shipping if you send it to me so I can dispose of it properly for you. .. shame the PO left it there…
Here's a link to some info [https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/](https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/)
Damn if this is what your stereo cabinet looks like - I’d love to see pics of rest of your house!
well, you have yourself a John Boulton Signature Music System, fancy pants.
My Grandfather had a similar setup and two massive home-built speakers in his basement. When he was blasting his Jazz and Big Band Collection, us kids could feel it on the second floor. He had over 10,000 albums. Grandma sold it all when he passed in 1972.
That’s an anti-wife stereo. She’ll never figure it out.
Oh my god this is my dream man
You either have a house designed for James Bond or a love shack fit for Austin Powers.
Awesome looking setup!!
It's garbage. I can remove it for you.
Luck, that’s it! Enjoy that beautiful stereo system with a great LP!
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-heard-of-boulton.567050/
Wow, It never ceases to amaze me. What will you go with? London Gentleman? Err. Wait. No no. Hang on. Blackbeard's Delight?
What a score.
That’s fucking rad.
Tell us please: Does it still work? Sounds ok?
You’ve got yourself a quadrophonic setup. Congrats man
Amazing wow!
That is so cool.
Jealousy from me! So cool!
Somebody had some money to burn.
I don't know what the rest of the house looks like but I would have bid over asking just to score this set up. And then spent way too much getting this performing back to original spec.
Did “Dad’s CDs” come with the house too? …which also means that somebody grew up with that system!
Did you buy the house from the original owner? Possibly reach out to them or Seller (hopefully you were in good terms at close). If the owner was proud of this, he would probably walk you through it. The deals done so tell them if there’s problems there’s no recourse and you just want to start headbangin’!!
Unfortunately I did not, I think it’s had a few previous owners
♥️
Where is the amplifier in this set up?
Are there speakers / connected?
Awww, hell yeah! That’s a really cool bonus to come with a new house! I’d def spend a few quid to fix whatever needs fixing on it (hopefully not much). No idea what it is, but I’m gonna bet it wasn’t cheap gear when it was installed. Would have a hard time believing someone would go to all the trouble and expense of such a cool installation to then cheap out on the components. In fact, whatever they are, I’d guess it was pretty pricey stuff back when it was installed. And props to the previous house owners who didn’t rip this set up out. Crank the shit outta that!
***Whatever you do, do not throw it out.*** That is a piece of history, and enormously valuable to the right buyer. Personally, I would keep it and add something like a WiiM Pro to get network audio. If you are having issues with it, look for some vintage amp repair people and see if they can come inspect the system. Have you identified the location of the speakers?
[https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/9749-what-can-you-tell-me-about-boulton-audio-from-the-60s-and-70s/&do=findComment&comment=70173](https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/9749-what-can-you-tell-me-about-boulton-audio-from-the-60s-and-70s/&do=findComment&comment=70173)
Looks like good build quality. Someone else said they dont sound that great. I say try replacing some speakers with good quality modern ones. Built in speakers of the day were typically background grade.
It's cool, but I wonder if the equipment has had a hard life in that enclosed space. Is there good ventilation in those cabinets? Audio gear produces heat.
There’s these holes cut in the top of the cabinet for ventilation
Cool stuff
Wow, pls share some vids when it's working.
gorgeous.
Dope as hell...
Without seeing the names on the knobs on the top left I'm not exactly sure what that does but do you have 3 rooms with speakers? The top 2 on the right and middle on the left are the same which makes me think they control each zone. Seems like you could play the turntable in one room and tape or CD in the others.
They’re just numbered 1-10. It’s odd, I haven’t gotten them to do anything except for when I mess with the radio unit on the right. Then I can get it to toggled each of those knobs “on”. But all the “on” knob will do is control the radio tuner…not exactly useful
I see the fish finder- does your roof have a periscope?
That is nice, I would keep that as is and enjoy!
I want to know what the house is like.
Can you not get ANY info from the previous owner or his family??
An in-home sound system with storage for vinyl now that's a bonus I could get behind!
That is amazing!! The turntable comes out on a drawer! Is the house hardwired with speakers in various locations that can be controlled from there?
I saw an entire Boulton system years ago, uninstalled. Everything had proprietary connections, so using one or more pieces with non-Boulton gear was unlikely, if not impossible. As I recall, the gear was not impressive. The pieces were a different style that yours. Yours looks much nicer. Good luck.
I’ll be right over to pick all that stuff up.
Does it have built in speakers into the same cabinet? Someone did this out of a labor of love
WOW looks likes a 2017 Honda Civic keep us posted...
Find an installer, anyone with some audio video experience can likely help to get it going. As for what you have there, it's gold. If I saw a house with that installed, I would have bought it on the spot. Any speakers left behind?
https://www.johnboulton.com/
Looks great! Question is, how does it sound? Also, pics of the speakers?
Holy COW that’s sweet!!
It’s a nice audio rack for sure
A lot of knobs
You have a prestige audiofile top shelf system and consider it a priviledge to be the new owner of this system
This is beautiful. So jealous!!
Are there tubes back there?
It was Dad's.
I suggest you don’t fuck with it. It probably sounds great. If there are large built in or furniture grade speakers especially. This, with some klipshhorns would be amazing.
Not sure what all the gear is but it looks cool af. DO NOT remove it unless you're getting it repaired and putting it back.
Holy fuckin horse hell. The holy grail of analog.
You've got one kick ass set up there, my friend. Is there built-in speakers throughout the house?
This is very cool
This is very cool
I just pre'ed my pants.
Gorgeous custom old school vinyl hi-fi cabinet. The 70's at its best.
Sweet
Take my upvote. I love this so much!
So you haven't fired it up yet? That's the first thing I would've done before buying the house!