Western Electric 124 - Some History

Alot of people has the mis-conception that the Western Electric 124 was made for solely for telephone amplification which was not the complete truth.

According to Huang Sifu, the Western Electric 124 models were made for the US radio stations when the whole US was at a transition from AM to FM stations. As such, the Western Electric 124 was made for the broadcast station usage and meant for audio use first. Later on, with the widespread popularity of the telephone lines, there was a growing demand for telephone broadcast amplification. Owing to the reliability of the Western Electric 124 amplifiers, many tele-comunication began using the 124 for amplication of telephone communication linking the East coast and the West coast. At that time, the price of the We124 was equavalent to the price of three houses, which was expensive.

The Western Electric was produced from the 1940s-1956. The WE124 model was later replaced by the Western Electric license KS16608. For those who long to listen to the Western Electric sound but didn't want to pay too much can opt for the WE KS16608 series as the sound resembles that of the WE124. The only condition is that the set must be fully restored in order for one to enjoy and listen to the sound of the KS16608. I have known a few audiophiles in Hong Kong who own the Western Electric KS16608 and none of them is selling which reflected that it is one of those amplifier that has the potential to escalate in value and the Japanese and Korean have always been on a look out for them as well, especially when the prices of the Western Electric 124 and 142 are on the upward trend...