The KUBA Corporation manufactured the Komet from 1957 to 1962 in Wolfenbuttel, West Germany.
This set stands 5' 7" tall, it's over 7' wide and weighs 289 Lb. (216 x 171 x 75 cm - 85 inches x 67 inches x 30 inches). The design is reminiscent of a sailboat. The upper section rotates like a sail on a mast, allowing the viewer to swing the 23" black and white television and speaker system in the desired direction. The blonde-colored wood is solid maple and the darker wood is wenge, a rare timber found only in West Africa. A high-gloss, polyester varethane coating gave it a sleek, shiny finish.
The Komet was the complete Home Entertainment Center for its time. Opening the door of the lower cabinet reveals the rest of its multi-media features. The early models usually came with a pull-out, 4-speed Telefunken phonograph on the left, and a television tuner in the center which received both UHF and VHF signals, the Telefunken multi-band radio receiver on the right picked up AM, FM, SW and LW frequencies. KUBA also released models that featured a storage shelf, commonly used as a small bar or to store vinyl record albums, or for an additional charge, you could order a magneto-phone wire recorder. Wire recorders were the forerunners to reel-to-reel and cassette audio recorders.
The top cabinet or "Sail" has eight speakers; six speakers on the top of the sail and two horn speakers pointing forward located beneath the main console.
The suggested retail price for this model was DM2,798 or approximately $1,260, which at that time, represented more than a year's wages for an average worker
The KUBA Corporation changed hands several times before it closed its doors in 1972. There are very few surviving Komets left.
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