Funny you should post this, Richard. I was reading Bing magazine and saw the Philco 1201 ad with Bing and got to Googling. I fell down the rabbit hole of eBay's vintage radio section and am currently "watching" several auctions for interesting radios.
However, unlike the fellow you linked to, my plan is to buy a radio in decent cosmetic shape, pull out the (likely non-functional) guts, replace them with a very cheap and efficient amp like a Lepai 2020 ($24! http://stereos.about.com/od/integratedampreviews/ss/Cheap-Amp-Review-Lepai-Lp-2020a-Vs-Topping-Tp-30.htm) that provides decent sound and enough power, buy a small speaker (http://tinyurl.com/bingspeakers) and use it to hook up iPods, my phone (which can of course stream the radio) and similar.
I'm a young fellow so I don't mind the technical aspects and I work with audio technology every day.

I am not in dire need of additional speakers, including small or Bluetooth ones, but I think I would like to do it just as a project and then give it to my grandparents, parents or sibling.

Also, I would seriously not trust a 1201, restored or otherwise, with my records!

Well, I took the plunge and ordered the Crosby Christmas sessions so eloquently discussed in this thread: http://crosbyfanworld.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?pid=3391

Now, my question to you is what are your favorite Crosby Christmas releases? It's hard to avoid CDs with weird faux-stereo, poor transfers or digital shenanigans, as well as CDs that basically just want to throw White Christmas on a disc and call it a day.

Thanks for your expertise.

I have emailed with Wig before. He does use his email. I'm not sure how often he checks it. I know he lists his phone number so you might want to give him a ring if you're in a hurry. 

I don't know much about Bob Hope but there is a new book about him: http://www.amazon.com/Hope-Entertainer-Century-Richard-Zoglin/dp/1439140278/

I imagine Bing will have to be mentioned within its pages.

Richard Baker wrote:

*snip*
 

Thank you for your response, Richard. I was a bit addled and didn't do my homework. Looking at your discography with a more careful eye I see this:

My intention is to list the recordings of Bing in a way that shows what songs are on which CDs (and for radio broadcasts only, LPs).

That is very valuable and as you said, fills a very different need than Wig's.
Now I know!

Hello, all!

I am 25 and live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I work at a conservatory. My area is audio - recording, mixing, that sort of thing. I also provide support for video editing and production work.  I just joined the ICC a week or two ago and got my first two Jonzo CDs and issues of BING in the mail yesterday. I grew up watching and listening to White Christmas with my immediate and extended family and it remains a favorite to this day. My interest was piqued as I learned more about Paul Whiteman, Bix Beiderbecke and other figures of early jazz (we have a wonderful library full of rare music books). Then I came across the Mosaic set of Bing's radio recordings and thoroughly enjoyed them (minus some of the bizarre keyboard choices - yikes). Then I saw some of the new CDs being issued by listening to their digital equivalents on the streaming service Spotify. I just got the Bing & Rosie radio sessions set and enjoy it. I am from Cincinnati so Rosemary Clooney has been around my parents' stereo my whole life (Nick Clooney also gave the commencement speech at the university a few years ago and my grandfather played trumpet in his TV show's band). My biological grandfather was also a Dixieland trombonist, singer and bandleader who appears on a few records.The Jonzo CDs sound great (and I dabble in sound restoration myself) and are in that upper echelon of labor-of-love completist series such as the Chronological Classics from that French fellow.

I'm glad to join such a passionate fan community and look forward to learning from you all and participating in the conversation.

Also, please feel free to ask or chat about any technical aspects related to audio in general, stereo systems, digital audio (I teach a course on recording and mixing radio-style pieces), and computer-based ripping and playback of audio.