Seal of Approval

Here's an old-school Signet TK6020 cartridge analyzer. I used to use one of these when I was Harry Pearson's setup person at The Absolute Sound. You'd use the TK6020 in conjunction with a test record. Signet was the higher-end division of Audio-Technica.

I spent a lot of time looking at this meter back in the day. And I had completely forgotten about this piece of gear until Howard Kneller sent me these images, courtesy of The Audio Classics Collection. Ah, memories.

And should you want to deviate from the...flat...response, you could do so with those front-panel tone controls. 1979 JBL ad for the Model 4313.

This isn't just any circa 1960s or '70s stereo console. It's part of the collection of the Norman and Vi Petty Rock 'N' Roll Museum in Clovis, New Mexico. Buddy Holly and the Crickets recorded some of their hits at Norman Petty Studios, as did Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings, Buddy Knox, Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs, and many others. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Greg Gjerdingen.

We return to the surrealistic audio zone with this 1979 Marantz ad. Good thing I had a Marantz Model 2216B receiver at the time.

Howard Kneller’s audiophile adventures are documented on his YouTube channel (The Listening Chair with Howard Kneller) and on Instagram (@howardkneller). His art and photography can also be found on Instagram (@howardkneller.photog). Finally, he posts a bit of everything on Facebook (@howardkneller).