Copper
Test Records and Demo Discs, Part Seven
In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was vinyl records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The...
Swinging in Stereo
It really did start a revolution: the Sony CDP-101, the world's first Compact Disc player. Launched in Japan on October 1, 1982, it was one of the most groundbreaking...
A RadioShack Extravaganza!
We rocket into November with an all-RadioShack edition of "Audio Anthropology." The Shack was a retail store familiar to audio, electronics, musician, DIY and computer hobbyists from 1921...
Test Records and Demo Discs, Part Six
In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was vinyl records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The...
Potent Portables
"When a man loves a tape deck...can't keep his mind on nothin' else..." Well, maybe we got those lyrics a little wrong. Uher ad, date unknown. Here's...
Stone Knives and Bearskins
Surround sound, 1970s style. Who needs Ohm loudspeakers when you have this Zenith Circle of Sound radio? Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Joe Haupt. He's listening to the...
Test Records and Demo Discs, Part Five
In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was vinyl records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The...
Attention Shoppers!
Scene from a Japanese audio store in 2006. We wonder what those prices would be like today! Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Tomer Gabel. Here's one of the many...
Test Records and Demo Discs, Part Four
In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was vinyl records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The...
Console Magic
"Calling occupants of interplanetary craft!" Actually, we have no idea what these guys are doing, but it looks intense. From Audio Engineering, July 1950. This is why...
Test Records and Demo Discs, Part Three
In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was vinyl records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The...
Getting to the Point-to-Point
Glass behind glass: here's a guy testing kenotron rectifier tubes the old-fashioned way. From Radio Craft, May 1947. Now that's what we call point-to-point wiring! Here's a...
Test Records and Demo Discs, Part Two
In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was vinyl records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The...
Making the Grade
We thought it was a tube tester at first...but no, it's an electronic egg grader! The ventilation grille alone is enough to make us want this 1960s Fisher...
Test Records and Demo Discs, Part One
In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The turntable...
Motorola Madness
Above: a Radio News 1925 artist's conception of what Nikola Tesla's wireless power transmission system might have looked like in the future. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Frank R. Paul/public domain. ...
Start Soon, Earn More!
Fisher made 500 Series receivers, but who knew they made 500 Series tube radios also? This gorgeous specimen is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Gregory F. Maxwell. What...
All Dolled Up
What the...? This is a homemade "Sleepy Time Bed Radio" found at a meet sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club (MAARC) about 20 years ago. He dreams of vacuum...
On the Air Tonight
It might be low in cost, but we bet it sounds good. From Electronics World, September 1959, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/public domain. How can something as utilitarian...
Can You Hear Me Now?
In 1991 The Absolute Sound decided to do its first Guide to High-End Audio Components. I was on staff and it was my first experience working on a...
Into the Groove
This is an original Fillmore East program from 1971, from my personal collection. There's a reason this is special to me... ...it was the first time I'd seen Frank...
Nothing Comes Close
You know, they might have been right. From Audio, November 1958. Then again, maybe not! From Audio, February 1965. Now that’s what we call home entertainment! From Electronics Made...
Portable Audio, 1960s-Style
An AR-XA turntable, circa 1960s. As Ivan Berger noted in his article in Issue 105, hundreds of thousands were sold. Elegant simplicity: the AR-XA pivot and counterweight. This example...
My First Stereo
Here's a Panasonic full line catalog circa late 1960s or early 1970s. No big deal, except... The RE-7670 system, "The Barrington," was my first stereo. My father bought...
Now Hear This!
Just don't touch any of my records, thinks dad! From Audio magazine, March 1955. When the Admiral speaks, they listen! They went all out on props for this photo shoot. From Audio magazine,...
Goin' to the Bank!
This is a fax I received from Les Paul in 1992. In it he answers a series of questions I’d asked him in researching an article for The Absolute Sound in 1991, including...
A Modern Engineering Marvel
Beyond cool: a circa 1940s or 1950s EMI Dicta recording – yes, recording – system that used 12-inch floppy magnetic discs. They worked like magnetic tape does, except in disc form. Spotted...
Crunch Time
This might be the most gorgeous preamp and amp set we've ever seen: a Radford DSM Stereo Control Unit and matching 12-watt-per-channel amplifier. Courtesy of Ken Kessler, taken at Tonbridge...
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...
Surrealistic Audio Zone
Here's a pair of classic JBL L100s, sadly without the iconic grid-like foam grilles, which perhaps have crumbled into the sands of audio time. Now that is an old-school...
Made to Measure
Here's a rarity for you: A McIntosh car stereo made for Subaru. As an online forum notes, these are difficult to identify, so we don't feel too bad about being...
Audio Shelving
There's a reason we're fixated on classic McIntosh gear: the aesthetic is timeless. Here's a superb C26 preamplifier, introduced around the late 1960s. Just look at those connectivity options!...
A Dream Goes On Forever
Nearfield Acoustics offered a number of PipeDreams loudspeaker models from around the year 2000 until...? Not much information is available online. They came in a number of configurations, often comprising...
Off the Meter
These interestingly odd speakers came from a Panasonic all-in-one system, possibly from the 1970s. We suppose they looked cutting edge back in the day! This classic logo was...
Singin' in the Studio
Portable listening fun: an RCA VZP11B record player. Admit it: how many of you owned turntables or record players where the LP was bigger than the platter? You could...
Tailor-Made Listening Pleasure
Here's a Denon DP-500M direct-drive manual turntable. It has old-school features like quartz lock servo speed control, a large wooden base, and a die-cast S-shaped tonearm. We found a variety...
Magnetic Attraction
A pair of Mariah Acoustics speakers. Manufactured in Arkville, New York, these were made in the 1980s, according to an old forum post from the original owner. A few models...
Noteworthy
McIntosh fans, we know gear like this sets your hearts a-flutter. Here’s a magnificent MR 65B tube stereophonic FM tuner, introduced in 1962. This is audio componentry as industrial...
The Ears Have It
There was a time when Nakamichi cassette decks ruled the world. Here’s a Nakamichi 550, made between 1974 and 1980. This top-loader offered Dolby B noise reduction and three mic...
Decisions, Decisions
Here are a few stunning shots of a Barber & Howard stereo integrated amplifier, and tuner. We could find almost nothing about this brand online – the company was founded...
The Doppler Effect
Object of desire: a Bang & Olufsen Beogram 1800 turntable. This sleek, fully-automatic turntable looks dazzling in person. The Beogram 1800 was simplicity itself to operate and changing cartridges was...
Holiday Warmth
Some serious “wow” factor here – a 1950s McIntosh C-104 mono tube preamplifier. It used three 5751 tubes and could accommodate five (mono) audio sources. Detail shot of the...
A Safe Bet
A Dynaco SCA-35 vacuum tube integrated amplifier, a budget audiophile classic. It was introduced in 1963 and was rated at 35 watts per channel. It even had a "Spare" input...
Stay Focused
From The Audio Classics Collection, here’s an absolutely jaw-dropping McIntosh MR 65B tube stereo tuner. These beauties were made from 1962 to 1964. Looks great from any angle, and...
Remotely Possible
Spotted at Angry Mom Records in Ithaca, New York, a 1970s Kenwood KR-7070 receiver. Perhaps ahead of its time, it had a moving-coil phono stage. KR-7070, rear panel. Photos...
There’s a Kind of Hush
From Audio Classics in Vestal, New York, here’s a gorgeous, 16-pound Sherwood Electronic Labs S3000 III FM tube tuner from the early 1960s. Sherwood was founded in Chicago in 1953,...
The Prospects Are Good
How many of these has anyone seen? It’s a circa 1960s JVC Nivico SRP-471E turntable. Not much information is available about these online. Detail shot of the SRP-471E. It...
Tubes to Go
Written by Frank Doris Boldly proclaiming the maker’s name in one of the coolest logos ever: the Marantz Model 240 stereo power amplifier. Available with in black or silver, this...
Analyze This
Written by Frank Doris Not much is known about this early M&K three-piece satellite/subwoofer system (pictured above and below) found at Audio Classics, but it looks and sounds very...
World Music
Written by Frank Doris From the Museum of the Hard to Believe: a 1970s ADC Accutrac 4000, featuring computerized playback of any track, even in random order! The 4000 had...