Sony CEO Akio Morita travelled to the United States in the early 1960s in an attempt to persuade Americans to listen to little transistor radios, as he relates in his brilliant autobiography Made In Japan. The consumer electronics business in the United States was initially skeptical that anyone would want to listen to something smaller […]
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The Technics SP-10 broadcast turntable introduced the technology in 1970, and it blew people’s minds. Without the use of idlers, pulleys, or belts, direct drive accomplished exactly what it stated on the tin: it moved the platter from its center. It had numerous advantages, including the ability to adjust the platter speed to an unusually
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The DVP-S7000 was one of the most famous and thrilling first generation DVD players, having been released in March 1997 in Tokyo, Japan, and arriving in the UK six months later. It was outrageously overengineered, like with Sony’s ‘first’ ever product – CDP-101 CD player, TCD-D3 DAT player, etc. With just one glance inside, you’ll
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This Tellurium Q power amplifier, another example of a great British hi-fi ‘what-if,’ debuted on the scene in 2012, promising so much. This newish British startup isn’t prone to exaggeration; rather, the excitement sprang from the fact that it was designed by Colin Wonfor, formerly of Inca Tech and one of the industry’s many eccentric
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Every self-respecting mass manufacturer offered the same thing in a single package during the hi-fi boom of the 1970s, when every lifestyle magazine was advising people to buy enormous, bulky stereo separates. It was known as a music center, and the breed was mocked a little because there were some rather rudimentary items for sale
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It’s difficult to fathom how the Hydraulic Reference was welcomed when it was first released in the early 1960s. It defied the accepted dogma in practically every regard, unlike all other high-end turntables of the time. The deck was created by David Gammon and initially appeared in 1963. It moved into full-time production in 1964
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Richard Hay, a man who served his audio apprenticeship with the highly regarded Arthur Radford and Arthur Bailey at Radford Electronics, founded Nytech in the early 1970s. His company produced well-regarded mid-market equipment for about fifteen years before circumstances combined to put an end to it. But, because to a bizarre set of events, the
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When Roy Gandy’s mother asked if he wanted a record player or a television, he chose the former. But despite his best efforts, he received the latter, motivating him to pursue hi-fi in his own unique way. Four years later, he’d designed and built his own loudspeakers, begun going to shows, and started buying records
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China was beginning to make major inroads into the world’s hi-fi market towards the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, taking advantage of its low manufacturing costs to manufacture enormous and impressive amplifiers for less money than expected. However, the introduction of Class D technology enabled Japan to fight back. It’s a
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This moving magnet cartridge was introduced in 1978 and sold for the princely price of £37, which was a lot of money for a phono cartridge at the time. In a world where a £25 Ortofon VMS20E was deemed lavish, most British purchasers regarded the new Rega as a high-end product. It was designed to
