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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MiniDisc was introduced in 1992 and spent its early years in a dogfight with Philips’ now-defunct DCC format before disappearing entirely. Despite its excellent ergonomics, the format sounded so terrible that its end appeared imminent. But suddenly, around 1997, the first generation of ATRAC version 4 devices came, and the dying format seemed to find
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The Pioneer PL-12D revolutionized the industry. It was at this point that established British companies like BSR and Garrard were deprived of their core market — entry-level turntables. Suddenly, in 1973, you could get a significantly slicker belt drive deck with Japanese build quality for a few pounds more than a clumsy, idler drive Garrard
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Vinyl was in its harvest years in 1975, a decade after stereo LP became widely used in the United States. Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, and Electric Light Orchestra broke sales records with their mega-selling albums and extravagant packaging, while Queen and Wings sold previously unheard-of volumes of 7 singles. Vinyl seemed to have no competition;
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Trio/design Kenwood’s team was the first to look into the acoustic qualities of materials used in turntable construction, making it the most complete Japanese turntable of its time. This iconic high-end turntable was decades ahead of its late-nineties, early-seventies rivals — and similarly pricey. It cost four times as much as a Linn LP12 when
Fascinating. This little box defies all the norms of loudspeaker cabinet design, including the notion that boxes should be seen rather than heard. If you put 10 speaker designers in a room, they’ll argue over everything from the advantages of infinite baffles and ribbon tweeters to electrostatic panels and cone materials, but none of them
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Many people thought that the Revox name was the finest of the best back in the mid-1970s. The company was recognized as a provider of ultra-high-end hi-fi equipment, far beyond even the most well-known US brands. The A77 tape recorder, which was utilized in recording studios and high-end hi-fi systems alike, was proof of this,
There was a time in the mid-1970s when Ortofon cartridges were all over the place. Almost every new sub-£100 turntable seemed to come with an FF15E — a good-sounding £15 budget model – whilst your Rega Planar 3s, Ariston RD40s, and Dunlop Systemdek IIs tended to come with the VMS20E. This was an excellent fit
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Rogers was one of the most well-known hi-fi brands in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Originally created in 1947 by Jim Rogers to produce speakers such as the Theatrical Horn Loudspeaker, the company later gained the license to manufacture BBC monitors and sold tens of thousands of LS3/5as, LS 5/1s, and L 5/9s, the
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