My Step father's Motorola console stereo..it had 12 Woofers and Reverb...I remember hearing The New Colony Six in Reverb ,it was Crazy Sounding...I loved it .This was 1967...
Anyone remember the days before bells and whistles!
37 responses Add your response
@mapman .....still recovering from the 'follow-thru' from her retort: "...just whistle.... You know how to whistle, don't you?" ....spend the rest of the night making 'putt putt' noises going nowhere in particular.... *LOL* |
That makes sense. I thought I remembered it in the ‘60s, but whatever I googles said 70’s.
Well the oscilloscope remained the coolest gadget on an audio component ever. It was inspiring to me as a scientist wanna be at the time. Although, in today’s world I am sure the oscilloscope would produce a lot of noice. But it was a thing like Playboy for teens… aspirational. |
@kennyc Sitting around and listening to records is still around and very much alive. I belong to a small group of fellow vinyl-philes who get together regularly to listen. Several of the younger people have commented that they hang around us “old guys” because we Listen to full sides of albums and occasionally entire CDs or concept pieces. In their words “often as the Artists intended”. Apparently a concept lost on modern/younger music fans. They/we/I enjoy the idea, relish in the ritual and love to debate/discuss lyrics, equipment innovations and cultural evolution. (I digress….) Stop make a short story long, we sit in each others space and enjoy the music together, much like it was commonplace to do, in my part of the world , fifty years ago. I, for one, am enjoying the Heck out of it. |
@ghdprentice The Marantz 10b Tuner had an oscilloscope on the front panel in 1965. It remains the best way to tune ever devised. My Apt-1 preamp has a world class phono stage with a proper subsonic filter, actual usable tone controls, flexible mono switching, and a L-R to L+R blend control that I find incredibly useful. Some may consider those bells and whistles, I do not. |
@thecarpathian *LOL* ...held in a way she could whup the back of Dudley D. Dunces' head when he intones that 'those 5$/ft. cables would make the system sound Even Better'.... 😏 I'm impressed by the suggestion of very early Bluetoothed equipment....early alien affects 'n effects, I'd guess..... That could also explain why this 'couple' is dressed in that fashion and the space looks very spaced... Annnd The Space, itself..... OMVarious 'n sundry tin gawds....."Decor by the Blind for the Damned" comes to mind, if only mine.... No wonder early experiments with hallucinogens were occurring in that era..... IF you'd tossed 'n barred me into that 'room' heavily anesthetized, I'd still be in the rubber room with that nicely-fitted canvas coat.. that would.....
*oh* *sigh*....chit.... ...more later, I'm a little tied-up at the moment... J |
There were plenty of "bells and whistles" in the old days! ;-) A high-end Fisher setup might comprise two "Z-Matic" monoblocks with damping controls, a "control center" preamp with balance, treble, bass, loudness, rumble filter, various LP EQ settings (RIAA, FFRR, Columbia, AES, and flat for 78s), a reverb box for "spatial" effects, not to mention a wired remote volume control. Even your speakers might have controls for mids and highs, or tube-driven crossovers. Then your sources--tuner, multi-plex converter, reel-to-reel, and turntable. You were lucky if you didn’t break your neck tripping over all the wires. Now you get hi-rez music with a little box and a pair of self-powered speaks. ;-) |
BTW, in those days it wasn't "we are pregnant". It was honey I'm pregnant. Now go to the father's waiting room while I have this baby and "they" will call you when it over. That waiting room was a small space with well worn magazines and no TV, radio or stereo. As a Wilson guy, never owned the great Quads but had many HealthKits and plenty of Zip cord to those AR4ax's. Still have my first good Audioquest speaker cables. Hose sized copper stranded wire with no particular geometry. And an AR turntable is someplace in the garage. Nice memories of sweet music. Smoked a pipe too. Enjoy |
In the summer of 1967, I bought an Eico build it yourself amplifier kit, similar to the Heathkits being sold. I spent a couple weeks building it, and it didn't sound so good. I was using 12" three way Jensen speakers, with ported cabinets I built out of 3/4" plywood. Stained them and bought actual speaker cloth for the fronts. Took the amp in to my local Detroit Stereoland store and they found a couple cold solder joints. That little four pound brick of an amp lasted me for several years until I could afford my first separates, which were San Sui units. I looked on Ebay and I think my unit was the Eico Cortina model. Was a long time ago. This little amp got me started in this crazy "hobby"! |
+1 @jlbkmb1958 Atta Boy… a Real 2 Channel System! |
The wife is taking a glimpse into the future and comes to the realization that this may be "the good ol' days" when SHE still owned most of the Living Room -- before stereo, garden hose sized speakers cables, acoustical panels, paragraphic frequalizers, hundreds of albums, and "accessories." The present day sweet aroma of pipe tobacco will also be replaced by the stingent smell of pot. Fortunately (for her) his dream quickly dissipates when she utters 3 simple words: "Honey, we're pregnant!!" Oh, yeah, when he mentioned he was getting "quads" she thought he bought a gym membership and was going to have a Jack LaLanne body. You can imaging her disappointment? The look on her face says it all. |
I like her expression. Wondering if the wallpaper was the right choice for that rug. He, of course, is oblivious. As far as lamp cords goes, 14 gauge was still good stuff even in the 80s when I ran it under subfloors and in walls in a house I built. I've since rewired but I'm still stuck with it in the living room, supplied from another room, and it still sounds good. |
Let’s see, I’m thinking… the 50’s and 60’s were largely before the plethora of features and function. Marantz introduced the oscilloscope on a receiver in the mid 70’s. That’s getting pretty gadgety. So, I’d say the 70’s market the reduction of sound quality at the expense of features and functions. I am sure that this was technologically founded… being able to add all these features and functions cost effectively. |
.