Fascinating history of brands I grew up with. Electronics today don’t seem as magical. Everybody has grown stuck to their boring smartphone. It’s like everyone is stuck to their Swiss army knife, while everyone before was seeking the best sword.😢
Yup and it used to be exciting with so many models coming out of Japan and hunting or down. I remember when I got my first scooter and buying Sony first tape deck with the 4 digital time counter. I think it was also a 3 head auto reverse and I thought so modern in 1987. So when it went on sale at this small Sony store, I grabbed it and I remember tying it up with bungee cords on my scooter and driving it home all excited and so glad I got this tape player. I think I upgrade a few years later when the double cassette decks started coming out in the early 90s. By then many of the tape decks had the 4 digital counter vs the 3 rolling numbers that was hard to count the time with. Not sure what ever happen to that deck and when I replaced it, it was in great condition.
I didn’t have much money when in high school in the late 1970’s. My buddy and I would make professional sound speakers using JBL and Electrovoice. I made my own home stereo speakers using JBL components. They were bullet proof and a fraction of the cost of brand name high end speakers.
Why didn't you make the speakers yourself? Why do we ALWAYS depend on others? We never really make anything ourselves, we never can be proud, really. Why is that?
I still use a combination of 70-90s amplifier, speakers, cassette deck, S-VHS, cd-player, minidisc-player aso. Quality was much better back in the day . Nice to see so many ppl who still love the old hifi equipment in 2024. I also like to collect and telephones, NMT cellphones and smartphones. Lot's of fun!
These Akai decks are simply beautiful. The recording quality tends to be stellar, in relationship our quality standards. Quite possibly, due to Mr. W. Edward Deming's post WWII manufacturing quality standards, to assist in rebuilding Japanese manufacturing structures.
I also just collect the vintage hi fi and even saved a Sony hi end or higher number series VHS from the rain that was left out on the curb and no one interested. It seem back then you got the best quality and have the best sounds at home like big tv and radio station. Meaning it was like industrial level quality and why it was so expensive.
The most beautiful and perfect receiver I owned in the 1970s was the Marantz Model 4400 with oscilloscope. I still regret having sold it. It still works today in Switzerland.
1974 I spend more money than I could afford on a Sansui quad system. Word got around about how good it sounded, and my roommate's and my friends started coming over every night. I sold it less than a year later just to stop the endless party, thinking I'd get another when I got my own place. I never did, and a couple of department store stereos later, I still miss that Sansui system.
Any chance now of rebuilding a duplicate system from vintage equipment sellers? The components may need service of course. It might have been best to sell anyways because since a bunch of people knew you had it, it probably would have eventually been stolen. I know that is a cynical view. Maybe it was less likely back then, I do not know because I wasn't even born until late 74.
Looking back the 1970s we’re almost a magical time for home tech. Everting in that era was new was becoming affordable and people appreciated what they had unlike today where everything is or less the same and nothing is different.
in 1979, fresh out of college, I purchased an NEC rack component stereo system... and an AKAI GX-630D reel-to-reel deck.... which I still own and use regularly. A wonderful piece of equipment that has stood the test of time, and crosses the boundaries of electronics and quality furniture with it's solid walnut end panels. Love that beast!
GX-630D is a great machine. Glass heads last and last, and are beautiful to observe when listening at night, the big reels turnin, the VU meters bumpin' under the indirect lighting... and when dialed in correctly, there is no better, or more accurate sound reproduction anywhere. :0)
OMG, Keep it going! If your channel is audioporn, then this is the “behind the scenes” documentary. My top 3 requests would be to feature Pioneer, Nakamichi, & JVC. I grew up in a small town where the one stereo shop carried Pioneer & JVC, so by the time I went off to college, I had an all JVC system. In the big city, 1984, I finally discovered high-end.
My first Sansui product was a beautiful pair of SP25 bookshelf speakers which were brought from Japan back in around 1973. I now have a AU 999 which I picked up at a recycle depot in our town. This amp came with a pair of Coral BX 1401 speakers, I saw these sitting out the back of the room waiting to bee tested and put out for sale. I jumped in with an offer there and then, I knew what I was looking at, the people in the recycle had no idea what they were apart from someone dropping them off. I love this set up and they all work well, however at some stage when $$$$$ permit I will have the amp overhauled and the speakers recapped and sorted. As they stand they give me great pleasure to use them. Thanks for a great video.
Wow this video is a wealth of information Lenny , you've done a great job . Took me down memory lane too there's something about vintage hi-fi that is so nostalgic. Really enjoyed learning with you Mark
I totally loved my Marantz receiver from the 70's. It had a remarkable radio and coupled with a Pioneer pre-amp ( about 250w/channel ), Infinity monitors, My parents asked me to move as soon as I fixed the windows. Great piece of work, your love of music shows.
Talk about doing what you love and loving what you do - which results in being great at it, well, this cat absolutely does such a deep dive it left me smiling over it at times and enjoying it all the way through. Particularly all things Technics, though. My serious compliments! Earlier in this video journey with you, I was delighted to learn the things about Audio-Technica since I have been doing extensive research into today’s great resurgence of turntables and which one I should choose in order to play my vast 1970s Rock record collection. Like all of the great KISS albums that dominated the 70s, Aerosmith, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Van Halen, And so on. And, alright, also the Bay City Rollers, KC & The Sunshine Band, Village People, and even Barry Manilow. But I recently “settled on” the $399.99 USB and Bluetooth model (there was a $399.99 and a $299.99 model, both of which come in either black or silver). You profiled and praised the more expensive of the two, which is what I have been preparing to either buy or land for my August Birthday. So thank you for that!! I have a good friend who certainly is an Audiophile, and who owns tons of components by Luxman, McIntosh, Denon, Auralec (sp?), and others, as well as far more speakers than needed from KEF, Focal, Bowers & Wilkins, and Bose. So the point really being that he has pushed on me that Audio-Technica turntables are not what I think they are and that I should spend more. However, a VERY large, all high-end brands store outside Chicago took considerable time to show me why if I wasn’t able to spend somewhere in the beginning range of $800 and up then he said that Audio-Technica is an amazingly high-caliber, high-quality line of products at surprisingly affordable prices. He recommended it over three other well-known brands (whom I don’t want to name because I don’t want to make anyone feel less happy with their own than they should unnecessarily be. I am curious to know simply why when folks like yourself are making lists of “the best turntables”, for example, why are the REEEAALLY high-end brands never mentioned or shown? Such as the $19,000, $30,000 and $49,000 tables by SME, and even two in the range of and exceeding $100,000. YES, to anyone who may think those are typos, they’re NOT. And I’m missing at least two brands who can always be found in Sound & Vision Magazine and Stereophile Magazine.
Hi-Fi with an xfiles twist? Loved it lol great job. :) Ok that comment relates more to the intro, after watching the rest of the vid your coverage of the vid in general was damm solid ty.
Wow, what a history lesson, that was incredible, couldn't stop watching until the very end! Toasting a whiskey to you for this one Lenny and my Marantz 2270
You are the most arrogant and pedantic person I have ever tried to approach... but the day you die the worms will eat you just like everyone else, so there is nothing special about you! 😊
Wow Lenny!!! This is great. The research on this video must have been enormous. You are a terrific presenter. Business Owner, Manager, presenter, you are quite talented. GRESAT JOB!!!
Nice narration Lenny short and sweet and bang on point with different products. People have no real understanding of the amount of work and research that goes into producing quality video. Keep up the good work fella 👍
Hello from Ireland, Great video really enjoyed it. The amount of research you must have done really paid off, really informative. A really great way to spend an afternoon in work.
Dear Brother, my heartfelt thanks for providing so much inside information. We are aware of many things related to audio techs & companies. Thanks & and I'm hoping to get some more videos.
I applaud you, sir, for your extensive research and presentation! This type of production is so far better than others found on RUclips. Keep up the good work!
Excellent history lesson - enjoyed it immensely! One footnote: Technics was the brand favorite in the disco's of the 70's such as Studio 54, Electric Circus, Swings, The Garage, The Barefoot Boy, Regines, The Monastery, and any other club worth its salt! Thanks for this great video!!!!
I owned a TU-9900 and it was the best and most beautiful tuner I've ever had heard or seen. It has an incredible tuner section which could latch and hold weak stations that no other could match. One day my wall shelf collapsed and the Sansui landed on the front panel, shattering the glass. I replaced it but something internal went and it kept losing stereo capture intermittently. I tried to have it repaired several times but finally threw in the towel and replaced it with a Luxman tuner. I was spoiled by the Sansui and never enjoyed the Luxman like I did that unit. The blue-green glow of the meters and dial was always spectacular and felt like a moth drawn to a flame of that glow.
Enjoyed your video, I started my journey in home/pro audio in 1965 first in sales then as a Corp Buyer of home and car audio and have worked with so many audio vendors. Over the years had great relations with Bose, Pioneer, JBL, Onkyo, Polk, Klipsch, Marantz, and many more. After a meeting with Dr. Bose I realized they were really a marketing company rather than a speaker company. Their products were well made and fit the need of those they marketed to. I am retired now and just sit back and enjoy good classic Rock-N-Roll.
Great stories. I was amazed at how much of the AKAI, Marantz, Sansui, JBL, Technics, Roberts, and Bose stuff that you talked about that I had actually owned over the years at one time or another! I ended my foray into high-end audio 30 years ago with Nikko Audio separates (Alpha 440, et.al), an AKAI cassette deck, the venerable Technics 1200 MKIII, a dbx NR device, a dbx sub-harmonic systhesizer, and ESS Heil AMT studio monitors. Of course, I've also had tinnitus for 30 years, but for all the pleasure I got out of the stuff, I kinda think it was worth it.😉
Thanks mate, very informative. I did read that Quincy Jones bought AKAI in very early 70's and had a no expense spared, striving to produce the best of the best equipment. One of their best amps was 1971 aa-5800 integrated I read by 45 vinyl site who upgrades amps and writes that this amp was dumbed down. Their sw 160 are great speakers too, I snapped up a pair for 260$ people didn't know their worth, the guy I bought off had a pair of 6k$ speakers and sounded as good as these AKAI s, his wife made him sell cause if decor reasons.I also read that AKAI started cost cutting from 1976 with as 2250 not having pre in /pre outs, dials were plain, more ic's used, speaker wire terminals degraded. I saw this personally cause I own them both and the quad aa 6100 that pairs with 1870ss reel to reel. From what little I know AKAI was their best from 1969-1975. Not saying all I write is fact but that's what I read as I said. I'm in Australia and AKAI not respected like pioneer, mirantz, sansai etc due to poor knowledge of the people. Keep up the good work 🤙
Okay you got me... Saw the title and thought to myself I'd like to learn some factual details on the top brands I remember both from stores as well as from friends homes when growing up whose families were very well off. As I watched I had the sense I was watching some type of promo or infomercial of another format I'd simply not seen before. I'd wondered based on the time spent on brands it would be limited on them and why these when there were a few that arguably deserved a spot above some profiled but it all came together when I saw these are featured brands that you've been able to access to refurbish and resell in your business. Understandably they'd be the focus of the video pitched to set up interest and should that develope you just happen to have those brands and models in stock ready for sale. All refurbished , restored or whatever the term thats in style. Job well done, you got me but only because it felt off and directionally driven but you still got me...
My father had 2 Akai reel-to-reels. One of them had an 8 track deck on it. He also had that Sansui 9090 receiver, a Pioneer SR202W reverb machine, a Pioneer SG9500 equalizer, 2 beautiful Pioneer turntables, and 2 monster 15" Pioneer speakers. Everything had wood around them and his stereo cabinet was a 3-piece dark wood beast, made in the Philippines. It was all absolutely impressive, beautiful, and the sound was phenomenal...so damn rich and full. He took a lot of pride in it. I spent hours as a kid in the 70s listening to it. I don't know what my mother did with everything when he passed away in 2013. I don't think she kept everything. I really wish I would've been able to keep them, but at the time, I just didn't have the room for a system that took up an entire wall and I was living in another area of the country.
Kenwood L series 100v is what I wish could be reviewed. That was the pinnacle of Kenwood and maybe anybody. External power supplies, holy grail list turntables....
Watcand from Old Harbour Jamaica and I remember all those brands and have always woundered what became of the. In jamaica we use to have sreet dances with competing large sound system to see how can please the crowd but things have change over the years now. Precently I have my lap top huc up to an old Allegro sound system by Zenith along with it's 3000 speaker system I inherit from my grand aunt who passed away two years ago at the age of 99. It houses a turn table, 8tack (with recording), and AM FM tuner. I love it.
Of those brands, i have an AKAI dual cassette deck, never owned a reel to reel. Bose 901 with the receiver, 2 pairs of 601's and 2 pairs of 501's. I've been a Marantz fanboy since college 1973 owning 14 examples of receivers such as models 2325, 2275, 2245 2235, 2215, amplifiers: 1090, 1070, 1060, 3200 console, Tuners 104, and 105. I have duplicates of some of those models. I also have some older Marantz turntables which I don't use. Kenwood 7001 / 7002 Amp and Tuner. Thorens 125 turntable. Interesting video, much appreciated!
Nice job on the history of Akai... i liked them as a kid in 70s 80s along with the rest...sansui and Hitachi were of the more glamorous looking for me... warm glowing lightings
What I remember was Akai all the reel to reels made by them. I remember as a kid going to one of the first Goodguys store on Fillmore and Lombard St. and wanting everything they had. They showcase them like import cars or jewelry with track lights. And they had the high end room to test out how certain receivers sounded with different speakers. Every man in the 70s and 80s tried to have a great sound system at home and almost as important as having a nice car. It was an exciting time and going to a stereo store was a big deal and figuring out what was new that you wanted and doing comparing and research. Oh and once you found what you wanted, saving up for it. Lol!
Your channel occasionally pops up on my feed. I remember the first video I watched of you. I was thinking to myself good Lord if that's not a Baltimore accent, I don't know what is. And of course sure enough that's where you are. I went to Woodlawn Senior High in the late '70s and I was on the auditorium tech crew. I haven't thought of Roberts in 45 years but as soon as you said Roberts I remembered the pair of tape decks that we had in the control room; it seemed to me they were semi-portable with handles and covers. Then sure enough the pictures popped up on your video and that's what I remember. Thanks for reviving a decades-old memory!
hmmmmmm.... TEAC /Tascam would be my guess, as to the company with the widest variety. But it would be just that... a guess. My first R2R was an Akai 7 in. 2 speed w/ sound on sound! still loving the classic gear. My favorite machine for live music recording is my Tascam 388. a mixer and R2R both in the same frame.
AWESOME post my man great researching.....had a KENWOOD system in the 80's loved it but SANSUI and McIntosh were my all time favourites....again GOOD WORK ! 🤔
Lenny, thankyou so much for this...its literally been a history of my hifi obsession...started in 1977 when I was 9 and up unitl a couple of years ago, I had 40+ different seperates in various cupboards, sure you know the feeling 😂 Majority have now been repaired (which I figured at an early age, I could get decent items for cheap if they were broken so taught myself to fix them) and sold, just a few left, nearly all Technics...
Great job, Lenny! I enjoyed this. What always amazes me about JBL is that he didn’t live to see really any of the great things his company did despite it continuing to carry his name. Tandberg is a similarly tragic story. You should do a segment on Tandberg.
Ahh, I miss these old electronics. I miss my old stack of stereo equipment. Maybe I will buy them again, then play my phone running through them. Great video ! Thank You !
This made me remember that back in the late 80's my family had an Akai VHS VCR, which was amazing, our first Hi-Fi VCR. Notably it had switchable auto/manual audio level control. We used to use it as an audio only recorder, and every VCR we had after that was also often used in this way, although we never had another manual level control machine.
I have a Roberts 778X that my dad bought new in either the late '60s or very early '70s. He also had bought a Sony reel to reel unit that's still at the house back in Houston. I have the manuals to both recorders.. My dad had actually given the Roberts and Sony reel to reel recorders to me back in the 1990s and I used to use the Roberts on my HF radio recording cool things like Coast Guard search and rescue ops and military phone patches being done. I'm legally blind today and I was real happy to find this reel to reel recorder over at his house when I was picking up his McIntosh receiver, preamp, and amp. He used to not allow me or my sister to use that equipment when I was growing up in the 1980s. But I still hooked it up and I've never heard anything that sounded as good. I've been trying to get the McIntosh equipment from him for years but he just kept it in his closet and never used it after the early 1980s. But he recently gave it to me and I've got it over here at the house now. I'm looking forward to getting it going again but I need to find someone who can check the electrical components and help do things like recapping the gear if it needs it. If you can recommend anybody in the DFW area, I would greatly appreciate it! I really enjoy watching the videos you guys make and seeing all of the vintage gear y'all get to play, repair, and just use! Brian in Fort Worth 🎶
I recently picked up a Technics SA 5460 circa 1976 as a back up receiver, when the PMS’s have to be at the shop. It was in pristine condition cosmetically, so a restorer went through it and did basically everything. Kit, filter caps, bulbs, deep cleaning, the whole enchilada. I paid a pretty penny for it because it is so clean. And I was quite pleased with its 65 watts RMS per channel, and extremely low distortion. It drives my JBL L-166 Horizons just fine. And the sound quality rivals my 2270 and my Sansui 8080. It lacks all the bells and whistles of the PMS’s, but for pure sound, it’s a workhorse.
WOW! I have Not heard about Wow&Flutter or THD, let alone IHD from components since the Glorious iFi days of my youth back in the mid seventies when my goal was to upgrade from a very high quality for the price small 50w speaker stereo from a name brand component store, to a Marantz or Onkyo component system stereo. Complete with the rpn adjustable platter. Thanks for the delve into behind the scene documentary of yesteryears fabulous high fidelity integrity. I miss the "Rock Monitor" floor speakers. P. S. - haven't listened to the whole episode yet (doing that now). What ever happened to the world renowned Harmon Kardin preamp receiver? You just gained another subscriber!!! 👍
Have you ever heard of Accuphase amplifiers, In the early 70's while overseas I took out a moderate loans and went tho the US's largest Audio shops in Germany, I bought many pieces a Marantz 70/70 reciever, some JBL studio monitors, A Teac 10'" reel to reel and I also bought Kenwoof KL70/70 speakers. The good old days of the audiophiles. Watching you channel has sparked a memory :)
I miss the receivers and stereo that had physical eq sliders. It's like real eq's disappeared off the planet. It's so critical to a sound you like, though.
@@Elvee-br7dr that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I like to customize my sound and need an EQ to do that. Not be stuck with "perfectly flat" curves that sound like hollow trash.
The Technics CD version of the 1200 - the SLP-1200 'cash register' (as I called it back in the '80s), was the first CD player I used as a radio DJ. It had auto cue and frame scrubbing. Awesome machine in its day.
When I was in Detroit between 7 mile and 8 mile used to be a Datacenter in an old decrapitated building with Skylights, Asbestos, Bus Bars on the Ceiling, Engineering drawing tables, a lot of leaks and a straight out of the 60’s/70’s McDonalds looking no longer used cafeteria complete with swivel out multi colored seating and a Chrysler Tool making shop. People would shoot bullets into the building. Anyways as I was leaving the Datacenter I over heard as I was leaving from a Sony sales leadership teacher. He said and I quote, “All channels are is another Gimmick to sell more Hardware”. I thought in this split second. Good to know.
The 2 channel pure Hi-fi stereo deck system, has really enlightened this universe so rapidly, because those frequencies of music band groups were even healing some anxiety and fatigue sicknesses. Those days of 70s and 80s , both pop music and Hi-fi stereo systems were definitely of another level. Hope it will come back again, to enlighten this universe more.
I googled plans for speaker cabinets and used an online calculator to determine the correct internal dimensions for 2 way acoustic suspension speakers and built my own using 3/4 inch MDF. I purchased two Mcintosh made by Philips tweeters from eBay, two Visaton W170-8 8 ohm 6.5 inch woofers from Parts Express, and 2 1500hz crossovers from eBay. I put walnut veneer on the cabinets and applied a coat of Howard Feed and Wax and they look excellent. And together with an M&K 8 inch subwoofer they sound amazing!
It's no SECRET the Smart PHONE & the INTERNET, Computers and LAPTOPS.. Also our society being more interested in aesthetics for the home. A more visual society.. The WALKMAN from SONY.. I had a WALKMAN 1..costed me almost $150 in 1983.. A lot of Women also helped kill the Home stereo system because to them it was UGLY in their livingroom. etc. etc...
I had a 1989 (I think it was) Nissan Maxima that had a Bose sound system. It sounded pretty good to me at the time. I totaled that car in 1997. Now that I’m used to the Bang and Olufsen system in my Audi, it might not be that impressive. I still have Bose noise-canceling over-the-ears headphones, which I like pretty much, but I don’t take them on planes and trains any more, just because they are big, and just use some Beats ear buds that sound good if I get them seated right in my ears. I did used to use the Bose on overnight flights. I’d turn them on and not play anything through them, just blocked out some of the noise to sleep. But wearing headphones (or ear buds for that matter) over night gets uncomfortable.
Many thanks to you sir, from Ambon, Maluku - Indonesia. It's remind me how excitingly youthful times I've had back then. 🙏 Felt sad, 😢 missing all friends usually around enjoying deep bass and distinct treble of jazz and bossanova.😢 For me, listening music it's a special time and something that "must be" definitely hi-fi system plus black coffee. Otherwise, worthless.... Once again, thank you for the information/video you make here. 👍
I remember Akai. 1983 just off the USMC base store, Okinawa Japan where I picked up a portable cassette player with a FM transmitter box as an optional accessory to FM transmitter box that securely connected on top adding an extra inch to an already longer than Sony Walkman style handheld. This gave me the ability to record tape and broadcast simultaneously. Also had another small square accessory microphone that squarely connected to the top with two points as like the Transmitter had with an extra stud insert for stability (headphone male jack + stability post). *FM transmitters were not introduced to general consumer markets in the States until a decade afterwards.
Good day to you . I have a Kenwood Stereo Receiver , Model KR-9400 . Cira 1978 . It is still going strong although the 4 back lights to illuminate the dial are all burned out . I use it to drive a pair of JBL Studio 190's . I was wondering what your thoughts on this Kenwood is . Thank You ...........DGR
A reel to reel with a leather finish!? Man!, that would be a mind mangling sight and I would wager most hi-fi enthusiast and audiophiles have never seen one. I've owned two reel to reel decks and probably would have freaked out seeing one clad in leather!
Great video. So much research must have gone into presenting great information. The video also recalled so many memories. Like the Bose demo room. I experience the room and would have bought the speakers except for the PRICE. I will subscribe and watch for more videos.
I bought a used set of 901s from an F-18 pilot in the 1990’s. I happily used them until the foam fell apart. There was a problem with foam from the 1980’s. Ski boots and speaker foam. I got them refoamed and happily used them for another 5 years. I hung my from the ceiling and they sounded great. I know that many audiophiles hate them, but then again, they can hear audio cables with gold ends. 😂
I loved my original Bose Am5 speaker system. I had the sub with 2 pairs of cubes. It filled my entire room with amazing sound! But yeah since you mentioned it, they couldn't handle much power and couldn't get as loud as other speakers.
I remember as a teenager seeing a bose showroom at a home show exhibition and they had the surround sound with the tiny cube speakers but he had the volume cranked and it sounded really distorted. It was more of a space saving design for the "Yuppies". I grew up around my dad's vintage JBL's and vintage sound systems, so I definitely know what sounds good and what doesn't. I do have to point out that the bose Companion 2 (silver model) and the Companion 20 are some of the best computer speakers out there. It's their only speakers that has good clarity in their mids. Thanks for the history lesson. I grew up with all those brands, and wondered what happened to them...
Thank you for such an awesome audiophile historic education. I remember Akai, but thought it was Teac, so I got confused because I maybe Teac came after Akai, but in either regard, Teac seemed to make cassette and CDs as well as computer drives too.
My first receiver ever purchased was a Technics SA-828 in 1982 I think. It didn’t look as beautiful as a wood cabbed SA-1000, but it was what I could buy. I loved that monster. A 22-year olds first step Into audiophile adulthood…
Technics turntable, Akai double cassette deck and Kenwood receiver/amplifier. That was the dream of every music loving kid in my high school. When a classmate got that setup as an early graduation gift everyone in the senior class (and a few audio nerd youngsters like me) made a pilgrimage during lunch and paraded through his living room like ambassadors at a White House dinner. He was king for a week.
The 20A amps, if you can find one, will cost a small fortune, so will the 10A pre amp. But they would be worth it. They are on the order of "Atmos Sphere" OTL's. Freaking awesome. Watching your excellent videos is like torture, I guess I'm a masochist.
In the mid 1980,s I purchased a SanSui computerized dubbing tape deck that was so precise when I recorded it was unmatched. When I was overseas my brother sold it and pissed me off; and I still look for today.
Loved the vid & memories it caused. I was a young Junior (UK, 7 - 11) school kid in the 1970's & remember how my dad often had his musician & hi-fi loving friends around. My dad went thru a few Marantz amps, had 3-way AR speakers before he bought Accustat Model X e/stats, but went back to 4 separate (model'?4get) Tannoy 15" dual concentric when he went Quadraphonic for 3 or 4'ish years, he had Sansui's QS decoder & power amps, Sony SQ system & JVC's CD-4 system (CD ='d Channel Discreet, where you needed one of the not-many phono cartridges that could reach 30'kHz within 6 or was it(?) 3'db which was the carrier wave frequency that reconstructed the 4 channels. I only know all this because after his death a good few years ago, I ended up inheriting most of his gear he didn't sell, it's all about 25 feet above my head in the attic. He got bored with Quadraphonic (I don't blame him, it's gimmicky) all I recall is Floyd's bells swirling around the 4 speakers. He sold 2 of his Tannoy's & I've had other 2 running for a few years (until 1 started magnet / voice coil rubbing, I filed down the very outer curve of the insulated coil's winding & got another 6 months, alas, it went further out of alignment last year, one is still perfect, considering their signed, dated & faded test-pass labels tell they were made in 1969, the fact that until last year, only 1 is past-it, complicated cone / chassis termination, not foam & boy oh boy, do I miss their sound quality. Dragged the accustats down & one of their dedicated valve power-amp / panel energizers had 'gone' dead. Roughing it with o.k. Celestion Hybrids. My biggest shock was inhetiting his Sony PS X800 "biotracer" turntable. I moved my AT m.c. into it & never heard this Linn Troika sounding as good as it does in that arm / t'table. Direct drive, it beats my Kuzma early model Stabi belt drive. Tho I'd love to move that arm into the Stabi, (imposs' as it's arm-resonance sensing & according magnetic damping & feedback circuitry is riddled on circuit boards inside, I learnt after reading up about it's technology, it must have cost a lot of R+D money compared to a balanced beam gimbal bearing'd arm, it's the absolute antithesis of an unipivot you'd damp in a silicon bath to slug any res' trouble. he bought it for it's full auto functions as he became more partially blind, you even dial the tracking weight in & see it numbered brightly, it was less than 0.1 out of mech' ballance, I remember setting it up for him, didn't say anything but thought he'd hear a downgrade because, as you said, Belt Drive were said to be king, I don't swing that way now, this thing is well o.k. & I may well sell or keep the old 25kg Stabi "Oak" in case the hi-tech just-pre'CD made Sony fails. Great video. Drooled over those JBL's & was gob-smacked by those outdoor band's systems, wow! Gr8 fascinating stuff
We lived in Japan and returned to America, my dad bought a killer system with reel to reel etc, it was 1973 and supposedly the best available in 1973 ( I forgot the brand) I was 10 and amazed at this thing. I also remember buying a Nakamichi Cassette player that flipped the cassette. It did have issues with head alignment though
Computers changed everything. One can store their entire music library on their hard drive. Companies like JBL make computer sound systems. It all sounds great without storing shelves full of LPs and tapes. I am completely on board with my computer sound system.
Thank you for your videos of wisdom. The 80's were the epic of luxury and quality of life and fashion. My question is to your wisdom is if I were super rixh and wanted wanted the best of the best in an entertainment sound system.. .what what you choose ? Mean a sound system for top to bottom including the speakers.
Paying attention to your beard. Did you also serve 6yrs in search of information to dive deep into this documentary. Lol Great job I love your passion and the way you dive into the wormhole
Dude! One single tear rolled down my cheek when I saw the components behind you. Oh man, I miss that era so much. Great video!
Haha that’s awesome! Thanks so much for watching, hope you enjoyed!
😢
Right! it's like a juicy audio candy store
Fascinating history of brands I grew up with. Electronics today don’t seem as magical. Everybody has grown stuck to their boring smartphone. It’s like everyone is stuck to their Swiss army knife, while everyone before was seeking the best sword.😢
Yup and it used to be exciting with so many models coming out of Japan and hunting or down. I remember when I got my first scooter and buying Sony first tape deck with the 4 digital time counter. I think it was also a 3 head auto reverse and I thought so modern in 1987. So when it went on sale at this small Sony store, I grabbed it and I remember tying it up with bungee cords on my scooter and driving it home all excited and so glad I got this tape player.
I think I upgrade a few years later when the double cassette decks started coming out in the early 90s. By then many of the tape decks had the 4 digital counter vs the 3 rolling numbers that was hard to count the time with. Not sure what ever happen to that deck and when I replaced it, it was in great condition.
I didn’t have much money when in high school in the late 1970’s. My buddy and I would make professional sound speakers using JBL and Electrovoice. I made my own home stereo speakers using JBL components. They were bullet proof and a fraction of the cost of brand name high end speakers.
What crossovers?
@@DontCryAboutIt We would buy the crossovers from the component stores. No one was using electronic crossovers yet.
Hahahaha I did the same mate
Owner of Marantz and 10 years ago Scott Amp and tuner . 👌👌👌👌
Why didn't you make the speakers yourself? Why do we ALWAYS depend on others? We never really make anything ourselves, we never can be proud, really. Why is that?
Seriously, this video/documentary was so awesome! Thanks for making it.
I still use a combination of 70-90s amplifier, speakers, cassette deck, S-VHS, cd-player, minidisc-player aso. Quality was much better back in the day . Nice to see so many ppl who still love the old hifi equipment in 2024. I also like to collect and telephones, NMT cellphones and smartphones. Lot's of fun!
….They burn as much energy a space heater practically. Todays Bluetooth can sound just as good with much less wattage
These Akai decks are simply beautiful. The recording quality tends to be stellar, in relationship our quality standards. Quite possibly, due to Mr. W. Edward Deming's post WWII manufacturing quality standards, to assist in rebuilding Japanese manufacturing structures.
I also just collect the vintage hi fi and even saved a Sony hi end or higher number series VHS from the rain that was left out on the curb and no one interested.
It seem back then you got the best quality and have the best sounds at home like big tv and radio station. Meaning it was like industrial level quality and why it was so expensive.
@@jacknjill3000 The last generation Sony VCR is super with plastic belts and no rubber belts!
@@stephenfiore9960 bluetooth? don't make us laugh.
Thanks for that informative and fascinating education. You fill a small niche of people who love this stuff - small but passionate, even obsessed.
The most beautiful and perfect receiver I owned in the 1970s was the Marantz Model 4400 with oscilloscope. I still regret having sold it. It still works today in Switzerland.
Do you still send it Christmas and birthday cards every year?
There’s a Marantz w/oscilloscope Model 2600 on eBay right now in Canada for $27,000 if you want another one.
How do you know it still working? Did you sell it to a friend or someone you know ?
1974 I spend more money than I could afford on a Sansui quad system. Word got around about how good it sounded, and my roommate's and my friends started coming over every night. I sold it less than a year later just to stop the endless party, thinking I'd get another when I got my own place. I never did, and a couple of department store stereos later, I still miss that Sansui system.
Any chance now of rebuilding a duplicate system from vintage equipment sellers? The components may need service of course.
It might have been best to sell anyways because since a bunch of people knew you had it, it probably would have eventually been stolen. I know that is a cynical view. Maybe it was less likely back then, I do not know because I wasn't even born until late 74.
@@Lesrevesdhiver There are a few mom & pop shops around that refurbish vintage equipment, so I may eventually.
Looking back the 1970s we’re almost a magical time for home tech. Everting in that era was new was becoming affordable and people appreciated what they had unlike today where everything is or less the same and nothing is different.
Sansui was a good av brand.
in 1979, fresh out of college, I purchased an NEC rack component stereo system... and an AKAI GX-630D reel-to-reel deck.... which I still own and use regularly. A wonderful piece of equipment that has stood the test of time, and crosses the boundaries of electronics and quality furniture with it's solid walnut end panels. Love that beast!
GX-630D is a great machine. Glass heads last and last, and are beautiful to observe when listening at night, the big reels turnin, the VU meters bumpin' under the indirect lighting... and when dialed in correctly, there is no better, or more accurate sound reproduction anywhere.
:0)
I have been a "Marantz Man" from 1970! From HighSchool.. The 4400Q and the 2325 were the receivers for me .
Marantz got going by using Philips internal components - Check out their history as they were connected through family...
OMG, Keep it going! If your channel is audioporn, then this is the “behind the scenes” documentary. My top 3 requests would be to feature Pioneer, Nakamichi, & JVC. I grew up in a small town where the one stereo shop carried Pioneer & JVC, so by the time I went off to college, I had an all JVC system. In the big city, 1984, I finally discovered high-end.
My first Sansui product was a beautiful pair of SP25 bookshelf speakers which were brought from Japan back in around 1973. I now have a AU 999 which I picked up at a recycle depot in our town. This amp came with a pair of Coral BX 1401 speakers, I saw these sitting out the back of the room waiting to bee tested and put out for sale. I jumped in with an offer there and then, I knew what I was looking at, the people in the recycle had no idea what they were apart from someone dropping them off. I love this set up and they all work well, however at some stage when $$$$$ permit I will have the amp overhauled and the speakers recapped and sorted. As they stand they give me great pleasure to use them. Thanks for a great video.
Wow this video is a wealth of information Lenny , you've done a great job . Took me down memory lane too there's something about vintage hi-fi that is so nostalgic. Really enjoyed learning with you Mark
Thanks Mark! Appreciate the kind words and glad you enjoyed it!
I totally loved my Marantz receiver from the 70's. It had a remarkable radio and coupled with a Pioneer pre-amp ( about 250w/channel ), Infinity monitors, My parents asked me to move as soon as I fixed the windows. Great piece of work, your love of music shows.
Stereo systems , vinyl records , and tapes made listening to music more fun . Music has evolved itself down the tubes with them .
Talk about doing what you love and loving what you do - which results in being great at it, well, this cat absolutely does such a deep dive it left me smiling over it at times and enjoying it all the way through. Particularly all things Technics, though. My serious compliments! Earlier in this video journey with you, I was delighted to learn the things about Audio-Technica since I have been doing extensive research into today’s great resurgence of turntables and which one I should choose in order to play my vast 1970s Rock record collection. Like all of the great KISS albums that dominated the 70s, Aerosmith, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Van Halen, And so on. And, alright, also the Bay City Rollers, KC & The Sunshine Band, Village People, and even Barry Manilow. But I recently “settled on” the $399.99 USB and Bluetooth model (there was a $399.99 and a $299.99 model, both of which come in either black or silver). You profiled and praised the more expensive of the two, which is what I have been preparing to either buy or land for my August Birthday. So thank you for that!! I have a good friend who certainly is an Audiophile, and who owns tons of components by Luxman, McIntosh, Denon, Auralec (sp?), and others, as well as far more speakers than needed from KEF, Focal, Bowers & Wilkins, and Bose. So the point really being that he has pushed on me that Audio-Technica turntables are not what I think they are and that I should spend more. However, a VERY large, all high-end brands store outside Chicago took considerable time to show me why if I wasn’t able to spend somewhere in the beginning range of $800 and up then he said that Audio-Technica is an amazingly high-caliber, high-quality line of products at surprisingly affordable prices. He recommended it over three other well-known brands (whom I don’t want to name because I don’t want to make anyone feel less happy with their own than they should unnecessarily be.
I am curious to know simply why when folks like yourself are making lists of “the best turntables”, for example, why are the REEEAALLY high-end brands never mentioned or shown? Such as the $19,000, $30,000 and $49,000 tables by SME, and even two in the range of and exceeding $100,000. YES, to anyone who may think those are typos, they’re NOT. And I’m missing at least two brands who can always be found in Sound & Vision Magazine and Stereophile Magazine.
Thank for sharing this! Great information!
Hi-Fi with an xfiles twist? Loved it lol great job. :) Ok that comment relates more to the intro, after watching the rest of the vid your coverage of the vid in general was damm solid ty.
Wow, what a history lesson, that was incredible, couldn't stop watching until the very end! Toasting a whiskey to you for this one Lenny and my Marantz 2270
I’ll have some whiskey today for you as well!
You are the most arrogant and pedantic person I have ever tried to approach... but the day you die the worms will eat you just like everyone else, so there is nothing special about you! 😊
Wow Lenny, amazing detailed report. It would take me two years to do that! All delivered with your natural enthusiasm. Good job!
Wow Lenny!!! This is great. The research on this video must have been enormous. You are a terrific presenter. Business Owner, Manager, presenter, you are quite talented. GRESAT JOB!!!
Nice narration Lenny short and sweet and bang on point with different products. People have no real understanding of the amount of work and research that goes into producing quality video.
Keep up the good work fella 👍
Hello from Ireland, Great video really enjoyed it. The amount of research you must have done really paid off, really informative. A really great way to spend an afternoon in work.
Thank you!!
Dear Brother, my heartfelt thanks for providing so much inside information. We are aware of many things related to audio techs & companies. Thanks & and I'm hoping to get some more videos.
I applaud you, sir, for your extensive research and presentation! This type of production is so far better than others found on RUclips. Keep up the good work!
this is the 1st time i’ve watched your channel. it gave me a lot of memories of the audio brands i’ve grown up with. thanks…
That’s great! Thank you so much!
There's so much work gone into this video, so much better than the ai junk that's flooding youtube at the moment. I really appreciate it thanks.
Excellent history lesson - enjoyed it immensely! One footnote: Technics was the brand favorite in the disco's of the 70's such as Studio 54, Electric Circus, Swings, The Garage, The Barefoot Boy, Regines, The Monastery, and any other club worth its salt! Thanks for this great video!!!!
I owned a TU-9900 and it was the best and most beautiful tuner I've ever had heard or seen. It has an incredible tuner section which could latch and hold weak stations that no other could match. One day my wall shelf collapsed and the Sansui landed on the front panel, shattering the glass. I replaced it but something internal went and it kept losing stereo capture intermittently. I tried to have it repaired several times but finally threw in the towel and replaced it with a Luxman tuner. I was spoiled by the Sansui and never enjoyed the Luxman like I did that unit. The blue-green glow of the meters and dial was always spectacular and felt like a moth drawn to a flame of that glow.
Enjoyed your video, I started my journey in home/pro audio in 1965 first in sales then as a Corp Buyer of home and car audio and have worked with so many audio vendors. Over the years had great relations with Bose, Pioneer, JBL, Onkyo, Polk, Klipsch, Marantz, and many more. After a meeting with Dr. Bose I realized they were really a marketing company rather than a speaker company. Their products were well made and fit the need of those they marketed to. I am retired now and just sit back and enjoy good classic Rock-N-Roll.
Bet there are some great stories!
A fun and highly informative presentation of brands I grew up with. Well done.
A very good in depth history of some iconic hi fi brands.
Really enjoyed this mate, thanks for memory lane🎼🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Great stories. I was amazed at how much of the AKAI, Marantz, Sansui, JBL, Technics, Roberts, and Bose stuff that you talked about that I had actually owned over the years at one time or another! I ended my foray into high-end audio 30 years ago with Nikko Audio separates (Alpha 440, et.al), an AKAI cassette deck, the venerable Technics 1200 MKIII, a dbx NR device, a dbx sub-harmonic systhesizer, and ESS Heil AMT studio monitors. Of course, I've also had tinnitus for 30 years, but for all the pleasure I got out of the stuff, I kinda think it was worth it.😉
Thanks mate, very informative. I did read that Quincy Jones bought AKAI in very early 70's and had a no expense spared, striving to produce the best of the best equipment. One of their best amps was 1971 aa-5800 integrated I read by 45 vinyl site who upgrades amps and writes that this amp was dumbed down. Their sw 160 are great speakers too, I snapped up a pair for 260$ people didn't know their worth, the guy I bought off had a pair of 6k$ speakers and sounded as good as these AKAI s, his wife made him sell cause if decor reasons.I also read that AKAI started cost cutting from 1976 with as 2250 not having pre in /pre outs, dials were plain, more ic's used, speaker wire terminals degraded. I saw this personally cause I own them both and the quad aa 6100 that pairs with 1870ss reel to reel. From what little I know AKAI was their best from 1969-1975. Not saying all I write is fact but that's what I read as I said. I'm in Australia and AKAI not respected like pioneer, mirantz, sansai etc due to poor knowledge of the people. Keep up the good work 🤙
Okay you got me... Saw the title and thought to myself I'd like to learn some factual details on the top brands I remember both from stores as well as from friends homes when growing up whose families were very well off. As I watched I had the sense I was watching some type of promo or infomercial of another format I'd simply not seen before. I'd wondered based on the time spent on brands it would be limited on them and why these when there were a few that arguably deserved a spot above some profiled but it all came together when I saw these are featured brands that you've been able to access to refurbish and resell in your business. Understandably they'd be the focus of the video pitched to set up interest and should that develope you just happen to have those brands and models in stock ready for sale. All refurbished , restored or whatever the term thats in style.
Job well done, you got me but only because it felt off and directionally driven but you still got me...
My father had 2 Akai reel-to-reels. One of them had an 8 track deck on it. He also had that Sansui 9090 receiver, a Pioneer SR202W reverb machine, a Pioneer SG9500 equalizer, 2 beautiful Pioneer turntables, and 2 monster 15" Pioneer speakers. Everything had wood around them and his stereo cabinet was a 3-piece dark wood beast, made in the Philippines. It was all absolutely impressive, beautiful, and the sound was phenomenal...so damn rich and full. He took a lot of pride in it. I spent hours as a kid in the 70s listening to it. I don't know what my mother did with everything when he passed away in 2013. I don't think she kept everything. I really wish I would've been able to keep them, but at the time, I just didn't have the room for a system that took up an entire wall and I was living in another area of the country.
Great presentation Lenny, thank you! Willing to watch Kenwood-Trio and Pioneer’s videos ahead. Cheers!
Kenwood L series 100v is what I wish could be reviewed.
That was the pinnacle of Kenwood and maybe anybody.
External power supplies, holy grail list turntables....
I sold Akai Reel to Reel and cassette decks in the late 70's and early 80's My favorite GX-646 auto reverse Reel to Reel
I still have my 4000ds reel to reel recorder. It works perfectly and looks as good as it did when I was gifted it in 1978 by my Father.
I had a Pioneer RT707 but one of the spindles broke on transport. It's in storage now.
Watcand from Old Harbour Jamaica and I remember all those brands and have always woundered what became of the. In jamaica we use to have sreet dances with competing large sound system to see how can please the crowd but things have change over the years now. Precently I have my lap top huc up to an old Allegro sound system by Zenith along with it's 3000 speaker system I inherit from my grand aunt who passed away two years ago at the age of 99. It houses a turn table, 8tack (with recording), and AM FM tuner. I love it.
Of those brands, i have an AKAI dual cassette deck, never owned a reel to reel. Bose 901 with the receiver, 2 pairs of 601's and 2 pairs of 501's. I've been a Marantz fanboy since college 1973 owning 14 examples of receivers such as models 2325, 2275, 2245 2235, 2215, amplifiers: 1090, 1070, 1060, 3200 console, Tuners 104, and 105. I have duplicates of some of those models. I also have some older Marantz turntables which I don't use. Kenwood 7001 / 7002 Amp and Tuner. Thorens 125 turntable.
Interesting video, much appreciated!
Nice job on the history of Akai... i liked them as a kid in 70s 80s along with the rest...sansui and Hitachi were of the more glamorous looking for me... warm glowing lightings
Sweet sounds came out of those units. I still play old school stuff right now.
Great video, very detailed history of some very important manufacturers.
Superb narration by Lenny!
What I remember was Akai all the reel to reels made by them. I remember as a kid going to one of the first Goodguys store on Fillmore and Lombard St. and wanting everything they had. They showcase them like import cars or jewelry with track lights. And they had the high end room to test out how certain receivers sounded with different speakers. Every man in the 70s and 80s tried to have a great sound system at home and almost as important as having a nice car. It was an exciting time and going to a stereo store was a big deal and figuring out what was new that you wanted and doing comparing and research. Oh and once you found what you wanted, saving up for it. Lol!
Your channel occasionally pops up on my feed. I remember the first video I watched of you. I was thinking to myself good Lord if that's not a Baltimore accent, I don't know what is. And of course sure enough that's where you are. I went to Woodlawn Senior High in the late '70s and I was on the auditorium tech crew. I haven't thought of Roberts in 45 years but as soon as you said Roberts I remembered the pair of tape decks that we had in the control room; it seemed to me they were semi-portable with handles and covers. Then sure enough the pictures popped up on your video and that's what I remember. Thanks for reviving a decades-old memory!
I have 8 akai models in my collection. My favorite, the M-10. I think Akai produced the largest number of open reel models in history.
i have a 635d ,,an a 255 i just got off ebay,,, they are better than my teacs 5500 they are buggy lol
hmmmmmm.... TEAC /Tascam would be my guess, as to the company with the widest variety. But it would be just that... a guess. My first R2R was an Akai 7 in. 2 speed w/ sound on sound! still loving the classic gear. My favorite machine for live music recording is my Tascam 388. a mixer and R2R both in the same frame.
@@DetroitAnalog MAybe you're totally right. TEAC and Tascam may have be the great ones. I haven't thought about that.
Wow great video. I forgot I used to own an Akai receiver with VFD display back in the 80's.
AWESOME post my man great researching.....had a KENWOOD system in the 80's loved it but SANSUI and McIntosh were my all time favourites....again GOOD WORK ! 🤔
In 1987, while in high school, I bought a pair of JBL 4301b studio monitors & a Marantz 2238B. They’re still going strong today. Love ‘em!!
Lenny, thankyou so much for this...its literally been a history of my hifi obsession...started in 1977 when I was 9 and up unitl a couple of years ago, I had 40+ different seperates in various cupboards, sure you know the feeling 😂 Majority have now been repaired (which I figured at an early age, I could get decent items for cheap if they were broken so taught myself to fix them) and sold, just a few left, nearly all Technics...
That’s amazing! Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it!
Correction: Stanley designed the Wall of Sound in 1973, not ‘53. That would have been quite a coup as McIntosh was a wee company then 😉
Great job, Lenny! I enjoyed this. What always amazes me about JBL is that he didn’t live to see really any of the great things his company did despite it continuing to carry his name. Tandberg is a similarly tragic story. You should do a segment on Tandberg.
Ahh, I miss these old electronics. I miss my old stack of stereo equipment. Maybe I will buy them again, then play my phone running through them. Great video ! Thank You !
Thanks for watching!
This made me remember that back in the late 80's my family had an Akai VHS VCR, which was amazing, our first Hi-Fi VCR. Notably it had switchable auto/manual audio level control. We used to use it as an audio only recorder, and every VCR we had after that was also often used in this way, although we never had another manual level control machine.
I have a Roberts 778X that my dad bought new in either the late '60s or very early '70s. He also had bought a Sony reel to reel unit that's still at the house back in Houston. I have the manuals to both recorders.. My dad had actually given the Roberts and Sony reel to reel recorders to me back in the 1990s and I used to use the Roberts on my HF radio recording cool things like Coast Guard search and rescue ops and military phone patches being done. I'm legally blind today and I was real happy to find this reel to reel recorder over at his house when I was picking up his McIntosh receiver, preamp, and amp. He used to not allow me or my sister to use that equipment when I was growing up in the 1980s. But I still hooked it up and I've never heard anything that sounded as good. I've been trying to get the McIntosh equipment from him for years but he just kept it in his closet and never used it after the early 1980s. But he recently gave it to me and I've got it over here at the house now. I'm looking forward to getting it going again but I need to find someone who can check the electrical components and help do things like recapping the gear if it needs it. If you can recommend anybody in the DFW area, I would greatly appreciate it! I really enjoy watching the videos you guys make and seeing all of the vintage gear y'all get to play, repair, and just use!
Brian in Fort Worth 🎶
Metzgers vintage audio
The Danish B&O was ahead of time in the 80's
I still sell JBL through Harman as well as AKG, Harmon Kardon, Infinity, and Mark Levinson. I love Superscope great gear
I had a super scope combo player
I recently picked up a Technics SA 5460 circa 1976 as a back up receiver, when the PMS’s have to be at the shop. It was in pristine condition cosmetically, so a restorer went through it and did basically everything. Kit, filter caps, bulbs, deep cleaning, the whole enchilada. I paid a pretty penny for it because it is so clean. And I was quite pleased with its 65 watts RMS per channel, and extremely low distortion. It drives my JBL L-166 Horizons just fine. And the sound quality rivals my 2270 and my Sansui 8080. It lacks all the bells and whistles of the PMS’s, but for pure sound, it’s a workhorse.
WOW!
I have Not heard about Wow&Flutter or THD, let alone IHD from components since the Glorious iFi days of my youth back in the mid seventies when my goal was to upgrade from a very high quality for the price small 50w speaker stereo from a name brand component store, to a Marantz or Onkyo component system stereo. Complete with the rpn adjustable platter.
Thanks for the delve into behind the scene documentary of yesteryears fabulous high fidelity integrity. I miss the "Rock Monitor" floor speakers. P. S. - haven't listened to the whole episode yet (doing that now). What ever happened to the world renowned Harmon Kardin preamp receiver?
You just gained another subscriber!!! 👍
Have you ever heard of Accuphase amplifiers, In the early 70's while overseas I took out a moderate loans and went tho the US's largest Audio shops in Germany, I bought many pieces a Marantz 70/70 reciever, some JBL studio monitors, A Teac 10'" reel to reel and I also bought Kenwoof KL70/70 speakers. The good old days of the audiophiles. Watching you channel has sparked a memory :)
I miss the receivers and stereo that had physical eq sliders. It's like real eq's disappeared off the planet. It's so critical to a sound you like, though.
A good Amplifier does not need an xtra EQ
@@Elvee-br7dr that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I like to customize my sound and need an EQ to do that. Not be stuck with "perfectly flat" curves that sound like hollow trash.
The Technics CD version of the 1200 - the SLP-1200 'cash register' (as I called it back in the '80s), was the first CD player I used as a radio DJ. It had auto cue and frame scrubbing. Awesome machine in its day.
Yeah that sure was!
When I was in Detroit between 7 mile and 8 mile used to be a Datacenter in an old decrapitated building with Skylights, Asbestos, Bus Bars on the Ceiling, Engineering drawing tables, a lot of leaks and a straight out of the 60’s/70’s McDonalds looking no longer used cafeteria complete with swivel out multi colored seating and a Chrysler Tool making shop. People would shoot bullets into the building. Anyways as I was leaving the Datacenter I over heard as I was leaving from a Sony sales leadership teacher. He said and I quote, “All channels are is another Gimmick to sell more Hardware”. I thought in this split second. Good to know.
The 2 channel pure Hi-fi stereo deck system, has really enlightened this universe so rapidly, because those frequencies of music band groups were even healing some anxiety and fatigue sicknesses. Those days of 70s and 80s , both pop music and Hi-fi stereo systems were definitely of another level. Hope it will come back again, to enlighten this universe more.
I’ve never had a Bose product. Never will. Overpriced and under to average performance. Why spend big bucks for that?
Sony APM speakers were superior to Bose, and half the price. They were the only speakers I ever used.
Bose is crap. So many other brands are better.
I googled plans for speaker cabinets and used an online calculator to determine the correct internal dimensions for 2 way acoustic suspension speakers and built my own using 3/4 inch MDF. I purchased two Mcintosh made by Philips tweeters from eBay, two Visaton W170-8 8 ohm 6.5 inch woofers from Parts Express, and 2 1500hz crossovers from eBay. I put walnut veneer on the cabinets and applied a coat of Howard Feed and Wax and they look excellent. And together with an M&K 8 inch subwoofer they sound amazing!
I do like some of their headphones. But bought B&W. I also have an AKG and a Sony wired for music production.
…Quiet comfort headphones were a waste of money
Thank you, you brought back many memories; well done!
It's no SECRET the Smart PHONE & the INTERNET, Computers and LAPTOPS.. Also our society being more interested in aesthetics for the home. A more visual society.. The WALKMAN from SONY.. I had a WALKMAN 1..costed me almost $150 in 1983.. A lot of Women also helped kill the Home stereo system because to them it was UGLY in their livingroom. etc. etc...
You can see the wires ! Pffft.
I had a 1989 (I think it was) Nissan Maxima that had a Bose sound system. It sounded pretty good to me at the time. I totaled that car in 1997. Now that I’m used to the Bang and Olufsen system in my Audi, it might not be that impressive. I still have Bose noise-canceling over-the-ears headphones, which I like pretty much, but I don’t take them on planes and trains any more, just because they are big, and just use some Beats ear buds that sound good if I get them seated right in my ears. I did used to use the Bose on overnight flights. I’d turn them on and not play anything through them, just blocked out some of the noise to sleep. But wearing headphones (or ear buds for that matter) over night gets uncomfortable.
Brilliant.
Enjoyed every minute of this.
Thank you.
Many thanks to you sir, from Ambon, Maluku - Indonesia.
It's remind me how excitingly youthful times I've had back then. 🙏 Felt sad, 😢 missing all friends usually around enjoying deep bass and distinct treble of jazz and bossanova.😢 For me, listening music it's a special time and something that "must be" definitely hi-fi system plus black coffee.
Otherwise, worthless....
Once again, thank you for the information/video you make here. 👍
I remember Akai. 1983 just off the USMC base store, Okinawa Japan where I picked up a portable cassette player with a FM transmitter box as an optional accessory to FM transmitter box that securely connected on top adding an extra inch to an already longer than Sony Walkman style handheld. This gave me the ability to record tape and broadcast simultaneously. Also had another small square accessory microphone that squarely connected to the top with two points as like the Transmitter had with an extra stud insert for stability (headphone male jack + stability post). *FM transmitters were not introduced to general consumer markets in the States until a decade afterwards.
Fantastic vid! Excellent from start to finish!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Good day to you . I have a Kenwood Stereo Receiver , Model KR-9400 . Cira 1978 . It is still going strong although the 4 back lights to illuminate the dial are all burned out . I use it to drive a pair of JBL Studio 190's . I was wondering what your thoughts on this Kenwood is . Thank You ...........DGR
A reel to reel with a leather finish!? Man!, that would be a mind mangling sight and I would wager most hi-fi enthusiast and audiophiles have never seen one. I've owned two reel to reel decks and probably would have freaked out seeing one clad in leather!
Great video. So much research must have gone into presenting great information. The video also recalled so many memories. Like the Bose demo room. I experience the room and would have bought the speakers except for the PRICE. I will subscribe and watch for more videos.
Awesome video! Such classic receiver components from my childhood in the 70s! Now what happened to Onkyo ? They have disappeared as well…🤔
You bring back fond memories. Thanks
Thanks for watching!
Akai GX630DB bought in 1977 sold in 1989, still miss it. Superb build quality.
You didn't mention that Harman-Kardon bought JBL in 1969. I am going to do a Harman history soon. Great work. Thanks.
I bought a used set of 901s from an F-18 pilot in the 1990’s. I happily used them until the foam fell apart. There was a problem with foam from the 1980’s. Ski boots and speaker foam. I got them refoamed and happily used them for another 5 years. I hung my from the ceiling and they sounded great. I know that many audiophiles hate them, but then again, they can hear audio cables with gold ends. 😂
I loved my original Bose Am5 speaker system. I had the sub with 2 pairs of cubes. It filled my entire room with amazing sound! But yeah since you mentioned it, they couldn't handle much power and couldn't get as loud as other speakers.
I remember as a teenager seeing a bose showroom at a home show exhibition and they had the surround sound with the tiny cube speakers but he had the volume cranked and it sounded really distorted. It was more of a space saving design for the "Yuppies". I grew up around my dad's vintage JBL's and vintage sound systems, so I definitely know what sounds good and what doesn't. I do have to point out that the bose Companion 2 (silver model) and the Companion 20 are some of the best computer speakers out there. It's their only speakers that has good clarity in their mids. Thanks for the history lesson. I grew up with all those brands, and wondered what happened to them...
My mom, unbeknownst to me, sent her Wave Radio in for refurbishment about 10 years ago. The thing sounds great.
Great video!! I learned a lot! But can we get back to spelling controversies and conspiracies correctly? 1:06:40 transitioning to bose
Thank you for such an awesome audiophile historic education. I remember Akai, but thought it was Teac, so I got confused because I maybe Teac came after Akai, but in either regard, Teac seemed to make cassette and CDs as well as computer drives too.
My first receiver ever purchased was a Technics SA-828 in 1982 I think. It didn’t look as beautiful as a wood cabbed SA-1000, but it was what I could buy. I loved that monster. A 22-year olds first step Into audiophile adulthood…
Technics turntable, Akai double cassette deck and Kenwood receiver/amplifier. That was the dream of every music loving kid in my high school.
When a classmate got that setup as an early graduation gift everyone in the senior class (and a few audio nerd youngsters like me) made a pilgrimage during lunch and paraded through his living room like ambassadors at a White House dinner. He was king for a week.
The 20A amps, if you can find one, will cost a small fortune, so will the 10A pre amp. But they would be worth it. They are on the order of "Atmos Sphere" OTL's. Freaking awesome. Watching your excellent videos is like torture, I guess I'm a masochist.
In the mid 1980,s I purchased a SanSui computerized dubbing tape deck that was so precise when I recorded it was unmatched. When I was overseas my brother sold it and pissed me off; and I still look for today.
I bought myself a Technics SL2000 direct drive turntable for my 18th birthday in 1977, I still have it and it still works....(usually!)
Loved the vid & memories it caused. I was a young Junior (UK, 7 - 11) school kid in the 1970's & remember how my dad often had his musician & hi-fi loving friends around. My dad went thru a few Marantz amps, had 3-way AR speakers before he bought Accustat Model X e/stats, but went back to 4 separate (model'?4get) Tannoy 15" dual concentric when he went Quadraphonic for 3 or 4'ish years, he had Sansui's QS decoder & power amps, Sony SQ system & JVC's CD-4 system (CD ='d Channel Discreet, where you needed one of the not-many phono cartridges that could reach 30'kHz within 6 or was it(?) 3'db which was the carrier wave frequency that reconstructed the 4 channels. I only know all this because after his death a good few years ago, I ended up inheriting most of his gear he didn't sell, it's all about 25 feet above my head in the attic. He got bored with Quadraphonic (I don't blame him, it's gimmicky) all I recall is Floyd's bells swirling around the 4 speakers. He sold 2 of his Tannoy's & I've had other 2 running for a few years (until 1 started magnet / voice coil rubbing, I filed down the very outer curve of the insulated coil's winding & got another 6 months, alas, it went further out of alignment last year, one is still perfect, considering their signed, dated & faded test-pass labels tell they were made in 1969, the fact that until last year, only 1 is past-it, complicated cone / chassis termination, not foam & boy oh boy, do I miss their sound quality. Dragged the accustats down & one of their dedicated valve power-amp / panel energizers had 'gone' dead. Roughing it with o.k. Celestion Hybrids. My biggest shock was inhetiting his Sony PS X800 "biotracer" turntable. I moved my AT m.c. into it & never heard this Linn Troika sounding as good as it does in that arm / t'table. Direct drive, it beats my Kuzma early model Stabi belt drive. Tho I'd love to move that arm into the Stabi, (imposs' as it's arm-resonance sensing & according magnetic damping & feedback circuitry is riddled on circuit boards inside, I learnt after reading up about it's technology, it must have cost a lot of R+D money compared to a balanced beam gimbal bearing'd arm, it's the absolute antithesis of an unipivot you'd damp in a silicon bath to slug any res' trouble. he bought it for it's full auto functions as he became more partially blind, you even dial the tracking weight in & see it numbered brightly, it was less than 0.1 out of mech' ballance, I remember setting it up for him, didn't say anything but thought he'd hear a downgrade because, as you said, Belt Drive were said to be king, I don't swing that way now, this thing is well o.k. & I may well sell or keep the old 25kg Stabi "Oak" in case the hi-tech just-pre'CD made Sony fails. Great video. Drooled over those JBL's & was gob-smacked by those outdoor band's systems, wow! Gr8 fascinating stuff
Thanks for the info. It is much appreciated, can you give some info about Bang and Olufsen, and Nakamichi, thanks.
Nice job ; very informative !!✊💪💪
Still using my Harmon Kardon receiver and EPI speakers , technics turntable bought in the early eighties. Sounds amazing
We lived in Japan and returned to America, my dad bought a killer system with reel to reel etc, it was 1973 and supposedly the best available in 1973 ( I forgot the brand) I was 10 and amazed at this thing. I also remember buying a Nakamichi Cassette player that flipped the cassette. It did have issues with head alignment though
Computers changed everything. One can store their entire music library on their hard drive. Companies like JBL make computer sound systems. It all sounds great without storing shelves full of LPs and tapes. I am completely on board with my computer sound system.
Deteriorates....
Thank you for your videos of wisdom. The 80's were the epic of luxury and quality of life and fashion. My question is to your wisdom is if I were super rixh and wanted wanted the best of the best in an entertainment sound system..
.what what you choose ? Mean a sound system for top to bottom including the speakers.
Paying attention to your beard. Did you also serve 6yrs in search of information to dive deep into this documentary. Lol Great job I love your passion and the way you dive into the wormhole
Lenny, I had the awesome Gx630D. Good to see you.
Steve!! Great to hear from you buddy!