Vintage Hi-Fi Ads

[coaltrain]

Chances are, if you’re an old dog like me, your Hifi education began with Hifi magazines. Back in the 80s, we didn’t have computers at home, much less the internet. We had to scour the footpaths of Flora Fountain in Bombay, or College Street in Calcutta, to score a dog-eared copy of Stereo Review or Audio or Hi-Fi News. Ah, the good old days

But once you got your hands on a magazine, man, what a treat! Pages and pages of drool-worthy gear, with brands spouting technobabble in every ad. This is where we learned terms like azimuth, crossover frequencies and (my favourite!) wow and flutter. Words that would help us sound knowledgeable to our friends, even though we had never seen (or heard) any of this awesome gear in the flesh

So if you’d like to take a ride down memory lane with me, hop on board!


Remember Graphic Equalizers? A gazillion knobs to play with? Boy, did I want one of these real bad:



Years after seeing this ad, I finally got to buy that TDK metal tape! Never used it, of course. Just took it out of its cover occasionally, and marveled at how cool it was

 

[Fiftyfifty]

After getting my first car, what i wanted most was a car cassette player.


I finally got a 'cheap Japanese' model from Lamington Road in Mumbai, with 'auto-reverse' and flashing equaliser lights

What fun!

 

[coaltrain]

I finally got a 'cheap Japanese' model from Lamington Road in Mumbai, with 'auto-reverse' and flashing equaliser lights

My first car stereo was probably made in Lamington Road!
It was even more basic than the one below, if you can believe it.

 

[sidvee]

My first real system,circa 1990 - Akai Bush, gift from my Mom, after I completed undergrad. The one I got had a CD player, and I had a net total of 4 cd's which were on deep rotate for a year before I went overseas. ( I recall it cost around Rs. 10 or 12k). For reference I think the Maruti 800 cost 45-60k at that time.
I was actually lusting for the Uranus, but my Mom said she couldn't afford it.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[RRR]

After messing up with my dad's Norge speakers, i landed this in 1996-97 through the magazines. If set up right, they worked exactly as advertised.

 

[hifimaddy]

back when I was a child. This Mitsubishi tape FM car stereo was purchased by my father from a Japanese electrical importer. also carried a 12 dc adaptor for usage at home as well. It was the first car radio I had ever seen, with a two-deck arrangement with an FM module on top and a cassette and equaliser underneath. The built-quality, aluminium finish, and graphics were all ahead of their time.(However, I was unable to locate an advertisement or image of the precise model we owned. I have included an image that appears almost similar to the one I used .

However, after many years, it has several issues and India doesn't have any spare parts. After that, my father put it away somewhere. When I was a college student, I attempted to fix it and had other technicians try, but none was able to help. Three years ago, I decided to scrap it.

That was the best car tape car stereo I have ever used

 

[coaltrain]

I was actually lusting for the Uranus

With a 12 band graphic equalizer in there, no contest
India had quite a few great home-grown brands, back in the 80s: Sonodyne, Arphi, Enbee and Cosmic amps with their gorgeous VU meters. Real shame that they’re not around anymore.

 

[coaltrain]

Among all the Hifi brands that were around in the 80s, one stood head and shoulders above all the rest: Nakamichi. Even the name sounded cool!
No one could agree on which was the best amp/speaker/turntable in the world. But we all knew who made the best tape decks.

The RX 505 made a (very) brief appearance in the film ‘9 1/2 Weeks’. For gearheads like us, that’s the bit we kept rewinding to watch. Honest!



Not many people are aware that Nakamichi also made a turntable. I vividly remember seeing one at a hifi store in Tottenham Court Rd. I had a Dual CS 505 at that time, and it felt like I was a Vauxhall driver watching a Lamborghini zip past.

 

[RRR]

India had quite a few great home-grown brands, back in the 80s: Sonodyne, Arphi, Enbee and Cosmic amps with their gorgeous VU meters.

Norge included.
My dad's Norge from 1977 under licence from Tandberg Norway. With small VU meters.
Finally had to give it up in 2000.

 

[coaltrain]

Whatever your views on Bose, their advertising was pretty effective:

 

[coaltrain]

Bob Carver’s amplifier challenge to Stereophile magazine was pretty audacious. But, then again, the guy was a total maverick. Below is the amp he created as a result of the contest. I’m pretty sure the two monoblocks he went up against are Mark Levinsons.

 

[coaltrain]

Some brands survive, some don’t.

 

[keith_correa]

... I’m pretty sure the two monoblocks he went up against are Mark Levinsons.

Conrad-Johnson.

 

[sdk]

Anyone has copies of brochures of Arphi and Cosmic?

 

[coaltrain]

Conrad-Johnson.

Damn, you’re right! Only took me a few decades to find out
Now I’m even more impressed. He’s made a $700 ss amp sound like $6000 tube monoblocks. How the …?
Anyway, the full story is here:

The Carver Challenge

Is it possible to make a $700 "mainstream-audio" power amplifier sound exactly like a high-priced perfectionist amplifier? Bob Carver, of Carver Corporation, seemed to think he could, so we challenged him to prove it.

www.stereophile.com

 

[Hiten]

Anyone has copies of brochures of Arphi and Cosmic?

 

[Hiten]

The above images were shared by Mr. Madhav to me. A Mohd. Rafi and Cosmic Fan. He lives in my hometown. His interview is here. (link).
An amusing and interesting anecdote of Mr. Madhav about Rafi was shared in the forum in the past in Mohd. Rafi Thread.
Regards

 

[sdk]

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Thank you so much

 

[coaltrain]

I used to love the Maxell ads, but always bought TDK

 

[coaltrain]

When wide baffles and large drivers were the norm: