(fyi: this is the one I still have in my house!)
And let's not forget about the traditional style, minus the fancy pants cabinets!
And what turntable would be complete without your handy dandy Hi Fi, Anti-Static Record Cloth!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Magnavox Stereo ('75)
It's astounding to me how far along we've come these last few decades in our means of listening, recording, and storing audio material. In 2011, you can easily fit 6 gazillion songs in the palm of your hand and carry them with you everywhere you go. But as we see in these glorious Magnavox Stereo Console catalog photos from 1975, audio entertainment meant something else, and it most definitely was NOT portable! Tuner / amplifier, record changer, 8-track tape player, speaker systems, etc; these were all seperate units back in the day, but Magnavox had a visibly superior idea with their "acoustically designed cabinets" for blending your audio electronic system perfectly into a room, and becoming an altogether different component of your daily life, aka: as furniture that rocks!
(fyi: this is the one I still have in my house!)
And let's not forget about the traditional style, minus the fancy pants cabinets!
And what turntable would be complete without your handy dandy Hi Fi, Anti-Static Record Cloth!
(fyi: this is the one I still have in my house!)
And let's not forget about the traditional style, minus the fancy pants cabinets!
And what turntable would be complete without your handy dandy Hi Fi, Anti-Static Record Cloth!
I was just talking about this with a friend, how; when we were teenagers, a whole wall of your room would go toward your stereo system - my speakers were four feet high. Amp was separate. Receiver was separate. Some poor souls even got sucked into the quad thing, mounting speakers in all four corners.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, my setup looked a bit like the second photo from bottom - with the speakers set off to the side of the cabinet – I had both turntable and 8-track. My father built the cabinet to fit my room. Jesus, I even had that haircut (I didn't have the sports trophies, though).
I bet this all comes back at some point. It was so much cooler than an ear bud. I mean, just look how cool this stuff was.
Your set up similiar to any of these Steve?
ReplyDelete>It was so much cooler than an ear bud. I mean, just look how cool this stuff was.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree Mykal... sometimes handheld digital convenience doesn't necessarily mean it's the best option. I also seemed to remember liking music alot more back in those days than I do now, I wonder why? No need to answer, I already know why.
>Your set up similiar to any of these Steve?
Just the one I have marked in the post, inherited it a few years ago after an Uncle passed away (and tucked inside was the great Magnavox catalog and anti-static cloth!)
Thanks for the comments!
I have the Dry Sink model setting in my living room until I finish out my music room and make a spot for it. My granny bought it brand new in 1975, the year I started college, and I got it along with her furnishings and house when she passed away in 2004. She bought a new Magnavox console TV along with it, but it died a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe stereo still works like new, and only needs a new stylus for the phono. The speakers on the thing are still incredible considering, and I was always amazed that it compared favorably against my Kenwood, Sansui, etc., component stereo systems back then. And the 8 track player still works like a charm!
I remember looking through Stereo Review in those days to get ideas from the custom installations they did photo spreads on. I actually did a nice one using the cabinet from an old console radio/phonograph my grandparents had from the forties, and now my nephew has it, still using it.
For me it is like LP album covers...aesthetics play a big part in our sensual experiences, and plugging my old Koss headphones into my 1973 Kenwood amp and listening to music, even CDs, just pleases me more than the convenience of my iPod and ear buds. How many LPs did YOU purchase for the cover as much as for the music?
My wife just found and purchased the dry sink model but it didn't have an 8 track in it. It appears to have been stored since it was new. It came with all of the paperwork. Man oh man, it sounds amazing! Such a rich and full sound. What a great find!
DeleteDonHo57, any idea which needle the phono takes? I purchased a unit today with no needle, and I don't know how to determine the cartridge number to order a replacement. Thank you!
Deletei need the one with the writing desk!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like my dear, late dad's treasured stereo setup--complete with anti-static cleaning cloth! He took such good care of his records. I remember a lot of good times with that stereo.
ReplyDelete>How many LPs did YOU purchase for the cover as much as for the music?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! LPs with gatefolds and booklets made alot of music much more interesting and fun.
>I need the one with the writing desk!
Haha, remember the frustrating act of writing lyrics down by hand as you listened to an album? Nowadays you just go to a lyrics site and copy/paste... boy times sure have changed.
>complete with anti-static cleaning cloth!
I've also got a neat little vintage bottle of Goodell "Record Life" record cleaner / electrostatic eliminator, plus the booklet too! I should've added it to this post.
I have a Magnavox stereo,with 4 track tape player and turntable. The model number is PE6464. The serial# is 10787977. I ran across a model 6564 in the Spirit of '76 Collection. However it had an 8 track. It has the exact display on both doors. This model is a dry sink style.Very pretty.
ReplyDeleteVery cool... still spinning some classics, Kathy?
ReplyDeleteThis is seriously so amazing. I'm dying. And I cannot believe you scanned the freaking Hi Fi Cloth!!!! I'm dying some more right now. :)
ReplyDelete70's Rock Rooms are NOT for dying in!!! ;)
ReplyDeleteI love the colors and design of that cloth packaging...
it's the best kind of dying possible...
ReplyDelete*gasp!* with this dying breath, surrounded by the things I most desire...
ReplyDelete"and she's buy-iy-ing a stairway to heaven..."