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Thread: Vintage Audio

  1. #1
    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
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    Vintage Audio

    Lately I opened a box of old Stereo Review and High Fidelity magazines that I have had in storage. I have been enjoying the heck out of the articles and ads. The writing styles have certainly evolved. For the most part the writers were simply more literate than most who write in the audio press today.

    Many of the technical articles take on an entirely different dimension with the advantage of a historical perspective. There are articles on the emergence of stereo, the importance of TV audio, what does it take to make a good loudspeaker... many of the articles on these topics were extremely well thought out and quite prescient, others... not as much.

    Another fun aspect has been reading the music reviews from the '70s... harsh criticism that we seldom see today. I have found it very refreshing... also, reading reviews of new artists, some proclaimed to be the next big thing who never were, and others panned as want-to-bees who later became huge.

    Product marketing has also been a lot of fun. I especially love the ads from the '50s. Below are two ads for the same product. The Static Master dust brush is still in production though the company who originally made it is no longer with us. Interestingly in 1957 the company was the Nuclear Products Co. in El Monte California. By 1976, they were simply Staticmaster, still in El Monte California.

    I love the fact that in 1957, the power of polonium made your static go away, but 20 years later, it was ionization and the "natural" hair brush that was keeping your records clean. I also love comparing the industrial design.


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  2. #2
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    Note the price which is still the same after 20 years!

    And yes, it's a shame that music criticism isn't as hard anymore as in the Seventies - which *imho* led to quite some diminishing quality in (popular) music in general. Mainstream appears to be ruling now, large sales numbers appear to be equivalent to quality in music.

    Best regards!

  3. #3
    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kay Pirinha View Post
    Note the price which is still the same after 20 years!
    Well, if you zoom forward to 2020 or about 45 years later, the price has jumped from $14.95 to a price greater than inflation... $98 to $123 depending on where you buy it.

    Still, it is remarkable that it is still essentially identical to the product available in the '70s. Also, further research reveals that while the product really works and is widely used in industry, the polonium cartridge must be replaced annually. Who knew?

    My '70s vintage Zerostat still works all these years later... that $25 investment was arguably the better choice.


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    Senior Member Don C's Avatar
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    In case you guys didn't know, there is an amazing resource, those old magazines and many more are available to read here.


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    Regarding polonium: As this element is radioactive in all it's isotopes, the guys in 1955 might have been clueless about the danger in radioactivity in general, but should have known better in 1975, and must know better todays, just after the polonium poisoning of Alexander Litwinenko in 2006.

    Or was this claim just marketing babble?

    Best regards!

  6. #6
    Senior Member Odd's Avatar
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    Thanks DonC this was an interesting link.

    Quote Originally Posted by Don C View Post
    In case you guys didn't know, there is an amazing resource, those old magazines and many more are available to read here.

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    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
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    +1

    Thanks Don!


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  8. #8
    Senior Member Baron030's Avatar
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    Wow $ 98 or higher..

    Polonium has a half-life of about 6 months. So to effectively take full advantage of this product, replace the cartridge at least annually. Every six months is even better.

  9. #9
    Administrator Robh3606's Avatar
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    Hey guys check this out. I have a bunch of my dads old stereo stuff and I thought that looked familiar! This is the circa 1955 version!

    Rob
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    Senior Member gferrell's Avatar
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    I remember having one of those. Maybe that is whats wrong with me now
    XPL 200's w DX1, XPL 160's, XPL 140's, L7's, L5's, L3's, L1's Homemade L Center, 4412's, 4406, L60T's, L20T's

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