Sounds of '65

Our annual survey of the sonic scene opens on a semantic note. In the last 12 months, high fidelity's lexicon has been enriched by the term "modular"—a word worth some careful consideration by anyone planning to make a major investment in quality listening gear. According to current audio parlance, a "modular" is a series of components made by the same manufacturer specifically designed to operate together as a single sound system and served up as separate units within a uniform furniture design. Prepackaged players have been around for some time, but the new modular outfits stand out by reason of the heavy-duty innards and the sophisticated savvy of their engineering. While they are very definitely in the component class, they carry price tags generally pitched as low or lower than the aggregate cost of a component system.

Modulars are particularly suited to the needs of the hi-fi enthusiast plunging for the first time into the often confusing world of quality electronic listening. Since the turntable, amplifier and speakers are all specifically designed to operate together, the purchaser of a modular can invest his money in quality listening without running the risk of mismatching his component units.

Many of the most prestigious hi-fi houses are now espousing the modular concept. Pride of place should rightfully go to the KLH Research and Development Corporation, which started the trend a couple of years ago with its portable Model Eleven system. Since then, this pioneering series has been updated from its humble beginning in luggage casing to lustrous walnut cabinetry. KLH has also brought out more ambitious variants on the modular theme. The latest is the Model Twenty ($399.95), which encloses a transistorized FM-stereo tuner as well as a 40-watt amplifier in either oiled walnut or mahogany, and a Garrard AT-60 automatic record player in the central module. Like its preceding KLH units, the Model Twenty is "frequency contoured" by tailoring the amplifier's response to fit the particular characteristics of its accompanying speakers.

The pinnacle of modular affluence is reached by Shure Brothers' Library System Model M100W ($450), a solidly crafted product offering as its prime attractions this company's top-of-the-line V-15 Stereo Dynetic cartridge (of which more anon) and the highly rated Dual 1009 Auto-Professional turntable. A lower cost Shure system, the Ml00 ($395), comes in Samsonite luggage cases.

From the firm that imports Miracord automatic turntables comes the Benjamin Stereo 200 ($229.50). It effects a neat mating of the Miracord 10 four-speed turntable and Elac 222 cartridge with a 36-watt solid-state amplifier. The whole assemblage is housed in a sleek plexiglass-covered cabinet. Benjamin will also supply matching speakers at $49.50 each, but you're not obligated to get them. The Stereo 200 can drive any speakers of moderate to high efficiency. Quality three-piece modular systems are also purveyed by Fisher (Model 75, $269.50), H. H. Scott (Stereo Compact 2300, $299.95; with optional FM tuner for $129.95 extra), Admiral (Model Y701A, $775), Columbia (Model M-4550, $325, including AM/FM tuner), and Electro-Voice (Entertainer I, $235).

Although the modular approach appeals primarily to the hi-fi neophyte, it's also worth consideration by the enthusiast looking for an auxiliary outfit for his den, office or country hideaway. A high-quality unit at a low price is the GE Stereo Model T2000 ($179.95) with an AM/FM tuner and jacks for tape or turntable. Potential second-system customers should make note also of Columbia's Stereo 360 ($250), a miniaturized all-in-one phonograph designed by Dr. Peter C. Goldmark, the canny Columbia Broadcasting System engineer responsible for developing the long-playing microgroove disc. For a record player of its size and price, the Stereo 360 has such refinements as a cartridge with .5-mil stylus tracking at 2 grams.

The blandishments of these ready-made systems notwithstanding, the tops in sound flexibility still comes from individual components. Without further ado, we'll turn to the new models on view this season and discuss them component by component.

Starting at the beginning with automatic turntables, we note a top-to-bottom refurbishing of the British-made Garrard line. Pièce de résistance of the new series is the Lab 80 ($99.50, plus base), a two-speed (33-1/3 and 45-rpm) mechanism that incorporates some features we have never encountered before in an automatic turntable, including a low-resonance tone arm built of light African wood with an adjustable bias compensator to guard against skating. The Lab 80 also features an integral cuing device that will be particularly welcomed by the heavy-handed type who is apt to create sonic bedlam whenever he lowers a pickup into the lead-in groove. Garrard's Lab 80 does its own lowering. In manual mode the tone arm swings a safe half inch above the record surface. All you have to do is get it over the groove and press the tab control. The arm will descend gently without noise or mayhem. A cuing mechanism is now also offered by Miracord in its new Model 18H ($119.50, plus base), a single-play version of the well-established Model 10H automatic turntable. Both Miracords come equipped with a Pabst hysteresis motor designed to ensure constant speed maintenance regardless of line voltage. United Audio's fancy Dual 1009 ($99.50, plus base) remains the only automatic turntable offering variable pitch control within each of its four basic playing speeds. If delicate pitch adjustment is of no concern, you might look into the economy version of this turntable, the recently introduced Dual 1010 ($69.50, plus base).

An entirely fresh approach to integrated turntable and tone-arm design has been propounded by the Marantz Company, whose Model SLT-12 (about $295, complete with cartridge) is being prepared for delivery, hopefully some time this spring. SLT stands for "straight line tracking." Instead of employing an arm that pivots from a corner of the turntable base, Marantz engineers have mounted the cartridge on the tip of a thin tubular shaft that works its way straight across the radius of the disc like a rigid snake slowly emerging from its lair. Although straight-line radial playback has long been recognized as the surest theoretical way of eliminating tracking error and inner-groove distortion, previous attempts at putting it into practice have always run into excessive mechanical friction. Marantz says it has solved these problems and devised a record-playing system that will in time become standard. The vagaries of the hi-fi industry are many, however, and if you would rather leave pioneering to the more adventurous, there are a number of excellent conventional turntable-arm combinations around to whet your fancy. Among the newcomers this year are the Weathers Townsend ($59.95), which measures a scant 5-1/4 inches from top of tone arm to bottom of base, and the Swiss-made Bogen B-62 ($64.95, plus base), which offers continuous variable speed from 29 to 86 rpm—a must for the collector of those wonderfully nostalgic but sometimes wobbly 78s from the pre-1920 era. You can't go wrong, of course, with any of the proven pacesetters: the Acoustic Research integrated turntable ($78), Rek-O-Kut R-34 ($89.95), Thorens TD-135 ($99.75), Stanton 800B ($99) and Empire Troubador 398 ($169-95)

Current cartridge design is emphasizing the 15-degree vertical tracking angle and the elliptical stylus, which are calculated to keep groove tracing precisely in tune with the original groove cutting. Most records are cut at roughly a 15-degree angle, and since the advent of stereo, it has become established that the rake of the playback stylus should be about the same to ensure minimal distortion. Similarly, a stylus of elliptical shape comes closer to matching the chisel contour of the cutting tool than the conical tips used in the past, and achieves a closer fit in the groove. Both refinements are found in the aforementioned Shure V-15 Stereo Dynetic ($62.50), and in the ADC Point Four/E ($60), Pickering V-15/AME-1 ($29.95) and Empire 880PE ($29.95) cartridges. Each of these is equipped to negotiate the grooves at tracking forces of 3/4 to 1-1/2 grams.

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Electronics—the tuner, preamp and power-amplifier stages of the high-fidelity chain—are fast turning solidly to solid state. Although a good deal of tube equipment is still being manufactured, the new models are leaning heavily toward transistorized circuitry. The reason behind this swing to semiconductors has less to do with electronic performance than with the simple logistics of space and heat. In high-fidelity equipment unwieldy dimensions and sizzling temperatures have always been major stumbling blocks to devotees who wanted big sounds in limited space. Transistors, smaller in size and cooler in operation than tubes, are proving especially useful in solving these problems. It's not surprising, therefore, to find major solid-state emphasis being directed to a powerful but compact all-in-one tuner/amplifier, formerly a bulky electronic oven requiring as many as 20 tubes.

The Fisher 600-T ($595), with which we've spent some very contented hours recently, typifies the new transistorized breed. It is a single-chassis FM Stereo receiver that can deliver almost a concert-hall 100 watts of amplification, yet takes up less space than tube units with half the power. In spite of its reduced format, the brushed-gold front panel accommodates push-button switches for loudness contour, muting, mono-stereo, and high and low filters, as well as the usual tone, volume, balance and selector controls. The illuminated tuning dial features a signal-strength meter and stereo indicator, which automatically pops on a red light when the tuner locks into a multiplex signal. Harman-Kardon is offering three solid-state FM stereo receivers that range in price from $279 to $469, depending upon power output and control flexibility. The top H-K model, SR 900, is a 75-watt job featuring (continued on page 150)Sounds of '65(continued from page 128) separate tone controls for left and right channels. Electro-Voice's foray into transistorized electronic merchandise is spearheaded by two FM stereo receivers, the 80-watt E-V 88 ($397) and the 40-watt E-V 77 ($297), which eschew the conventional long-flat silhouette and come in more boxlike shapes. Other contenders in the transistorized tuner-amplifier sweepstakes come from H. H. Scott (Model 344, 50 watts, $429.95), Bogen (Model RT 6000, 60 watts, $399.95), Pilot (Model TR-702, 70 watts, $399.50) and Bell (Imperial 1000, 80 watts, $499.95). We should point out that experienced kit builders can save themselves a wad of cash with Eico's all-transistor, 66-watt Model 3566 ($229.95 in kit form, or $349.95 factory wired).

The audio perfectionist who favors separated tuner and amplification gear can have it transistorized, too. There's room here to mention only a few of the highlights. There is the KLH Model 18 stereo FM tuner ($129.95), which is small and light enough to be held in the palm of one hand; the Allied Knight KN265, FM/AM tuner ($179.95), with a dynamic side-band regulation to reduce FM distortion; the Heath Company AM/FM/FM-stereo tuner ($129.95 in kit only), a 25-transistor model with adjustable FM squelch to stop between-station noise when tuning across the dial; the James B. Lansing Graphic Controller ($450), a ne plus ultra preamplifier featuring straight-line slide controls and such bonus refinements as a 1000-cycle test tone generator for speaker balancing and orientation; Harman-Kardon's 80-watt Citation B ($335 in kit form, or $425 factory wired), a basic amplifier designed to deliver full undistorted power from 15 to 50,000 cps; the Acoustech V ($299), an integrated 60-watt control amplifier employing silicon output transistors and individual circuit boards from preamplifier and amplifier stages; and the Sherwood S-9000 ($299.50), another all-silicon control amplifier, rated at a giant 150 watts.

However, not all that glitters electronically this season is ipso facto solid state. The Marantz Model 10B ($650), a "state of the art" FM tuner with oscilloscope multipath indicator which indicates when your antenna is pointed directly at the signal source, relies exclusively on vacuum tubes—as does this entire Marantz line of preamps and power amplifiers. Dynaco, the Philadelphia manufacturer that specializes in no-frills equipment with impressive specifications, is also remaining loyal to tubes. Other companies are dividing their allegiance by turning out hybrid tube/transistor models. The McIntosh MA-230 ($349), a 60-watt integrated control amplifier, goes solid state in the preamp stage, then switches to tubes for the power amplifier. Altec Lansing's Model 708A stereo FM receiver ($597) espouses tubes for the tuner portion and transistors thereafter.

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In speaker design the trend is toward new shapes and sizes. There's a deluge of small-to-tiny boxes that produce more sound from minimal cubic volume than we ever thought possible. There is also an epidemic of exotic models that aren't even boxes at all. We'll begin with the latter category by noting the appearance on the audio landscape of Acoustica Associates, a West Coast outfit responsible for introducing the Omnisonic Lamp-Speaker. To the untutored eye. Omnisonics are just lamps—either of the table or ceiling variety—but plug them into an amplifier and they radiate music. The secret lies in a wide-dispersion electrostatic tweeter located in the lamp shade and a 6-inch cone woofer hidden in the base. They combine to produce a very respectable blend of sound, if not quite rafter-shaking in power and range. Prices hover around the $200 mark. Another offbeat system comes from Empire Scientific with its cylindrical, marble-topped Royal Grenadier, Model 9000 ($260). Cached in the base of this portly pillar is a 15-inch high-compliance woofer. Mid- and high-frequency drivers are situated behind a die-cut acoustic lens on the curved surface. If you will settle for a 12-inch woofer without the marble, Empire can supply you with its Model 8000 at a somewhat lower cost.

Should the lamp-shade or pillar ploys not appeal, you can try a series of expensive handmade speakers in the shape of screens or picture frames. Joining the already established screenlike KLH Nine ($1140 per pair) in the full-range electrostatic field is the similarly styled Acoustech X ($1690 per pair), a system designed by Janszen with its own solid-state power amplifiers and crossover networks. From France comes the Orthophase Model OR-12 ($785), a tilted panel roughly 28 inches square and 7 inches deep, incorporating a dozen of the much-touted Ge-Go induction cells. Each cell consists of expanded plastic foam onto which a zigzag of aluminum stripping has been laminated. Ceramic magnets between the strips cause the whole cell to vibrate uniformly when energized by an audio signal, and 12 cells working together reproduce the full musical spectrum with striking clarity and power. University's Syl-O-Ette ($95.95) puts an ultrathin woofer and tweeter combination into a picture-frame enclosure. The same company's Tri-Planar ($79.95) achieves what may be the ultimate in thinness by encasing a wood-panel doublet speaker system in a frame that measures 1-3/4 inches across.

The traditional bookshelf speaker no longer requires outsize shelving for installation. In fact, the appellation may soon be changed to shoe-box speaker. Beginning at the dwarf end of the scale, we've been properly dazzled by Goodmans' Maximus I ($59.50), which packs some very major performance into some very minor dimensions (10-1/2"x 5-1/2"x 7-1/4"). The drivers—a heavy-magnet woofer and a backloaded midrange/high-frequency unit with crossover at 1900 cps—were especially developed in England for this miniaturized system. Sonotone's Sonomaster RM-1 ($42.50) and University's Mini-Flex II ($49.50) measure a few inches more in each direction, but still seem minuscule by usual standards. Both contain 6-inch woofers, and the Sonomaster features a calibrated level control for adjusting the tweeter.

Acoustic Research, the company that started us all thinking in terms of bookshelf speakers some ten years ago, is presenting this season the AR-4 ($57 in oiled walnut, and $51 in unfinished pine). A far smaller but almost equally splendid-sounding version of the pace-setting AR-3, this new model, like its predecessors, adheres to the principle of "acoustic suspension" where its completely sealed 8-inch woofer overlaps with the dome-center tweeter at about 1500 cps. But unlike the grandiose AR-3 which requires an amplifier of at least 35 watts, the AR-4 can be driven by as little as 15 watts. KLH makes its bid for small-speaker consideration with the new Model 17 ($69.95), which is also of the acoustic-suspension type but a mite larger because of its 10-inch, long-excursion woofer. A snap-on panel facilitates change of grille cloth. Fisher's candidate for the space-conscious customer is the XP-5 ($54.50), with an 8-inch free-piston woofer crossed over to a cone tweeter at 2000 cps.

We reach the standard bookshelf category when the minimum cabinetry depth or height measurement reaches 12 inches. A number of new entries are on hand this year—ADC's Model 303A Brentwood ($95), Utah's PRO ($99.50), Jensen's PR-150 ($119.50)—all offering minor variations on the classic acoustic-suspension theme. A really radical departure is encountered in the JBL Lancer 99 ($660 per pair), which puts a 14-inch woofer in a ducted-port enclosure and incorporates a built-in solid-state power amplifier specifically matched to the system's energy requirements.

The fidelitarian with plentiful space and the requisite wherewithal will continue to give his custom to speaker systems of outsize dimensions, a breed that remains unsurpassed for heft and smoothness of over-all response. If there's less new activity in this area, it's simply because the standards already achieved are hard to beat. It takes some doing to improve on such stalwarts as the Electro-Voice E-V 6 with its 18-inch woofer ($297), the Bozak Symphony No. 1 ($495), the sand-filled Wharfedale W90 ($272.50), the Klipschorn corner-horn system ($852), or the horn-loaded Tannoy GRF ($385). Nevertheless, despite the spectacular competition, a few new large systems have been introduced for our delectation. Altec Lansing's Malibu ($356) comes in a particularly handsome piece of walnut cabinetry with angled recessed base and subtly curved framing. The innards comprise a pair of low-resonance woofers and a cast-aluminum sectoral horn powered by Altec's 804A high-frequency driver. Stanton Magnetics, a firm hitherto dedicated to the turntable-arm-cartridge end of the high-fidelity chain, is making its speaker debut with the Stanton Electrostatic System ($295), which mates an electrostatic panel for the highs with a cone woofer for the lows. This, too, earns high marks for styling, the slight tilt to the electrostatic panel serving to modify the severely rectangular appearance of a largish enclosure.

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Tape equipment is now de rigueur for the up-to-date rig—in token whereof manufacturers have responded with a flood of agreeable merchandise. Before examining it in detail, it might be well to emphasize once again the distinction between tape decks and tape recorders. The deck works in conjunction with a separate amplifier and a pair of speakers (a separate preamplifier is required for tape recording). Thus, the deck should be regarded as one of the components in a complete installation. The term "tape recorder" has come to mean a self-contained record/playback system, with its own amplifier and speakers—the latter either built in or detachable. Tape recorders with high-quality satellite speakers are akin to the three-piece modular systems, except that they play four-track tapes instead of microgroove discs.

Automatic reversal is the latest tape refinement—and it's a feature we commend highly, especially to anyone amassing a library of prerecorded tapes. In the old days you played a four-track tape all the way through from left to right (tracks A and C), then switched reels and —after rethreading—played it through again in the same direction (tracks B and D). Fortunately, automatic-reversal machines have put an end to interruptions. They play the first two tracks of a stereo tape in the left-to-right direction, then reverse themselves automatically and play the remaining two tracks right to left. The "cue" for automatic reversal is an inaudible electronic signal which you record on the tape at whatever point you want the reels to change direction. By recording a cue at either end of the tape, your machine will play back and forth endlessly—or at least as long as you manage to keep up with the electric bill.

The new Ampex 2000 series (deck model 2050, $439, and recorder model 2070, $499) includes automatic reversal in its list of specifications as well as an ingenious threading device which starts the tape winding on the empty reel simply by dropping it into an automatic take-up slot. Concertone's 800 series (deck model 802, $349.95, and recorder model 801, $399.95) has six heads. Two are for play, two for record, and two for erase, which permits it to record as well as play in the reverse (right-to-left) direction. The Roberts Reversatile (deck model 400-D, $599.95, and recorder model 400, $699.95) and Viking Retro-matic deck 220 ($860) feature solenoid relays for their push-button controls as a welcome bonus to the automatic-reverse function. All four machines, incidentally, are equipped for two-speed (3-1/4- and 7-1/2-ips) operation.

An incredibly inexpensive deck is being imported from Japan by Sony Superscope, the Model 250 ($139.50), which includes all the essentials for playback and record, including dual VU meters. Also from Sony comes the new Model 500-A ($399.50), a lavishly versatile tape recorder equipped with two acoustic-suspension speaker systems and a pair of F-96 dynamic microphones in one luggage-type assemblage. Dynaco makes an entry into the tape-recorder field with a machine of Danish origin ($495) which contains all of the needed amplification equipment but is packaged without speakers. Notable for its slide-type mixing controls on a tilted console panel, the Dynaco uses a setup similar to the kind employed by big-league recording engineers. This is representative of a heartening tendency. More and more, home-recording equipment is edging into the professional class with other such recent arrivals as the Cipher Denon 800 ($499.95), Magnecord Model 1024 ($595), Estey T-91 Recorder ($499.95), OKI 555 Recorder ($350), Tandberg 74B ($449.50) and Roberts Model 4550-D ($499.95) leading the way. All are broadcast-quality machines with the capability of meeting any recording exigency and the rugged dependability for continuous "work-horse" operation.

We're not altogether certain whether high-fidelity gear should be classified as an example of conspicuous consumption or not. But we can't believe that Veblen, alas, no longer around to adjudicate the point, would be too hard on equipment that produces so much in the way of magnificent sound. A well-accoutered rig is as soothing to the spirit as it is pleasing to the ear. And this season's abundantly varied innovations will be hard to resist.