Sights & Sounds of '69

Hi-Fi aficionados, fm fanciers, dedicated tapesters and discriminating TV-niks have never had it so good. At their beck is a copiously stocked market place bursting with top-quality ear- and eye-filling electronic goodies. In pointing up some of this year's best equipage, we've put together several stereo systems---pictured here and on the preceding and following pages---and categorized them according to approximate total price. Our suggested rigs, of course, don't begin to exhaust the potential combinations available. But they will serve as handy guideposts for those of you seeking one or two components---or a completely new hookup to replace your old unit---especially if you don't know what the cost will be.

For the minimum in stereo essentials, the price begins at about $300. For this figure, we recommend that you buy an integrated compact system, rather than separate components. Dollar for dollar, the three-piece compacts can't be matched. Naturally, they make no claim to be the ultimate in either power or flexibility. A stereo compact compares with a sumptuous component rig about the same way a Volkswagen does with a Ferrari. But if your listening requirements are fairly modest and your budget limited, a compact can fill (text continued on page. 106) the bill nicely. At the heart of the system is a central electronics module that contains a tuner, an amplifier and an automatic turntable. Inasmuch as the program sources and electronics are consolidated in a single tidy box, a compact makes as few demands on available space as it does on a bank account. Furthermore, there's an abundance of models from which to choose. The modular concept was originally promulgated by the KLH Research and Development people, and their cleanly styled Model 24 ($319.95) remains a strong contender in the field. Its walnut-encased central module houses a remarkably efficient FM tuner, a Garrard changer built in Britain to KLH specifications and a special amplification system designed to compensate for the innate strengths and weaknesses of the matching bookshelf speakers. Because of its intimate amplifier-speaker integration, the KLH 24 sounds a good deal more impressive than its modest dimensions might lead you to expect. If your listening tastes incline toward AM in addition to FM, you might want to consider as an alternative the Fisher 125 ($329.95). This set utilizes another British changer, the BSR 400, and has provisions for plugging in stereo headphones and an additional pair of remote speakers.

Moving up to top-of-the-line compacts will bring you additional power and refinements. The Benjamin Model 1050 ($549.50) has a rated music-power output of 42 watts per channel that does a fine job in driving a pair of EMI speakers; its tuner offers both AM and FM reception and its automatic turntable is the highly regarded Miracord 50 from Germany. For the man who craves tape as well as discs, Harman-Kardon has developed the all-purpose Model SC 2550 ($499.50), which packs a. cassette recorder into the central module, along with a Garrard changer, an FM tuner and an amplifier. Instead of the usual bookshelf enclosures, the system features a pair of freestanding omnidirectional speakers. All modular outfits, of course, are fully transistorized.

The threshold of component stereo is crossed at about the $800 level. For that amount, you can get a good component system for use in an average-sized room. From there, the costs increase, but so do the benefits---in the form of higher power, less distortion and cleaner separation. Of course, the advantages don't rise in direct proportion to cost. A $4000 hookup, for example, won't outperform an $800 rig by a ratio of five to one, but it will embody more than enough plus factors to make it eminently worth while. Let's go back to the Volkswagen-Ferrari analogy. They'll both get you from point A to point B, but you'll never mistake a ride in one for a ride in the other. (Incidentally, since all the prices included here are list, bear in mind that discounts are often available. Just be sure they're not offered at the expense of customer service.)

With separate components, your latitude of choice begins to widen appreciably. Instead of settling for one manufacturer's preassembled system, you can follow your own fancy, choosing from a variety of speakers, tuners, receivers, tape decks and turntables, according to what most pleases your eye and ear. The choices, of course, ought to fall within certain limitations. It would make no sense to mate an ultrapowerful and responsive amplifier to a pair of tiny budget speakers, nor to use one of the more sensitive and compliant cartridges in a run-of-the-mill changer. But aside from such obvious misalliances, you can put together your own rig with a free hand and relish the sparkling galaxy of equipment available today.

Let's now turn to the electronics, since it forms the nucleus around which the rest of your stereo setup will be built. Unless you're planning to put together an ultralavish rig, you'll probably want to put a sizable percentage of your funds into a stereo receiver. This is a complex piece of solid-state electronics that consolidates the tuning and amplification functions in one trim unit. Since it's the most popular breed of equipment on the market, you'll have an abundance of riches from which to choose. The Scott 341 FM stereo receiver ($219.95)---which we've selected for our $800 system pictured on page 103---is typical of the species. Like other competitively priced models, it utilizes such up-to-date devices as integrated circuits, field-effect transistors and solder-free epoxy circuit boards to achieve a notable level of trouble-free performance. The 341 's front panel exhibits all the expected accouterments---stereo balance control, separate bass and treble controls, tuning meter, stereo indicator light and headphone jack. Continuous power is rated at 15 watts per channel---an output that's perfectly fine for small- to medium-sized rooms---and there are provisions for switching both main and remote speakers on and off independently. If you crave AM as well as FM, check out the San-sui 2000 ($299.95), the Bogen RX150 ($299.95) or the Electro-Voice 1182 ($222). This last receiver features plug-in construction, having seven separate modules---each corresponding to a major section of the circuit---for easy replaceability in the event of trouble.

These three models are splendid pieces of equipment. (A few years ago, you couldn't begin to get this kind of performance for this kind of money.) Nevertheless, as you move up the line, you'll encounter some tempting increments. Heath's ARW-15 ($550) and Sherwood's Model S-8800a ($399.50), shown in our S1800 and $1200 systems on pages 102 and 103, are admirable examples of state-of-the-art receiver gear. The Sherwood is an FM-only unit rated at 40 watts of continuous power per channel. In addition to the usual headphone jack, it sports a front-panel tape-recorder jack that's useful when time is of the essence. The ARW-15 puts out 50 watts of continuous power per channel and exhibits a dazzling array of controls---including such recherché items as stereo phase, squelch and threshold adjustments. There are dual tuning meters (one indicating signal strength, the other center of channel) and dual headphone jacks, plus a high-temperature indicator to warn you when the set has lost its cool. An excellent alternative to either of these is Sony's Model STR-6060 ($399.50). It's noteworthy not only for its electronic muscle (an ample 45 watts of continuous power per channel, plus superb FM selectivity and stereo separation) but also for its cleanly styled front panel. Infrequently operated controls (muting, loudness, tone and remote speakers) are concealed behind a hinged panel, so that in normal use, the only visible controls are those for tuning, volume, program source, tape monitoring and line power---a helpfully uncluttered arrangement.

Despite the sophisticated engineering of today's all-in-one receivers, you still must go to separate electronic components to garner the ultimate in versatility. The Fisher TFM-1000 FM stereo tuner ($452.90) in our $3100 rig on page 102, for example, offers such goodies as a clear signal indicator to help in positioning the antenna, a three-step selector for varying the muting threshold, an indicator to show when automatic overload-suppressor circuits are in operation and individual level controls for headphone and amplifier outputs. Some equally imposing attributes are to be found in its companion, the JBL SA660 control amplifier ($435), which employs 60 silicon transistors and diodes to produce 60 watts of almost distortion-less power per channel. As an alternative, you might also consider the highly regarded McIntosh Model 5100 control amplifier ($449), an exceptionally handsome unit that puts out 45 watts of continuous power per channel.

For our $7700 setup, we've chosen the CM Laboratories Model 804 FM tuner ($1050), a unique piece of electronics that replaces the conventional FM dial with computer-style digital readout tubes. Instead of rotating a tuning knob, you simply actuate a channel selector switch that flashes numerical frequency readings within a black rectangular window. It's a great conversation piece---and, of course, a well-endowed FM program source as well. To do it adequate justice, nothing less than a separate stereo preamplifier and power amplifier will (continued on page 192)Sights & Sounds of '69(continued from page 106) suffice. As prime examples of the best that money can buy, on page 101, we're proposing that the Marantz Model 7T preamp ($325) be coupled with two Model 15 power amplifiers ($790 the pair). Each of the amplifiers will deliver a full complement of 120 watts per channel throughout a wide frequency range without danger of overloading, while the preamp offers such tempting lagniappes as dual front-panel tape jacks (one for record, one for playback) and three-position levers for the high and low filters. To make sure this gear is operating at peak performance, the sophisticated sound man will have on hand a pair of oscilloscopes and a sensitive A.C. voltmeter with a very wide frequency response.

Now let's take a look at the current state of record-playing gear. Should you choose a manual or an automatic turntable? In the early days of high fidelity, this question wouldn't even have been raised. Record changers were unequivocally out. But so many dramatic improvements have been made in recent years that automatic turntables are now held in high esteem.

Three top-of-the-line models dominate the scene. Garrard's SL95 ($129.50), which figures in our $1200 system, is powered by an ingeniously designed motor that combines the rigidly controlled speed of synchronous operation with the high torque of induction operation. Its featherweight tonearm incorporates an adjustable antiskating control and is actuated by a convenient cuing knob. In place of the Garrard, you might consider the Dual 1019 ($129.50), a robust product from Germany with a useful pitch control for varying the playing speeds within a range of six percent. The remaining member of this triumvirate, Miracord's Model 50H ($161.45), which we've slotted into our $1800 rig, also comes from Germany and features push-button controls. All three are equipped with two spindles---a short one for manual play, a long one for automatic---and all three are made to provide years of quiet, dependable service.

Among the manuals, the Acoustic Research turntable ($78) merits attention for its immunity to external vibration, achieved by a suspension system that isolates the tonearm from any acoustic influence other than the groove of the record you've selected. Because of its high performance at low cost, we've chosen it for the $800 system. Other manual turntables that you'll want to try are the Sony PS-2000 ($234.50 for tonearm and turntable only) and the Thorens TD-125 ($175 for turntable alone). Both have set new records for minimizing rumble and maintaining accurate speed. Sony's approach is to employ a relatively slow-running motor (300 rpm, instead of the usual 1500 rpm) and to control it by means of a voltage-sensitive servo mechanism. Thorens has slowed down the motor even further (to a range of 125-350 rpm) and keeps it on speed by tuning it to a transistorized synchronous oscillator. Both are built to last for years (Thorens has even gold-plated the contacts in its switching mechanism) and both will work on European as well as Stateside current. Incidentally, in our price-is-no-object system, the Thorens TD-125 turntable comes with the Shure SME Series II tonearm ($ 106.50), generally considered the ne plus ultra in ingenious design and skilled craftsmanship.

We've discussed both automatic and manual turntables because, in our opinion, a prestigious listening setup ought to include one of each---a manual for when you want really spectacular stereo and an automatic for those occasions, such as parties, when you won't want to be bothered with having to leave your guests and change a record every 20 minutes. Either way, manual or automatic, you'll need to fit the tonearm with an appropriate cartridge. A good dealer's shelf is well stocked with the products of such reliable firms as ADC, Elac, Empire, Ortofon, Pickering and Shure, at prices ranging from $25 to $75. Have the dealer set up some direct-listening comparison tests and take the cartridge that sounds most agreeable to your ears. When doing so, be sure to listen to both the Shure V-15 Type II cartridge ($67.50) and the Ortofon S-15T ($80); these are considered the ultimate in stereo pickups.

Although discs still predominate as the chief source of recorded music, tape is coming on stronger each year. And, of course, tape equipment is essential for making your own recordings, either live or off the air. Budget permitting, you'll want to bolster your system with some kind of tape facility. But what kind?

While open-reel tape remains the preferred choice in terms of fidelity and versatility, cassette and eight-track systems are gaining in popularity, because they're easier to use and they take up less space. It's a question of weighing one set of advantages against the other, with respect to your own requirements. Where eight track used to labor under the disability of being a playback-only medium, there are now several eight-track decks that incorporate a recording function as well, including the Sony TC-8 ($129.50), the Kinematix 1000 ($299.95) and the Kalof 802R ($329). And although cassettes were formerly blemished by excessive tape hiss and restricted frequency response, today's quality decks with narrow-gap heads---for example, the Fisher RC-70 ($149.95), the Harman-Kardon CAD4 ($149.95) and the TEAC A-20 ($139.50)---go a long way toward minimizing these limitations.

Nevertheless, for really fine fidelity, you'll want to stick with open reel. Here, you're not necessarily restricted to the slow speeds imposed on the cassette and eight-track systems (respectively, 1? and 3 3/4 inches per second). With open-reel equipment, you can choose between the lower fidelity and longer play of slow-speed operation and the higher fidelity and shorter play of fast speed. In addition, open reel allows for the editing and patching of tapes---a boon denied the cassette or cartridge user.

An appetizingly wide variety of open-reel gear is available to suit all needs and checking accounts. As an adjunct to our $800 rig, we've selected the sleekly styled Panasonic RS-796 ($249.95), which employs dual capstan drive for its three-speed performance (standard 7 1/2 ips, as well as 3 3/4 and 1?) and boasts such additional desiderata as twin VU meters, pause control and an automatic reverse system. Worthy alternatives at the same low end of the price scale are the Craig 2404 ($154.95) and the Ampex 750 ($199.95) decks. Both are three speed and both feature built-in facilities for over-dubbing.

As you move up into costlier apparatus, you'll encounter further refinements and more rugged innards. The Sony 560D ($349.50), for instance, has a servo-control mechanism for making fine pitch adjustments within each of its three basic speeds, as well as a noise suppressor for filtering the hiss out of old tapes. A similar servo-controlled motor is found in the sturdy Revox 77A ($499) from Switzerland, a machine equipped to take up to 10 1/2-inch reels for extra-long recording adventures. We've chosen the Sony and the Revox, respectively, for our $1200 and $1800 systems because they typify the near-professional quality of today's best tape equipment; but, of course, they don't begin to exhaust the possibilities. You may be more attracted by the Bell & Howell Model 2291 ($349.95), which features automatic threading and reverse; or by the Tandberg 64X ($549), which sports four separate tape heads; or by the Uher 9500 ($450), which has a vernier adjustment for keeping the playback head in precise azimuthal alignment; or by the new KLH 40 ($600), which incorporates a nome version of the ingenious Dolby Audio Noise Reduction System that's now standard equipment in almost every large recording studio. The list could go on and on. We're in a staggeringly abundant buyers' market.

The ambitious tapester will be tempted to go all out and invest in the same equipment the professionals use. You get into this class with decks geared to record at the standard studio speed of 15 ips. One is the TEAC A-7030 ($749.50), a no-compromise instrument from Japan that operates at either 7 1/2 ips or 15 ips and exults in some extremely tempting specifications for frequency response, speed accuracy and wow and flutter. The Crown SX822-P4 ($1750), to cite another, features "computer logic control," a device that eliminates the possibility of broken tapes. The man who craves the best will also want to consider the prestigious Ampex AG-440-2 (about $3000), a deck used extensively by radio stations. Among its many sterling attributes is a convertible head assembly that permits change-over from quarter-inch to half-inch tape within a matter of minutes. These exalted recorders will make off-the-air tapes indistinguishable from the original broadcast and they'll also play your commercially recorded tapes with unimpeachable fidelity.

One other program source should be discussed here: video. If you're fed up with the paltry low-fi sound of most TV sets, investigate the sonic advantages of piping TV audio through your stereo system. Several of the 1969 color sets, including Packard Bell's CC-9000 ($650) and Andrea's Royale VCX325-1 ($725), feature a special jack for routing TV sound through a hi-fi installation. Both are chassis-only units designed to be built into a wall or custom cabinetry. Another TV from Andrea, the Space-80 ($1065) pictured on page 104, has a walnut cube-shaped housing that revolves on a pedestal, thus raising or lowering the height of the set, and tambour doors that can be closed across the 23-diagonal-inch screen. At the opposite end of the dimension spectrum is Sony's Micro-Color set ($429.95) with a seven-inch screen; a portable unit that weighs only 18 pounds.

Turning to video tape recorders, we find that Arvin expects to market a color unit (the CVR XXI) within the next few months. The price will be $1000-$1500. If you don't wish to wait for a color system, Roberts has a complete black-and-white package that includes both camera and monitor, also for $1000-$1500; and Mastercrafter Electronics has just made available its first black-and-white video-tape-recorder hookup; the price is $795.

Enough of video apparatus. Now it's time to hear it for stereo, and for that we'll need a pair of speakers. Here, we come to the final---and, in some respects, the most crucial---link in the basic hi-fi chain. The loud-speaker is an admittedly imperfect instrument that converts electrical impulses into vibrating air. Because of its imperfections, every model has individual characteristics, or "coloration." Who can say which is best? Tastes in speakers are as unaccountable as tastes in girls. If doe-eyed brunettes turn you on, it won't matter how highly we rate blue-eyed blondes. The same applies to speaker systems. We'll size up the over-all speaker market and propose some particular candidates for your consideration, but the ultimate decision must rest with your own two ears.

If your current balance is around $200 or less, don't feel deprived. At this figure, you can still buy a fine pair of speakers. (All prices here are per individual speaker, unless otherwise noted.) One of the classic models is the KLH 17 ($69.95), a two-way suspension system that has been soundly applauded for its remarkable transparency and crisp response. It's illustrated in our $800 setup, but we might just as easily have thrown the spotlight on the similar Acoustic Research AR-4x ($57), the Benjamin EM 155 ($54.95), the Electro-Voice Five-A ($88) or the Jensen TF-25 ($89.50). They're all intended for bookshelf or wall-bracket installation. If your listening-room decor is better suited to freestanding speakers, you'll want to look into the Empire 2000 ($109.95), an omnidirectional system that can double as end tables. We've chosen it for our $1200 rig; but, again, there are many deserving alternatives.

As you move into the medium-price range, you also move into larger dimensions, better bass and more effective dispersion. Acoustic Research's AR-3a ($250), suggested for our $1800 system, is considered the pacesetter for acoustic-suspension design. However, your ears may well prefer the far different sound of the Bose 901 ($476 a pair, including accessory equalizer), an unusual system that has been picking up critical hosannas ever since its introduction some months ago. The 901 houses nine identical four-inch speakers in its five-sided enclosure. One speaker faces the listening room, while the eight others radiate against a wall behind the enclosure, to simulate the ratio of direct to reflected sound that exists in the concert hall. Another highly regarded multispeaker system is the Rectilinear III ($279), which employs a 12-inch woofer, a 5-inch midrange and no fewer than four tweeters and supertweeters. Each of these systems, incidentally, needs a fair amount of amplifier power---at least 20 continuous watts per channel.

If you inhabit baronial digs, we call your attention to the large speakers pictured on pages 101 and 102. Altec Lansing's "Magnificent" ($537), which we've put in our $3100 rig, is a domesticated version of this company's famed Voice of the Theater system, used in myriad movie houses throughout the world. A 15-inch woofer loads the lows through a wooden exponential horn, while a cast-aluminum sectoral horn on top diffuses the highs with exemplary efficiency. Cliff dwellers should bear in mind that it stands nearly four feet high. A similarly dimensioned system is the Tannoy G. R. F. ($393), which employs the firm's 15-inch dual concentric speaker in a sturdy horn-loaded cabinet. Bozak's top-of-the-line Model B-410 ($862) packs four bass, two midranges and four pairs of trebles into each speaker cabinet---that's 14 speakers in all. But for our ultraluxe installation, we've selected an array from Klipsch consisting of two corner Klipschorns and the somewhat smaller Cornwall II for center fill ($2023 for the complete system). The full complement of these three speakers will throw a splendid curtain of stereo sound across any room large enough to house them. As an alternative, you should investigate the equally imposing and now classic JBL Paragon system ($2400), in which the usual twin enclosures are replaced by a single integrated cabinet, still strikingly contemporary in design and stretching more than eight feet in width. Should your choice fall on this patrician system, you'll undoubtedly want to mate it with JBL's own power amplifier, the SE408S Transducer Energizer ($276), and its preamp, the SG520 Graphic Controller ($450). If you're shopping for an auxiliary speaker that can be incorporated with the above rigs and placed in the den or dining room, look into Pioneer's Model IS80 ($375). Each speaker has a built-in biamplifier that delivers 45 watts per channel.

Stereo headphones are a must for peaceable late-night listening, but they're also rewarding at any hour of the day for their unique spatial kicks. The sound of headphone music has a vibrant immediacy and buoyant presence that never cease to amaze. In choosing a pair for your own use, check out comfort as well as sound; after a half hour or so, headphones can become rather fatiguing unless the fit is right. Several highly serviceable models are available in the $20-$30 range---among them the Jensen HS-2 ($24.95), which we've plugged into our $1200 setup. Higher-priced phones include some extra conveniences. For example, the Pioneer SE-50 ($50) has separate volume and tone controls on each earpiece, to let you adjust the sound without leaving your seat; the Superex ST-PRO-B ($50) has a separate woofer and tweeter with a built-in crossover network; and the individually fused Sharpe HA-660/PRO ($60) comes with liquid-filled earpiece cushions for additional comfort. A new development in headphone design is heralded by the Koss ESP-6 ($95), which works on the electrostatic principle rather than the magnetic coil-and-cone principle employed heretofore; each set comes with a portable carrying case and an individually measured response curve.

That about sums up the message on the stereo medium for 1969. The pickings, as you can see, are delightfully plentiful. By this time, manufacturers of component merchandise have reached such a high level of electronic expertise that it's almost impossible to get a lemon, providing you stick to name brands and deal with a reputable dealer who backs up his sales with repairmen, should they be needed. But before buying, do some comparison listening and looking, and you're certain to head home a winner.