Roll Over, Beethoven!

If you're in a situation in which you're deprived of your regular hi-fi system, you still can enjoy an aural fix, thanks to a new kind of stereo rig that obligingly goes wherever you go. The means for enjoying really good stereo--from a minisystem that weighs not much more than your wallet--are here.

You can get the general idea from many of the model names: Sony's Walkman, Infinity's Intimate Stereo, the Hip Pocket Stereo by Technidyne, Sanyo's Sportster, the Stereo-to-Go from Panasonic, the Caprice Walk-A-Rounds, Toshiba's Playtime, the KLH Solo, G.E.'s Stereo Escape, the Audiopac from Aspen Recreational Products and Liberty's Liberator.

About two years ago, Sony's (continued on page 214)Roll Over, Beethoven!(continued from page 143) Soundabout, now The Walkman, was introduced and heralded as the world's smallest player for standard stereo cassettes. It weighed just under one pound and it measured a mere 5 5/16? x 1 3/16? x 3 1/2?. You could sling it over your shoulder, loop it onto your belt or even slip it into a large pocket. It played the standard cassette and you heard the sound through ultralightweight stereophones linked to the cassette unit by a signal cable fitted with a mini--stereo plug. The thing ran on AA cell batteries and via adapters, from car electrical systems, a rechargeable battery pack or household A.C.

That unit--still going strong--set the pattern for the wave of similar products that has ensued. With a few variations, the basic format is similar among all the brands. The cassette fits into a normal-size cassette slot and the entire unit is not much bigger than the compartment. Along one edge of the device are the controls for start, stop, fast-wind, volume, and so on. Another edge has the connections for headphone cords and any adapters for use with external power sources. The unit fits into a protective case with openings that let you get at the controls. The headphones are so light you might not even be aware you are wearing them until the stereo sound comes through with amazing clarity.

Most units have a tone control--a single two-position switch on the lower-priced models, a variable control on the costlier versions. Basically, they all provide for treble cut, probably for reducing the highs to compensate for a lack of Dolby when playing tapes that were recorded with Dolby noise reduction, or simply to reduce tape hiss. Hardly sophisticated, but this feature is still quite effective. With today's miniaturized electronics, it is possible to design reasonably wide-range and low-distortion playback response in a compact space; and since the sound is through headphones, very little audio power is needed to produce loud listening levels. The ultrathin materials used for the headphone diaphragms respond briskly to the low-powered signals and the result is convincing stereo.

Another common feature is a built-in tiny electret-condenser microphone and a button that, when pressed, lowers the cassette volume and turns the microphone on for external sounds that are reproduced over the reduced music volume through the headphones. This feature allows someone to let you know it's time for lunch when you're wrapped up in Così Fan Tutte.

Some units boast special features. For example, the KLH Solo has a digital tape counter. Metal-tape capability plus Dolby are built into Infinity's Intimate Stereo. Panasonic has two versions: The RS-J3 offers "cue and review" (you can run the tape at faster-than-normal speed and still hear what is on it by way of getting quickly to the portion you want to hear). The costlier RS-J1 sports "soft-touch" transport controls and a three-position tape selector for normal, chrome and metal tapes.

Some accessories have been announced for expanding the capabilities of the mini--stereo systems. One novel item is an FM transmitter that may be attached to Technidyne's Hip Pocket Stereo and will then broadcast the sound to any FM receiver within 100 feet. In that way, you become--in addition to a walking concert hall--a walking radio station. Less whimsical are the add-on speakers for listening to your deck when you finally come to a halt somewhere. In that particular regard, the Aspen system is of special interest--its larger-than-typical cassette unit contains a miniature "power amplifier" that can furnish up to five watts per channel. On the other hand, you can play the Technidyne through external speakers with the aid of an add-on separate amplifier.

For a trend as young as this one, the minicassette already has spawned some intriguing variants. For instance, if you want to record as well as listen in stereo, there's the big-brother version of the Sony Walkman, known as the TCS-300. Developed originally as an on-the-spot audio tool for newsmen and interviewers, it is now offered to the general public. Similar versions have been announced by Aiwa and Technidyne.

If you want stereo on the move without the need to carry cassettes, you can use several of these systems for tuning into stereo FM with the insertion of a special FM cassette or module. Units offering that option include (so far) the Toshiba Playtime, the Technidyne Hip Pocket Stereo, the Alaron Rhapsody Stereo-to-Go, the Caprice Walk-A-Rounds, the KLH Solo and the Infinity Systems' Infinity's Intimate Stereo. Prices vary all over the lot, but you can get an idea of relative cost from the Infinity system. The basic cassette unit costs $229; the FM module, $45.

Yet another spin-off is the growing spate of ministereophones from companies not making the cassette systems. The cassette units typically come with one headset. Using two pairs of stereophones from one cassette player carried by one person presumes some kind of real intimacy--on the move or not--but that seems to be an intriguing extra-musical aspect of the game. Anyway, the new miniheadsets come with a clever gimmick--a plug adapter that lets you connect the stereophones to the mini--cassette deck, or to the standard-size socket on a conventional deck or stereo receiver. An early entry of that type was the Koss Sound Partner, soon to be followed by the Audio-Technica Point 1 and the Beyer DT 302. The Audio-Technica stereophones may be fitted with fluffy Eskimo ear muffs for those intrepid listeners who must have their stereo in sleet or snow. There also are three such headsets from Mura, a company that does not make the cassette unit but does offer a carry-it-with-you stereo FM receiver--the Hi Stepper--that is even smaller than the tape cassettes.

As with conventional tape decks, the minimodels that are higher-priced are likely to have sturdier transport systems, which means they will be less subject to wow and flutter (which you hear as a wavering of musical pitch), even when you're in motion.

Walk on!

"With today's miniaturized electronics, it is possible to design playback response in a very compact space."