Remember the old DAK catalogs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by soundboy View Post
I missed those BSR equalizers and dbx speakers.
My brother's system (we shared an apartment in college) had the BSR eq and the biggest 5-way dbx's DAK sold. As I recall those speakers weren't too bad, but I wasn't too critical a listener back then. DAK wrote great ad copy.

I'm still using the 5-way DBXs along with a DBX (non-powered) subwoofer, both from the DAK catalog, in a secondary system although with two 15" woofers the subwoofer is somewhat superfluous.

 

Yes. That was it!

 

you really ought to re-foam that...

 

Is BSR still around? I had a BSR equalizer once.

 

my first cd player was a BSR from DAK and it was still running last time I checked with my friend I gave it to, making for 25 years of operation. I think it might be that one on MacGyver's DAK cover shot.

 

friends used a BSR equalizer and dbx speakers in their college dorm.

 

I bought my first CD player, an Emerson, from DAK. It lasted about six months. I still have the subwoofer just like the one above that still seems to work OK for movie audio too. That's about all I ever bought from them though.

 

BSR is no longer around. Here's a link with a little bit of history of the company. Looks like your equalizer was probably made in Japan by BSR Japan, BSR in England quit making products by 1985. My first component turntable, with a Craig logo on it, was made by BSR and it wasn't too awful, but when I purchased my Pioneer PL-10 in Jan. of 1975 it was a HUGE step up.

http://www.stereomanuals.com/man/rep/bsr/bsr_history.htm

I never bought anything from the DAK catalog, though I enjoyed looking at it. IIRC, they also offered a lot of "reconditioned" equipment.

 

I also bought a BSR EQ from DAK. Gave it to my sister about 20yrs ago and this thread jarred my memory as it still sits in her cabinet.

 

perhaps this?

 

I didn't but my friend did. I sorta rolled my eyes because they were HUGE and seemed pretty gimmicky with the speakers facing upward. But honestly, they didn't sound too bad - they actually had a lot of space and 'air' around them, from what I recall. I remember being surprised.

 

One thing I loved about those catalogs is it felt like everything was written from a first person perspective by a guy really excited about what he was selling not because he was going to make a buck but because he was giving you a deal. There was no other catalog I've been into that had that kind of personal appeal. For all I knew it was a staff of one. I also loved that it had a "MasterCharge" logo about 10 years after the company became "MasterCard". Drew had more important things to do than update that.

When I got to college in 1987 there were about 5 guys in my dorm who had purchased a BSR EQ-3000 the previous year. I don't remember buying any hardware from DAK, but I liked their chrome tapes (cheaper than TDK SA 90s, better sounding to my young ears than normal bias). Some night if I feel I really need to fix an analog jones I might just throw this on:

 

DAk

Does anyone remember an item called "the Bone Phone" It looked like a horse collar that connected to your headphone jack.

 

I owned a Thunderous Sub, also bought my very first "walkman" style portable tape player from him. & yep, some of those horrible cassettes, still have a few around somewhere. I also bought a small powered "sub" for the car, which was tiny, sounded "ok", & who's seperate little amp was stolen from my car rendering both parts useless.

 

Yep!



Cheers,
Chris

 

Only ones I know of are portable FM stereo radios, I have never seen a 'jack-only' Bone Fone.

-Aaron

 

I tried one of those out in a store way back then.

It claimed to sound like you were standing in front of a pair of speakers.
It didn't.

I was not impressed at all with the "Bone-Phone".

 

I'm glad that someone had a picture.....didn't know what to expect when I saw the name.....

 

re: Bone Fone

I remembered this ad from magazines back in the '70s. I searched Google Images and came up with this. There is actually a much larger scan of this page out there. So, if anybody actually wants to read the text, just do a quick search for it.

Cheers,
Chris

 

When I was young, I was completely taken in by the hype in the DAK catalog about their $20 condenser microphone. I bought one, and not surprisingly, it sounded like crap - all tinny and no warmth. I put it away for several years until one day I was helping some friends make a recording in their basement. All we had for microphones were a bunch of Shure SM-58s, which is a terrible microphone for recording hi-hat. Out of desperation, I threw the DAK mic on the hi-hat, and lo and behold, it sounded great!

J. D.

 

I had a dbx passive subwoofer. It would rattle the dorm room windows.

A friend is currently consigning some giant dbx towers. They have tweeters on three sides, and side firing woofers and mids. Anyone familiar with these?

 

DAK, JS&A, Sharper Image, and (IIRC) Leading Edge all pedaled the same type of . . . stuff (that's the nice word for it)! A step above Fingerhut, but not a big step . . .

 

Drew Kaplan brought audio marketing hyperbole to a whole new level. Every catalog was filled with items that would change your life! Thunder Lizard mistake! BSR's loss is your gain!

 

I am not familiar but might want a look at them!

I do drive up that way so PM me!

- - -

I always wanted one of the SAE impulse-noise killers (for de-clicking records in real-time).
I do have 2 DBX 3-band expanders but they were obtained second hand, not thru DAK.

 

Drecht then, drecht now!