Who were the Hi-Fi high end giants in the early '60s??

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by audio, Aug 10, 2003.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    In terms of high end stereo (tube) in the early '60s in the US and Canada, who were the main manufacturers, major and lesser known? Scott, Fisher, Harman Kardon, Marantz, McIntosh, and....???
     
  2. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    Prix, You certainly have the big five there, I am not sure when Dynaco came on the seen.
     
  3. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Dynaco started up in the mid 50's and stayed in business into the late 70's (still making tube amps, too) daddio; there were probably more ST-70's sold than any other amplifier under the sun...
     
  4. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Some other manufacturers were EICO, Heathkit, Pilot, Acrosound (which I think is an early Hafler company), and Brook; definitely not as common as the Dynaco stuff. Overseas you'd find Leak (find a site with Leak stuff and take a look under the chassis - nice point to point layouts/wiring)...
     
  5. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    Mike, Thanks for the lead on Hafler, knew they had to be in the picture some where.
     
  6. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

  7. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana

    And Quad....
     
  8. fjhuerta

    fjhuerta New Member

    Location:
    México City
    What about James B. Lansing? I think he really hit his stride back in the 1960's with his "signature" series.

    I'm not really sure about it, though - all I know about him has come from books, magazines, and the odd Web site.
     
  9. michael w

    michael w New Member

    Location:
    aotearoa
    Was there even a "high end " in the 60's ?

    Most of the product produced by the names initially mentioned were very definitely not high end (despite the raves of vintage junkies), possessing very ordinary performance.

    The term didn't even enter our collective vocabulary until the early 70's courtesy of J Gordon Holt and was later popularised by Harry Pearson in TAS.

    Now the term has been bastardised by every marketing plonker under the sun, who seems to equate high end with big price tags.


    cheerio
     
  10. Metralla

    Metralla Joined Jan 13, 2002

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    I think there certainly was - but it was way underground and mostly DIY. Of course, they had the raw material as the records and tapes of the time (I'm thinking of classical and jazz) are among the finest ever made.

    I do agree that these firms made some ordinary stuff, but some also made a statement product (I'm thinking of Marantz) marketed to the few enthusiasts.

    But I imagine that the best amps in the '60s were hand made in someone's garage or on someone's kitchen table. They all start off there - and some turn into successful hifi firms (e.g. Musical Fidelity).

    There were good speaker systems and very good amplifiers in the '60s. The problem was that the turntables were not up to snuff. And most cartridges were very limiting. Better sound was available from reel-to-reel sources.

    And many great mono systems existed.

    Regards,
    Geoff
     
  11. hot_wax_man

    hot_wax_man New Member

    Location:
    Houston
    Marantz was there, Fisher used to be good. Pilot for sure. Sherwood, But McIntosh was the Holy Grail with Klipsch speakers.
     
  12. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Bozak speakers - Rudy Bozak was waaaaaaaay ahead of his time with in-house designed/built drivers....
     
  13. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    JBL, Altec, Klipsch and a few others were certainly the HE of speakers, but Prix was asking about amps.
     
  14. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    Micheal, I know Marantz and MacIntosh owners who cherish and swear by their original tube gear and even though I personally prefer my cj tube gear to call their stuff anything but high end is ridiculous. Please input your profile so we can see what you like.
     
  15. michael w

    michael w New Member

    Location:
    aotearoa
    Hi ALP,

    I know a few Marantz and Mac owners too.
    Most will readily admit that performance is not the sole reason they keep the pieces.

    And performance should be the defining aspect of what is and or isn't high end, not a nostalgic nametag, exhorbitant price or battleship build.

    For example, there are few amps from the 60's that even come close to a modern good performing amp like a NAD C320BEE.

    As to what I like; a wide variety of true high end product, past and present, has been through here at one time or another.


    cheerio
     
  16. BradOlson

    BradOlson Country/Christian Music Maven

    Michael, whatever floats your boat and the listening environment you listen to the most is what's the best.
     
  17. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana


    No, speakers are cool too. Feel free to talk about whatever you want. I'm crazy into vintage audio right now. Curse Steve for giving me the bug!:D
     
  18. audio

    audio New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    guyana
    Two questions for anyone who wants to answer them:

    1) How does the vintage Altec tube gear sound?

    2) What do Bozak speakers sound like and how are they in general?
     
  19. Bob Olhsson

    Bob Olhsson Motown Legend

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Marantz and MacIntosh were THE high-end electronics during the late '50s and the entire '60s. Quad, Bozak, Klipsh, Altec and JBL were the high-end speakers and Thorens/Orthophon were the high end of turntables with an SME arm being a tweaky add-on.
     
  20. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    Have Empire turntables been mentioned? With a few mods they can still compete with modern 'tables (at least according to Empire fans).
    Dan C
     
  21. Bob Olhsson

    Bob Olhsson Motown Legend

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    I started to mention Empire. A lot of us at the time thought they were better than the Thorens/Ort/SME products but they didn't have interchangeable arms. I think some Swiss company is their successor.

    I acquired a used Thorens TD-124 mk 1 in the mid '70s that I still use because I haven't run into anything remotely affordable that is as good. The notorious TD-124 rumble turned out to be caused by an arm board resonance. Once you get the arm and board really torqued down, a TD-124 mk 1 sounds wonderful.
     
  22. Tony Plachy

    Tony Plachy Senior Member

    Location:
    Pleasantville, NY
    They were beautiful TT's, still remember the first time I saw one.bb
     
  23. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Always a noisy tonearm though. We used to use some Empire stuff at the radio station. Always made noise if you moved the arm.
     
  24. Clay

    Clay Forum Resident

    Location:
    Saratoga, CA
    Hey Bob or anyone,

    What do you think about this tonearm on my TD 124?
    I have not tried this TT yet. Based on what you say, it will be better than my Rotel dd with a imitation SME arm on it that I am using now.

    http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17489&highlight=thorens

    There is a picture of the Empire 208 and my Rotel in the thread.
    I was not sure if to sell the 124 and or the Empire. What is your opinion?
     
  25. MARKM

    MARKM Member

    Hi Geoff/Prix,

    HJ Leak & Co. in London made some excellent products. Their power amps are highly regarded today and many audiophiles in the UK use these in vintage system set-ups, or in conjunction with modern gear. In the 50s/60s they were head-to-head with Quad.

    Biased as I am - the wiring was indeed top class.

    I'm using a Leak Stereo 20 currently in my system.

    Geoff - re' TT's & carts -what about Thorens TD124 & Garrard 301 / 401 along with Ortofon's SPU cartridges? The main problem with the TT's is that they were (usually) poorly mounted and therefore did not give their best.

    Cheers,
    MarkM.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine