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As a child in the 70s, I saw a lot of wooden, all-in-one stereo consoles. And then, in the early 80s, I started to see more of my neighbors (San Francisco's Western Addition) and classmates get stereo "stacks," where one vertical cabinet held a turntable (top shelf), tuner, cassette deck, and amplification. There was even enough room for LPs down below. Just add speakers.
For me, these stacks were my home stereo inspiration and dream. In 81-82, one of my downstairs neighbors got one such Sony stereo stack. Even the magnetic locks on the glass doors were cool. I then attended Presidio Middle School. On Fridays, instead of coming straight home, I'd stop off at the Rainbow Records and Record Factory on Geary. Instead of spending my money on candy, I saved the few bucks for 7" 45 rpm singles. It was such a thrill, to bring them to my neighbor's unit.
One of our friends from up the block would come over after school. He'd come blasting down the hill, singing at the top of his lungs, Joey Scarbury's theme from "Greatest American Hero." We'd line up our Air Supply, Christopher Cross, Culture Club, Earth Wind & Fire, Gap Band, Go Go's, Hall & Oates, Lionel Richie, Olivia Newton-John, Styx, Survivor records. And I'm still pissed that all copies of Supertramp's "It's Raining Again" were unplayably warped and warbly.
Oh well, it didn't matter that the sound sucked; there was nothing like belting out "Even The Nights Are Better" at the tops of our lungs. I've rarely witnesed that kind of joy, when we audiophiles get together.
Oh ho ho. When my neighbor's dad got the Asia LP, we 4th to 6th grade kids were convinced that a dragon was going to rise from the Bay!
Then an older high school neighbor taunted us with Iron Maiden's Number Of The Beast, including a cool-man blacklight poster.
By 1986, these stereo stacks went out of vogue, to be replaced with "entertainment centers," housing a TV and A/V receiver.
As audiophiles, we wouldn't, due to heat and vibrations, stack our high-end audio components. Nevertheless, I'd like to pay homage to those early-80s stereo stacks, which were an early influence on me. Oh, where did I go wrong? :-)
This photo has been going around on Facebook, gathering many "Likes." It reminded me of my early influences, which, as I review the car-priced Simaudio 750D, puts things into perspective. Rock on!
The Audiophiles' DJ,
-Lummy The Loch Monster
Follow Ups:
During the late-70s or early 80s I purchased a Sony stack with cabinet (as pictured, but in black) for my baby sister when she began living on her own in an efficiency near Chicago's lakefront. At the time I didn't think much of it (I was an audio hobbyist, by gosh!) but she really enjoyed it and got great use out of it for several years until she moved in with a guy who had a decent system (ProAc, mid-level TT, Conrad Johnson pre, SS amp, and Vandy threes).
These days I see those stacks in church basements and various other terminal locales for well used donated electronics. Sony must have sold a lot of them. And I'm sure whatever their weaknesses, loads of folk derived much enjoyment from them.
Cheers,
Ian
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my perspective of the ultimate rack was a bit different. In '74, I visited an ARC dealer who had one with an SP-3a, EC-3 crossover and two D-76 amps.
Here, courtesy of Audio Research Database from the ARC Museum, is a fancier version with a Dual 400 prototype:
kind of a kick. Could be a ham station or a 1960's physics lab.
nt
try it! you know you want to!
ARC has always produced instrument grade gear.
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