30 January 2018

A Reel to Reel Prototype - The Beocord 6000 / 5000

Beosystem 6000 prototype 1969
Beosystem 6000 prototype 1969

The Bang&Olufsen Beocord 6000 reel to reel tape recorder was designed by Jakob Jensen in 1969 as part of the future Beosystem 6000 (initially Topline System). Later the turntable and the receiver of this prototype system turned into real products such as the Beogram 4000 turntable and the Beomaster 6000 remote controlled receiver. The all silver and silver/black front reel to reel tape recorder on the other hand was planned to be manufactured as Beocord 6000 but it seems that there were only 6 units manufactured in 1971 with all black front and called Beocord 5000. It seems that the ideea of a new tape recorder was abandoned as compact cassette gained more popularity and finally the Beocord 5000 became a cassette deck to partner the Beomaster 6000 receiver. Later, also the Beocord 6000 name was (re)used for a new compact cassette deck recorder.

The prototype Beocord 6000 / 5000 reel to reel recorders were capable of handling reels up to 27 cm in diameter. It was a 3 motor Dual Capstan Autoreverse construction measuring only 8 cm high so it would match the size of the receiver. 

Jakob Jensen
Jakob Jensen at work

Beocord 6000 1969
Beocord 6000 1969

Beocord 6000 1969
Beocord 6000 1969

Beocord 6000 1969
Beocord 6000 1969

Beocord 6000 1969
Beocord 6000 1969

Beocord 6000 1969
Beocord 6000 1969

Beocord 6000 1969
Beocord 6000 1969

Beocord 5000 1971
Beocord 5000 1971

For more reel to reel visit www.1001hifi.com


23 January 2018

LUXMAN Laboratory Reference Series - No Mass Product.

LUXMAN Laboratory Reference Series

The LUXMAN Laboratory Reference Series components were introduced in 1976. This lineup consisted of the 5C50 preamplifier, 5M21 power amplifier, 5T50 tuner, 5F70 tone control unit, 5G12 equalizer and 5E24 peak level meter. Later a few more components were made to match these units, like the 5L15 integrated amplifier, 5M20 power amplifier, 5T10 tuner or the 5K50 cassette recorder. For housing these units there was also a rack available, the LK5000. The LRS system has carried the separate concept to "an extreme". The preamplifiers have no tone controls, they are provided by the LRS graphic equalizer or separate tone control unit. The power amplifiers were available with or without meters or supplemented by a separate LED peak indicator. The total harmonic and IM distortion of the LRS power amplifiers at rated power is no more than 0.008 per cent while being capable of delivering 100 watts per channel continous power.

LUXMAN Laboratory Reference Series

LUXMAN Laboratory Reference Series

LUXMAN Laboratory Reference Series

LUXMAN Laboratory Reference Series

LUXMAN Laboratory Reference Series
LUXMAN 5K50 / K-12

LUXMAN Laboratory Reference Series
LUXMAN 5T10

For more vintage audio visit www.1001hifi.com





16 January 2018

The Story of ROXY - KENWOOD midi in Japan.

kenwood roxy

In the early 80's most major japanese manufacturers began to release midi sized Hi-Fi components that quickly became extremely popular in Japan. These systems had "family names" in Japan, not just model type designation. In the early days these were true separate components with matching design and appealing functions and displays. Among the polpular systems were the ROXY and ESPACE systems built by KENWOOD (between 1982 - 1993). Here are a couple of the finest examples of these wonderfull Hi-Fi components.

KENWOOD ROXY D7 (1985)
KENWOOD ROXY D7 (1985)

KENWOOD ROXY CD9 (1986)
KENWOOD ROXY CD9 (1986)

KENWOOD ROXY DG9 (1987)
KENWOOD ROXY DG9 (1987)

KENWOOD ROXY DG99 (1989)
KENWOOD ROXY DG99 (1989)

KENWOOD ROXY G7 (1990)
KENWOOD ROXY G7 (1990)

KENWOOD ROXY J9LD (1990)
KENWOOD ROXY J9LD (1990)

KENWOOD ROXY L5 (1991)
KENWOOD ROXY L5 (1991)

KENWOOD ESPACE 8 1989
KENWOOD ESPACE 8 (1989)

KENWOOD ESPACE VX9.
KENWOOD ESPACE VX9 (1989)










09 January 2018

19 Stereo Consoles - Made in Japan


In the early days of Home Stereo it was a custom that all the components were housed in a single unit having the shape and design of a piece of furniture. This trend started where High Fidelity was born, namely in America. Japanese manufacturers were quickly adapting to this trend and created a series of Console Stereo during the 60's. Here are some fine examples from well known manufacturers featuring both Stereo and Quadraphonic (early Surround) systems.


COLUMBIA DSC835 (1964)
COLUMBIA DSC835 (1964)

NATIONAL (1964)
NATIONAL (1964)

ONKYO MC-2200 (1968)
ONKYO MC-2200 (1968)

PIONEER PSC-1 (1960)
PIONEER PSC-1 (1960)

PIONEER PSC-5A (1961)
PIONEER PSC-5A (1961)

SANSUI APS-530 (1965)
SANSUI APS-530 (1965)

Technics SC-1600 (1969)
Technics SC-1600 (1969)

TOSHIBA MEISTERSINGER NO20 (1964)
TOSHIBA MEISTERSINGER NO20 (1964)

VICTOR STL-3 (1959)
VICTOR STL-3 (1959)

VICTOR STL-661 (1963)
VICTOR STL-661 (1963)

VICTOR STL-690M (1967)
VICTOR STL-690M (1967)

VICTOR STL-740MG (1966)
VICTOR STL-740MG (1966)

QUADRAPHONIC Consoles

SANSUI Q-2000 (1971)
SANSUI Q-2000 (1971)

VICTOR DF-11DX (1974)
VICTOR DF-11DX (1974)


03 January 2018

19 Design Steps - PIONEER Receivers

PIONEER SM-B200 (1960)
PIONEER SM-B200 (1960)

PIONEER, as one of the most respected audio brands made one of the most iconic receiver of all time, the PIONEER SX-1980, introduced in 1978. Let's take a look on how the design of the receivers made by PIONEER changed in over four decades.

PIONEER SX-60T (1960)
PIONEER SX-60T (1960)

PIONEER SX-304A (1964)
PIONEER SX-304A (1964)

PIONEER SX-100TD (1968)
PIONEER SX-100TD (1968)

PIONEER SX-45 (1969)
PIONEER SX-45 (1969)

PIONEER SX-100S 1970
 PIONEER SX-100S (1970)

PIONEER SX-2000 (1970)
PIONEER SX-2000 (1970)

PIONEER SX-9000 (1972)
PIONEER SX-9000 (1972)

PIONEER SX-1010 (1974)
PIONEER SX-1010 (1974)

PIONEER SX-1250 (1976)
PIONEER SX-1250 (1976)

PIONEER SX-1980 (1978)
PIONEER SX-1980 (1978)

PIONEER SX-D5000 (1980)
PIONEER SX-D5000 (1980)

PIONEER SX-7 (1981)
PIONEER SX-7 (1981)

PIONEER SX-V90 (1983)
PIONEER SX-V90 (1983)

PIONEER SX-60 (1985)
PIONEER SX-60 (1985)

PIONEER VSX-5000 (1986)
PIONEER VSX-5000 (1986)

PIONEER VSX-521S (1992)
PIONEER VSX-521S (1992)

PIONEER VSX-09 (1996)
PIONEER VSX-09 (1996)

PIONEER VSX-D710S (2001)
PIONEER VSX-D710S (2001)


Discover more Classic Receivers here.