This thread is being created for the purpose of rambling on about vintage and retro audio - with a hope that the significance and lasting power of various innovations and technologies related to high fidelity audio will be included. I expect the discussion to be random thoughts on the subject rather than a discussion with a clear and coherent focus. At age 78, I am one of the oldest members at ASR, and we won't see much if any first-hand information posted about audio before 1958 - the year stereo LPs went commercial and I got my first component HiFi system.
Let's start off with the oldest stereo amplifier comparison list I could find. While replying this morning to a post about cheap ChiFi components and the quality and support issues in that market segment, I thought about the first used monaural 6L6 vacuum tube amplifier my father bought for me in 1958, and the evolution of audio since then. While researching the topic via Google, I stumbled across ItIsHiFI.com, a fascinating website dedicated to retro and vintage HiFi where I found the below chart. (I will likely spend many hours at that website over the next few days, especially since our province in Western Panama is being put back on full "cannot leave your property" Covid-19 pandemic quarantine for the weekends starting Saturday.)
Shortly after my father helped me to build a big bass-reflex DIY speaker with Jensen drivers as the foundation for my first monaural HiFi system in 1958, the new development of HiFi consumer stereo took off. The below list comparing stereo amplifiers in 1959 includes prices and factory specifications. For your reference, the price of a $100 ChiFi amp would be about $11 in 1958-1959 US dollars. In 2020 US dollars, the $75 - $250 range of listed amplifiers would, with currency inflation, jump up to $665 - $2,400.
It is also interesting to note that there is good a correlation between power rating and weight (which is heavily influenced by the size of the power and output transformers), with the heavier Pilot being an exception, and a wide range of damping factor ratings. If I could have any of the listed amplifiers as a collectors item, it would probably be the Leak.
Let's start off with the oldest stereo amplifier comparison list I could find. While replying this morning to a post about cheap ChiFi components and the quality and support issues in that market segment, I thought about the first used monaural 6L6 vacuum tube amplifier my father bought for me in 1958, and the evolution of audio since then. While researching the topic via Google, I stumbled across ItIsHiFI.com, a fascinating website dedicated to retro and vintage HiFi where I found the below chart. (I will likely spend many hours at that website over the next few days, especially since our province in Western Panama is being put back on full "cannot leave your property" Covid-19 pandemic quarantine for the weekends starting Saturday.)
Shortly after my father helped me to build a big bass-reflex DIY speaker with Jensen drivers as the foundation for my first monaural HiFi system in 1958, the new development of HiFi consumer stereo took off. The below list comparing stereo amplifiers in 1959 includes prices and factory specifications. For your reference, the price of a $100 ChiFi amp would be about $11 in 1958-1959 US dollars. In 2020 US dollars, the $75 - $250 range of listed amplifiers would, with currency inflation, jump up to $665 - $2,400.
It is also interesting to note that there is good a correlation between power rating and weight (which is heavily influenced by the size of the power and output transformers), with the heavier Pilot being an exception, and a wide range of damping factor ratings. If I could have any of the listed amplifiers as a collectors item, it would probably be the Leak.