Vintage Audio Advertising

[Harmonie]

 

[anmpr1]

and love those eye glasses)

Um...er... is she wearing glasses? I'll have to look closer.

 

[Robin L]

 

[Robin L]

 

[Robin L]

 

[anmpr1]

Miles Davis uses AR3a...

Miles giving the Black Power fist for the staid New England company, AR. You can't make this stuff up! The company suits probably had no idea.

And Miles with his 3a's on the floor, in a corner. For that 'x-tra' push in the bass department.

 

[Robin L]

Miles giving the Black Power fist for the staid New England company, AR. You can't make this stuff up! The company suits probably had no idea.

And Miles with his 3a's on the floor, in a corner. For that 'x-tra' push in the bass department.

X-tra push in the bass department works mighty fine with the Stockhausenian "Big Fun":

 

[mhardy6647]

Those speaker grilles look familiar. Amazing how the memory works.

The Marantz "Imperial" series were fairly popular when new -- and are held in no mean regard in some circles today. Not in my circle... but in some. Bart Locanthi was involved in some way(s) with the design of at least some of them, though -- so there is that.

Loudspeakers: When is Good Enough, Enough? Part 1

Initially, the Audioholics topic that impressed most was their multi-part series on cables . After reading that series just about anyone who…

www.audioholics.com

 

[mhardy6647]

"Selenium Falcon" on the Polk forums posted this ad (which, truth be told, I don't really remember) there recently. Sort of (sort of!) cut from the same cloth as the fiery Marantz ad above.

 

[KellenVancouver]

Oldie McIntosh add. Note their street address included. Since McIntosh relocated from Water Street to Chambers Street in 1956, this ad must be at least that old, but not older than 1951 since that's when they moved from Maryland to Binghampton, NY. Plus an inside peek at the AE-2 amplifier equalizer: http://www.mcintoshcompendium.com/Compendium Docs/Pre-Amplifiers/PDFs/AE2.pdf

 

[KellenVancouver]

Superscope-era Marantz had some hideous ones -- but ads that stick with us through the decades. I.e., I guess they were effective.

View attachment 174706

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/70s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1973-05.pdf

This is literally the first of the type that I came across in a quick perusal at worldradiohistory.com There were tackier ones.

Of course, there was also this fairly effective ad from Superscope-era Marantz.

View attachment 174707

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/70s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1975-01.pdf

Sort of from the John Cameron Swayze "Time for a new Timex" (or the Samsonite American Tourister luggage with gorillas) school of advertising.

That "fire started on the first floor" Marantz ad is pretty awesome.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[mhardy6647]

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Not exactly audio advertising, but...

 

[KellenVancouver]

Pickering Audio? Never heard of them, but found this obit for Mr. Pickering that may interest some of you...

Phono Cartridge Pioneer Norman Pickering RIP

Norman C. Pickering, an audio pioneer who refined the phonograph cartridge and founded Pickering & Company in the 1940s, died on November 18 at his home in East Hampton, New York. He was 99. Pickering was an engineer, inventor, and musician who was best known for improving the sound of...

www.soundandvision.com

 

[Chrispy]

Nice collection of memories here for me! Thanks.....didn't save any myself tho.....

 

[mhardy6647]

Pickering Audio? Never heard of them, but found this obit for Mr. Pickering that may interest some of you...

Phono Cartridge Pioneer Norman Pickering RIP

Norman C. Pickering, an audio pioneer who refined the phonograph cartridge and founded Pickering & Company in the 1940s, died on November 18 at his home in East Hampton, New York. He was 99. Pickering was an engineer, inventor, and musician who was best known for improving the sound of...

www.soundandvision.com

You're not an old-school vinylista, then, I suppose.

Pickering (the man and his eponymous company) was/were a legend in the early days of hifi. Pickering, their sister company, Stanton (styli of the cartridges were long interchangeable), Empire, and Shure were the popular favorites in those days, particularly in the US -- although GE, Grado, Goldring, Ortofon, Decca, and Fairchild were probably the favorites of the "golden ears" of the early days (of stereo hifi). I am sure I am missing some.

source: https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-High-Fidelity/70s/High-Fidelity-1976-07.pdf

Pointless, egocentric aside: My first "hifi" MM cartridge -- a long time ago -- was a Pickering P/AT-1 (well... maybe it was a P/AC-1) which I put on a ca. 1958 Voice of Music record changer. The changer was bought new by my father, handed down to me, and was in steady use until ca. 1977. I had to discard it, regretfully, in 2007 due to its condition after storage in a very damp location when we cleaned out my father's house as he was downsizing to an apartment late in his life.

 

[KellenVancouver]

Not strictly an advertisement, but a publicity shot from the 1934 film, The Girl From Missouri. Interesting to see a record player in a box from that era, apparently sitting atop a speaker. All you movie buffs will probably instantly recognize Jean Harlow, the "blonde bomshell" of the 30s who was the leading sex symbol of her day (she died three years after this picture, just 26 years old).

 

[DanielT]

Unfair to the women who read this thread. They have no eye candy.Thought to post some picture so I googled,"sexy men and hifi", but I could not find anything. Found this but even I who do not lie in that direction and turn on to men realize that this may not be what women, in general, consider to be so sexy.

However, surely those gentlemen at that event hade a good time.

A photo I found. Unfortunately lost the link. Some flea market, vintage, hifi fair something, somewhere.

Edit:
Although the women probably thought that Frank Sinatra was a sexy guy:

Celebrity Hi-Fi Systems: Frank Sinatra, Haruki Murakami, Magic Johnson, and more… | In Sheeps Clothing

Celebrity sound systems featuring Garrard, Tannoy, McIntosh, Thorens, and custom hi-fi equipment. News alert: Celebrities are very much human like the rest of us, despite that popular culture exalts them to God-like levels. And as humans, famous people have a multitude of curiosities and...

insheepsclothinghifi.com

 

[beagleman]

This one from the early 70s seems historically interesting for a few reasons. First, is this "Sound Machine" the precursor to the boom box? Second, I was surprised to see that Bell & Howell did audio; from what little I know of them I thought they were more of a camera/movie projector company. That guy in the background... looks like he's holding some kind of audio component up to his hear. "Transistor radio" maybe? And then the gothic church seen in the distance is kinda weird for an American-made product. Perhaps this was an ad targeted to UK consumers or something...
View attachment 174477

The cassette player goes INTO the box she is carrying...