Back in the early sixties the KLH company of Cambridge, Massachusetts introduced the first contemporary integrated stereo system. Packaging it in a suitcase format, they included a record player, amplifier, radio tuner and speakers; all built together into a very portable, lightweight unit. Until that breakthrough you'd have had to purchase a massive piece of fake mahogany furniture designed to take up half your living room in order to get the same components in one package. The KLH line was an instant hit, especially with a bottom-of-the-line price tag of $200. Although KLH strove for compactness and quality at a reasonable price (as do many of the other Cambridge based firms such as AR and Advent), their basic idea was immediately ripped-off and every manufacturer in the field soon had at least one reasonably priced, integrated system on the market. But where you could depend on your KLH

to do the job, the imitators were more than risky — many of them concentrated «their efforts on creating impressive outer packages and threw in the cheapest electronics they could possibly produce. I'm reminded of a HarmonKardon integrated package I once bought (including AM/FM radio, speakers and turntable) which stopped working within ten minutes of first plugging it in; the replacement lasted a good month before the motor on the turntable stopped going around; and to order a replacement needle for the el-cheapo cartridge only took three weeks. All this for over $200.

The rule among audio people soon became "if you're buying a stereo system, buy the separate components, if one goes you still have the rest." In the last couple of years this rule has been modified a bit. It is still a good practice to buy the individual pieces of a stereo system — amp, speakers, tuner — as the

quality tor the price you pay will be the best you can get. But there are a number of integrated units now on sale which are trustworthy and a good value, especially if you're not planning to spend a small fortune on your stereo equipment. One such is the Sanyo GXT-4500 which retails for $169.95. This model gives you an AM/FM stereo receiver, a record changer, a cassette tape deck (all built into one unit) plus two bookshelf speakers. As with the KLH and other systems in this price range you must be aware that you won't be able to fill a beer garden with sound with the power and capacity of the system. But for a small room, or for a second system, it will work just fine. Don't make the mistake, however, of trying to blast the neighbors with the Sanyo, if you do you won't have anything left. If you're really on an economy trip Sanyo has a GXT—4300 (without cassette machine) for only $99.95. Panasonic also makes one in this price range which is quite good.

Total systems aren't the only things that are being integrated these days. Even if you want to go out and buy separate components, you'll find it difficult to find an amplifier that hasn't already got an AM/FM stereo receiver built-in. This integration of amplifier with other units is being carried to extremes with the advent of quadrophonic amplifiers. The Quadio (Model CRH—740) by Toyo is a good example of this. It includes an AM/FM stereo receiver, stereo and four channel cartridge player, a four channel decoder, four amplifiers (one for each channel), and a joystick plus position scope to regulate the positioning of the four channel sound in reference to where you're sitting. List price is $349.95, which means it ain't cheap, but then look at all the things it will do for you.

The major problem with integration, as I mentioned before, is that one thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong. If you buy an integrated system and the turntable breaks down you can't just rush out, borrow or buy a turntable and start again. If you buy an integrated amp and one section of it mal-functions very often the rest of it will refuse to work as well. On the other hand you'll usually get both compactness and extras out of integrated units where the individual components take up more space and may not have as many built-in features. In all, with the present state of the art, it is pretty much of a toss-up. A good way to gauge just how good a deal you're getting on an integrated unit is to compare what the individual components would cost. For example you can buy a set of speakers, amplifier, and record player for $300. You can get the same in an integrated unit for $100. Obviously somebody cut some corners somewhere along the line. On the other hand you can buy a cartridge player, AM/FM stereo receiver, and amplifier for $250 and the same, with lots of little extra doo-dads, many cost $300 all built together in one box. You may well be paying the extra $50 for the colored lights on the dials and the advertising campaign, but then again, lots of us are real suckers for colored lights.

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Richard Robinson, 27, is the author of several books. He is currently working on Rewire Yourself: A Guide To The Technology Of Pleasure.