I REMEMBER MONO

Someday I'd like to figure out the electronics business. I started out listening to records, then got interested in the machines I needed to play them, that led to the realization that the plastic metal mass media hardware was as important as Hendrix's guitar licks and Joplin's vocals. More important — without the hardware they'd probably still be alive. Electric magic boxes have to do with so many past events: the radio in my room and in my car and the first time I heard Venus In Blue Jeans; the tape recorder and microphone into which Jimmy Clanton sang; my first TV set and my first collective experience — The Beatles on Ed Sullivan; the TV camera that watched Oswald shoot Ruby. Round and round it goes. I wonder what it would have been like not to have' been there for the first step on the Moon.

Electronics is part of a you are there/they are here approach to life. It's responsible for rock and roll as we know it. It eventually leads to the old Charlie Chan saying, "What comes first, chicken or egg?" In this case, it's '(What came first the TV set or the TV show?" Mass media U.S.A. is a group effort: people who watch TV sets, people who make sets, and people who produce programs for the sets are indispensible to each other. It's the same for people who play records, people who build record players, and people who make records. If there's one thing I've learned from my study of the electronics business, it's that none of them admit the others exist. Especially the men and women who build amps, TV's, and video recorders. They prefer life in a vacuum. I think they're embarrassed. They don't want to take sides. They turn out machines that'll play your records, but they don't want to know what record you play. This position is difficult to understand since the point of rockradio-p.a. systems-tv-video-recording studiosetc. is to exploit the media in pursuit of the message. Electronics folks stand convinced that the message shouldn't affect the design of the medium. Like workers in a giant McLuhan Worldhive, they buzz as they solder: "We make the medium for the message, but we. have nothing to say."

I admire their,false neutrality; their my hands are clean approach. You know, like the guy who built the H-Bomb. "/ didn't know they were going to drop it on anybody!" The truth is we're all part of the media revolution, whether we own stock in RCA, w6rk at RCA, press RCA Records, listen to Lou Reed's RCA albums, or watch RCA artiste David Bowie on TV.'There's a constant attempt to divide media into hardware and software: the record player and TV set are hardware; the record and TV broadcast are software. The hardware is what we buy because the software intrigues us; the software is what we buy because we own the hardware. One doesn't work without the other, and the electronics business refuses to admit they have anything to do with any of it.

GETTING THE SOUND

1877: Tom Edison invents tinfoil phonograph. The first words back from the machine are "Mary had si little lamb..." 1887: Emile Berliner invents the flat record disc.

1888: Twelve year old concert pianist Josef Hofmann becomes the first recording artist as he records a few ditties for Edison's phonograph.

1890: Commercial recording is being done on wax cylinders which require a performance for every cylinder. Actually mass production was accomplished by putting twelve recording machines around the band so twelve cylinders could be made per perfprmance. Okay (Bob, play "Blowin' In The Wind" a few thousand times.

1094: Berliner has found a way of stamping records so one master cart be used to make many copies. He's using hard rubber to make the discs at this poirjlt.

1897: Berliner switches to shellac discs. 1901: The Victor Talking Machipe Company started by Berliner and Eldridge Johnson.

1902: Caruso starts recording. Not only is

he good, but his vocal range is within the narrow limits of the reproduction Systems so you can hear what he's singing. jL 1903: Victor and its competitor, Columbia, doing over a-million dollars worth of business each year selling classical tunes and songs from operas on discs and cylinders at a btick a Copy. Edison is turning out 'race',songs on cylinders for 35 cents. 1904: Columbia introduces the double sided record, it flops.

1906: Edison is backordered two and a half million cylinders, biz is good.

1908: Double sided records catching on. 1912: The cylinder is fading out, records becoming the standard.

1921: Over one hundred million records produced this year.

1924: Bell Labs comes up with electronic systems of recording; up to this point it'd been ail mechanical.

1925: With the help of electric motors, 78 rpm becomes 78 rpm. Before this 78's had run anywhere from 74 to 82 rpm.

1931: RCA comes up with the long playing record^ it flops.

1934: A.D. Blumlien comes up with stereo, it flops.

1940: While RCA starts pressing records on vinyl, the Germans are developing magnetic tape recording.

1947: Magnetic tape recording introduced in the U.S.

1948: Columbia introduces th^ long playing, 33 1/3 lp.

1949:RCA introduces the 45 rpm record.' Before 1948-49 nobody had any record players that played anything but 78's. Very nice.

1950: While tape recorders start to enter the home market, RCA starts making albums.

1951: Columbia starts making singles. 4955: Stereo tape recorders introduced. 1958: Stereo albums introduced.

1969: Quadrophonic four channel sound introduced.

1973: Quad a commercial reality with two major systems, RCA and Columbia.

1975: Quad flops. Back to stereo with biamplification and revolutionary speaker designs.

Occassionally a hardware person will step forward and make a bold move: Sony's home video recorder, Advent's 5 by 6 foot TV screen, Texas Instruments' pocket calculator, Magnavox's TV game system. But most of the time, electronics people play it safe. That's why most electric boxes look the same, and why what they do matches what the other brands do at that price.

The electronics business is inspired and sleazy: guys working in labs inventing the future and guys in Holiday Inns hustling two bucks on their expense account lunches. It's big business, selling people what somebody thinks they'll buy. It's like the car business in Detroit, the true need and use of the-product by the people was lost long ago in an avalanche of annual reports. It's like Polaroid coming out with an instant picture that takes longer to develop than the instant picture they came out with ten years ago. The makers are out of touch with the users, and from what I can gather, they want to keep it that way.

Nothing insures the continued dominance of any of these operations. New toys catch on fast. Come up with the right new toy and you can be chairman of the board of the next GE. Pocket calculators have built empires and destroyed the mechanical calculator people. Digital watches may do the same to the present wrist-watch empires. Video records could alter the nature of TV use and put ABC, NBC, CBS, and TV Guide out of business. Who knows? It took the hi-fi industry froml965 to 1972 to figure out that since 80% of all records were purchased by people under 30, then they must also purchase record players. A couple of years back, one manufacturer of speakers and phono cartridges sent out a press release expressing shock that their customer's median age was 22. God only knows who they think buys and listens to records with record players, uses music radio and watches late night TV.

SOUND SYSTEMS

We're living in an era of electronic decadence where the slightest whim can be instantly satisfied — if you can afford it. The luxury of being able to acquire a home entertainment system that is more sophisticated than most professional recording studios were eight to ten years ago does have its drawbacks, however. Not only is there a hefty price tag on every component you'll need to build that system, there is also an inherent confusion in the number of alternatives available and the ever-present possibility of getting suckered into buying carefully merchandised electronic junk which serves no useful function. The compulsive spending mania of credit-based consumer affluence has been met and conquered by the manufacturers on their own terms. Otherwise sensible people willingly rip themselves off in an effort to have as much chrome-plating as possible. Big has become synonymous with good, dramatic with dependable; what something looks like presumes how it will work.

American consumers spend $6 billion on electronic equipment and $1.7 billion on records each year which means that American consumers get burned for several million dollars worth of crap masquerading under various brand names every year. An even larger number of consumer dollars buy items that ate marginally crap; units which do function but which do not provide full service. No matter how hip, disclaiming any knowledge of how things work is too expensive.

cR&em OF THE CROP

PRE-AMPS

The tone, filter, function, ond tape monitoring controls are part of the preamp (the unit that processes the signal prior to amplification). A pre-amp can be purchased separately for use with a power amplifier. A pre-amp alone wilt not amplify the sound to drive speakers. $1,000+ + +: Sony TAE-8450 $000-1,000: SAE 10

$600-800: Audio Research SP-3A-1; Kenwood 700C: SAE 1M $500-600: Dunlap Clarke 10; Phase Linear 4000; Sony TA-2000F $400-500: Marants 3600; Pioneer Spec 1; Soundcraftsmen, PE 2217 $200-400: Dynaco PAT-4; Dynaco PAT-5; Phase Linear 2000

There are three pieces of equipment essential to any sound-system. All three of them should be chosen for their reliability rather than convenience or, as they say in the biz, cosmetic appearance. The phrase "sound system" is used intentionally, father than "stereo" or "hi-fi" because that's what a record player, amplifier and speakers are: a sound system. Their basic function is to retrieve the information encoded on a disc, amplify that information, and translate it into audible sound. To do this all three of these components must meet certain specifications and tolerances which, without laboring the point too much, manufacturers of these components are liable to side-step if they can sell the units by other means.

Let's start with the machine with which you play your records. This can be either a turntable or a record changer. A turntable is a circular plate driven at certain speeds on which a disc is placed so that it revolves at those speeds. Adjacent to the turntable is the tone arm, which is just a stick of wood or metal holding a needle, encased in a cartridge held at the proper angle and weight relationships to the disc so that the needle can ride in the disc's grooves. A record changer is the same as a turntable except that it has a mecha-

Creem OF THE CORP

POWER AMPS

A power amplifier, also simply coiled art amplifier, amplifies the input signal and supplies the increased output to the Wires then to the speakers. ItehouMMp be confused with a pre-amplifier. A power amp has no controls,or o* most master'volume controls for each of its two chcmpelk l $7,000+ + + : Yamal $800-1,000: marants ■600-800; Crown DC-SOOA; Dynaco Stereo 400; Technics SE-9600 Marants 250M J§

2-500: Crown D150A; Sony fSWBWNf Dynaco Stereo fOi tpreo 120; Dynaco Stereo tflrJlM

nism for automatically changing the discs. The turntable/changer must turn at the proper speed with a minimum of motor-plate vibration which produces bottom end rumble; the tone arm must track across the record at the proper angle to preserve the record for another play and must lie in the grooves without any undue weight on the needle; the mounting case for all these pieces must provide proper damping so that you'll'be able to walk around the room while a record is playing. You can't buy a good turntable for less than $80, and a good changer for less than a hundred. That's what it costs to make them right.

Ffom the tumtable/changer the signal goes to the amplifier where it is amplified, the frequencies are adjusted to suit your ears (bass and treble controls), and then sent out to the speakers. Although the trend is towards amplifiers that incorporate AM/FM Stereo or FM Stereo receivers, if you're into rock music you would do well to buy a good amp and get a radio receivertuner as a separate component. Since a good amp will cost over $200, you're not going to get what you need if you buy some converted tin can for $87.50 that includes a radio and lots of controls and dials.

Amplifiers are really two separate sections: the pre-amplifier which accepts the signal from the turntable (or FM receiver or tape recorder) and contains the bass, treble, function selector and other switches, and the amplifier which amplifies the signal before it goes to the speakers. The preamplifier must be sensitive in terms of allowing you-to control the signal; the amplifier must be powerful yet not introduce any distortion as it amplifies. If you've got the money these two units can be purchased separately. Many amps, especially the lower priced models, just don't give you good bottom when it comes to reproducing rock music. Tube amps were, in general, better for playing rock, but nobody's making them since the advent of transistors except Acoustic Research in Beantown. If you can buy a used tube amp that once sold for two or three hundred dollars you'll probably do better than spending the same amount of money for a transistorized unit.

The only controls you really need on a good amp are volume, bass and treble. All the rest of that stuff is there to catch your eye more than your ear, so be wary when you buy. It's also a good idea to take your favorite rock record along with you when you go to buy equipment as the easy listening and classical shit they'll be playing at the store doesn't give an amp or speakers the kind of work-out that rock does.

There are two kinds of speakers: low efficiency and high efficiency. A low efficiency speaker needs a lot more power to drive it than a high efficiency speaker and results in packed sound. In general high efficiency speakers are better buys. Get the largest speakers you can afford — especially if you're going to be playing your music loud — and make sure that they'll handle at least ten to twenty per cent more wattage than your amp puts out. That way, you won't blow them the first week.

Very often there is a temptation to forget all this by purchasing an integrated sound system — turntable and amp built in ope case with external speakers — or a package deal — amp, speakers and turntable all for one low price. You lose ^either way. Although there are some good integrated units, you won't be able to replace any of the components if you decide you want to up-grade your system. As for package deals, there's usually a catch: a good amp and turntable but speakers with some weird brand name you never heard of — and rightly so because it's just some shit they threw together in the back room. Or a good amp and good speakers with a cheap turntable.

Even if you make a mistake with one of the components you buy, you qan always replace it without having to scrap the whole thing. Think simple, know what you want before you get to the store, and don't believe in light-up dials and miracle units. Sound systems are at their best when they're built to amplify sound.

Creem OF THE CROP

TURNTABLES

■ A ,furnfab(e p!oys only one record of a . time, VoU mjjff Change the records manually and. In some cases bring the tone arm back to starting position At* though turntables are less 'automatic' than changers, you tend to get more value for^OCtT maiwy — like buying an ■ ipitap without a bttfl$»m%0&^M0O're paying more fori$§j$po you will get better.

tf$Got that?) . | | 'f;$4^dhdh4htx$mfliM Ole(sen 4902; Soity PS 2251; Technics SP-10 j $300-400: Empire $98411 $200-300: Pioneer PL-7T; Technics SI-f 300 ■ iOO-209* Acoustic Research XA; Kenwood KD'2033; Pioneer PMfiM§:$oi»$ut FR3080; Sony PS-5520; Technics SL-I50C® Under $100: Pioneer Pt-!20-il

TURNAROUNDS

Top to bottom in the pic are Kenwood's KP1002, KD-2033, KD-3033, and KD-5033 turntables. They vary in price from 1279.95 for the KD-5033 to $129.95 for the KD-2033. While they all look similar, each has certain features which justify the difference in price. The KD3033 and 2033, for instance, use belt-drive systems to turn the turntable platter. The top of the line 5033 has a direct drive motor. Belts will slip off, break, stretch, and don't get you up to speed as fast or steadily as a direct drive motor. Although you probably won't hear the difference. Other turntable variables in design/price include the cast of the turntable, the amount of wow and flutter (distortions of the record signal produced by the turntable being in operation), the type of tone arm, and control such as servo-motors, tracking, and anti-skating.

BASIC & REASONABLY PRICED There are several good turntables on the market that cost around $100. AR and Pioneer each have one asdoes B.I.C. with the Model 940 in the pic. The 940 sells for $109.95 and is a multiple play turntable, which means that while it is designed as a turntable (rather than a record changer) it will play several records stacked on

TURNAROUNDS

the spindle (not the spindle illustrated, but a longer one that comes with the unit).

B.I.C. MODEL 940

BIC's 940 proves that at least one manufacturer can produce a dependable, hot styled turntable and still leave you with money in your pocket so you can buy some records to play on it.

Dual is another firm which knows how to make a record changer. Unfortunately their prices have gone up in the last year, so it's no longer possible to buy a bottom of the line Dual in the $100 - $120 range. But even at $159.95 their Dual 1225 is a good buy — you might find it for less if you look aroiind.

BSR makes a bunch of turntables with prices starting at $59.95 for their 2260X. If you have very little money, you may want to get that turntable or BSR's 2310W which lists for $79.95.

Other turntables that match price with quality include those made by Thorens, Glenburn, Pioneer, and Technics.

STAR TRACKER

Hi-fi equipment is often exotic, or at least avant garde in its design. This Gale GT2101 Optical servo turntable would fit right into the Starship's decor, as does the price, less tonearm, $1,875. But if you enjoy being the only one on your block with the new super toy, this may be it. What it-is is aturntable with a y-shaped plexiglass and stainless steel platter and spun around by a motor that has rotating elements resting in a magnetic field of a rare earth material. The speed is set and controlled by a mini-computer, operating speed being indicated by a three-digit LED readout. The unit is guaranteed for five years. As to whether your records will sound better, there's no answer; a fine turntable, but you're definitely paying for the space age approach.

DDTT

This $279.95 turntable from Sansui is representative of the Japanese .state of the turntable art. It is a direct-drive electronic transcription turntable. First off that means the motor used to turn the platter is connected directly to the spindie, there are no belts or brushes to translate motor revolutions into turntable revolutions. The direct-drive turntable is the biggest innovation Japan has made in turntables in the past two years. Speed control (33 1/3 and 45 rpm precisely) is electronically servo-controlled which, in combination with the direct drive motor ensures that the turntable is 99.97% free of any distortions when playing records. This Sansui, the SR 525, has also got an S-shaped transcription tone arm which tracks between 1.5 and 2 grams.

Creem OF THE CROP

RECORD CHANGERSl

W you want to ploy several Vecardy o— U otter another automatically, you will I need o record changer vThb. record |] changer Is similar to the turntable, ex* cept that it has the extra mechanics needed to hold a hunch of records sus■ pended at the top of the Spindle above the turntable platter surface and drop each down into ploy ing position once the preceding one has been played. $300+++; Technics SL-1350 $200-300: BSR 200BAX; Elac 50HMKII; Garrard 99QB

$100-200: B.I.C. 980; BSR 2310W; Dual 1228; Dual .1225 Under $100: Forget

RECEIVERS

THE BIG TIME

If you've got enough money you can buy your way into the future with some of the gear that's around, like this Scott, 100 watt per channel digital receiver. Every control known to man audiophile dots the front panel, including a set lightup diodes to give you exactly what FM frequency you're tuned to, toggle switches, other lights, switch buttons, punch up buttons, and all sorts of knobs, everything but a scope. The manufacturer says "it sells in the area of $1,500" which makes you wonder if he didn't just build one for his living room and send everybody else a press release.

mcnaem OF THE CROP

RECEIVERS

—rh—.111 .-'-if .. 1 HU' A hi-fi receiver is oil the hi-fi power units rolled into one"; predmp/omp, at §r tuner. Plug turntable in one end, speal| pm out the offer, and you're in businessfp | Since receivers give you "so much all aS once the amount of power per dhanne|8W often less than an integrated amplifier^ § (without built-iirfuner) in the same price; category. X fV'r' ;'

$1,000+ + +: Forge# I#. • ■ * $800 1,000: Tandberg TR2075 , $600-800: Kenwood KR9400; Marantz 25; Pioneer SX1010 $500600: Kenwood KR-7400; Pilot Racfelf 254; Pioneer SX-939; Sony STR-7065 cf $400-500: AKAIAA-1050; GTE Sylvania I iiZ250; . RS -4744;Kenwoad Pioneer SX-838; KR-6400; Technics MaranlB SA-5550 I $200-400: Technics SA5250f|lPvMf

AMPLIFIERS

yPOWER UP

Your basic stereo amplifier — including the particular manufacturer's frills — is the heart of any sound system. This integrated amp from Pioneer (SA-7500 — $299.95) is a good basic amp and gives you an idea of what kind of knobs to look for. Of course, tHis amp features bass and treble "turnover" controls (whatever they are), but also includes a by-pass switch so we don't have to worry too much about whatever they are. Remember, an integrated amp with more power and Ibss, controls is worth more. All you need is a volume control, bass, and treble controls. Everything else is an extra that is not concerned with the primary job of the amp, to amplify. Try not to buy an amp foj the extras.

AMPS

This SAE Mark XXIV stereo power amplifier is representative of the state of the amp art for those of you who can afford $750 for a power amp (plus a pre-amp and speakers and stuff). This amp delivers 200 watts per channel which is enough to rattle your teeth and also enough to give you excellent reproduction if the rest of your system is in as good shape. The front panel is shown in the photo. The meters are to show you how much power the amp is putting out and bow close it is to its total 200 watt output. In addition there are buttons to allow you to adjust the amount of power from the amp to suit the conditions — if you're just playing a record quietly you don't have to use the amp's full power, if you want to break some windows or wake up the neighbors, you can use the full200 watts perside.

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INTEGRATED AMPS

An integrated amplifier contains both a basic amplifier, or power amp/uriglfa pre-amplifier section. Combined together they; allow tone (pre-amp) and volume (amp) controls. You need either on integrated pre-amp/amp or else both a pre-amp and an amp for ony fd-fl j system

■ $f,000-j-+-+•: Forget $800-1,000: Sansui AU-20000 $600-800: Phase Linear 700B; Pioneer SA9900 $500-600: Sansui AU9900 $400-500: Kenwood KA-8006; Marantz 1150; Phase Linear 400; Pioneer SA-9500; Sony TA-! 130 $200-400: Dynaco SCA-80Q; Kenwood - V KA-4006; Kenwood KA-6006; Marantz 1170; Pioneer SA-7500; Pioneer SA-8500; Sony TA-1150; Sony TA-4650

TAPE RECORDERS

YOU HAD TO BE THERE

When a tornado hit Neosho, Mo. last spring, 3 people were killed, 22 injured seriously, and losses in the area were $17 million. But when Don Staib went back to the trailer court where he lived he found that even though his mobile home had been completely destroyed, his TEAC A4010 SL, which he found 100 feet from where his home was, was still running more or less. Staib took the unit to the local stereo shop, they plugged it in, and it worked in both the record and playback modes. All the TEAC needed were some new VU meters and other minor repairs. So next time you plan to tape in a tornado, or jumping out of a plane, or underwater, think TEAC and you'll probably find that what happened to Staib's machine was a total exception.

MINI-DROPPING ...

Hqw small is small? In the 1960's small was part of good, and electronics manufacturers raced to make the smallest, lightest, most compact. They stopped doing that by and large, but a few dedicated firms are still at it, including the Uher people who are German and still trying to catch up in salesmanship with the Japanese. One unit that will get them along to that goal is the Uher CR 210 Stereo which out-Sonys Sony for features and compactability. It -also outprices everybody ($605.95), but, Martha, listen to what you get: A built-in mike, internal monitor loudspeakers, film sync, Use as a car stereo deck, handheld deck, or home deck, batteries or ac operation, automatic tape reverse, etcetera, all in a package 7" X 7" by 2".

IF CUTE COUNTS

Style is almost everything in hi-fi and Sonab has produced a good example of it with their C500 stereo cassette deck. It has Dolby, tape selector, peak value recording meters, and cool looks. All for $399. In black only.

STICK IT IN HERE >

One problem with stereo cassette decks is that they are "top loading," meaning the door you open to drop the cassette in is-on the top of the machine. This location makes it impossible to stack a cassette deck in a pile of other hi-fi units and many audiophiles have been very frustrated by this, so the Japs, who were responsible for the original design, have surged ahead and made us feel obsolete unless we had a "front-loading" •cassette deck. Such a unit is this Model CT2121 from Pioneer which costs $199.95 and can' be stacked on top of or in between a tuner, power amp, pre-amp, whatever, and you load the cassette in the front.

PRO STUFF

The dividing line between amateur and professional equipment has become very hazy of late in the audio biz. If you're paying $600+ + for gear you're probably getting close to pro-level units. If you want to go over $1,000 you can buy totally pro-stuff, like this professional version of the popular Revox A77 tape deck. It lists for $1,550, about $600 more than the Revox semipro/home decks, but includes 7.5 and 15 ips tape speeds, and several little extras that make it dependable and versatile. A great tape machine, though a little tough to edit on.

Creem OF THE CROP

CASSETTE DECKS

the cassette tape tormat. A casseue \s not the same as a portable cassette recorder. A cassette deck has no speakers or amps built in and must be used with affbutboard amp and speak«||||| to produce soundr1 f J $5004+ + : Nakamichi 700 , '

gfcoO-SOO: AKAi GX-325D; Bang SOWwn ■ 2200; Nakamichi 550; Pioneer CT-MW1; llpandberg TCD-3T0 $300-400: Hitachi D-3500; Uher CRUU If j $200-30Q|l*ianwood Under $200: Hitachi D2360; KT710; Teac A470 Pioneer CT-F2m? Technlcs RS-263A*«r

TAPE IT

Two tape units from US Pioneer illustrate the two attitudes towards home taping have developed. One says get a big tape recorder (such as this Pioneer RT-1020H) and record at high speeds with hot tape. The other says get a cassette deck (like this Pioneer CT-5151), use hot tape and Dolby, and you'll get pretty good sound, although not as good as the reel to reel. In actual fact some cassette decks are getting as good as reel to reel decks, especially the. Nakamichi line. But you still don't have the facilities and control of the tape in a cassette that you have in open reel. If you are cost conscious, don't need big metal reels revolving around for your ego, thep get a good cassette machine, the sound will be good enough for most rock and roll.

Audio tape brands and types cover an extremely wide quality range. This is especially true of the audio cassette marketplace. There are a few ground rules that will let you buy without getting ripped off.

1. Buy only brand name tape. C-60 cassettes for 95gf or open reel tape for $1.80 is just shit and while it won't ruin your tape machine it is unlikely that it will give even minimally satisfactory performance.

2. Be aware of quality levels. Most manufacturers name their tapes according to how.good they are. The three basic categories are "standard" (meaning a little bass rumble and a little high end hiss — not good for recording music but fine for catching a lecture at college or sending a tape letter home or something); "low noise" (a little better than standard, but not much); "low" noise-high output" (this is the normal quality tape and where you should start); "ultra dynamic" (this means hot tape — increased output, the kind of tape you should use if you can afford the extra few cents it costs over low noise-high output) ; and then the quality category which can be called anything from "extra high energy" to "super dynamic" (this is a particularly hot tape,' with extra good highs and lows). There are also special oxide formulation tapes, especially in the cassette format, like Chromium Oxide or Cr20 tapes which require a special bias setting on your tape recorder (or a Cr20 switch). These are slowly being phased out by "high energy" tapes.

3. If you buy a cassette that jams send it back to the manufacturer. Even some brand name manufacturers put crap on the market to make a quick buck. They will replace the tape if you,send the faulty tape back to them.

4. Richard Robinson recommends Maxell UD cassettes.

5. The longer the amount of tape on the reel — be it cassette or open reel — the more liable the tape is to stretch, snap, or jam. With cassettes, C-60 or C-90's are the smartest lengths to use.

ACCESSORES

RANGEEXPANDER

When records and tapes are made The dynamic range of the original music is usually compressed and slightly distorted: the high volume passages and low volume levels are evened out, if not in the studio then by the radio station broadcasting the finished record. In other words, for the sake of electronics rather than music our music is being flattened out to fit more nicely into a regulated broadcast pattern. If you want to hear what the music really sounded like a Dynamic Range Expaner will help. The RG-1 from Pioneer is one such unit. It restores dynamid accuracy in records, tapes, and broadcasts by reducing the level of soft musical passages and increasing the loudness level of louder passages. The RG-1 is $175.

SWITCH ME IN

One bane of the hi-fier are the number of interconnections necessary to get a system working. Especially if separate "outboard" components are used (mixer, graphic equalizers, matrix decoders, proc units, Dolbys, etc.), you find that you haven't got enough inputs and outputs to accommodate everything, and also that it takes hours to connect everything up and yet if you want to perform a function you're not connected for you may have to take it all out and start again. Russound / FMP, Inc., who make a line of speaker selector boxes, mini-mixers, and other helpful items, have come up with the QT-1, essentially a patch-bay for the home audioer. For $249.95 you get as much flexibility with your home gear as you'd have in a recording studio_ The QT-1, complete with instruction book and twelve patch chords (more exp extra), isn t mass produced, which means it's well-made though a little expensive for what it does.

Creem OF THE CROP

OPEN REEL TAPE DECKS

Tape recorder typesare initially identi* tied fa? the kind of recording tape format S* used. An open reel' tape deck uses reels of tape rather than a cassette or cartm ridge,., A tape deck is a tape recorder s that does not include speakers or speaker amps — it must be connected to a separate amp and speakers to produce sound. Open reel tape decks will take either o7" maximum reel size or a TO,5" maximum reel size depending on make, and may run at any number of different* speeds ~ 7.5 ips and 15 ips being ideal far quality recording.

10.5" HEEL SIZE DECKS $000+ + +: AKAI GX650D; Crown SX724; Revox A77 $600*900: AKAI GX630D; Doharder 1120; Pioneer RT-1050; Teac A-3300$ $400-600: floneer RT-1011L

7" REEL SIZE DECKS $600-800: Uher SG-520 ■ $500-600: Tandberg 350X; Teac A2300S $400-500: AKAI 440 ;*-C*.., .,: ;1 (HR j $300-400: Dokorder 7100; JVC 4RDt46$ X

BIGEARS

Want to listen In on distant conversations? The Sony Model PBR-400 Parabolic Reflector will assist you. Just slide any mike into the holder in the middle and you'll improve the pickup so you can "focus" in on chat across the street. The cost is under $80 for the reflector, you supply the mike.

ITS THE EXTRAS THAT COUNT Accessories is one of the most important businesses in hi-fi and Memorex is one of the many companies who are putting out a full line of products to help you take care of your products. In the picture are some typical accessories you can own for the flick of a five of ten dollar bill: aluminium cassette storage albums, cassette and 8-track head cleaners, empty 7-inch storage reels, cassette cleaning kit, professional head demagnetize^ record care kit, and record cleaner.

Creem OF THE CROP

TUNERS

or speaker. It,(bust be connected to an amplifier to deliver its sigrtai.it shouldn't be confused with a receiver, which is a tuner plus an amplifier. If you have a pro* amplifier/power amp or integrated amp you can connect a tuner as you would a turntable or tape deck. Tuners are usuaBly AM/FM Stereo or just FM Stereo.. $1,0004+ + : Revox A720; Yamaha CT7000

$800-1,000: Scott T33S h $600-800: Kenwood 700jT''' $500*600: Marantz 150 V $400-500: Kenwood KT 6007; Sansui Tu 9000 'V M $200-400; Dynoco AF-6; Marantz 1261 - Nikko FAM-800; Pioneer tX-9500: Sony ST-5130

SLIDE & FADE

The idea that anyone would use an audio mixer in a home audio situation was once a giggle on the part of manufacturers. But with the electronics revolution air the manufacturers have found they don't know what the home consumer is doing next so they've adopted the practice of'making home versions of just about every piece of recording studio equipment. With a mini-mixer as mad^by Sony, Pioneer, or the one pictured from TEAC (Model 2, $299.50) you can record an album in your jiving room, start a disco parlor, or just fool around.

SPEAKERS

GOODNESS

And We Quote: "Experiments confirmed that pulp from the Sweet Daphne tree of Japan exhibits ideal characteristics for the fabrication of the diaphragm or cone of a loudspeaker, possessing high elasticity, great strength, and a high inner loss of relatively inert transmission characterises. Consequently, the new Kenwood LS-Series utilize the Daphne diaphragm..." How easy it all seems. To spend our days among the sweet Daphne trees, suddenly turning On them, chopping them down with our little axes, and turning them into diaphragms. If you want your own little piece of sweet Daphne, you can, with the LS series, in the pip from left to right are the LS-403 ($84.95 each); the LS-405 ($119.95 each); and the LS-406 ($149.95 each).

THE ALTEC ONE

Altec Lansing are a well known name in the speaker field, especially the theatrical, soundreinforcement end. Now they're into consumer audio with a whole series of expensive speakers that starts with their Model One, only $89 per speaker, and gets more expensive. The Model One is an acoustic suspension .speaker system with an 8-inch bass driver and 4-inch frame cone driver. Finished in oiled oak, the Model One is certainly madeforsmall, bookshelf use, butat the same time, in such a small situation, it is well worth the asking price.

SOUNDER

Everybody's got a theory as to how sound should be reproduced. For a while it looked like one faction was winning out, but now the doors are wide open and all sorts of things are being tried, .some of .them exotic, a few crackpot, but all pointing out that the normal speaker sold by the major companies is far from perfect, and that some of these low efficiency very expensive "state of the art" speakers are just a load of shit.

Brand names don't count in speaker manufacture — by that 1 mean that most of the experiments in sound are not the result" of any activity on the part of the major hi-fi manufacturers. We must turn to Magneplanar, Dahlquist, Dayton-Wright, and others for the answer to the problem of reproducing sound. ,One such manufacturer is Bertagni Electroacoustic Systems and their Geostatic speaker system (all three models are in the pic, from top to bottom $99, $249, or $129). Bertagni is an Argentinian businessman and inventor. His speakers use a diaphragm stretched over a large area or as he's trademarked it, a Pulsating Plane molded of Soniflex. Hear before you buy.

Creem OF THE CROP

SPEAKERS

kof speakers made (PJUof manufacturers. Each Speaker has a different design from any other,, some have radical designs reftiiHng special amplification. You must to your power amp ystpm. Never buy a you hear if it works '• with your exact amp model and make. The list 1hat follows is fust 'a guide rej| ktHng to pricing. Anything under $100 is be for a very -small room, es represept the cost of one speaker, so multiply by two for stereo. $500+'++? Acoustic Research AR-IST; Bozak B400U; Dayton-Wright X6-8MK3;

I H8 i 100; Magneplanar Magnepan MG-li $300-500: Cerwin-Vega 317; Dahlquist DQ0^JBL 1100; Pioneer HPM200; Technics T-500 $300-300; Altec Seven; Cerwin-Vega 12T; Dahlquist DQ-6; Pioneer CS-500G; Pioneer CS-99A $700-200; Advent; Altec Three; Bang * Olefsen P30 fieovox; Dynoco A-25XL; Dynoco A-S/S; JBL 126; Kenwood 15405; KLH 6; Sony SSV-1400 Under $100: Acoustic Research AR»6;|| Acoustic Research AR-7; Advent Small; Mg Advent-2; Altec One; Bozak 8$01||flectroVoice EVS-13B; Kenwood 15*403; Pioneer CS-44G; Sony SSU-120; Technics

BIG DADDIES

Got $4,000 lying around the house? \Why not spend it on a state of the art loudspeaker system from InfinityThis little dandy is composed of two electrostatic screens and a bass cube with an 18n woofer. About 300 pounds of sound and complete with the bass amp. The idea is that the mid-range and treble frequencies are dispersed by the electrostatic screens (a la Magneplanar) and the bass cube vibrates the floor for bottom (a la earthquake), the result is the ideal system, or as close as we've come. It can be had for less money by' buying pieces from several manufacturers, but the Infinity $4,000 tag is very realistic for what it costs to have today what we'll all have in ten years, hopefully.

A NICE COUPLE

Acoustic Research makes conventional speakers with what will probably be considered a classic sound reproduction' approach. If you want to pump out a punchy, moving rock and roll sound get some AR speakers. One particularly nice model is the $159 AR-MST/1 in the picture. The reason for the slanted sides is that you cart have the tweeters pointing outward at reflecting surfaces or facing fnward at each other, and the result is a fuller, more complete stereo sound.

Audio Nirvana: You Are There

I was in a hi-fi store in Greenwich, Connecticut when I first heard the perfect sound. In the store's backroom were two panels, each six feet tall, two feet or so across, and an inch thick. They were covered with a coarse brown fabric and stood about five feet apart across the center of the room. The salesman put on a rock record and I heard a sound which 1 never expected to hear outside of Disneyland. It wasn't stereo or quad, it was 3-D, a 180 ° panorama of sound. The stereo effect was real. I stood between the speakers and heard the sound coming from all around me, as if I were surrounded by invisible musicians. 1 walked closer to one of the speakers, the stereo effect remained and I could hear the other speaker even standing with my ear touching this speaker's grille cloth.

At first it sounded weird more than anything else. The sound came from everywhere, spreading out from the speakers like the popl of light a spotlight makes on a stage. The directional blasts of air puffing across from two normal speakers was missing. The whole sense of sound reproduction was absent. I closed my eyes and I could imagine that the musicians indeed surrounded me.

When I found out what 1 was listening to I was in for another surprise. The sound was running through tube amplifiers into four different speakers. Certainly not the kind of state-of-theair you read about in the electronics and hi-fi magazines.

What I had heard was the new Magneplanar speaker system in conjunction with Audio Research pre-amplifiers and amplifiers. I later discovered there are three new speaker systems, each different, each in competition as components in the perfect sound system: Magneplanar, Dayton-Wright, and Dahlquist.

The perfect sound is reproduced by having electronic components that do not distort it in any way and reproduce it faithfully. This is achieved by using a high-quality turntable, an excellent pre-amplifier, a cross-over system, and highpower, clean amplifiers driven into revolutionary speakers. The result, when it works, is like the sound 1 heard. You can hear everything: bass, mid-range, and treble. You are listening to the master tape in the studio, hearing what was put on that tape. When you'listen to conventional speakers after the experience you hear everything squashed together and you'll notice that most of the midrange just isn't there.

Some highly inventive manufacturers have noticed that most of us have two ears and come up with speakers and sound systems that rely on the human ear for final approval. By using the ear asthe test equipment rather than osciloscope and meters, they have come one step closer to making sound reproduction an inspiring experience.

How can a speaker only one inch thick be the answer to perfect sound? While that isn't a fair question since several important innovations go into the perfect sound, let me concentrate on the speakers to give you an idea of just how revolutionized audio equipment may become. The Magneplanar loudspeaker uses a speaker that is about one-eighth of an inch thick. It consists of a large area permanent magnetic field with a very thick film diaphragm stretched over it. The audio current is carried by conductors which are at-, tached to the diaphragm in a zig-zag fashion. As the audio current passes through the conductors, the interaction between the magnetic field around the conductors and the permanent magnetic field under them causes the entire diaphragm to pulsate. This creates sound waves which you hear.

There's no speaker or speaker cone as we know it in the Magneplanar. Yet the sound is better. The sound comes out of both sides of the panel, not just one. Yet the stereo effect is better.

Normal, speakers and speaker cabinets are used to complete the perfect system however. The bass frequencies are best pumped out of conventional speakers at this point. This leads to biamplification — the necessity of splitting the signal for amplification of four different speakers (two panels and two bass speakers) to achieve the total sound.

There is one great drawback to the perfect sound at this point: the cost. No one particular item is tremendously expensive, but the amount of gear you need makes it add up to about $2,000. You can't just get your feet wet, you have to get up to your neck in it. You'll need a pre-amp, cross-over network, two power amps, and two to four speakers. Speakers such as the Magneplanars are under $1,000 a pair. There is a new Magneplanar MG-II which is $625 a pair, for instance. This is encouraging since it means the basic principles of the Magneplanar mixed with mass production could make the perfect sound a bit more accessible in the future.

It's difficult to convey the new reality that these new speakers and their associated electronics give to records and sound reproduction. It's an illusion, but a tremendous illusion that you're inclined to accept and enjoy once you get over the shock of hearing it for the first time. The whole concept of what loud is changes (these speakers require a great deal of power to run, but they are not loud in the classic too-much-sound sense.) There is no directional feeling as with normal speakers. The sound is just there in the room. You can walk around, walk through it, and the illusion maintains itself in a 3-D fashion. And best of all you can hear everything. The only problem being that you'll then notice what's missing on conventional sound systems, no matter how much they cost or how; good they're supposed to be.

HEADPHONES

Take Off Your Headphones Before You Leave The Room

Remember the 1960's? Then you must remember headphones. Lying there flat on your back, concentrating on the cracks in the ceiling, with the sound blasting into both ears, snug between your headphones off in the land of nod. .Well, why anyone ever buys headphones to listen to records with is beyond me, except of course when driving, which is illegal (thank God), but if you're gonna buy, at least you can buy either (a) cheap or (b) exotic. The headphones in this picture are, ahem, inexpensive. They're $17.95 and if you're a normal person the povelty of listening in headphones will wear off before you realize these phones from Koss (Model K/ 7) won't deliver what more expensive phones will. These headphones are excellent Xmas gifts instead of ties.

Not to slight Koss (who make nice headphones and I'd love to have them mail me some to test) they are capable of being exotic as well as inexpensive, but not at the same time, especially if their Technician /VFR phones batch your eye. The name alone is worth the 75 bucks. "Excuse me while 1 slip on my Technicians." These phones allow you to. vary the frequency response of the phones to fine tune a frequency

a 9>ant doll made out of rubber they use to make the ear cups. I already have headphones, Koss s excellent HV/1.

I can hear the American bombers approaching. Everything in the picture that doesn't belong to the young woman is part of the new Panasonic Sound Localization Headphone System. A system that is so hot that Panasonic has come up with a whole new batch of words to describe it: Ambience phone, ambience controller, projected sound localization, sound image control technology, spring out of the press releases. Panasonic has applied for 30 patents worldwide to protect this new invention, whicli, as far as-1 can figure, strongly resembles a pair of headphones. Price being no object, it hasnt yet been announced.

Creem OF THE CROP

HEADPHONES

Headphones vary in style — open airfight weight and heavier metal ear cups — and basic principle —dynamic and electrostatic being the most common. . Buy when you like what you hoqj*.

$100+ + +: Audio Technica AT-706; Koss ESP-9B $75 100: Pioneer SE-700; Technics BAH* BOA $50-75: Koss Pro-4A; Nofcamichi HP* 100 |30*50; AKG KUO; Audio Technica AT* 70lr Koss HV*I; Pioneer SE-405 Under $50; Beyer DT302; Superscope HP-10

Hi-Fi At Five Dollars A Watt

l i asked a friend of mine what hi-fi manufacturers could do to improve their products.

"Get the price down," he answered. "The stuff is around to get really good sound, but it's still experimental and they make you paylthrough the nose."

My friend's problem is, an intense addiction to sound. In the year I've known him I've seen him put at least $3,000 into his hi-fi, and he had a good sound system when we first met.

The average hi-fi buff doesn't hold a job in order to keep electronics companies in business. He or she simply wants to buy a set of components that will produce a big, realistic sound so that he can enjoy records and get good reception of the local FM rock station. The problem is no less dramatic when it's $300 instead of $3,000. -' Identical obstacles are involved in getting value for money.

If you plan to b.uy hi-fi equipment as components: turntable, amplifier, tuner, tape deck, speakers, it's necessary to make a sizeable investment. Hi-fi equipment isn't cheap, at least not the stuff that works.

A good record changer or turntable is $100$200; a basic amplifier with tuner is $300-$500; speakers start at $200 a pair. Plus tax, minus discounts, a free phono cartridge, and 50 feet of speaker wire under the counter. You need $500 to even think about component hi-fi! You can buy a system for less, but it'll destroy your records, though you wouldn't hear much of them anyway. Get together $600-$l,000 for a really class hi-fi. Even at that, don't expect any extras like tape decks, graphic equalizers, or mixers.

Buy brand name models that give you the most of their basic feature for your money. By that, I mean buy an amplifier for its power and preamplifier functions rather than for its cosmetic frills. The same is true of all hi-fi equipment. If you're otva budget, buy the basics and add the extras later. For instance, if you do without an AM/FM Stereo tuner built into your amplifier, yob'll be able to buy a much better system for your $500. ' x

Don't believe a word the guy in the hi-fi store says unless he's a relative. Use your ears. If you don't like what it sounds like, don't buy it. It's not going to sound any better when you get it home. This also applies to if you don't like what it looks like.

When you figure out what you want, look for a discount. Fair-trade (price controlled items) has been knocked over on many previously protected brand names. The hi-fi business is getting back to lean days when any sale over cost is better than no sale at all. Ask how much off the dealer gives on the item (find out what the list is before you start). Then efck how much for cash. Then how much if you buy an entire system.

Avoid trade-in deals. If you have an old item to trade-in, don't use it to buy expensive components. Or if you do, get the cash discount established before you announce you have some junk to unload. Dealers who sell you a new $400 amp for $350 and your old amp may also sell the $400 amp for $350 as a regular discount. Sell your old gear privately or trade it all in on one low cost item.

Don't be afraid to buy by mail. Several electronies discount Rouses issue catalogs with model numbers and cut-rate prices on brand names. These firms started originally in areas where fair-trade policies were illegal and continue to give rock-bottom prices. Since the warranty of the equipment is with the manufacturer, not the dealer, where you buy it doesn't affect where you'll take it to be repaired^ Send them money for insurance and you have little to worry about.

It's also possible to build many hi-fi components yourself at a considerable savings. Dynakit has a excellent series of amps and tuners in kit-form at much less than they cost wired. Always check to make sure all the parts of the kit are included before you start to build as manufacturers Won't exchange half-built kits. Most kits are pretty easy, just don't try to finish the whole thing in one night.

Cassettes That Cud Blow The Roof Off

The original purpose of the cassette system was to make tape recording an easy, hands-off process, as self-contained as possible. The 'portable' Cassettes now on the market have followed through with this idea remarkably well, mostly through engineering efforts in the land of the rising sun. It's now possible to have a complete audio re cord/playback unit that is no larger than two packs of cigarettes (well, almost) and capable of doing everything larger tape recorders can do (well, almost).'

There is a certain amount of high end, treble 'hiss' which you'll notice when playing cassettes —no matter whether they're prerecorded or you record them yourself. This is inherent in the cassette and can only be eliminated by getting a larger, non-portable unit with noise reduction. If you play back the cassettes on the speakers builtin to the cassette machine, you won't notice this hiss. If you pump them -through a hi-fi system, i you will; you'll have to reduce the amount of treble on the controls, leaving a good deal of the high end missing and the playback sounding slightly flat.

The factors involved in buying one of these portable cassette machines break down into categories: size, price, functions, and power system. Size and price go hand in hand. The less you pay for a portable, the larger (in relation to the more expensive units) the portable will be. Panasonic RO-413S, Superscope C-101, and Toshiba units are examples of semi-compact machines selling for well under $100. These units work very well and the only drawback is that you can get smaller machines to do the same job.

Very few of the portable cassette machines are made for stereo recording. Sony makes a couple of models, priced between $150 and $200, but they are, 6f necessity, larger since the circuitry is twice as complex as the mono machines. Some have AM/FM Stereo/FM Mono radio combinations built-in, but again the size goes up.

The real mini-cassette machines include those made by AIWA (TP-747), Sony (TC-40A, TC-45, and TC-55), Panasonic (RQ21 OS), and Radio Shack (Realistic 'Minisette'). These ultra-compact machines have both advantages and drawbacks. On the plus side, they are very, very small and record just as well as the larger portables. But to counter this, the best of them are up to $50 more than their bigger counter-parts, they need external adaptors to run on ac house current (up to $20 for the adaptor), and their built-in speakers are so small that the sound they reproduce is minimal.

These mini's as well as the larger portables have built-in electret condenser mikes. This means you don't need to carry an extra microphone with you, jus)point the mike built-in to the cassette machine and record. But it's an old Japanese electronic proverb; '.'farther away mike is from source of noise, more hiss you. get." Since there's hiss to start with, using a built-in mike at any distance sounds like you were recording under Niagara Falls. If you are going to be doing any serious voice recording, plan on the extra $10 to $20 for an external mike.

CASSETTES

Marantz has gone into the cassette manufacturing business with the announcement of 5 cassette deck models that will bear the Marantz label. The one in the picture is the Model 5420 that looks to be the hottest one of the line. Its special feature is built-in Vnixinig. You can connect up to four microphones or other audio sources to the deck and then mix them, pan them across for stereo effects, and generally create your ownrecordings without the need for an external mixer. ■>

Time By Numbers

As a kid 1 learned about time from a fourth grade teacher who insisted that a cbck was like an apple pie, and that certain size pie slices corresponded directly to certain amounts of time. That's what time was for me until three years ago when I threw caution to the winds, and replaced all the clocks in the house with digital models.'It was a very nice change. I no longer looked at the clock to see how big a slice of pie I had left before my hext appointment. Instead the clock told me exactly what time it was when I looked, and gave me no hints about the immediate past or future. It's 9:07, period. I like the way it feels and 1 like knowing its 9:07 as opposed to "about ten minutes after nine."

Digital decks come in the wrist watch variety (true digital clocks as they use digital circuitry arid light up diodes to blink out a steady pulse of time), the bigger home digital clock with its rolledge, of flaps with numbers on them that drop into view as it rotates, and the digital clock radio, a variation on the home digital clock. There are also some true home digital clocks using large gas discharge displays to give a bigger version of the digital wrist-watch effect.

Some hints for digit shopping:

AM / FM Digital Clock Radios: Prices run from $39,95 to $100. The Sanyo RM 5030 in the picture is $39.95. Toshiba makes one for the same price, their RC681F. You can get them fdr $35 or so with current discounting. If you buy anything more expensive you're paying for extra plastic and a few more dials, but no real innovations. (Panasonic does have a $100 + digital clock radio that speaks the time and will tell you to wake up).

Home Digital Clocks: The flap-number ones are really cheap, don't pay more than $15 for one. The ones with real gas or diode displays cost from $20 up to about $50. There are kits available for these from Heathkit and others, but you're better off buying them ready wired.

Digital Wrist Watches: Price is still an object here. They cost about $12 to make and they sell for hundreds. There are two types of displays: liquid crystal numerals which appear milky white and can't be read in the dark but use very little battery power, and light emitting diodes, the sarpe kind of display used in most pocket cab culators, diodes use lots of battery power so they are'usually off until you press a button to see what time it is, then they will stay on for a few seconds and shut off again. The great advantage of diodes over liquid crystals is that diodes light up in the dark so you don't need a light to read your watch by as you do with liquid crystals. There are some digital wrist watches for less than $100, but they are in stunningly crappy cases with very small diode displays. Any minute Timex may unleash a whole batch of cheapie digitals, so hold on to your money for a, year or so.

My Baby Beside Me At The Wheel

Cap radios used to have only one quality: loud. You could crank them up till,.the speaker was slapping along with the pistons and then push your,foot towards the floor and take off. Now car radio like rock 'n' roll has been refined. The result is that to figure out exactly what car radio to buy is not only going 'to take some time, but also cost you some money.

Car radio are now either AM only (for oldr sterjs), AM & FM/Stereo (for those in the know), ana AM & FM/Stereo with Cassette machine (for thos^ who like the sound of a different drum),

and all that plus a set of extra expensive custom ^installed speakers (for those who tend to think of their car as a living room on wheels). How mbch do you want to spend? The answer, as with most hi-fi stuff, is how much you got?

SANYO MODEL FT 416

Radio & tape units (might as well buy it all together, you'll save money) are between $100 and $200 and are made by Sony, Pioneer, and other biggies. Custom speaker kits (for that big sound) are worthwhile from $35 or so on up to $75. There are accessories available like burglar alarms to keep .your stuff from bding lifted out of the car and special lock hnounts so you can *take the unit out of the car if you're afraid to leave it there while you park. If you want to get into CB ahd regular radio, check out the growing number or consoles that include CB, regular broadcast bapd, stereo speakers, and a tape deck all in one giant plastic box:

The Warranty Racket

Most entertainment electronics come with a warranty agreement between the manufacturer and you, the purchaser. This,is not an agreement between the dealer who sells the equipment to you and you, and that is an important point — it means that if-you get the stuff home, open the box, plug the stuff in, and it doesn't work, the dealer does not have to replace the item. Instead he chortles up his sleeve 'and tells you to send it back to the manufacturer. That's right, you pay some retail outlet your $500 or whatever and if the stuff'don't work, they tell you to fuck off. Very nice. Then you ship the stuff,, at your expense, back to the manufacturer, and sometime in the ensuing three or four months (it can take that long) yoq get it back, hopefully fixed. By the way, many manufacturers won't take their stuff back unless you ship it in the original cartons; whether or not this practice is legal, I don't know.

Okay, so fitst thing you do is find out if the dealer you buy from has some sort of warranty of his own. If not, explain to him that you're going to throw bricks through his window if you get the stuff home and it doesn't work. He usually agrees to replace any non-functioning gear. If he doesn't, buy elsewhere.

Then read the warranty supplied with the equipment. It probably won't cover you for too much in the way of normal breakdown — just outrageous malfunctions, if they occur within the few months of the warranty period. In past years warranties covered the first year or so, but most manufacturers have cut back their warranty period to a few months. This was started by the American tv manufacturers last year — they went from 1 year warranties to "new, super protection, 90 day warranties". Now everybody is on the bandwagon and the warranty has become close to useless, unless you've got a good lawyer. Then in July of this year the Federal Trade Com-, mission stepped in and further contused the warranty picture by allowing either limited or full warranty policies at the manufacturer's option. The result is that you better not plan on the manufacturer doing too much for you unless you can yell real loud and threaten to sue. Threatening to sue does work, but you usually have to pay for a lot of long distance phone calls to the manufacturer's home office and it can still take six months to get your money back.

The best thing to do with most warranties is to forget them. Mainly because even if you are protected, which is now questionable, it takes too damn long to get stuff fixed under warranty. Buy dependable products and if they break down in use have them repaired yourself at your local hi-fi or tv shop. You pay the repairs, but when you match your payment up against shipping charges, waiting time, and the possibility that you'll get a repair bill from the manufacturer before he'll ship your stuff back.. .well you can see that the game is to the manufacturer's advantage with the Federal Trade Commission doing everything they can to make it easier for the manufacturer to cop out and harder for you to do anything about it.-