HARDWARE/SOFTWARE

HARDWARE/SOFTWARE

RICHARD ROBINSON

NEW RECORDS FOR THE SAME OLD SONG

I'm not one to argue against the future. But I am inclined to complain when the future comes too soon. Or when it doesn't work as well as the present. "Progress" has been a cult in this country for so long that what follows may not make any sense to you. And it will certainly annoy anyone who's been brought up with the idea that progress and improvement are synonymous.

The cult of progress is important, or at least it seems important to our economy. Doubleknit polyester is better than wool, tripleknit poly doesn't wrinkle like cotton, radio isn't as good as television, and who needs to read when they can look at pictures. And if glistening crystals of refined sugar are added to soup and bread then they'll taste better than they used to.

Once upon a time we could have cut out progress and cured cancer. But it's too late for that now. We must progress past what progress has done to us, pay off the balance on our charge cards, and get far enough forward so that we may have some chance of getting back to a more stable, less disposable, environment. Fat chance.

About a hundred years ago, there was no known method to record sound and then reproduce it. Then Edison came up with his wax cylinders, recorded sound, and then played it back. Edison sold more cylinders than you might imagine—not until Elvis and the Beatles were his sales figures challenged. But someone came up with an improvement on his cylinders: the 78 rpm record. Then someone else progressed to the 45 rpm record. And then the 33V3 rpm record. Then sound recorded on magnetic tape. Then two synchronous tracks of parts of the same sound to produce stereo images. And no one worried too much that 78 was a better speed than 33'/3 when it came to fidelity. Progress. And consumer action .

Now progress is upon us again. Because record sales are down, the progress to the do-it-yourself audio cassette and Sony Walkman turned out to be a dangerous step—it put progress in the hands of the buyer, not the seller. To get back control, the Japanese and the American record companies want to make 33 Vs as much an anachronism of the 1980s as the 78 was of the 1950s. In the name of progress, of course.

The idea is that the 331/3 rpm record isn't perfect. (How could it be with the lack of quality control involved in record production?) So to make it perfect, it must be destroyed. Replaced.

Funnydhe 331/3 record was fine when it first heard the Beatles, and Hendrix, and the Dead, and Bowie, and the Velvets, and The Stray Cats, and Television. But of course if wasn't perfect, what was perfect was the message it carried. The music.

ATARI SUPER SYSTEM

The big product news of the season is the new Atari 5200 computer game machine, which is being described by enthusiastic home players as "everything videogames should have been but weren't." Costing about $100 more than the previous Atari home game computer system, the 5200 is definitely better than, as well as different from the previous system and, current competitors.

The 5200 is, in many ways, like the Atari 400 home computer without the keyboard. With a large memory and sophisticated internal controls all dedicated to playing videogames, the 5200 is a real arcade challenger.

Players initial reactions center around the high resolution graphics and the improved sound synthesis of the 5200. With a better picture and better sound, the 5200 also provides more complex and sophisticated games. Defender, for instance, is much improved as a 5200 cart over earlier versions. Even the game carts that aren't that much improved in game strategy offer a better graphic display, so no matter what game you play, the 5200 does make a difference.

The controllers for the 5200 are also changed from the earlier "joystick" units. With more responsive 360 degree control, which, by the way, is not self-centering and takes a while to get used to, the player won't get hand cramps trying to control screen images. There are four fire buttons instead of the two previously offered, and there are pause, re-set, and start buttons.

The controller also has a keyboard—called a keypad— which allows for more complicated game play. Each game cart for the 5200 comes with a keypad overlay to indicate extra controls (like adding hyperspace to a game plan) through the keypad.

For videogame players who aren't interested in having a home computer, but are interested in the best game action, the Atari 5200 is definitely a giant step in the right direction.

But the music doesn't count. Especially if I make my own on a blank audio cassette, from the radio. Or if there's so little new music worth buying that the record execs are worried about the mortgages on their houses in Westport and Malibu .

Enter the Japanese, who need something new to sell. And progress becomes the by-word. Time is now to melt down your record collection— because in 10 years time, buying a needle for the 33 VS turntable will be like buying a needle for your Edison cylinder. Hard to get. Don't make them anymore.

There are two ways to move ahead in any technology. The cheap shot way is new for the sake of new, novelty for the sake of progress. The other way is to improve on the present—when, and if, it needs to be improved. This second method, however, is impossible if production-consumption are to be maintained; there are too many people who need jobs for what they make at their jobs to last too long. And if, by chance, in this day and age, they do produce something that doesn't fall apart instantly, then the consumer must be convinced that it is otherwise obsolete.

Such is the case with recorded sound. Records work too well, last too long, are much too satisfactory. Consumers actually keep their records, listen to them, don't throw them out. Goodness! This won't do! Especially if they don't have enough spare change to buy more new records on a weekly basis.

So the record companies and the Japanese have this plan, as I was saying, that will create a brave new world in the recorded sound business. A new record, which needs a new record player, and a new amplifier, and new speakers, and a few other new things that you'll have to go out and buy if you want to listen to music.

The basic progress involved here is to switch from analog to digital. To make records that record, store, reproduce sound better than they do now. Which is certainly possible to do. Admittedly the current 331/3 plastic analog disc does have limitations and drawbacks: frequency limitations, true fidelity to the original sound recorded, deterioration through use, inferior manufacture. But many of these drawbacks are highly theoretical, no matter what you read in the state of the art hi-fimagazines. Most people listen to recorded sound in situations that limit the potential of the recording no matter what the technology. And the brave new digital record isn't going to change that one bit.

VIDEO BARGAINS

Video tape recorder prices are tumbling, and sometime this year the first under-$300 VTR will hit the discount stores. Already the Sanyo VCR 3900 is being discounted at $333 in New York City (unfortunately this Sanyo machine is a Beta rather than VHS), with several Beta and VHS models not far behind in the $379-400 range.

The concept of an under$300 home video recorderplayer is quite exciting, since it is half what VTRs sold for a year ago, and suggests that it is entirely possible that the VTR may get down to $199 in the not-too-distant future.

The price of video tape is also plumetting, with VHS T-120s now selling in NYC for as low as $7.95, where a year ago they were $12 to $15.

On the other end of the price scale, there are a number of new innovations that make the higher priced VTRs more interesting. Stereo audio is becoming the norm on the upper level VTR such as the RCA VGT-650 and what Sony calls Beta Hi-Fi. With Home Box Office and other pay cable movie channels planning to add stereo sound to their broadcasts, MTV already sending out their music in stereo, some video cassette rentals already in stereo, the concept of the VTR as part of the home stereo/TV system is developing.

Another high priced addition to the VTR is "editing." The JVC HR7650U VHS deck has insert and assemble edit facilities, which let anyone interested put together video tapes in a professional manner at home in their time.

The overall picture in home video technology is that the basic deck is becoming as cheap as the record turntable, and the more sophisticated decks are starting to offer more and more special features.

FIRST RATE SOUND

Does your home cassette deck have a LaserAmorphous head? A Linear Counter? Dolby C? No? Then throw it away now, before anyone finds out and takes that $400 you've been saving up to get your hair fixed and get down to your local hi-fishop where you can have all this and more with a new Sony cassette deck.

Sony has put two reasonably priced cassette decks on the market that have rather remarkable features considering their retail prices. The TV-FX66 ($320 retail) and the TC-FX77 ($400) are very high tech, and as Sony High Fidelity General Manager Osamu

Naka says, "their two-motor tape transport and new LaserAmorphous head, combined with features like Linear Counter and Dolby C, result in very high performance and reliability for the important $300 to $400 range."

If you're not up on the tech menu of buzz words, the point of both of these decks is that they are very steady in their mechanical tape transports, which produces smooth, accurate tape speed—with the result that the sound, especially at the low and high end is not distorted. As for the LaserAmorphous heads, they make sure the transfer of signal from tape to cassette electronics isof superior fidelity, and that the heads are long lasting. The Linear Counter measures the actual time elapsed on the tape and shows this as a fluorescent display so the user can find selections with absolute accuracy during playback of a tape. A microprocessor is used to control the system for computer accuracy. Both decks also have Dolby B and Dolby C noice reduction, and "punch-in" record, full-logic controls. The more expensive FX77 also features a nine-selection Automatic Music Sensor, as well as several other useful but not crucial features.

The first of these new records was developed by Philips and Sony. It is being called a Digital Audio Disc, although some refer to it as a Compact Disc. It uses laser beams and digital recording techniques to make a record that is smaller than the current album, will not deteriorate with play, and gives ''studio quality sound." Whatever that is, since "whose studio and whose sound?" seem to be left out of the thinking here.

If you plan to listen to records on a hi-fi system that costs less than $3,000, you probably won't be able to tell whether you're listening to a digital disc or a regular album. In fact, you might want to buy a hi-fi system in the $10,000 range to really be able to tell that the new disc is working at peak performance.

Now, the basic idea of making recorded music storage a digital event is fine. There are advantages to digital with laser beam tracking. But if the manufacturers like Sony and Philips who are conscious of this really wanted to make the new Compact Disc honestly useful, they'd be creating a system that had something to do with the current boom in video and computers. Computer information storage takes place on a floppy disc which costs about $5 blank. Eventually video storage will be possible on this disc as well. So why not work out sound on floppy discs? Then the one home computer would be a computer, a video player and recorder, and a sound player and recorder.

Why not? after all, that would be progress: one machine doing the work of three, and doing it better. An honest benefit to the consumer in terms of cost, convenience, and quality.

The why not, of course, is that then the Japanese manufacturers and the American record companies and video companies and computer companies would only have one product to sell, not three. Even though the idea of one medium shared among the various types of information to be stored would indeed be progress.

PERSONAL STEREO MYSTERIES

Ever wonder what the difference is between one Walkman-type stereo and another? Well, let's do some comparison shopping with the new Sanyo models of their "Sportster" line of personal stereo cassette players. Sanyo has recently introduced eight new models, with prices that run $29.95, $39.95, $49,95, & etc., up to $119.95. For the purposes of a quick comparison, we'll choose the Sanyo MG8 ($29.95) and the Sanyo MG 100 ($119.95). The MG8 includes cue and review and auto-stop at the end of play, locking fast forward and rewind, separate left and right volume controls, and comes complete with shoulder strap, carrying case, and headphones. In fact, it has most of the features that a couple of years ago would have cost you a good $100 or more. The truth is that Sanyo and other manufacturers have got the Walkman-type players down pat, and are now making stripped down versions like the MG8 at what might seem like impossible prices. On the other hand, the MG 100, which retails for $90 more than the MG8, gives you everything but the kitchen sink as the top of the line model. It is mini-sized (less than 4" x 5" x 2") and has auto-reverse, Dolby noise reduction, mute switching, metal tape compatibility, soft-touch play control, locking fast forward and rewind with LED tape direction indicators, and comes with headphones and all the trimmings. Obviously, if you're going to stay wired up every time you go outside, the MG 100 is your best bet, but for occasional private listening, the MG8 will certainly do the job for under $30.

SOUND CONTROL

In the world of the ideal, absolute sound, records sound exactly the way they're made when you play them through your stereo speakers. Unfortunately, this idea is unusual as a reality, and many home music systems could do with what is known as an "equalizer" to shape the sound so that it is pleasing to the ear in a home environment. You may not be familiar with the word equalizer, but you're familiar with the function if you've ever used the bass and treble controls on an amplifier to make the sound a little more like the way you think it should sound. Bass and treble controls are equalizers, although they don't give you the kind of control you'd get over the sound if you used a separate equalizer component such as the AKAI EA-G90 Stereo Graphic Equalizer ($279.95 list).

Instead of just two controls (bass and treble), the AKAI G90 gives 12 controls over the color of the sound for each channel of sound. This allows the user to shape the sound to his or her ear with a good deal more accuracy than just two controls. The result is a final sound coming out of the speakers that is more balanced to the room environment. The G90 also features an equalizer defeat switch so you can listen back and forth to equalized and unequalized sound to hear the difference. The equalizer goes between the pre-amp and power amp in the sound system (some integrated amps allow it to be connected internally to their circuitry) and with the G90 a host of line-in/out, tape play/ record connections are also possible. If you've never played with an equalizer and heard just how it can dramatically affect the sound you listen to, the G90 is a good one to try. You'll be surprised. So, sometime later this year you're going to be told in glowing terms about the new record, the compact disc: it lasts longer, it sounds better, it looks neater. And it will be suggested that you abandon the current 33'/3 system, save up, and send your money to Japan, so everyone can keep working. It'll be suggested that somehow this new disc will make music better, that the paint brush is actually the painter, that the future is here now. But consider yourself •warned. This isn't the future that's about to be foisted upon us, it's—dare I say it— progress. ■

PALACE BLASTER

The original concept of the so-called "ghetto blaster" was to provide AM/FM stereo radio, a cassette recorder/ player, and as-large-as-possible speakers in an as-compact-as-possible bo* that ran on batteries and was more or less portable. If you've seen the array of these blasters now available, you're probably aware that they range from extremely compact (and not so loud) to extremely large (and very loud and heavy). In fact, Japanese manufacturers are now referring to the top end of the ghetto blaster line as 'mini-component systems,' and while they are still portable in the sense that they all lock together into one box with a handle, they are not really designed for taking to the beach or carrying on your shoulder down the street.

One such blaster mini-component system is the Yamaha Portable Compo PC-9. This is a rather amazing package of electronics that for some will have the appeal (and the reasonable price tag) that means the PC-9 could be their entire home sound system. Basically, the PC-9 is two speakers, a cassette deck, an AM/FM stereo tuner, and an integrated amplifier, all packed together in a twenty-six pound unit that measures just 21" x 12" x 9". But the number of controls and features and extras that are an integral part of the PC-9 make it a rather remarkable package.

These features include Music Search, which will automatically locate songs for you on your cassette tapes, Dolby Noise reduction, metal tape capability, soft-touch cassette controls, full-auto-stop, twin LED VU meters, record mute function, timer standby capability, mic/line mixing, FM stereo indicator, external antenna jacks, separate bass and treble controls, loudness control, phono inputs, and headphone jacks. If you're planning to use the PC-9 as a home system, a Super Woofer Speaker (NS-W1) is available to boost the bottom end of the PC-9 speakers to room rocking proportions.