David Beatty?
- Thread starter jleon92f
- Start date
jleon92f
Addicted Member
Wow, A classic Yamaha! It is unique then. Plays great! I have an original headshell too.
Cool ,
Thanks for the info.
John.
Maron Horonzakz
Well-Known Member
Beatty Audio....My oh my that takes me back 30 years... What a neat place that was. I remember the JBL in wall installation with 4 JBL woofers and the big slant plate acoustic lens plus ring radiaters... That was the start of my JBL speaker collecting. I cant remember the name of the sales gent in the wheel chair..Quite a guy.
dshoaf
That high voltage buzz
I've got some McIntosh gear from my step-mother in law that was purchased from David Beatty in 1963. She even had the original sales receipt!
They were intalled in a very large console system by Barzilay which included matching speaker cabinets housing all JBL drivers. It rocked then and they still do today after being restored.
Her daughter tells me of times when she would lie in front of it and cry to Moody Blues albums.
Cheers,
David
They were intalled in a very large console system by Barzilay which included matching speaker cabinets housing all JBL drivers. It rocked then and they still do today after being restored.
Her daughter tells me of times when she would lie in front of it and cry to Moody Blues albums.
Cheers,
David
sssmokin99
Well-Known Member
It was not a chain. The original store was on Westport Road in Kansas City, MO., just east of State Line , across the street from what is now Rudys Mexican Restaurant. They carried the high end of the time; McIntosh, Tandberg, JBL, Yamaha, etc. Eventually they opened a second store at about 105th and Metcalf, an oval shaped building, and then closed the original location. They expanded into microcomputers in the early 80's after David Beatty himself had sold the store that carried his name. They prided themselves also on their service dept, headed by a technician whose name I believe was Ray Fairfield.
I spent a fair amount of time hanging around there drooling over things I couldn't afford
The business eventually failed after it had been sold, no doubt aided by the proliferation of chains and junk equipment. Sadly, David Beatty took his own life with a leap off of a bridge.
Some of the remaining staff from the store eventually opened another high end shop in Overland Park, KS., called "Audioport". For some time, they used the line "The guys from Beatty's" in their ads... [edit: That store is now closed as well]
**Edit: In the interest of completeness, I should also add that another KC store is owned by former Beatty guys: Soundfx is owned by Robert Bruce. They seem to be primarily a home theater shop, but are one of the very few independent stores left in the KC area.
I spent a fair amount of time hanging around there drooling over things I couldn't afford
The business eventually failed after it had been sold, no doubt aided by the proliferation of chains and junk equipment. Sadly, David Beatty took his own life with a leap off of a bridge.
Some of the remaining staff from the store eventually opened another high end shop in Overland Park, KS., called "Audioport". For some time, they used the line "The guys from Beatty's" in their ads... [edit: That store is now closed as well]
**Edit: In the interest of completeness, I should also add that another KC store is owned by former Beatty guys: Soundfx is owned by Robert Bruce. They seem to be primarily a home theater shop, but are one of the very few independent stores left in the KC area.
Last edited:
sssmokin99
Well-Known Member
I remember that they were one of the biggest JBL dealers, maybe one of the original, and promoted "James B. Lansing" sound heavily. I remember those cabinets, also. It was funny that they never seemed to mind a kid with no money but big dreams hanging around there!
jaxbuilder
New Member
More information about David Beatty Stereo
I am coming late to this thread, but if anyone is still looking at it here is some additional information. The gentleman in the wheel chair at Beatty's was Lloyd Bloodgood. I purchased two used components from him during my time shopping at Beatty's. One was his Crown SS-824 reel-to-reel tape deck in 1970.
After I got out of the service in 1976 I bought his Infinity Servo-Static I speaker system. This consisted of two electrostatic screens and a cone subwoofer, and had its own electronic crossover and subwoofer amplifier.
Chuck
I am coming late to this thread, but if anyone is still looking at it here is some additional information. The gentleman in the wheel chair at Beatty's was Lloyd Bloodgood. I purchased two used components from him during my time shopping at Beatty's. One was his Crown SS-824 reel-to-reel tape deck in 1970.
After I got out of the service in 1976 I bought his Infinity Servo-Static I speaker system. This consisted of two electrostatic screens and a cone subwoofer, and had its own electronic crossover and subwoofer amplifier.
Chuck
Well, that explains the wacky console I just dismantled. It had seen better days, as had its components, but everything had metal "David Beatty" badges stuck to them. The TT is a Dual 1019 and the receiver is a Fisher 250.
The box itself is made of 1" particleboard with walnut veneer with that cheezoid black spatter pattern so popular in days of yore. The doors were some weird semblence of the lattice pattern on old Pioneer and Sansui speakers. Being a local cabinetmaker, I can't help wondering who made the box (Barzilay? Rrgh?). It's still in my garage/shop holding firewood at the moment. Maybe I should give it a second life (as something else) in David's memory...
The box itself is made of 1" particleboard with walnut veneer with that cheezoid black spatter pattern so popular in days of yore. The doors were some weird semblence of the lattice pattern on old Pioneer and Sansui speakers. Being a local cabinetmaker, I can't help wondering who made the box (Barzilay? Rrgh?). It's still in my garage/shop holding firewood at the moment. Maybe I should give it a second life (as something else) in David's memory...
sssmokin99
Well-Known Member
It is quite possible that the cabinet was a Barzilay. That was the brand of furniture Beatty sold, often with JBL drivers installed. I've often wondered what became of many of those that they sold, since they would all be getting a bit old by now.
cubby01
aka Buck
Cool thread. I'll just chime in that I too have seen a fair number of those David Beatty badges over my last 20 years here in Overland Park. I have had a couple pieces myself. Wasn't david Beatty one of the early long time sponsors for Bill Shapiro's Cyprus Avenue show?
Cheers all.
Cheers all.
There was probably a lot of that stuff out in Johnson County back in the day. Maybe I oughta hit the garage/estate sales out there in the spring. :scratch2: Out here in Jackson County we get a lot of the O'Sullivan variety with black plastic components :thumbsdn:. I'm gonna go out to the garage and look at that cabinet again while I'm thinking about it.
Is Shapiro syndicated or local? Could call 90.1 and ask him, if he's a local guy. For all you who haven't heard this guy, he sounds like Paul Harvey spinning really hip music.
sssmokin99
Well-Known Member
zcarmaniac
New Member
David Beatty was an awesome resource for a budding,junior audiophile in the 70s.Even my California audiophile cousins were impressed with his knowledge and I think about him whenever I fire up the old Onkyo.
alphastone
New Member
My Bang & Olufsen Beogram 2400 turntable with the MMC 4000 cart has the much-fabled David Beatty tag affixed. I know a lot of audiofools out there don't care for B&O, but I have to say that this particular rig does indeed sound sweet! Certainly for the price (free) it ain't too shabby!
