Neat little article about Curtis Mathes 8-track players

Sorry, but as a long-time collector - with plenty of background in the 8 track biz - that guy's full of bull pucky. It's a standard, mid-'70s Japanese built receiver with built-in 8 track, with as much in common with a "real" Curtis Mathes product as Jennifer Lopez has with Betty White. A "bit laughable"? Yeah, ya think?

As always, just my opinion, YMMV.

Cheers,
Larry B.
 
When I was in high school, nearly 50 years ago, there was a store down the street that sold Packard Bell and Curtis Mathes, both of which were by then, far removed from their glory days. Their products were often rebranded generic Japanese products, overpriced relative to the stuff you could buy from Panasonic or Sony at that time. Some of it was decent, but no better than that. Curtis Mathes specialized in console stereos and televisions which were even then not even close to state-of-the-art. I thought at the time that both brands were perfect for the Lawrence Welk crowd, being solid but very very conservative. By 1972 that store had gone belly up, I hear because both brands were extremely troublesome. Too bad they did not sell AR, which Packard Bell owned at that time.

And back in those days even the Firestone Auto center sold console stereos and record players and the local Western Auto did too. The first time I was ever in a real audio salon, which was in Portland, Oregon, was a real revelation. I saw KLH and Thorens and Dual and Roberts and Fisher and lots of really great stuff that I could lust after but couldn't afford then. My home town's version of an audio salon was the local Allied Radio Shack and a Lafeyette Radio, which was very interesting and had an owner/manager who hated kids. Those were the days.
 
Those were the days. Audio gear was everywhere from Service Merchandise to JCPenny. Lafeyette Radio, Olsen Electronics and Allied Radio (later Radio Shack) were my favorite shops as a kid, but I could only reach Radio Shack on my bike! I remember being engrossed for weeks over new product catalogs, taking in new offerings and comparing price changes. It was a world to its own and I could only dream of owning.

Whatever my opinion concerning Curtis-Mathes products, respect to the guy for sharing his passion and creating the website.
 
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Facts of life here. Glenn is very much a Curtis-Mathes historian and fanatic. However, C-M didn't manufacture their own turntables or tape decks. Those were bought in from other vendors, most of the industry did that. And USA made Curtis-Mathes faded away by the end of the 1960's due to the competition from Japan and other countries and consoles becoming a Sub $500 market. The $500 up console buyers only paid more for them with a TV set combo. 1967 was the last gasp of quality US made consoles from most brands. Zenith and Magnavox exceptions.
 
Facts of life here. Glenn is very much a Curtis-Mathes historian and fanatic. However, C-M didn't manufacture their own turntables or tape decks. Those were bought in from other vendors, most of the industry did that. And USA made Curtis-Mathes faded away by the end of the 1960's due to the competition from Japan and other countries and consoles becoming a Sub $500 market. The $500 up console buyers only paid more for them with a TV set combo. 1967 was the last gasp of quality US made consoles from most brands. Zenith and Magnavox exceptions.

My mom's aunt and uncle bought a new Curtis-Mathes console television in 1969 or 1970. I remember it as a decent color television with a weird remote control. They paid more for it than a comparable one at Montgomery Ward or TG&Y (I think that's what it was called) because my great uncle and the store manager were old buddies and uncle had a credit account there. It was an attractive console and it pleased them both. One day, about five years in it just quit working and they replaced it with an RCA as C-M had folded by then.
 
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