Any decent vintage "housebrands"? The only decent one I can think of is Concept from Pacific Stereo, owned by CBS.
Housebrands
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Brian
An Old Geezer
Ohm was originally a house brand for Tech Hi-Fi and the company was and I think still is owned by 1 of the Tech H-Fi owners. As to good, bad or indifferent, well I liked the Ohm F full range Walsh system. Still think the concept is good in that it is a full range single driver system not hampered by crossovers. It just needed the right electroncis behind it and that was scarce.
It's hard to generalize.
RatShack has, in it's time, put out some pretty solid pieces of gear. Of course, not all was the bee's knees's but some of it was quite good.
Somethat I personally familiar with would be the STA-90, STA-2000 and that series receivers, The Minimus 7's, quite a few of the Pioneer sourced Nova speakers (and some others) and the list could go on and on.
RatShack has, in it's time, put out some pretty solid pieces of gear. Of course, not all was the bee's knees's but some of it was quite good.
Somethat I personally familiar with would be the STA-90, STA-2000 and that series receivers, The Minimus 7's, quite a few of the Pioneer sourced Nova speakers (and some others) and the list could go on and on.
yrly
Breaking records is good?
My two old standbys in the house brand catagory, JC Penny's MCS 3125 and the Project One Mark 1500. The MCS 3125 is my benchmark of sound quality which I compare other receivers against. The Project One Mark 1500 is so good I own three. Honorable mention, Rat Shack STA-2250, for that power rating that thing is built!
As far as build quality? Don't let the name brand on the case lead you around like a carrot. The Project One Mark 1500 is a finely assembled piece of gear, tranny almost as big as a coffee can, huge 22000uf caps, in all likelyhood a Pioneer in disguise, 150wpc of quality. The MCS 3125 IMHO is the second best built 125wpc receiver behind my benchmark in that catagory the Fisher RS-1060.
Then there is the Audiograph 2A100, I guess by the time that saga is done I will have a book on my story of the search for its origin.
As far as build quality? Don't let the name brand on the case lead you around like a carrot. The Project One Mark 1500 is a finely assembled piece of gear, tranny almost as big as a coffee can, huge 22000uf caps, in all likelyhood a Pioneer in disguise, 150wpc of quality. The MCS 3125 IMHO is the second best built 125wpc receiver behind my benchmark in that catagory the Fisher RS-1060.
Then there is the Audiograph 2A100, I guess by the time that saga is done I will have a book on my story of the search for its origin.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
Is this a house brand?
Teledyne "Phase Power" receiver. Teledyne, of course, was the conglomerate that owned AR for some time. I never saw a Teledyne receiver back when; found this one at the dump some years ago. Recently read that Teledyne owned Olson electronics at some point, and sold some receivers under the Teledyne name there.
Don't know fo' sho' if that's true, but this is a cute little receiver. Perhaps you can see its burnished bronze anodized finish. Even has a pushbutton switch on the front labeled "Phase Power". What the heck Phase Power is, or what in fact the switch actually does (if anything) is anyone's guess.
Teledyne "Phase Power" receiver. Teledyne, of course, was the conglomerate that owned AR for some time. I never saw a Teledyne receiver back when; found this one at the dump some years ago. Recently read that Teledyne owned Olson electronics at some point, and sold some receivers under the Teledyne name there.
Don't know fo' sho' if that's true, but this is a cute little receiver. Perhaps you can see its burnished bronze anodized finish. Even has a pushbutton switch on the front labeled "Phase Power". What the heck Phase Power is, or what in fact the switch actually does (if anything) is anyone's guess.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
Another stab at showing the Teledyne's "true colours"...
Rmathos
Member
I got a Sears LXI all-in-one rack set-up, looks to be about 50 watts per channel, made around 1987. Told it might have been made by Sanyo, but of course, who really knows on such things? My point is, I picked it up in a combined deal with several other things for $10 total at a Goodwill clearance place. It turns out to work very well overall and is now playing thru two 15" and two 12" speaker boxes in my bathroom. It will put out all the crisp and clear E. Power Biggs organ I can stand on CD or record. Not bad for next to nothing money, don't have to worry about all the humidity ruining several Vintage name brand pieces- all made possible because it was a house brand all-in-one. Sometimes house brands can come in handy. Curt
gonzothegreat
Super Member
oldtubes said:
I can verify that Playback sold Project One gear. At a local thrift they have a Project One Mark III (iirc) with a Playback label on the box.
'BMI' was a house brand speaker , made in NJ (I think Jersey City) and sent to various electronic stores in the northeast. BMI was the name in NJ but I heard the same exact speaker could have a different name depending on the chain store. I know NJ, NY and Conn had them in certain stores and some Ohio stores had them under a different name.
Believe it or not I heard the BMI speakers and thought they were excellent!
MattFLA
Believe it or not I heard the BMI speakers and thought they were excellent!
MattFLA
oldtubes said:
They had:
Concept
Quadraflex
Reference by Quadraflex
Spectrosonic
doucanoe
Registered Audio Abuser
There was a nice "house" loudspeaker at a dealer here in town in the '70's, and that was DLK. The dealer was Schaak electronics and I believe that the designer's name was Donald L. Kliewer
Great speakers and still get respect out there in some circles. I, myself still own the Model 1 from DLK.
RC
Great speakers and still get respect out there in some circles. I, myself still own the Model 1 from DLK.
RC
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Brian
An Old Geezer
you have a Teledyne/Olson receiver that is actually working! I'm amazed. I worked for Olson in Mass. in the ealry 70s when your unit was sold. 1 in 10 ever came out of the box and worked. When a shipment came in, we opened everyone of the audio products and ran a quick bench test and then reboxed. We explained to the customer that in the Boston area we quality checked 100% of the products to make sure the customer would be satisfied with his purchase and he got what he was paying for. As the guy left, we'd snicker, look at each other and think that he was getting what he paid for, a piece of sh*t. If it worked at all, they did sound better than the Panasonics, Lloyds, etc. in the same price range. The company could have had a decent line up if it spent anout $1 or $2 in design but they simply went to suppliers and said show us the best you have that will cost to the company $35. The $35 receiver translated to $199 to $249 list price at the store level. Their speakers during this period were an even bigger joke. Their instruction was to take the defects back and give them new speakers during the warranty and if out of warranty allow them a set trade-in amount that we had a schedule for. They provided NO replacement drivers for their completed box speakers and none had their component drivers in them so you could buy an exact replacement off the shelf.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
Yah, it works OK (i.e., as intended) and looks kind of cute, too...
Now... if you sold them... perhaps you know what, if anything, the "Phase Power" switch does?
Now... if you sold them... perhaps you know what, if anything, the "Phase Power" switch does?
Mike Petrik
Member
And Calibre and Transaudio, too.
By way of an old GM analogy, I think that Concept was the Cadillac, Reference by Quadraflex was the Buick, and Quadraflex the Chevy. Transaudio was pretty much a Yugo, or the Vega if Chevrolet had had the good sense not to lend that travesty its badge. The hardest to place is Spectrosonic, although I think the exceptionally handsome Design 2000 model receiver was very well done, though not high-powered, and a bit pricey. Recollection is too fuzzy about Calibre.
They look as good as they sound!
