most beautiful electronics of all time
- Thread starter DaaDaa
- Start date
Descartridge
Stereos been berry, berry good to me!
NAKAMICHI RX-202
RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
I wasn't hip to that term but it really is for stuff that looks very much "Jetsons." It's sort of a "what the future was way back when." Fun stuff! It's really kind of opposite of modernism though (making the stuff look oddly dated) in that modernism is really all about a form follows function type philosophy were this stuff is all about the ornament. it's kind of ironic that what was probably an effort to look really futuristic looks so dated... though in a great great way, no doubt.
RunOutGroove
Addicted Member
I always wanted one of those things back in my tape days... and back then in the 80s (or maybe early 90s) I would have been more attracted to that aesthetic, which reminds me of the very angular "Darth Vater" looking (at least in the black version) Toyota Supra of that time. These days the styling of that car seems decidedly inelegant and I much prefer the smoother lines of other classic sports cars like Porsche and Jaguar, though it certainly did fit the aesthetic of the time.
Incidentally, late in my tape days, I finally got a used Nakamichi at a very nice price. I was a much lower line version though and never seemed to work very well for very long (I replaced a few parts in it' a gear and then a roller, etc and then gave up). No matter how cool some of the gear might have been I don't miss cassette tapes at all! every machine that I ever had, developed some issue or another, tapes got eaten, I got frustrated trying to cue up specific tracks, the blanks were expensive (good ones anyway), etc...
Artie
Super Member
Lavane
Lunatic Member
That's the first "bay" window I've seen used on a cassette deck.
To me, that line of Heathkits reminds me of the car radios of the time, especially those distinctive knobs. Unfortunately, I don't think the "luggage tan" vinyl covering has aged as well, looking more like 'ugly basketball orange' at this point.
Of course, the later solid-state models upped the ante a bit with the addition of more chrome, as well as some sweet panel lighting:
sKiZo
Hates received: 92644 43.20°N 85.50°W
That is so friggin' cool. I didn't know such a service existed. Thanks for heads up.
I thought the printing service was way kewl too. Gives it kind of a finished touch.
If you decide to go ahead with a project, here's the final version of the cad file used for mine. Download their free software and take a peek if you like.
http://www.brainfartz.com/images/Stereo Stuff/VTA ST-120/st120-build/st120_chassis_skizo.fpd
If nothing else, it can be used as a template for the octal sockets and transformers - took some fiddling about to get those right. You may notice the file is missing a bunch of holes - I mostly "bought" the stuff that was gonna be visible after the build (vents and such) and drilled the holes the holes that were gonna be covered myself, both saving some bux and giving me some slop to play with.
PS ... the anodized aluminum is a nice option - hides scratches and no fingerprints.
Artie
Super Member
Downloaded it as soon as I saw it. A little pricey, (the service, not the software), but darn well worth it for a "pro" look.
dzkfraser
Super Member
Not exactly electronics per se, but it does contain electronics.
View attachment 1848547
And they sound as good as they look.
There is an episode of How It's Made that shows how these are made, very labor intensive, all hand built.
Route 66
Super Member
Thanks, I'll check that out.
Lapslah
Super Member
Forgive me if you know this, but your comment seems to suggest otherwise. The "bay window" is functional and ingenious. Auto-reverse cassette decks were the rage, but Nakamichi rightly pointed out that every other auto-reverse deck required the heads to move when the direction of play reversed, and that made maintaining proper alignment difficult. So they created an auto-reverse deck that actually flipped the tape and kept the heads stationary. Thus the bay window to allow clearance for the cassette to pop out, spin around, and pop back in.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
I wasn't trying to make fun of it. It's something I never saw before. You don't have to squint through a tiny window to see the tape. Flipping the tape is kind of cool. The mechanism must be pretty well designed to hold up over the years. I never cared for auto reverse decks because of the moving heads.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
speakers? I'll allow it
JoeESP9
ESL's & tubes since 83
speakers? I'll allow it
Those aren't speakers. Those are aliens from the hemispherical universe. They are not good looking by any human standard.
