Realistic and Concept Connection

[SoCal Sam]

I had lunch with an (in)famous former member yesterday and we got to talking about Realistic and Concept. Both were made by TCE, an electronics manufacturing division of Tandy Corp. Conveniently, Tandy is the parent of Radio Shack. Check out the internal shots of the STA-2100, 11.0, and 12.0D. It looks like the STA-2100 has the amp section of the 12.0D and the front end and protection board of the 11.0. The STA-2100 has the best of both Concepts. The 11.0 tuner is sensitive and quiet and the protection board is discreet. The 12.0D has a large toroidal transformer but the tuner and protection circuitry have IC chips, which are harder to find replacements. The Concepts have Hitachi output transistors and I suspect the STA-2100 has them too.

The STA-2100 deserves the consistent respect they enjoy here. I have the 11.0 and the 12.0D. Next on my list will be the STA-2100. STA-2100 photo credit to Axcel, thanks.

 

[Njord Noatun]

Thanks for those interesting photos.

Although TCE did in fact manufacture certain Realistic receivers, I believe we have established that the manufacturing relationship between certain high-end Realistic receivers, notably the STA-2100, and Concepts is a little more complex and convoluted than you suggest. The STA-2100 was in fact produced by Foster Electronics, an independent electronics manufacturer in Japan. The STA-2100 likeness to the big Concepts produced by TCE/Tandy may therefore have been caused by "liberal" use of the design ideas garnered from producing the Concepts for PS.

I refer to my interviews with Richard Schram, then Chief Designer for Pacific Stereo's house brands (and founder and current CEO of Parasound):

Q) The Realistic STA-2100, produced by Foster, carries many of the same design hallmarks of the 12.0D. Please provide some information on if the Tandy link may have caused this.

A) Foster was totally unrelated to TCE. Foster was better known as a speaker driver maker and you might recognize their brand “Fostex.” Radio Shack moved a lot of product out of TCE to save money and it’s very likely that Foster used some of TCE’s better ideas. But the quality at Foster has varied over the years and I don’t know of any of their oem customers who remained with them.

Radio Shack's overhead at TCE was not low - they had some really good (and not cheap) staff there.
Radio Shack's buying pattern is to purchase for their promotions. They bought much more from outside sources than company owned sources. Foster might have been thrilled to get such large quantities.

TCE was ok with small Concept order qty, since they weren't as large as Foster and many others.

Tandy was selling receivers long before I brought the Concept business to them. They might have picked up some directions, but the parts quality and sophistication were not the same. I think it’s going too far to accuse them of copying the Concepts and such speculations aren’t productive.

Anyway, as the PS chain went into decline in the early 80s they didn’t pursue lots of infringements, such as the “Concept” car stereo line. The real joker was the Hoover Concept vacuum cleaner with Quadraflex suction.


Q: Did TCE manufacture other OEM hi-fi equipment for others?

A: Some Realistic, and I think some BSR and ADC equalizers (in different factories).

All the best,

 

[SoCal Sam]

NN: Yes, you are correct, things are not as simple as I thought. The 11.0 was made in Japan and the 12.0D was Korean so while they shared a lot of design elements, they were not made on the same production line. In looking over the 100-130 wpc sticky, I pulled these production dates:

Concept 11.0 110 wpc (77-82) 655
Concept 12.0D 120 wpc (79-84) 850
Realistic STA-2100 120 wpc (79-83) 600

From what I understand, these dates are Orion and may not be 100% accurate. Looks like for about three years, all three were produced at the same time but that does not tell us if the Realistic is a Foster or a TCE. I wonder if the Korean manufacturer was afillaiated with either?

 

[Njord Noatun]

I wonder if the Korean manufacturer was afillaiated with either?

It is my understanding that the STA-2100 was manufactured by Foster, and that it was independent from both Tandy/TCE/RadioShack and Concept/Pacific Stereo. If I understand your question as per above right, I believe your answer can be found in the RS interviews:

Q) What was the location of TCE's manufacturing facility for the Concept receiver line?

A) Outside Tokyo. Later Concept units were also built at a TCE facility in Pusan (or Masan, I forget which), S. Korea.

 

[LBPete]

If you look closely at the pictures, there is more different than similar. None of those parts would swap between the units. The layout is similar between the STA and one of the Concepts but the circuit boards are quite different.

- Pete

 

[pmsummer]

FYI: Foster also made the excellent Stereotech 1200 receiver for McIntosh (related to the MAC-1900 in design... I stress "related") as their attempt at a high entry-level line.

Calling it a flop is too strong, but the project didn't survive (Stereotech was meant to be a full line of receivers and speakers).

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

BTW: Foster and Fostex are the same company. The Foster name is used on OEM products they manufacture for others.