Transparent clarity, deep bass, and “Invisible Sound” from German audio company ADS. Background: One of the lesser known hi-fi brands of the ’70s, ADS (Analog and Digital Systems) […]
Founts of stereophonic desire: Getting lost in vintage Hi-Fi ads
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Celebrating the eye candy that sold ear candy.
This is a post without many words. Mostly the aim is to offer drool-worthy, curious, or otherwise engaging advertisements from the peak hi-fi era of the 1970s, when competition for consumer dollars, coupled with overwhelming demand for home sound systems, generated gear that a half-century later endures.
To explore, say, High Fidelity magazine issues from 1973, is to experience desire for objects you never knew you needed. A display ad for, say, Altec’s array of speaker systems from that year, is likely to send you to Reverb or HiFiShark in search of possible deals.
![](https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-29-at-7.58.11-AM-1024x716.png)
A simple flip of the digital page reveals aesthetic feats like the JBL 88 Plus.
![](https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-29-at-7.53.23-AM.png)
The Empire 598 II from 1973 is a covetable turntable that, five decades later, still generates wonder. Another Empire ad from the era celebrates the company’s 4000D four-channel phono cartridge by depicting it dancing atop a record.
![](https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-29-at-8.01.00-AM.png)
![](https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-29-at-7.59.27-AM.png)
“Whenever I played my stereo loud my wife made plans to move to her mother’s,” says this cigar-smoking, pinky-ring-wearing, hair-permed guy. “Then a Marantz dealer wised me up. It’s not playing your stereo loud that’s bugging her, he said. It’s the distortion that’s driving her cuckoo. Get a Marantz.”
![](https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-29-at-7.56.02-AM.png)
“‘Where’s the flute Henry?’ my wife complained constantly. I was about ready to leave her. Then we saw a Marantz dealer. He told us that separation of sound is the true test of a speaker system … you get distortion-free sounds that are as pleasing as a nibble on the ear.”
![](https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-29-at-8.11.26-AM.png)
The Sansui Corp’s advertising firm took copious amounts of LSD before crafting this campaign. What does the eye represent in this illustration? Shouldn’t it be an ear? Or a Sansui amplifier?
![](https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-29-at-8.06.48-AM-1.png)
We’ll close with one more Sansui hallucination:
![](https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Screen-Shot-2023-05-29-at-8.10.14-AM.png)
As always, a shoutout to WorldRadioHistory for maintaining their archives. It’s a remarkable resource.