information and ideas about audio history

Tag: empire

Visual Culture: the late 1970’s

Post author By chris
Post date 09/05/2012
3 Comments on Visual Culture: the late 1970’s

Today on PS dot com: a quick survey of some wonderful Hi-Fi visuals circa 1977. Above: Fuji blank cassette media. My latest embarrassing collecting habit: dead stock unopened blank cassette tapes. Because why not. Report to follow.

Altec Model 15 and Model 19 loudspeakers

Empire Phono Cartridge

Hitachi metal-cone speaker drivers. Who knew?

Jennings-brand Hi Fi speaker systems

Experimental binaural headphone system by JVC. 500-cycle crossover point; highs originate in front of the face, lows from above the ears.

Above: KOSS headphones, for both pop/rock and classics

NIKKO Hi-Fi components

Tags altec, cassettes, empire, Fuji, headphones, Hitachi, Jennings, JVC, KOSS, Nikko

Antique Hi-Fi Archive

EMPIRE High Fidelity: Complete c. 1964 Catalog

Post author By chris
Post date 08/02/2012
42 Comments on EMPIRE High Fidelity: Complete c. 1964 Catalog

Download the complete 16pp EMPIRE “World’s most perfect high fidelity components” catalog (circa 1964 – exact year is unclear):

DOWNLOAD: Empire_HiFi_1964

Products covered, with text, specs, and images, include: Empire Grenadier model 8000, Royal Grenadier 9000, and Imperial Grenadier 8200 speakers; Empire Troubador 398 and 488 turntables; Empire 880, 880P, and 880PE cartridges; and empire 980 tonearm.

Oh yeah it’s those round speakers! I come across these things every year or so in some un-re-decorated suburban ranch house. Never bothered to buy a pair: just too big and not really my style, finish-wise. Although they appear a bit chintzy in construction, they apparently handle 100 watts and the woofers have 18LB magnets! Anyone currently using a pair of these speakers?

Now as for those ranch-houses…

Tags empire