Diamonds and Rust

Diamonds and Rust

Written by Frank Doris

Point taken: yes, you could get a Grado XTE+1 cartridge for $19.95 in the 1970s ("the free nickel bag of high-end audio," as my late friend Bob Reina called it), or a Joseph Grado Signature Model 3M for $200. For old school 78 RPM Full Tone, go with those RCA Victor steel needles. Author's collection.

Making waves: the Diatone DS37B speaker, circa 1970s or 1980s? Does anyone know anything about these?

In 1948. you could console yourself with music. Hey kids, put those records away when you're done! From vintageadbrowser.com.

Spotted at Audio Classics: Acoustic Research AR-3 loudspeakers. The AR-3 premiered in 1958 and features the first production dome tweeter and midrange driver, plus a 12-inch cone woofer.

One of the coolest-looking sets of speaker-level controls ever. AR-3, rear panel.

AR-3 photos by Howard Kneller, audio reviewer, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in SoundStage!, Sound & Vision and elsewhere. His audio and art photography can be found on Instagram (@howardkneller, @howardkneller.photog) and Facebook (@howardkneller).

Back to Copper home page

1 of 2