COPPER

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Issue 228 • Free Online Magazine

Issue 228 Audio Anthropology

90-Degree Stereo

90-Degree Stereo

This 1950s gentleman of refined taste is enjoying his Fisher Stereo Companion, an add-on speaker to a Fisher mono setup that, with two simple plug-in connections, delivered newfangled stereo sound. Buy why, we must ask, did he go through all that trouble only to listen at 90 degrees off axis?

 

I'm not a pen collector, but if I got started, these 1950s promo pens from RCA would be the first ones on my list. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Joe Haupt.

 

Here's an eye-popping set: a 1970s Revox A720 preamp and A722 amplifier. The tuner had a quartz-stabilized frequency oscillator; too bad the Nixie tube display isn't lit up here. Other features included slider volume and balance controls, preset tuning capability, independent tone controls to bass, treble and presence, and a whole lot more. The amp offered 45 watts per channel into 8 ohms and could connect to two sets of speakers. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Hannes Grobe.

 

Admit it: it you're a tube aficionado you can't get enough of pictures like this (we're guilty as charged). Here's an Eico Model HF-20 mono integrated amplifier made around 1959. The HF-20 was rated at...wait for it...20 watts, and had "low-distortion feedback tone controls." Dig those gray RCA 6L6 power tubes! Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Joe Haupt.

 

This 1953 Motorola radio had a novel speaker design – we think what they're trying to tell us is that they moved the voice coil from behind the speaker to the middle of it. Lots of tech for $24.95!

 

More from Issue 228

The Earliest Stars of  Country Music, Part Two
The Earliest Stars of Country Music, Part Two
Jeff Weiner
From The Audiophile's Guide: A Brief History of Stereophonic Sound
From The Audiophile's Guide: A Brief History of Stereophonic Sound
Paul McGowan
A Bone to Pick With Streaming Audio
A Bone to Pick With Streaming Audio
Frank Doris
Blast Off With Bluesman Duke Robillard
Blast Off With Bluesman Duke Robillard
Ray Chelstowski
A Visit to the Marten Loudspeaker Factory in Göteborg, Sweden
A Visit to the Marten Loudspeaker Factory in Göteborg, Sweden
Ingo Schulz and Sebastian Polcyn
Pure Distortion
Pure Distortion
Peter Xeni
View All Articles in Issue 228

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#228 The Earliest Stars of Country Music, Part Two by Jeff Weiner Mar 02, 2026 #228 From The Audiophile's Guide: A Brief History of Stereophonic Sound by Paul McGowan Mar 02, 2026 #228 A Bone to Pick With Streaming Audio by Frank Doris Mar 02, 2026 #228 Blast Off With Bluesman Duke Robillard by Ray Chelstowski Mar 02, 2026 #228 A Visit to the Marten Loudspeaker Factory in Göteborg, Sweden by Ingo Schulz and Sebastian Polcyn Mar 02, 2026 #228 Pure Distortion by Peter Xeni Mar 02, 2026 #228 A Nagra Factory Tour by Markus "Marsu" Manthey Mar 02, 2026 #228 Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 27: Noodge and Ye Shall Receive, Part Two by Ken Kessler Mar 02, 2026 #228 PS Audio in the News by PS Audio Staff Mar 02, 2026 #228 90-Degree Stereo by Frank Doris Mar 02, 2026 #228 The Keys to Art by Rich Isaacs Mar 02, 2026 #227 Seth Lewis Gets in the Groove With Take a Look Around: a Tribute to the Meters by Frank Doris Feb 02, 2026 #227 Passport to Sound: May Anwar’s Audio Learning Experience for Young People by Frank Doris Feb 02, 2026 #227 Conjectures on Cosmic Consciousness by B. Jan Montana Feb 02, 2026 #227 The Big Takeover Turns 45 by Wayne Robins Feb 02, 2026 #227 Music and Chocolate: On the Sensory Connection by Joe Caplan Feb 02, 2026 #227 Singer/Songwriter Chris Berardo: Getting Wilder All the Time by Ray Chelstowski Feb 02, 2026 #227 The Earliest Stars of Country Music, Part One by Jeff Weiner Feb 02, 2026 #227 The Vinyl Beat Goes Down to Tijuana (By Way of Los Angeles), Part Two by Rudy Radelic Feb 02, 2026 #227 How to Play in a Rock Band, 20: On the Road With Blood, Sweat & Tears’ Guitarist Gabe Cummins by Frank Doris Feb 02, 2026 #227 From The Audiophile’s Guide: Audio Specs and Measuring by Paul McGowan Feb 02, 2026 #227 Our Brain is Always Listening by Peter Trübner Feb 02, 2026 #227 PS Audio in the News by PS Audio Staff Feb 02, 2026 #227 The Listening Chair: Sleek Style and Sound From the Luxman L3 by Howard Kneller Feb 02, 2026 #227 The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society Celebrates Its 32nd Anniversary, Honoring David and Sheryl Lee Wilson and Bernie Grundman by Harris Fogel Feb 02, 2026 #227 Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 26: Half Full – Not Half Empty, Redux by Ken Kessler Feb 02, 2026 #227 That's What Puzzles Us... by Frank Doris Feb 02, 2026 #227 Record-Breaking by Peter Xeni Feb 02, 2026 #227 The Long and Winding Road by B. Jan Montana Feb 02, 2026 #226 JJ Murphy’s Sleep Paralysis is a Genre-Bending Musical Journey Through Jazz, Fusion and More by Frank Doris Jan 05, 2026 #226 Stewardship by Consent by B. Jan Montana Jan 05, 2026 #226 Food, Music, and Sensory Experience: An Interview With Professor Jonathan Zearfoss of the Culinary Institute of America by Joe Caplan Jan 05, 2026 #226 Studio Confidential: A Who’s Who of Recording Engineers Tell Their Stories by Frank Doris Jan 05, 2026 #226 Pilot Radio is Reborn, 50 Years Later: Talking With CEO Barak Epstein by Frank Doris Jan 05, 2026 #226 The Vinyl Beat Goes Down to Tijuana (By Way of Los Angeles), Part One by Rudy Radelic Jan 05, 2026 #226 Capital Audiofest 2025: Must-See Stereo, Part Two by Frank Doris Jan 05, 2026 #226 My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel and Tyler Ramsey Collaborate on Their Acoustic Guitar Album, Celestun by Ray Chelstowski Jan 05, 2026 #226 The People Who Make Audio Happen: CanJam SoCal 2025, Part Two by Harris Fogel Jan 05, 2026 #226 How to Play in a Rock Band, 19: Touring Can Make You Crazy, Part One by Frank Doris Jan 05, 2026 #226 Linda Ronstadt Goes Bigger by Wayne Robins Jan 05, 2026 #226 From The Audiophile’s Guide: Active Room Correction and Digital Signal Processing by Paul McGowan Jan 05, 2026 #226 PS Audio in the News by Frank Doris Jan 05, 2026 #226 Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 25: Half-Full, Not Empty by Ken Kessler Jan 05, 2026 #226 Happy New Year! by Frank Doris Jan 05, 2026 #226 Turn It Down! by Peter Xeni Jan 05, 2026 #226 Ghost Riders by James Schrimpf Jan 05, 2026 #226 A Factory Tour of Audio Manufacturer German Physiks by Markus "Marsu" Manthey Jan 04, 2026

90-Degree Stereo

90-Degree Stereo

This 1950s gentleman of refined taste is enjoying his Fisher Stereo Companion, an add-on speaker to a Fisher mono setup that, with two simple plug-in connections, delivered newfangled stereo sound. Buy why, we must ask, did he go through all that trouble only to listen at 90 degrees off axis?

 

I'm not a pen collector, but if I got started, these 1950s promo pens from RCA would be the first ones on my list. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Joe Haupt.

 

Here's an eye-popping set: a 1970s Revox A720 preamp and A722 amplifier. The tuner had a quartz-stabilized frequency oscillator; too bad the Nixie tube display isn't lit up here. Other features included slider volume and balance controls, preset tuning capability, independent tone controls to bass, treble and presence, and a whole lot more. The amp offered 45 watts per channel into 8 ohms and could connect to two sets of speakers. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Hannes Grobe.

 

Admit it: it you're a tube aficionado you can't get enough of pictures like this (we're guilty as charged). Here's an Eico Model HF-20 mono integrated amplifier made around 1959. The HF-20 was rated at...wait for it...20 watts, and had "low-distortion feedback tone controls." Dig those gray RCA 6L6 power tubes! Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Joe Haupt.

 

This 1953 Motorola radio had a novel speaker design – we think what they're trying to tell us is that they moved the voice coil from behind the speaker to the middle of it. Lots of tech for $24.95!

 

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