COPPER

A PS Audio Publication

Issue 232 • Free Online Magazine

Issue 232 Audio Anthropology

Hand It Over

Hand It Over

Tech HiFi was an audio retailer founded by MIT students in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the 1960s. They grew to more than 80 stores and still have a presence today in Hanson, MA. Fun fact: co-founder John Strohbeen later went on to found Ohm Acoustics Corporation.

 

Behold the Audio Research D-150, one of the most legendary amplifiers ever made. Introduced in 1975 at $2,685, it delivered 150 watts per channel courtesy of four pairs of 6550 tubes, and sounded superb. An estimated 150 were built. Courtesy of SkyFi Audio.com.

 

And here's a tube amp you can hold in one hand, a "lowest cost stereo amplifier" kit from the September, 1959 issue of Electronics World.

 

Careful speaker placement? Room treatment? A fine recording? Who needed any of that for sonic spaciousness when you had the Philco REVERBaphonic Sound System? "A musical miracle you must hear!"

 

You want meters? You got 'em, courtesy of this Sansui QRX-5500 quadraphonic receiver. Introduced in 1973, it offered 22 watts per channel x 4 (into 8 ohms), and both discrete and derived quadraphonic sound. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Davealexander.

 

Header image courtesy of Pexels.com/Nikita Korchagin.

More from Issue 232

Quad Quads and Plasmatronics Tweeters: An Extraordinary System Comes to Life
Quad Quads and Plasmatronics Tweeters: An Extraordinary System Comes to Life
Frank Doris
In Praise of Live Music, Once Again
In Praise of Live Music, Once Again
Ted Shafran
Allnic Audio’s L-9000 Preamplifier: Design and Engineering Innovation
Allnic Audio’s L-9000 Preamplifier: Design and Engineering Innovation
Howard Kneller
“Best Of” Lists and Rage Bait: Enough Already
“Best Of” Lists and Rage Bait: Enough Already
Frank Doris
Quick Takes: Bud Shank, Paulo Almeida, Jakob Dreyer, Tim Eriksen and Peter Irvine
Quick Takes: Bud Shank, Paulo Almeida, Jakob Dreyer, Tim Eriksen and Peter Irvine
Frank Doris
My Impressions of AXPONA 2026, Part 2
My Impressions of AXPONA 2026, Part 2
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View All Articles in Issue 232

Search Copper Magazine

#232 Quad Quads and Plasmatronics Tweeters: An Extraordinary System Comes to Life by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 In Praise of Live Music, Once Again by Ted Shafran Jul 06, 2026 #232 Allnic Audio’s L-9000 Preamplifier: Design and Engineering Innovation by Howard Kneller Jul 06, 2026 #232 “Best Of” Lists and Rage Bait: Enough Already by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 Quick Takes: Bud Shank, Paulo Almeida, Jakob Dreyer, Tim Eriksen and Peter Irvine by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 My Impressions of AXPONA 2026, Part 2 by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 How to Play in a Rock Band, 25: Encounters With Famous Musicians, Part Three by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 Budgets, and Systems From Small to Outrageous by Paul McGowan Jul 06, 2026 #232 PS Audio in the News by PS Audio Staff Jul 06, 2026 #232 Hand It Over by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 Difference of Opinion by Peter Xeni Jul 06, 2026 #231 Piano Prodigy Jude Kofie Releases His Debut Album On Octave Records by Frank Doris Jun 01, 2026 #231 Underappreciated Artists, Part Two: City Boy by Rich Isaacs Jun 01, 2026 #231 Music and the Art of Creation: Talking With Saxophonist Rob Scheps by Joe Caplan Jun 01, 2026 #231 How to Play in a Rock Band, 24: Further Adventures at the 2026 Montauk Music Festival by Frank Doris Jun 01, 2026 #231 Courtney Barnett: Creature of Habit by Wayne Robins Jun 01, 2026 #231 Angine de Poitrine: Interstellar Guitar Rock Saviors Headed for Late-Night TV Pop Stardom? by Mark Lepage Jun 01, 2026 #231 My Impressions of AXPONA 2026, Part One by Frank Doris Jun 01, 2026 #231 2026 La Jolla Concours d'Elegance: Another Aesthetic Feast by B. Jan Montana Jun 01, 2026 #231 Country Music Icon Jo Dee Messina’s Bridges: A New Beginning by Ray Chelstowski Jun 01, 2026 #231 The Luxury Dispatch Hosts a Video Podcast With Ken Kessler by Ken Kessler Jun 01, 2026 #231 The Vinyl Beat: Tracking in the Motor City by Rudy Radelic Jun 01, 2026 #231 Lots of Fun With DSP: The Ferrum Audio WANDLA DAC and Its Tube Mode by Frank Doris Jun 01, 2026 #231 From The Audiophile's Guide: Digital Source Components and Streaming Audio by Paul McGowan Jun 01, 2026 #231 Onkyo’s Monster M-510 power amplifier by The Staff at Just Audio Jun 01, 2026 #231 PS Audio in the News by PS Audio Staff Jun 01, 2026 #231 Naming Convention by Peter Xeni Jun 01, 2026 #231 Les Invisibles by Frank Doris Jun 01, 2026 #231 Wildlife Scene by James Schrimpf Jun 01, 2026 #230 Camaraderie by B. Jan Montana May 04, 2026 #230 AXPONA 2026: A Family Gathering by Paul McGowan May 04, 2026 #230 Pianist Ryan Benthall Explores Jazz Realms and Far Beyond With Divine Sky by Frank Doris May 04, 2026 #230 The Vinyl Beat in AXPONA-Land by Rudy Radelic May 04, 2026 #230 Teddy Thompson’s Musical Growth Deepens With Never Be the Same by Ray Chelstowski May 04, 2026 #230 More Fun in the Sun: Florida Audio Expo, Part Two by Frank Doris May 04, 2026 #230 CanJam NYC 2026 Show Report: Heady Sound, Part Two by Frank Doris and Harris Fogel May 04, 2026 #230 Sonic Youth On Murray Street by Wayne Robins May 04, 2026 #230 Graffeo Coffee: A Symphony of Sensory Experience by Joe Caplan May 04, 2026 #230 The Saul Authority: The Story of Hi-Fi Pioneer Saul Marantz by Olivier Meunier-Plante May 04, 2026 #230 How to Play in a Rock Band, 23: Encounters With Famous Musicians, Part Two by Frank Doris May 04, 2026 #230 An Outlier in the Rack: A Vintage BIC Beam Box by The Staff at Just Audio May 04, 2026 #230 PS Audio in the News by PS Audio Staff May 04, 2026 #230 A Cautionary Tale by Rich Isaacs May 04, 2026 #230 Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 33 (Revised): Ken Kessler Reports On the 2026 (British) AudioJumble by Ken Kessler May 04, 2026 #230 Text Messaging by Frank Doris May 04, 2026 #230 The Audiophile Rat Race by Peter Xeni May 04, 2026 #230 On the Rocks by Rich Isaacs May 04, 2026

Hand It Over

Hand It Over

Tech HiFi was an audio retailer founded by MIT students in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the 1960s. They grew to more than 80 stores and still have a presence today in Hanson, MA. Fun fact: co-founder John Strohbeen later went on to found Ohm Acoustics Corporation.

 

Behold the Audio Research D-150, one of the most legendary amplifiers ever made. Introduced in 1975 at $2,685, it delivered 150 watts per channel courtesy of four pairs of 6550 tubes, and sounded superb. An estimated 150 were built. Courtesy of SkyFi Audio.com.

 

And here's a tube amp you can hold in one hand, a "lowest cost stereo amplifier" kit from the September, 1959 issue of Electronics World.

 

Careful speaker placement? Room treatment? A fine recording? Who needed any of that for sonic spaciousness when you had the Philco REVERBaphonic Sound System? "A musical miracle you must hear!"

 

You want meters? You got 'em, courtesy of this Sansui QRX-5500 quadraphonic receiver. Introduced in 1973, it offered 22 watts per channel x 4 (into 8 ohms), and both discrete and derived quadraphonic sound. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Davealexander.

 

Header image courtesy of Pexels.com/Nikita Korchagin.

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