Elegant simplicity: the legendary Fi X amplifier, designed by the late Don Garber. It delivers three watts per channel via a pair of 2A3 tubes. This is one of Garber's earliest amp designs. Before making audio components, he had a store named Fi on Watts Street in Brooklyn, New York. Photographed by Howard Kneller at Stereo Buyers/High-End Audio Auctions, Brooklyn, NY.
The Fi logo, a work of art in itself.
Ed Sullivan strikes a Silvio Dante pose while listening to some great music in 1959. Courtesy of reader Ron Ginsberg.
Inner sleeve from the Ed Sullivan album. Dig that mono vs. stereo diagram! Courtesy of Ron Ginsberg.
Green Spot Orange-Ade ad, 1960s. We could not find the complete ad on the internet, so this tantalizing glimpse of that ultra-fab console will have to do.
Howard Kneller’s audio and art photography can be found on Instagram (@howardkneller, @howardkneller.photog) and Facebook (@howardkneller).
9 comments on “X Marks the Sweet Spot”
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You can tell from their facial expressions that the Green Spot ladies are listening raptly. That's what I look like when I sit on the floor in front of (or stand behind and lean on) the hi-fi.
Does wearing a dress improve the acoustics?
If the room were live enough, who knows? Might be worth a try. 😉
It looks like she’s listening to the cartridge. BTW, I can’t believe Ed Sullivan couldn’t afford a decent hifi system
Maybe that's why Ed has the expression he does.
Funny. When I was a little kid, my family had a system not dissimilar from that. But it wasn't portable. It was a heavy wooden box that sat on a table. Only 78 RPM records. It was a really big deal when my parents got the Zenith console.
The question is, could he tell the difference?
His nickname was "The Great Stone Face" and that possibly included his ears. ;^)
Things got so much easier when they invented speakers.
It must have been some engineering to keep that drawer holding the TD124 level when pulled out, AND to make sure it is vibration proof. Or did they bother ?