Did Altec inspire Radio Shack???

[bfish]

In recent years I think Radio Shack has been inspiring "Altec."

...and selling it too;

RadioShack.com

For a nostalgic trip, browze old RS catalogs at;

Radio Shack Catalogs

[Old Guy]

Anybody else old enough to remember when they bought Allied? For a brief period they were Allied Radio Shack with an "ARS" logo, then the "A" disappeared. I think they moved Allied to industrial supply, but I don't think I ever ordered from Allied after that...

You could get quantity discounts on RS items in the Allied catalog...

And let's not forget the speakers that came in "playable" cardboard boxes...

There were a few bright points in their speakers, but by and large they sucked..

On the subject of catalogs...any Edmund Scientific fans?

In the 1960's I always watched the mailbox for Lafayette, Burstein Applebee, and Edmund...it was really 70-ish before I got turned on to Radio Shack...

Then there was the REAL geek's paradise called Olson Electronics...

[Old Guy]

Anybody recognize these? When i saw them a few days ago I thought Mach Ones, but they aren't...same concept though..

SPEAKERS

[bfish]

Allied catalogs displayed "A Division of Tandy Corp." as early as '72, maybe '71.

I was a Laffayette/McGee kid. Couldn't afford finished goods, I built my first amp at 15 from a Laffayette board kit that I mounted on a plywood scrap. Later, I ordered Laffayette drivers to fill some A7/Kustom-inspired cabs I made in shop class.

In the late '70s in KC, I bought quite a bit of stuff from McGee as they closed up shop. That huge warehouse was like a candy store.

I browsed many Edmund catalogs, but never bought anything there. Were they not from Edmund, OK.?

RS occasionally had some good components, I've still got a couple pair of Linaeum ribbon tweets I got at closeout. I believe GM made some rather acclaimed speakers from RS drivers too.

Whenever I visit a new RS store, I always ask if they have any tubes left in the back room. Picked up a few boxes full for a five here and a ten there.

[Old Guy]

Allied catalogs displayed "A Division of Tandy Corp." as early as '72, maybe '71.

I browsed many Edmund catalogs, but never bought anything there. Were they not from Edmund, OK.?

RS occasionally had some good components, I've still got a couple pair of Linaeum ribbon tweets I got at closeout. I believe GM made some rather acclaimed speakers from RS drivers too.

the 71 catalog at the Radio Shack site you posted a link to says Allied Radio Shack....

I think Edmund was in Jersey...

A quick Google in another tab...they still exist apparently in New York...

Edmund Scientific: educational toys, gifts, hobby supplies & science equipment

they were in Barrington New Jersey

"During 1942, Norman W. Edmund, an amateur photographer, turned to an order-by-mail advertisement to find a specific lens he needed for his hobby. Difficulty in finding the lens prompted him to place his own ad offering specialty lenses in a photography magazine. The lenses sold out almost immediately and the Edmund Salvage Company was born.

Business boomed in the years following World War II. The company's inventory of surplus optics increased dramatically and specialty optical items were added. To advertise new items, Mr. Edmund mailed a monthly newsletter to his customers - the foundation for today's Edmund Scientific's catalog.

In 1948, the company moved to Barrington, New Jersey. There it experienced continued success and growth becoming not just an optics company, but a company that offered science hobbyists and engineering enthusiasts around the world a wide range of exciting science products.

The coming of the space age saw an Edmund Scientific lens go to the moon as a critical component in the first color TV camera to record the Apollo landings. In response to customer inquiries for an affordable compact telescope, Edmund Scientific developed the Astroscan? Telescope, winner of the 1976 Industrial Design Award. In 2001 the Astroscan? celebrated its 25th anniversary!

Edmund Scientific"


I recall in the late 60's Edmund got some surplus weather balloons....thin spots meant they could only be inflated to 6 ft instead of regulation 9 ft...at 6 ft they could lift 150 pounds...they offering stated in bold letters..."NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN!"


Wonder if this stuff would damp horns well?

http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3037000

[MikeInNH]

While I've always liked RS for their parts and other electronic stuff...I've NEVER considered them to sell anything hi-end as far as audio goes. These speakers were designed to LOOK like the M19's but not SOUND like them.

It's real funny comparing RS to Altec. Back in the 70's there were really only a couple of players in the Upgrade car stereo market. There was Jenson, RS and Sparkomatic. Funny how Sparkomatic bought the Altec name....and RS tried to build speakers that LOOKED like Altec. So was Sparkomatic really just trying to compete with RS.

As for the RS speaker not being efficient. I'm pretty sure the high frequency is NOT a compression driver. I owned a cheap pair of speakers by RS some 30+ years ago. They also had something that looked like a horn...but they were just a plastic horn piece...behind it was just a standard 2" tweeter.

[Russnohio]

As for the RS speaker not being efficient. I'm pretty sure the high frequency is NOT a compression driver.

I've always wondered that. I'd have to agree.... the HF is probably just a dome tweeter.

Also.....woofer is WAY to big for that cabinet. ....but then these really were built to look "cool"...and it worked because RS sold tons of them! Interestingly, these Mach Ones do have a dedicated & loyal fan base out there to this very day. I've read online at various audio related sites where guys just RAVE about them! I could never get my head around that because I personally think they sound terrible. I've heard them many times in my youth. You simply cannot crank up the volume to high or they will severely distort.

But hey! To each his own.

Russ

[tomt]

my understanding is that,

Foster/Fostex made most of the speakers, for RS.


this link is only one of the companies,

of this corporation .


Foster Culver

main site -

FOSTER ELECTRIC WORLDWIDE: Top page

and here - http://www.fostex.jp/

[tomt]

I've always wondered that. I'd have to agree.... the HF is probably just a dome tweeter.

Also.....woofer is WAY to big for that cabinet. ....but then these really were built to look "cool"...and it worked because RS sold tons of them! Interestingly, these Mach Ones do have a dedicated & loyal fan base out there to this very day. I've read online at various audio related sites where guys just RAVE about them! I could never get my head around that because I personally think they sound terrible. I've heard them many times in my youth. You simply cannot crank up the volume to high or they will severely distort.

But hey! To each his own.

Russ

i have a mangled pair, from a thrift store.

$8 or so.

the original woofer had a brass vc former.

sealed cabinet.

[Altec Best]

"It's real funny comparing RS to Altec. Back in the 70's there were really only a couple of players in the Upgrade car stereo market. There was Jenson, RS and Sparkomatic. Funny how Sparkomatic bought the Altec name....and RS tried to build speakers that LOOKED like Altec. So was Sparkomatic really just trying to compete with RS."

Mike, There was a couple others that I remember back then one was Pioneer, Altec Lansing entered the market in the early 80's with their "Voice of the Highway" which I still have they had 3 models of 6x9's the A,B,C the B's were phenomanal they came with a over 2000g magnet (71.4 oz or 4.5 lb) which is a huge magnet here are some pics of the 4A and the 4B from my recollection Radio Shacks audio stuff was pretty much junk I don't even think you can compare the two companies when you talk about Altec your talking about the best loudspeaker co. on the market that were affordable.Everyone that heard those 4B's wanted a pair but I was only ever able to find the one pair after a very long search.