Columbia's Hi-Fi

In its Manhattan studios, Columbia Records last week showed off a small (16 in. by 12 1/2 in. by 10 in.) box which it hopes will revolutionize the phonograph industry just as its long playing records changed the record business. Inside the box was Columbia's new high fidelity phonograph (the 360) designed by Dr. Peter Goldmark, who developed Columbia's LPs. Until last week, most "hifi" sets, which reproduce music in the home with the clarity and realism of the concert hall, were custom-made from standard parts by small radio & phonograph shops at a cost of from $150 to $2,000.

Columbia claims that the tone of its phonograph, which will sell for $139.50 and $144.50 (depending on the cabinet), is a match for all but the most expensive custom-made hi-fi sets. It reproduces tones from a low of 50 cycles per second to a high of 12,000 (the ordinary hi-fi range), compared to a smaller tonal range of 80-6,000 c.p.s. in most phonographs. Columbia gets its reproduction chiefly by an extra thick, solid wooden cabinet (which eliminates "tinny" vibration) and two 6-in. speakers located at each side of the phonograph, instead of one in front. It hopes to sell 25,000 machines in the first year. Columbia is not the only company to decide that the hi-fi cult, started by music lovers who wanted better phonographs than the mass produced models, is now a big enough market for mass production. Stromberg-Carlson brought out a hi-fi set recently, Hallicrafters hopes to bring out a machine early next year, and General Electric is also busy developing one of its own. It looks as if non-hi-fi phonographs may soon be as outmoded as 78 r.p.m. records.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.