Omnidirectional Stereo Speakers

[retropia]

Clairtone Project G

Petek, I'd never heard of these before, but they are wild! If someone wanted a console stereo, this is about as contemporary as they came, I suppose. Those speakers look really serious.

http://www.clairtone.ca/projectg/

 

[retropia]

Chairs

Roger, I don't have any womb chairs, but I do have a couple of Herman Miller chairs like these that came out of a bank. The upholstery is black vinyl on a white tub, the only real difference on mine is that they have black trim around the upholstery instead of white trim, like in the photo. These appear to have some type of height adjustment; mine do not.

I've also got a mid-1970s Parsons-style desk finished in black laminate. The only other thing I'd like to have furniture-wise is a Platner end table, either real or knock-off that I could place between the chairs. I've always thought that those are very futuristic-looking.

 

[retropia]

More Empire speakers

Hydralique, are these the Empire speakers you're thinking of? I found a listing (expired) for them on eBay. They were called Empire Model Jupiter 6500 speakers. They apparently have a down-firing big speaker at the bottom, and I suppose the two smaller speakers on the side are for mid- and high-range sounds.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Rar...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

[beekeyknee]

Just be careful of foam surrounds or edges as they will sometimes deteriorate and crumble with age.

 

[hydralique]

Yes!

Those are the Empires I remember being advertised. Very cool look IMO, I like them better than the wood octagonal versions.

 

[electron1100]

Grundig

Hello Doug

This is great seeing all these designs, I have found a picture of the Grundig Audiorama speakers I was rattling on about, they were used with Grundigs top line quadraphonic system with two smaller versions for the rear channels.

Good luck
Gary

 

[electron1100]

Grundig

Hello Doug

This is great seeing all these designs, I have found a picture of the Grundig Audiorama speakers I was rattling on about, they were used with Grundigs top line quadraphonic system with two smaller versions for the rear channels.

Good luck
Gary

 

[alr2903]

I really like the look of the room in reply #20,  the man looks like "Dean Martin".   alr

 

 

[112561]

Yep, that's Dean Martin, in I guess a Matt Helm movie. The rest of the room looks pretty good too. I wonder who that blonde is? 

 

[cfz2882]

Syd Mead

sounds like you are going for a Syd Mead-ish look Watched the movie"who's minding the mint"(1966)last night and a clairtone project G was seen.

 

[twintubdexter]

Petek, you're in luck...

This has been re-listed on ebay for a second time but with no price reduction. I guess a BIN price of $23,500 is a little steep, although the last one of these I watched sold on ebay for $9,000 and the speakers looked like someone played basketball with them...badly dented.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251453732304?_trksid=p2055120.m1438.12648&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[petek]

They day I show that in my house you'll know I've won a lotto.

 

[retropia]

Grundig Audiorama

Gary, those Grundig speakers are awesome! Apparently they were originally round, and then sometime recently they started making them again in an elliptical shape. I think they may be out of production again.

In searching, I came across this version in the photo, which was called the Grundig Audiorama 700, and it came in black or white. I like these a lot, too.

Alas, I don't think many of the Audiorama speakers were sold here. In any event, they seem to be quite popular with collectors and priced accordingly.

 

[retropia]

I do like Syd Mead's futuristic illustrations. He illustrated a book for, I believe, U.S. Steel a long time ago. It had a limited print run and is also highly popular with collectors. It's on my wish list.

One of my inspiration pieces is this New Haven wall clock, which I found at a church rummage sale. It reminds me of a bit of Syd Mead's work; I have no idea who designed it.

My taste in decor and collectibles can sometimes be found near the intersection of Cheesy Avenue and Bad Taste Boulevard, so my office won't be too serious, when and if it ever gets done.

 

[whirlcool]

How good were Clairtone's actual products? I've never heard of them before. Is it all based on appearance or is there actual performance beyond appearance?

 

[firedome]

most of the spacey looking speakers

probably including the cool Clairtone console, were more for design effect than audio excellence, but must admit they look way cool!

Doug, ouur chairs look very similar to yours but have white aluminum "tulip" bases, similar to Saarinen/Miller originals, blue-grey tweedy fabric seat covers, and came out of my wife's medical office. They were bought in bulk by a major health-care organization for waiting rooms when they owned the practice, and something like 20 of them were on eBay all at once about a year or 2 ago, when they cleaned out one of their warehouses! I was lucky that 8 were left in the basement when the practice went independent. I sent 2 to LA, 2 to Paris (shipping was killer!) and the best 4 went to my basement!

Some Verner Panton chairs might look good in that Ho-Jo lounge of the future!

 

[ovrphil]

near the intersection of Cheesy Avenue and Bad Taste Blvd

LOL! What a great idea, Doug. I have the Zenith Circle of Sound stereo - speakers are mediocre, but fine for general radio and casual listening...wasn't my goal to buy it for quality.

I love the Saarinen chairs. Your look sounds like a Restoration Hardware store's perpective on color - monochromatic overall, with chrome and glass(assuming you're using glass for the top and bottom of that chromed unit pictured?

Are you going to hang up some Syd Mead drawings? When I was in art school, one of my classmates collected photos, prints,etc..anything..of Syd Mead's. Great stuff! As a freshman, I thought the world would actually look Syd Mead'ish in the year 2000.

So many cool surround sound speakers. These are a pair I missed by a minute; another guy just put them in his Goodwill basket..still there, way too much $$: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/eld/4374332376.html

I've included some chairs that would make great office additions for relaxing...if price wasn't an issue. Colors are not my choice, and you could do silver, black, or birch gray. I'm just puttin' stuff out there. Good luck and hope it comes together.

 

[retropia]

Phil, those items all look appropriately futuristic. The Panasonic speakers look like they would be the right size for my stereo stand. It would probably not be too difficult for me to make a "sock" of speaker cloth so I could cover up the woodgrain. Most speakers seem to have a woodgrain finish, including the Zenith Circle of Sound models, so that is something I'll have to deal with.

It seems to me that Syd Mead did some landscapes that look like an alien planet, although I didn't come across any in a quick Google search. That is probably what I would like, since it would be like a typical sofa painting of a nature scene, except in outer space.

I came across these Philco speakers for sale on Craigslist, which I'm guessing were Philco's answer to Zenith's Circle of Sound. I like the way the chrome base is designed. These speakers are a little small for my stereo stand, though.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/ele/4349209727.html

 

[retropia]

Chair plus built-in speakers

I came across this oddity on Craigslist. I don't have room for anything like this, but it is very era-appropriate. The tag says it is made by "Lee Co., Burbank, California."

Why interact with others when you can sink into your egg chair, and shut the world out? Of course, you would periodically have to get out of your egg chair to flip your vinyl LP to listen to the other side.

No doubt this chair would be ideal for experiencing altered states of consciousness. Probably it is endorsed by Dr. Timothy Leary!

http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/clt/4335201758.html

 

[retropia]

The stereo stand has been polished twice with chrome cleaner, coated with alloy wheel sealer, and I've replaced all of the clear plastic pegs that hold the glass shelves in place. If I have time tomorrow, I'll take it to the glass shop to have new glass shelves cut.

Originally, it came with clear glass for the top and middle shelf, and mirrored glass for the bottom shelf. The mirror broke while I still had it, probably because it was overburdened with the heavy speakers I had on the ends, plus too many albums stored in the middle.

I won't be doing that again, as I'm looking for speakers that don't weigh as much. The albums I'll be storing elsewhere out-of-sight due to my no-color rule. I think I will be on the lookout for a set of the "dual dimension" version of the Circle of Sound speakers. I'm curious to see if the sound is of acceptable quality to my non-discerning ears.

This time, I think the bottom shelf in the stereo stand will be clear glass. I can always replace it later with a mirror if I don't like the look.