Fake 'retro'

[Nicklyons2]

The fashion for the fake retro (classique reproduction) produced a new discovery whilst I was holidaying this past week; an Akai pseudo TR82. The origins of this Akai A60010 are, IMHO, fairly obvious. Whether the band switch de-camping from top to front is a way around copyright is a matter of conjecture. Clearly the TR82 or, really I should say the MB60 (for it is that model which first sported the, now classic case shape and big dial), has become an international icon. What a pity the original company couldn't be here to manufacture it.

Anyone actually tried one of these? If so is a a compliment or an insult to the originals?

Mods - please shift to New Tech thread if you think it more appropriate there.

[camallison]

I was wondering what the retro one looked like and so googled it.

This is it http://www.amazon.co.uk/Akai-A60010-.../dp/B00PH8GC7A

Naturally, it is available from other retailers too.

Colin

[McMurdo]

I was in our local B&Q this friday and saw a display of new Retro Telephones; Maplin have done a few for a while now but this was quite a nice display.There was a GPO 200 (feels just as heavy as the original, though the handset isnt quite right) and a rather nice Bell Telecom Princess. A little digging found they're made by Pro-Tel-X who also make repro Bush TR82's with DAB and a little 'continental' grundig-style set.

http://www.gporetro.com/products/cat...po-746-rotary/

[paulsherwin]

I've certainly no objection to this sort of thing so long as no deception is involved. Lots of people like the styling of old technology but don't want the hassle of using genuine old stuff. People are sometimes very sniffy about the Bush TR82/97 and suchlike but it can be a very practical solution in some circumstances.

[Nuvistor]

Re post 2.
Quote
"Plus, with a 14w output, the level of sound quality provided by the Akai Radio may just surprise you."
Hmmmmm

[McMurdo]

I have to say I'd rather someone bought a repro if they want FM or DAB as an everyday product, rather than go to the trouble of gutting a genuine vintage set and badly fitting some circuit board inside. If I accidentally dragged one of those repro phones off the shelf during a heated conversation for example, I'd feel alot better than if it were a 1920's model 200 that cracked as it landed.

[julie_m]

Originally Posted by Nuvistor

"Plus, with a 14w output, the level of sound quality provided by the Akai Radio may just surprise you."

I suspect you would be lucky to get fourteen joules out of that thing in one second, if it went on fire.

[wireful3]

Hi, I have the same attitude as Paul. I have several Bush TR82 sets and would reckon that this set is not intending to deceive. In fact I consider it is a genuine retro radio. It looks quite a respectable set. I have always thought of retro as modern sets designed in a past style but not copies of anything particular.

There have been some Bush copies in the past and I have one that came with a "certificate of authenticity" It is an acceptable modern portable using modern techniques and components but the general finish does not convince.

I have looked at the specification and noted 14W with amusement. No doubt there is some definition of power output of audio equipment justifying this.

[Herald1360]

I'm not sure even the old "IHFM Peak Music Power" chestnut could inflate a few hundred milliwatts that far

A bit of a poke around suggests that this may relate to the AC power consumption rather than the audio output.....

[Martin Bush]

Years ago as I recall Akai used to make pretty awful hi fi (certainly in the opinion of the people in the shop I used to work in) and video products, but also high end samplers. Is Akai still the same company or has the name been sold off?

[paulsherwin]

Akai certainly aren't the company they once were: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akai

Their 80s hifi is underrated. Many people do feel very sniffy about it so it can be a real bargain for someone who wants cheap hifi from that era.

Akai were pioneers in domestic hifi R2R and cassette.

[Martin Bush]

I think they were sniffy where I worked because they sold technics, micromega, musical fidelity, mission etc.

Like Akai they too went out of business...

[Ian - G4JQT]

Do any retro sets work as least as well as the originals on LW/MW?

In my experience they do not. Somehow RF technology has gone backwards in domestic radios. Presumably this is because the AM section is no longer a priority. But even so - how difficult could it possibly be to make a reasonably-performing AM receiver with modern electronics?

Ian

[camallison]

@ Martin - gleaned from Wikipedia:

Akai is a consumer electronics brand, now headquartered in Singapore. At its peak in the late 1990s Akai Holdings employed 100,000 workers and had annual sales of HK$40 billion but it collapsed in 2000 owing creditors US$1,100m.

Colin

[paulsherwin]

Ian, as you say AM has been very much an afterthought in domestic equipment since the 90s, particularly at the bottom end. The small minority who listen to AM on cheap radios have no interest in DX reception and just want to hear their local BBC5 transmitter or maybe a local oldies station.

It is of course perfectly possible to build very high performance MW/LW radios with modern components (much easier in fact than with vintage components) but the market demand isn't there, so they just bung in a cheap AM chip.

how difficult could it possibly be to make a reasonably-performing AM receiver with modern electronics?

Very easy (albeit costly, but no more in real terms than a good valve set just post war), my Perseus (probably the most use of modern electronics for a radio, several millions of transistors) sounds super. I would think that no maker of domestic stuff would bother, most are no better (at AM) than a 1970's tranny. Now that AM is no longer mainstream except a few talk stations it's not viable.

[nicam49]

Regarding the Bush TR82 repros, when they first came out, my first thought was, and still is "why is the 'U' misshapen" (in BUSH) and I found it strangely annoying.

[Nicklyons2]

As to the O.P. - has anyone else seen or tried the Akai version?

[Andrew2]

Most modern cheap radios are awful on AM. We have a Tesco special that has spectacularly bad selectivity - it hears our local GOLD 1458 about 100KHz on each side, obliterating several weaker stations.
A Sony one we bought for the bathroom is similar but is also almost completely deaf at the LF end. Very sensitive at the top end though and the sound quality is good through its large(ish) speaker.

[mark pirate]

Regarding the Bush TR82 repros, when they first came out, my first thought was, and still is "why is the 'U' misshapen" (in BUSH) and I found it strangely annoying.

There is a story to this, apparently an original TR82 was borrowed from the vintage wireless museum to be used to base the repro set on.
The 'U' was bent on the original set and this was copied over on to the repro

I do have a mint boxed example of the TR82/97 repro, and it does work quite well.
But it should have been called the VTR103/97 as it has FM!

Mark