Zenith Circle of Sound, Mid-Fi or Low-Fi? (in the late 60's)
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- 1967 circle of sound zenith
Ed DiNapoli
New Member
My brother and I shared a bedroom growing up. He bought a circle of sound in about 1967. Back then we were still using transistor radios. FM radio was just becoming available in cars. Just bought a 67 Corvette with an FM radio, which I was thrilled with, even though it was not stereo. The sound of the circle of sound was one of the better mass produced sounding units. The turntable if I remember correctly had a very heavy tone arm and was not real kind to records.
When I got married in 69, my wife was into French Colonial furniture, so I bought a Zenith Console. It was French Colonial style, I think it was called Bizet. It was the top of the line, with 2 12 in woofers, 4 midrange, and 2 horns. They sold external add on speaker, which I still have and use them in my garage. They still sound pretty good, and had a 12 in woofer and a horn.
Ed
When I got married in 69, my wife was into French Colonial furniture, so I bought a Zenith Console. It was French Colonial style, I think it was called Bizet. It was the top of the line, with 2 12 in woofers, 4 midrange, and 2 horns. They sold external add on speaker, which I still have and use them in my garage. They still sound pretty good, and had a 12 in woofer and a horn.
Ed
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
These Zeniths are some of the finest sounding speakers I've heard and I've heard some good ones. In it's heyday Zenith products were top shelf.
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
Hope you're not referring to my Zenith 49CZ's
Lapslah
Super Member
I was born in '65. My father was an engineer for Zenith at the time, and we had one of these systems - if not the one in the OP, then very close - from as early as I can remember until sometime in the mid-70's at least. No idea what happened to it after that. My toddler-age memories of it are that it sounded pretty thin, but it was the best I knew at the time. Seeing it here definitely brings back a nostalgic feeling for me, of listening to everything from Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf to my sister's Carpenters records.
Ronald1973
8-trackin', Hank, Sr. man
That's what I'm looking forward to. I'm fairly sure it was a Zenith, and it would have been late 60's, early 70's. Big clock face with a flat black stand it sat on (made in the unit of course). I couldn't describe it in detail enough to give an accurate photo, though I'd know it when I saw it.Nice! I believe there are about 7 different "circle of sound" radios and clock radios.
im still gathering the data!
Scot
Phototone
Super Member
Those "Circle of Sound" Zeniths were department store units. There was a lot of competition in the price range these sold in. They sounded better than many, and they had a turntable that would track warped records very well. But, you got to remember, they were department store merchandise, along with radios and TV's and Washing Machines. They were built to sell at an appealing price point. They, by design, couldn't sound as good as the big console Zenith stereos, some with TV, otherwise why step-up to the big furniture units.
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
Rotel amps were once sold at Montgomery Ward but that was in the late 50's and early 60's.
musichal
poet emeritus
Obviously, Just because John Q. Public called his hi-fi a hi-fi didn't make it hi-fi. Enthusiasts of the era argued about what constitutes high-fi as much as we do now with little more consensus than we reach today when we opine about the same terminology, to which was added mid-fi later. One man's high-fidelity dream system is another's dated, vintage mid-fi, and vice-versa.
biscuithead
Me likes the eargasm retroplasm...
Hello Audio historians,
I am starting a new webpage!
It is going to be all about the Zenith Circle of Sound.
I plan to list all the known models, when they came out, how many consoles, speakers, radios, etc. were in the series. The webpage was started a few days ago, its not *nearly* ready to be uploaded yet, but I will post it here when its on-line.
Zenith introduced the Circle of Sound in June 1967.
I have been doing a lot of reading and research, here in Audiokarma and elsewhere online, and the modern concensus on the Circle of Sound (especially those funky speakers) is "looks cool, but sounds like crap"..fair enough!and I cant disagree.
But that is today, in 2018, with 50 years of hindsight and comparing them to everything else that has come since. Naturally today virtually everyone places these late 60's Zenith systems in the "Lo-Fi" catagory. again, fair enough!
But...im curious what they were considered *at the time*..when they actually came out and were first being used in 1967, 1968, 1969, and into the early 70's. We know they were never Hi-Fi, thats a given..But I suspect in the late 60's they might have been considered more "Mid-Fi" than "Lo-Fi"?..were people even using three catagories then? Hi, Mid and Low? I was born in '69, but i didnt have my first stereo until the 80's.
I know by the 80's we had some reeeeally low-end junk! I was there! I was a teenager in the 80's, and not rich..I owned some mid-80's Soundesign!
In the late 60's, was there stuff even *lower* and junkier than the Circle of Sound? which might have placed them more in a Mid-Fi catagory? or were they really low-end? even then? What would they have been considered, at the time?
I understand much of this is very subjective, the the catagories dont have hard edges..but any thoughts or ideas welcome!
thanks,
Scot
I use to have one. I bought it because it looked cool, it didn't sound that great.... and even after some restoration it was very ho-hum. I'd call it entry level at best. BUT, they are just so very cool....it really doesn't matter what it sounds like. If you compare it to all the other stuff that was sold in 1967 at it's price point it is par for the course. Just don't compare it to any real equipment that was around in '67.
Check out what $200 could have gotten you from Radio shack in 1967:
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1967/
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
The term hi-fi was used before stereo and system marked hi-fi are often mono.
amishcntry
New Member
I had a circle of sound stereo when they first came out and I loved it. It was a great sound and you could hear it from any angle. I thought it was awesome and would love to find another one. Dont know why we got rid of it because it was still working. Miss it!!!
phonomaniac
New Member
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
i call them OK FI, between HiFi and MidFi. Use 8 ohm, high efficiency speakers, Will in good order be plenty good for many people Not the worst, not the best. better than that price point when new had a right to be. Enjoy it for what it is, and it is good and pleasant.
