From: phil_a@tpg.com.au   
      
   "flipper"   
    "Phil Allison"   
   >"Iain Churchus"   
   >>>"Phil Allison"   
   >>   
   >>>> In 1951 in the UK, there were no FM broadcasts, no stereo and the just   
   >>>> about the only records available were 78rpm and pickups were crude to   
   >>>> say   
   >>>> the least.   
   >>>>   
   >>>>> just about the only records available were 78rpm and pickups were   
   >>>>> crude   
   >>>>> to say the least.   
   >>>   
   >>> Not quite, Phil   
   >>>   
   >>> 10" LPs had been available in the UK since 1951,   
   >>   
   >>   
   >>** So did the chicken or the egg come first ?   
   >   
   > I doubt it was a chicken and egg kind of thing.   
      
      
   ** I was only asking ( tongue in cheek) if the 10 inch LP or the Quad I came   
   first.   
      
    I do NOT believe that one actually caused the other to appear.   
      
      
   > I mean, RHD4 (1951) has a section on 'Hi-Fi'   
      
      
   ** Hi-fi amplifiers had existed since the mid 1940s (eg  Leak ) but maybe   
   not by that name. They had their place in broadcasting, recording and disc   
   cutting where live signals ( from condenser and ribbon mics) were available   
   that needed to be monitored and the quality assessed.   
      
   Another fact is that the cost of manufacturing a " low-fi " amplifier ( say   
   2% THD and damping factor of 3 ) is barely any different from that of   
   amplifier like the Quad 1 or Leak point one. The difference is mainly in the   
   design detail and the amount of NFB that is used.   
      
   So, making an amplifier with 0.1% THD could be done and it didn't cost that   
   much more to do it  -  so it WAS done and sold initially to the professional   
   audio market.   
      
   However, "QUAD" is a re-arranged acronym for "Quality Unit Amplifier   
   Domestic"  -  so from 1951 onwards sales were aimed squarely at consumers.   
      
   By mid 1955, folk living in the south of England has access to the BBC via   
   FM radio  -  which must have been a complete revelation in terms of   
   distortion and noise whenever the program was live. This would be a major   
   incentive to own the best amplifiers and speakers available and I believe   
   WAS a major incentive for Quad to produce the ESL57.   
      
      
      
   ...  Phil   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)