INTRO   AMPLIFIERS   TUNERS   RECEIVERS   

REEL-TO-REEL DECKS   CASSETTE DECKS

MICROPHONES  TURNTABLES   PICK-UP CARTRIDGES   

SPEAKERS   HEADPHONES    END NOTES

(under construction...)

Here in Denmark, a publisher called "Forlaget Audio" published an annual yearbook beginning 1973 called "HiFi Årbogen" (the HiFi Yearbook), listing all HiFi equipment sold on the danish market in those 14 years it came out.  It has later become sort of a "bible" to us mad collectors, thus being the only complete printed source to receivers, amps, tuners, cassettes, reel-to-reels, turntables, pick-ups and speakers then.

In 1973 there were 320 pages in it, but in its heydays in the late 70´s it had close to 600 pages, stuffed with all those audiophonic electrical beauties of each year. The last edition in 1986 were again back to 320 pages, and no further editions were made. All equipment were listed alfabetically with all specifications and prices to compare.

Beside being a list of audio material, there were always long articles each year about that years development in the audiobusiness and articles about new things to come next year. Most of it were of course sponsored by the audio manufacturers, but still it was the best - and almost only - way to keep up with what was happening in the business then. And today those books are of course a must to us collectors. The books were packed with adds and information about the newest innovations. There were long articles each year explaining the rules of High Fidelity and advising people which stuff to buy. Things were written in a quite common language, so everybody could understand what all these flashing new words, like "wow and flutter" and "dynamic noise reduction" meant.

Another publisher called "Fogtdals Blade" published a smaller and thinner yearbook called "HiFi Revyen" (the HiFi Revue), but it had much less specifications for the equipment listed, and never got the same respect in the business as "HiFi Årbogen" did. "Fogtdals Blade" published all sorts of other yearbooks, like a film yearbook, a sports yearbook and of course a car yearbook. "HiFi Revyen" continued to the mid 90´s.

Similar books were made in most other european countries in those years, and I´m quite interested in finding a few from both Germany and the UK from the period between 1970 to 1975. Send me a mail if you can help. But don´t  mail me, if you´re one of those guys who wants above £10 or more for it, because here in Denmark I paid 50p on a market for the last ones I bought.

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