Laskys and Tandy

[Rockchild]

Actually, it wasn't those it was these, the bigger ones with the front port, 305s.

Shows how good my memory is, but we were drinking a lot of cheap alcohol back then

Cheap alcohol through straws? 

 

[deggie]

If I recall it was the …...realistic brand..... they used to push our way..???

 

[robbyd]

Certainly remember the Tandy in Sutton, down the bottom of the High St...

I sort of learned from the mags that the Realistic stuff was no good, not that I could afford anything else at that age. But full of stuff - think I bought some headphones with a sliding volume control on them...

Remember Laskys in Kingston - quite a big shop from memory. Bought my first MFSL lp from there - Solti/Planets - they had a dedicated rack for special vinyl.

 

[notevenclose]

Did any of you buy from these companies?

My first turntable, a Garrard Zero100SB, came from Laskys, when I was 15. Saved up from a summer and weekend job at the local zoo. 

My old man was persuaded to bring it home on a flight to Aberdeen after a business trip to that London (for reasons which now escape me) must have been a total pain in the arse.

Zero100, Sure M75ED, Rotel RA611 and a pair of AR4a. Happy days. I can't even remember where the Rotel came from (Comet maybe?), but the ARs came from a local dealer whom I later ended up working for.

 

[MF 1000]

If I recall it was the …...realistic brand..... they used to push our way..???

Realistic & Radio Shack ....aka Radio Cr@p As an early teen I remember thumbing through the catalogue with wide eyes ..lol

 

[Lord Rockingham]

I bought a Realistic CD1000 CD player from Tandy in 1985. Actually, it was an excellent sounding unit, and lasted me 10 years until I sold it on to buy a big Technics M*A*S*H player.

 

[HectorHughMunro]

This was all pre internet when you could only have things that were in shops that you could get to!

For me, it was Lasky’s and Comet.  Lasky’s sold me my first pair of Hi-Fi ‘speakers; AR18LS ex dem with no grilles. I think I used those for a decade. 

 

[eddie-baby]

Cheap alcohol through straws? 

I'm sure straws were used at some point yes  xD

 

[Rockchild]

I'm sure straws were used at some point yes  xD

liebfraumilch and blue nun no doubt  

corner shop where age had no meaning lol

 

[plasticpenguin]

My first turntable, a Garrard Zero100SB, came from Laskys, when I was 15. Saved up from a summer and weekend job at the local zoo. 

My old man was persuaded to bring it home on a flight to Aberdeen after a business trip to that London (for reasons which now escape me) must have been a total pain in the arse.

Zero100, Sure M75ED, Rotel RA611 and a pair of AR4a. Happy days. I can't even remember where the Rotel came from (Comet maybe?), but the ARs came from a local dealer whom I later ended up working for.

Good stuff.

I always hankered after a pair ARs, but at 16 they were way beyond my financial means.

 

[Smokestack]

Thank you penguin, for reminding some of us just  how old we now are .

  I'd forgotten that Lasky's even existed !

Hadn't forgotten Tandy because  I often used to pick up components, solder etc from them.

 

[Rockchild]

It all started here... Tottenham Court Road 

 

[Batty]

Comet used to be the place for me.

 

[eddie-baby]

Comet used to be the place for me. 

No Comment

 

[Batty]

In the mid 70s they had some nice gear at good prices, got my Shure 55e, Goldring G800 and Nagaoka MP11 from them, oh, and my Koss Pro4 AA cans.

 

[eddie-baby]

In the mid 70s they had some nice gear at good prices, got my Shure 55e, Goldring G800 and Nagaoka MP121 from them, oh, and my Koss Pro4 AA cans.

I was only joking

I spent lots of time in Comet myself as well, there has been some decent gear sold there, there's no doubt about that.

 

[Huntergatherer]

Well l tell have my lx5s but never found them to be anything special despite the reviews.

watcha gotta do to make em sing?

Funnily enough l live in Welwyn !!

Genexxa lx5's from Tandy's in Letchworth, still got them, the best speakers with a bit of tweaking, and there was a franchise in Hitchin, called Kotecha giftronics..... 

 

[dave]

watcha gotta do to make em sing?

low / no feedback (tube or solid state), non oversampling, or a decent turntable and a good valve phono works(ed) for me, and spending some time integrating some nice fast, tight subs.

tweaks:

https://www.diyaudio.com/archive/blogs/comments/comment3591.html