Feb. 8, 1966 ad for Zenith color TV and stereos. Mid-Century modern cabinets were the style of the day.
The old school way was the all in one Cabinet-O-Sound.
It may have been a hold over from the days of the wind up Victrola.
The early record player was often a beautiful solid wood piece of furniture, the centerpiece of a room.
Later early radio cabinets conformed to the same design ideal.
By the time the television age was in full swing the wood had become composite and the design was now Mid-Century Modern.
Televisions and stereos were big and bulky.
Upscale record players had two or more speakers to project sound in stereo.
Often the most popular recording artists of the era, the Beatles would release both a stereo and mono version of their albums. But no less authority than their record producer George Martin said the mono releases were the best.
It is said that after the band approved the mono mixes they lost interest and left the stereo to the engineers.
Often a cabinet had enough room to hold a modest record collection.
If only iPods came with handsome walnut grained cabinets, true-to-life color and a hand wired chassis.
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