The Hidden Legacy of AudioSonic: A Dutch Audio Toys Supplier

Believe it or not, Philips was not the only audio company in the Netherlands. The firm Electronics Nederland BV (Amsterdam), which was established in 1972, built audio equipment successfully for a long time under its own AudioSonic brand on its sites using a variety of components and also placed orders for manufacture using this brand all over the world.

These were primarily low-cost gadgets that were offered by grocery chains. In HI-FI stores, the AudioSonic brand was hard to find. The cassette decks, on the other hand, were quite good and were made in Japan at the factories of the famous Rotel Electronics Co., Ltd. Some of their cassette recorders were custom-made by the GDR manufacturer RFT for AudioSonic.



As for the model AudioSonic TBS-8200, it was manufactured in South Korea in 1984. This model is fully identical to the Korean HELIX HX-4670. For its size, the model is incredibly sturdy and weighty. The 14 W power usage is sufficient to play music loudly enough for a small group to dance or listen to their favorite band. As you can see, it has a selector to use even a metal-type cassette tape. Finally, it is a tape recorder that is incredibly lovely and appealing!

Additionally, AudioSonic created compact cassettes under its own name from materials it purchased from different suppliers, including TDK, ORWO, and Agfa.

In 1984, TBS-8200 could be purchased for 259 Dutch gouldens at a grocery store. The design was so well-liked that Vendomatic, a different supermarket chain, continued to sell this cassette recorder to consumers under the Vendomatic PCS-100 name until 1986. It was possible to choose it in three colors: red, white, and dark grey.

As for the AudioSonic company, at least their website was operational up until 2017. However, only the registered legal address in Amsterdam is still in existence today.

 

Interesting that the Dutch would collaborate with ORWO and RFT (East Germany) on certain products

 

The budget Dutch

 

259 Dutch gouldens in 1984 to US dollars in 1984 would be what? I'll take a Vendomatic PCS-100 in dark grey please

 

My AudioSonic TBS-7050, from 1979-1980. I believe it was made in Japan by Coney-Onkyo or one of their partners, because its chassis and switchgear was shared by some Conion models.

 

If you had 259 Dutch guilders in 1984, it would be approximately 111.37 USD. This is a rough conversion based on the average rate in 1984.

 

i have an AudioSonic Cloneman:

https://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/the-cloneman-mission.331/page-9

 

Visited my parents yesterday and started a search for my Cassette Player I bought in my childhood in March 1985. Bought it in a grocery / supermarket store ("KRONE") here in Germany, my mum often went there for shopping and took her with me.
I remember it took several weeks to convince her, to get allowance to buy it from all my savings colleced. Price by that time was 299 DEM (Deutsche Mark), which was quite a lot. Used it quite heavily for recording mix-tapes from the Fridays Top-10 charts until my first Kenwood HiFi arrived a couple of years later.

After a while searching through the shelves in the cellar, BANG, found it ! Took it with me and cleaned it a bit today. Still playing cassettes on the B-deck, but seems the belt on deck A got broken, sounds like the motor is still running, but tape doesn't get pulled.
Radio and all potis work like charme.
Started to search on the web for the audio sonic TBS-9600, but couldn't find anything about it, but got aware of this forum.
Let me share some photos of the TBS-9600. Even found the guarantee card and manual.

Enjoy and have fun !

 

Top cassette... and front cassette! Never seen that before. And you have it preserved in quite good condition. Not destroyed. Gotta respect some kid who looked after his stuff like that. The lettering on the controls is still intact and not worn away

Finding it at your parents in the cellar... that is a cool story too. Nostalgic and tinged with much meaning. And it survived decades... of not being thrown out! How many others did not and were thrown away?

 

He also hasn't been active on Dutch market place, have bought stuff from him in the past. Could be that he is to busy with his Audio Museum in Lelystad.

 

Dear colleagues,

Thanks for your messages and for thinking of me. I’m still very much active with Retro Audio Museum in Lelystad — nothing has disappeared! Over the past months, I have shifted my focus from written posts to creating short video reels for Facebook and other social platforms. These reels give people a much better feel of the equipment and the atmosphere of the Retro Audio Museum in Lelystad, so I’ve been investing my time there.

Unfortunately, forums like Stereo2Go and Tapeheads don’t support video reels, which is why I haven’t been posting here as often. Nothing is wrong—I’ve just been busy running the Retro Audio Museum and producing new video content for visitors and followers. The museum continues to grow, and I’m still collecting, restoring, and preserving equipment just like before.

I appreciate everyone who noticed my absence, and I’ll try to provide updates more often when possible. As for now, you can watch my reels on Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube.

 

Last updates from the museum: last weekend I was on TV again! You can watch the broadcast here: https://www.omroepflevoland.nl/nieu...eum-bewaart-de-ziel-van-de-muziekgeschiedenis

 

I am still active on Marktplaats, selling spare parts and devices I do not need anymore to raise some funds for the museum: https://link.marktplaats.nl/m2340359673

 

Not Audio Sonic but in the same ballpark....my Erres TR-6662 'Streetmachine' which is actually a rebranded Philips D6624 SkyLiner 3.
Erres, just like Audio Sonic, was an importer but also a dealer from Philips and even had its own store in Eindhoven back in the day.
This walkman was made in Singapore and was also released as Schneider TR-6662, PYE TR-6662, Radiola RA-440 and Magnavox Sky Liner 3.
Just love the color combo of the silver vs the blue....
Headphones are Philips EM6301 from 1982...love the look of those too, could even be a rebranded MDR......