Just spotted this......

I saw an alias of the Amstrad last week at the flea market (the brand was a no-name). With its very unusual oval speakers, this box is one of a kind -- and probably worth a punt. But my collection is undergoing a weight loss diet, so I decided to leave it there

Why there is no Like on the primary post?

I Liked the ad!

Cos Terry Venables is in the ad.

Unfortunately Amstrad were not the last word in quality, not by a long way! But great to see the add nevertheless! Quite nostalgic!

Those Hitachi 3 piece machines are nice, good luck with your restoration!

The Amstrad 7090 was the first double cassette machine I had back in 1982, sounded fine, the only real problem I had was when one of the cassette door catches broke off and I had to lie it on its back with a pile of books on the right-hand door to make it play tapes, before this happened I was using it to drown out my girlfriend when I made love to her apart from listening to (and sometimes taping) the Friday Rock Show or John Peel.

jRetro Addict posted:

I had one of those Amstrad 7090s in my early days of collecting. It was heavy for its size, but let's say the sound was a bit too tinny for my liking.

Got an Amstrad 7090 now, first had one in 1982 but a cassette door broke in '84 so I binned it.  Just one problem, how does one use the DIN socket in the back?, right next to it is an external mic socket which I'll probably use to play CDs or the pocket DAB radio through it - could also be used as a public address unit I would imagine, would just need to buy a mike.

Big John posted:

  Just one problem, how does one use the DIN socket in the back?

You can buy a lead e.g http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3m-5...3:g:8-kAAOSw8d9UuUT-

or Maplin probably have one. How you select the input depends on the unit. It might just mix in with the tape if so pressing play without a tape might work.

You might have problems with levels but if inputing from a portable CD or similar just adjust the volume to a suitable level.

Well I actually bought a DIN lead when I bought the machine and that arrived two weeks ago, I only got the machine yesterday afternoon which I'd paid for on the 8th, tested with the DIN lead, nothing, so used the external mic jack to play a CD which worked albeit distorted so I had to adjust the slider top left.  The unit might need an internal clean but I'll give that job to my mate Mark in AM Television - when I've actually got some money, ha ha

I also remember this ad so well.  It was one of a handful that did the rounds in local newspapers here in the UK, or rather, there in the UK.  

It's odd looking at this radio, who would have been tempted to buy it on the strength of it being able to "tape tapes", surely the reputation of the company (even then it was bad) and the overall look of it e.g. bland toaster-like styling and not many features would suggest that it's ability to "tape tapes" would also be somewhat impaired.

But you only have to trawl through the car boot sales (flea markets) of Southern England to realise that many folk fell for the mighty Amstrad marketing machine with or without the help of our once proud Terry Venebles (remember him?).

Also, I challenge anyone to prove that the below was not the best selling hi-fi system of the 70's?

A rhetorical challenge I should add

AO posted:

It's odd looking at this radio, who would have been tempted to buy it on the strength of it being able to "tape tapes", surely the reputation of the company (even then it was bad) and the overall look of it e.g. bland toaster-like styling and not many features would suggest that it's ability to "tape tapes" would also be somewhat impaired.

It would be interesting to know when this was from.

I have just looked through the Argos catalogues on Retromash and the first Twin Cassette boomboxes in it don't appear until 1983.

While I have never bought any Amstrad Audio equipment I have to defend them. Their emphasis was always on value for money, ease of use and a surprising amount of innovation mainly to achieve the first two.

Many people seeing that advert probably weren't aware until they saw it that you could buy a box that would let you tape all your sisters cassettes without messing around with two boxes and a microphone. 

Later they tried the same thing with a video twin deck (scroll down).

http://www.amstrad.com/products/archive/

It was with computers that Amstrads policies really came into their own as the "12 million sold" indicates. Also sold as Schneider in Europe they were Europes best selling computers. 

Back in the early 1990s, when Apple were about as affordable and as common as Maserati's in the UK we actually had an Amstrad Centre in Bournemouth, where a friend bought his first PC. When he showed it me I was actually impressed. Not only did it come with lots of useful software, but it was preloaded on the machine, so like most Amstrad equipment it was ready to use out of the box. 

p.s I don't know if you have Sky TV but if you do and have a recent Sky + box it is really an Amstrad product .    

AO posted:

Also, I challenge anyone to prove that the below was not the best selling hi-fi system of the 70's?

Yes but you don't show the speakers. If you knew nothing about Hi-Fi how could you fail to be impressed.

p.s These were 1981s offerings. I bet they sound much better than a 2016 Crosley

AO posted:

I also remember this ad so well.  It was one of a handful that did the rounds in local newspapers here in the UK, or rather, there in the UK.  

It's odd looking at this radio, who would have been tempted to buy it on the strength of it being able to "tape tapes", surely the reputation of the company (even then it was bad) and the overall look of it e.g. bland toaster-like styling and not many features would suggest that it's ability to "tape tapes" would also be somewhat impaired.

But you only have to trawl through the car boot sales (flea markets) of Southern England to realise that many folk fell for the mighty Amstrad marketing machine with or without the help of our once proud Terry Venebles (remember him?).

Also, I challenge anyone to prove that the below was not the best selling hi-fi system of the 70's?

My brother's first 'music centre' was an Amstrad tower like this, I went for a Pioneer in 1983 but I still had the 7090 till one of the tape doors broke.  

Now I've got a Kenwood separates system with  four Kef speakers and a Kenwood centre speaker and  this Amstrad 7090 again - hope it doesn't break again!

Longman posted:

AO posted:

Also, I challenge anyone to prove that the below was not the best selling hi-fi system of the 70's?

Yes but you don't show the speakers. If you knew nothing about Hi-Fi how could you fail to be impressed.

Weren't they just woeful?  I recall them being 3 inches thick.

A pair here for £150 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINT...EAKERS-/272381294182

Suppose they might be alright to run a computer through but not high end hi fi units as I've got now, my main desktop is connected to the Kenwood KR-V5570 receiver that I've had for 20 years and it's still going strong, the rest of it is Kenwood and of  a similar age - again - still going strong.

Recently I've added a Pure DRX-701ES DAB tuner which is run through the 'Tape 2 Monitor', my main system has been in its 'complete' state since August 2015.  Most of the time I play it in surround 'Theater'mode.

As for ghetto blasters, I might get a few more, I've got my eye on a Sharp WQ-T484 which has two tape decks in one door and having taken a look at the online user manual all functions apply to both decks except record - unlike most Sharp models of this type where the front cassette deck can only play or stop, not only that but this model has auto-reverse on both decks and I can have it for £95 inc. P+P.  It has ended but the seller knows I want it and will relist it in a couple of weeks when I should have some money.

Then there's a Philips D8334 which has strap provisions and I have a strap for it, this is a pretty simple machine and has phono inputs in the back for my Walkman CD player, etc. - watching that too.

I'm not buying another CD ghetto blaster unless it's the giant Philips D8958 preferably in white, had two Hitachi ones where the CD player died on me.

AO posted: 

A pair here for £150 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINT...EAKERS-/272381294182

Well that is just taking the pi**. You could get a new pair of Wharfdale Diamonds for that.

My point all along has been that back in the 1980s Amstrad kept giving people what they wanted at the low end of the market. Most people buying their tower systems were probably trading up from a Dansette record player or similar and thought they were getting great value for money.

Since this seems to be turning into a first home system thread, my first Music Centre type system was an Akai FD3 bought in 1985.

http://www.usaudiomart.com/det...i-fd3/images/998618/

They were £400 when I first saw, and lusted after, one in Dixons a year earlier, but I got mine, made from two customer returns and without speakers for £150 from Richer Sounds in Birmingham back when they only had two shops in the country.