The standardization process began a long time ago, at a time when Soviet speakers were represented only by medium and long-wave broadcast radios, that is, before electric pickups and tape recorders appeared in wide layers of the population. The process went quickly. The standardization event is unprecedented in the consumer market of domestic electronics. The most interesting thing is that the process has not stopped so far.
Start
January 1951 was marked by the first State All-Union Standard (GOST 5651-51) for broadcasting radios, which Soviet acoustic systems received the most general requirements for sound reproduction quality. Naturally, with modern capabilities this quality could not be compared, but at that time it was a real satisfaction of the most picky listeners. The first Soviet acoustic systems received certain frequency characteristics (at first it was only for radio receivers): a fidelity curve, that is, a characteristic of the frequencies of the entire path of the receiver by sound pressure, should ensure the reproduction of the band on the already listed ones. The first class receiver, for example (desktop), is from 60 to 6500 Hz.
The frequency bands listed by GOST should be reproduced unevenly, but not exceed five times 14 dB (all ranges), except for those frequencies that are below 250 kHz, unevenness up to eight times is allowed - 18 dB. The electrical frequency response by GOST was not standardized at all, since the sound of the receiver is ultimately determined by its particular characteristics of sound pressure. The first class receiver is up to 100 Hz with a harmonic coefficient of 12%, at frequencies up to 400 Hz - 7%, and over 400 - 5%. Contemporaries will remember with nostalgia, and the younger generation will be amazed: did their fathers and grandfathers understand at least something regarding the sound characteristics. Nevertheless, Soviet acoustic systems not only existed, but were in great demand. Yes, and today, real experts spread quite a lot of money for such a "retro".
Technology
Soviet acoustic systems, the review of which is presented in this article, always impressed with the originality of the technologies used, even significantly until the fifties of the last century. For example, consider an ordinary loudspeaker, the same one around which crowds gathered to listen to messages from the Information Bureau during the war years. The loudspeaker was magnetized. Until the end of the 50s, permanent powerful magnets did not exist yet, and therefore high-quality speakers were equipped with solid wire coils - electromagnets, which simultaneously served as filter chokes of the lamp power supply unit.
Alternating current gave a background, I had to constantly struggle with it and win no less than constantly. By the way, the very first Soviet speakers manufactured in the USSR, built into small and not even acoustically designed receiver housings, contained exactly the same loudspeaker. It sounded nice and convincing. Even our contemporaries find it difficult to explain such a phenomenon. According to this GOST and all its subsequent modifications, many hand-held receivers were produced, which faithfully served many generations of owners, and if you get them from the summer cottages, they are quite operational today.
"Symphony"
The first exhibit of our review, as this Russian stereo tube radio radio would now be called, is a "music center", because it consisted of a radio and a player for phonograph records, which are now commonly called vinyl. For a very long time it was a standard of high quality sound reproduction, and even now it is decorated with the rarest and most expensive Soviet speaker systems. For better sound quality at low frequencies there was used a closed system with a number of surround resonators. The Soviet speakers “Symphonies” had four loudspeakers: ZGD-15 high-frequency, two 2GD-28 mid-frequency and one 5GD-3 low-frequency. To separate the frequencies, filters were used directly in the columns themselves.
Such engineering solutions, by their ingenious simplicity, are quite rare today, this is especially true for volume resonators: for example, a two-frequency notch filter with a Helmholtz resonator is a separate space at the bottom of the case with two holes of a horizontal partition - 31 and 23 millimeters. The frequencies were tuned to 100 and 50 Hz, and the filter suppressed the first and second harmonics of the frequency of the amplifier path network, eliminating the inevitable "hump" at 60-80 Hz, which was very typical for the speakers that were in use at that time. Vintage equipment is in great demand today, although its sensitivity, as well as its power is negligible, and distortion is great.
On transistors
Tube radiols are a small-scale product, they were expensive for quite some time, however, in almost every house in the 60s and 70s, such a radio was present and enjoyed the great love of the whole family: from elderly opera lovers to young ardent Beatles, because it met the needs of every age . Holidays were arranged with her, she helped to “live and build”. Then came the stereo tape recorders on transistors, even more expensive and even more in demand. They developed much greater output power, and they needed another, more advanced acoustics. And she appeared.
From the most common AC 10MAC-1M speakers to the Amphiton speaker, where a long-pass low-frequency loudspeaker with a diffuser suspension was used. They were not finalized, skillful owners brought the assembly to mind. For example, air was pulled out of the slots of the Amphiton column with great force, so that it was able to extinguish a burning match. Therefore, first of all, all cracks were filled with epoxy resin. It was in the 70s that Soviet radio designers came to the conclusion that copying Western samples would significantly improve the quality of domestic products.
"Radio engineering"
S90 came to the people from the Baltic countries in 1978 with the famous acoustics 35AC-1, which gave rise to this series. The Riga Production Association Radiotekhnika, and in particular the Design Bureau Orbita, was the designer of new systems of Soviet acoustics. The speakers installed on this "Radio Engineering S90" series will not be surprised even by the most advanced amateurs, but a similar speaker casing has no analogue anywhere in the world. Wood fiber boards (Fibreboard) were not used there.
They were replaced by real aviation plywood on the front wall and thick and heavy boards of valuable wood on all other panels. Twenty-three kilograms weighed only such a box. Nevertheless, this acoustics has become a favorite among consumers. In those days, the electronics of the Riga factory for music lovers meant about the same as a Kalashnikov assault rifle during the war. This is a living legend of Russian column building. And to this day, many hundreds of such systems serve music lovers who gradually update this acoustics.
What's inside
It is necessary to turn out two dozen screws securing the case, remove the steel plate from the top of the front panel, and then carefully remove the low-frequency speaker, a picture worthy of the interest of a natural scientist will open. First of all, it is gauze and cotton wool, from which one and a half meter mattress is glued to the conscience. The inner surface of the body seems to be unrecoverable, in addition, the mattress covers the bass reflex tube, its lumen is almost half closed. Nevertheless, you can get to the back wall. There, on a steel base, the crossover is strengthened, and wires from the terminal block lead to the switches for attenuating the midrange and treble levels, in principle, completely redundant.
They are located next to the speakers of the same name. Nevertheless, you can make sure that, despite the most obvious flaws in the assembly, the S90 series was so good that it was a breakthrough in true Hi-Fi. There are opinions that 6AC 2 "Radio Engineering" did no worse. These are small acoustic systems for completing the electrophones of the first group (Melody-101, 102, 103, 105 Stereo, for example). After appropriate refinement, these speakers give a completely high-quality sound. In total, Soviet industry produced over fifty models of household speaker systems, the most diverse. This is not counting rare, purely pop sets and small-scale samples.
Leningrad
Acoustic systems 75AC 001 - the latest development VNIIRPA named after Popov, introduced into the series. This "swan song" of the Russian column building industry is remarkable in that when creating the project, mathematical modeling was used, optimization of the parameters of the components using a computer (head and crossover). There are many advantages in this system: efficient new-generation loudspeakers (10GDV-4, 30GDS-1, 100GDN-3), from which a record sensitivity appeared for household systems of the eighties - 91 dBm. A wider range of frequencies was ensured with small unevenness and a small level of distortion.
Two factories produced almost identical acoustic systems: Corvette (Okeanpribor, Leningrad) and Cleaver (Red Ray, Taganrog). The speaker sets, designs and circuits of the models were the same, however, in Taganrog, speaker sets were also made for the speakers. There are practically no investments in electronics. The Baltic states have switched to cheap Western-style models, accepted without the slightest enthusiasm. And in Russia, traditionally they do not trust the quality of domestic electronics, because production has practically died. The market has Novosibirsk (Noema) and Gagarin (Smolensk region, OAO Dynamik), which have retained a fairly wide range of domestic speakers.
Reviews
The users noted the 25AC-033 "Electronics" speaker system, which was pleasantly surprised by the fact that in 1988 there was such an excellent factory quality of workmanship. Such a plan acoustics usually costs on retro-markets within fifteen to twenty thousand rubles, which, in principle, is not cheap. The case is absolutely tight, the bass frame is metal. The veneer is of excellent quality, no mistakes. All parts are perfectly attached to their places. The acoustics 25AC-033 Electronics quality is quite comparable with Estonia 21 or the Olympic 35AC-1 created in 1980. In any case, the Amphitron columns do not go into any comparison at all. For thirty years, even a foam suspension, still factory, did not become worthless. The Leningrad plant in this product has shown its true height.
Other reviews express just the same delight from the Amphitron speaker system, which is considered a rarity and pride of home appliances, despite the fact that it is more than thirty years old. The speakers work great, the sound is soft, unique surround. Technical specifications are in no way at odds with those declared. With a rather small size and an output power of 25 W per speaker, this is surprising. Users claim that the peak power of this speaker system is also 90 watts. It is interesting that there is a real “feature” of the Soviet industry - high-frequency isodynamic emitters are present, which helps to achieve good performance at high frequencies. Naturally, this speaker system is complemented by the presence of playback equipment and amplifiers.
Amplifiers
The device for increasing current strength using special devices - vacuum tubes or transistors - is an electronic amplifier. Thus, the electrical conductivity is changed by means of a control signal, the amplifiers act as if disconnecting or turning on the current, passing it through itself. Even with a weak control signal, a current of sufficient power is obtained to trigger the detector or reproduce sound. The amplifier "Electronics 50U-017S-1" since 1985 was produced at the Kazan NPO "Elekon", where, in connection with the conversion, personal computers and high-end stereo players were produced.
The 50U-017 amplifier has a relay protection system against overloads, it makes it possible to work with two pairs of speaker systems, and any can be turned off. There is a power output indicator - two-level. The amplifier "Electronics" also contains a switchable loudness and a switchable timbral block. There are filters for infra-low frequencies and high-frequency interference. He served music lovers quite well and for a long time in various VIA throughout the country, reviews are mostly favorable.
"Romance"
Since 1986, the Shevchenko Plant in Kharkov has been manufacturing the 25AC 121 Romance and 50AC-105 speakers, almost the same, except for the front panel. These speakers can serve as both floor and shelf (which is more problematic). Large and heavy, despite this, power and sensitivity are not up to par. Often there were problems at low frequencies, if you take the volume more.
Just because it’s not recommended to put it on the floor or on a stand - they buzz and mutter, you need special rubber bands for the speakers, then these unpleasant moments end. "Romance" is distinguished by the year of manufacture: 1989 - the first, still plywood, sounded worthy, but after 1991 they became much worse. The back wall is removable, the body of chipboard is 16 millimeters thick, and the front panel is plywood, 18 millimeters. The speakers are located along the central axis, in front the entire speaker system is protected by a plastic plate, and the speakers are protected by a metal mesh under the plate.
For auto
Strange as it may seem, motorists who consider themselves to be "gourmets" of sound are very interested in acquiring the old Soviet radio equipment. Soviet speakers are increasingly sought after on ad sites and bought. It costs, by the way, not so cheap, and not at all the price is at the forefront. It has many attractive qualities, especially cleanliness and power. In Soviet acoustic systems, the signal source and amplifiers are made efficiently, and when replacing them with other, even imported, models, losses are clearly felt. A good option - the Soviet speakers 35 HDN, the model, one might say, is gothic, and even with Chinese consumer electronics were not even close.
In addition to the sound of which they dreamed, they wonderfully fit into the interior of absolutely any car. When using any speakers - Soviet or Chinese - a box is necessary. Soviet speakers have large size, of course, in the rear, in the trunk, under the shelf, only phase invectors need to be brought out. The Soviet speaker is not intended for the car, and therefore will have to perform some refinement. It depends on the case. Additional mounting of tweeters or tweeters may be necessary.