Demonstration of High Fidelity Stereophonic Sound (9:46)
In 1957, stereo equipment first became available for home use. Audio Fidelity records is credited as the first manufacturer of two-channel stereo discs in the United States, and this record represents their first take on creating a catalog demo. Chronologically, this should be contemporary to the undated ABC's of High Fidelity.
As pioneers of stereo recording, Audio Fidelity were the first to bring Louis Armstrong, Al Hirt, and Sergio Mendes to home stereo. They were also pioneers of stereo sound effects, thanks to the work of engineer and Audio Fidelity founder Sidney Frey. This Time Magazine article details how far he'd go to get a sound, and you'll find that lion roar, along with other Bronx Zoo snippets, on this recording.
These albums were intended for in-store use to show off the channel separation and three-dimensional quality of stereo equipment. Because Audio Fidelity got a head start on releasing stereo discs, their albums were routinely used for demonstrations, which helped to sell their stereo albums as well. Within a year, Warner Brothers, Capitol and Decca would catch on, producing their own demonstration albums and following the same template, with a mix of narrative, music and sound effects on side one and those record-selling catalog cuts on side two.
The album cover is not quite work-safe, depending on how you (or your coworkers) feel about pasties. By 1950s standards it's downright risque. The image you see is the record in its sleeve, an unusual printed polyetheylene bag.
I have that Railroad Sounds record (seen on the cover)! Great stuff to play loud (even after you get tinnitus...) Nothing like having a diesel engine running through your house. ("Fire it up, Bamba.") And I love sound effects records in general anyway. (I probably have a few more Audio Fidelity records too but I'd have to look for them.)
Posted by: lipwak | September 24, 2008 at 04:29 PM
Was Audio Fidelity first? What about those records from Cook that actually had two grooves that had to be played at the same time to produce a stereo signal? I suppose those don't really count...
Posted by: Ernie (Not Bert) | September 26, 2008 at 09:21 AM
BTW: The mildly NSFW pasties are from the cover of Mohammed El-Bakkar and His Oriental Ensemble's excellent album "Port Said."
Posted by: utm | September 26, 2008 at 11:21 AM
Wikipedia credits Audio Fidelity with producing the first commercial stereo disc, with The Dukes of Dixieland on side 1 and railroad sounds on side 2, in November of 1957. Cook's records were built on the binaural model, with two separate microphones cutting two separate grooves that played back independently of one another. Audio Fidelity used the Westrex system, where the left and right channels were cut into either side of the same groove.
So Cook had the first stereo of any kind, while Audio Fidelity had the first stereophonic discs. All of which reminds me that I've got to get around to ripping the binaural demo that's sitting in my stacks.
Posted by: Hearitwow | September 26, 2008 at 11:45 AM
Thanks for recognizing my dad's company and his contribution to the record industry. For more info, check out the Wikipedia article on Audio Fidelity Records. (I wrote most of it, but feel free a la Wiki to add additional info.)
Andrea (Frey) Bass
[email protected]
Posted by: Andrea (Frey) Bass | September 26, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Thanks for recognizing my dad's company and his contribution to the record industry. For more info, check out the Wikipedia article on Audio Fidelity Records. (I wrote most of it, but feel free a la Wiki to add additional info.)
Andrea (Frey) Bass
[email protected]
Posted by: Andrea (Frey) Bass | September 26, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Thanks for recognizing my dad's company and his contribution to the record industry. For more info, check out the Wikipedia article on Audio Fidelity Records. (I wrote most of it, but feel free a la Wiki to add additional info.)
Andrea (Frey) Bass
[email protected]
Posted by: Andrea (Frey) Bass | September 26, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Hmmm, how would one play a dual-tracked record? I suppose you could record both tracks and then sync them up, but that sure seems like a lot of work and how would you ever get it perfectly synced? Maybe you could find a head with two needles? Doubtful. Either way, I look forward to hearing the results of your recording!
(Now you've got me thinking about Monty Python and their three sided record. I bet they thought they were the first!)
Posted by: Ernie (Not Bert) | September 26, 2008 at 01:42 PM
My god, how many AF records did my dad have over the years? Lets see now... Dukes of Dixieland, Jo Basile, Fabulous Eddie Osborn, those train sound effects records, not to mention every last Leon Berry album the label ever released (he was and remains a big pipe organ music fan). So great to see a post on this record label.
Andrea, your dad ran a great label. Thanks for helping to keep its spirit alive.
The link to the Sidney Frey article doesn't work... so I fixed it. The link below should work just fine.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872426,00.html?promoid=googlep
Posted by: Ray Brazen | September 27, 2008 at 11:18 AM
Just to clear it up, Cook released the first commercial stereo LP, if by commercial you mean for sale in stores and so forth. At the time, binaural was used interchangeably with stereo. You needed a weird-looking forked tone-arm to play them. And of course they had half the playing time.
Stereo tape proved more popular, and cutting edge audiophiles had stereo tape collections prior to the Audio Fidelity's 1957 release of a single-grooved stereo LP in the Westrex format we all know and love.
Posted by: Eric Barry | March 27, 2009 at 11:14 AM