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STEREO "WITHOUT ALL THOSE WIRES," the unfulfilled dream of many an audiophile's wife, came a step closer to reality during September's mammoth International Radio and TV Exhibition (Internationale Funkausstellung) in Berlin.

Amid thousands of new products on view at the fairgrounds in the shadow of Berlin's Funkturm, the standout was a cordless headphone introduced simultaneously by AKG, Sennheiser and Eugen Beyer. Most of Germany's TV manufacturers have adopted a monaural version of the headphone as an accessory on wireless remote control TV receivers.

Employing a new infra-red transmission system, the cordless headphone is powered by a tiny rechargeable nicad battery. On lightweight models the battery, as well as the phone's sensor, is worn around the neck, while on full-size headphones the sensor and battery are attached to the left earpiece. There were stereo versions of the cordless headphone on demonstration in Berlin, but these were reported to be only prototypes. Also promised later are adapters to convert conventional dynamic headphones to the new system. By plugging a miniature infrared transmitter into the headphone jack of a stereoreceiver, and connecting the headphone to a battery powered infra-red receiver worn around the neck, the listener will have a cordless link to his equipment, giving him freedom of movement anywhere in the room.
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The tiny transmitter operates on a wavelenth of 950 nanometers (950 x 10 hoch -9 meters), an infrared signal that is amplitude modulated with the carrier frequency of 95 kHz. This carrier frequency is in turn frequency modulated with the sound being transmitted. Receiving diodes in the headset demodulate the signal and convert it into audible sound.

In announcing the development, industry spokesmen noted with special pride the selection of a single standard for the transmission.

Said one to an American journalist, "We're not about to make the same mistake as in the introduction of 4-channel, with its competing systems."

The industry agreement is typical of the unified planning that goes into staging Berlin's Funkausstellung every other year.
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Though billed as an international affair, and drawing exhibitors from Eastern Europe, Asia and America as well as Common Market countries, it is in every way a German industry showcase, its grandeur stemming from the lavish exhibits by the country's radio/TV giants and the big-name entertainers that the broadcasting networks use to lure the public.

Thus the visitors, who flock to the show by the hundreds of thousands, see not only the latest in consumer electronics gear, but witness live TV spectaculars in giant studios set up for the occasion, or take in open-air entertainment on the spacious fairgrounds.

It's a uniquely German exhibition at which even the Japanese, who dominate the electronics marketplace 'most everywhere else in the Western world, take a back seat.

The audio and TV market in Germany has such a distinctive flavor, particularly in its styling demands, that foreign producers can capture only a modest share if they offer the same equipment lines that sell so briskly in the U.S. and other major markets.

Making a dent in the German market often requires special models styled to local taste, prompting some foreign and multinational companies to acquire established German manufacturers when the opportunity arises.

Sony, for example, recently bought out Wega, a TV manufacturer noted for futuristic styling. Schaub-Lorenz is an ITT subsidiary, while England's Rank organization has acquired Heco, a loudspeaker manufacturer, and introduced Heco-brand receivers and turntables with a German Look.

This year's "Look" is predominantly all-black styling, a finish usually seen on heavy-duty professional components.

At virtually every major stand in Berlin components with the "Profi Look" were on view, some of them otherwise identical to equipment sold Stateside in all-white brushed aluminum finish - ironically, known in the States as The Continental Look!

Europe's styling trend proved to be a happy coincidence for a number of Japanese manufacturers who now offer some models in a choice of black or white finish.

At military outlets in Europe, it's common to find the brushed aluminum version at the PX Sound Center and the all-black model at audio clubs.

Reflecting the Stateside slowdown in 4-channel until the economy returns to normal, the quad scene in Berlin was relatively quiet, though many manufacturers introduced top-of-the-line quadraphonic receivers with provision for CD-4 as well as matrix 4-channel, and numerous compact systems with "Quadro" circuitry, a passive matrix to permit hook-up of four loudspeakers to a conventional stereo amplifier.

While there were ample 4-channel demonstrations to lure the visitor, quad was hardly the novelty of the Funkausstellung two years ago, when it was the featured new development.

Blended with the offering of current new products at the giant show is a large measure of futuristic audio and audio/visual technology, to tickle the visitor's appetite.

Four years ago the novelty at the Funkausstellung was the advent of home video recording and playback. Berlin, too, has seen its share of competing systems, some of them finding a market and others, despite the showtime ballyhoo, never making it off the launching pad.

Among those catching the eye this year were the competing videodisc systems by Philips (VLP) and Telefunken (TED), the latter featuring a selection of 135 prerecorded videodiscs retailing from 10-25 marks ($3.85-$9.60).

Philips, Grundig and Telefunken all had the now firmly established video cassette (VCR) home recording system, while Nordmende featured Colorvision CCS, which plays conventional Super 8 film through any television set.

BASF 8440 stereo receiver offers a DNL-type noise reduction module as standard equipment, and the option of plug-in modules for Dolby noise reduction, CD-4 demodulator, SQ matrix decoder and deluxe SQ decoder with full logic.

The 40 watt per channel receiver also features input / output terminals located in a recessed top panel for easy accessibility. BASF's first entry into the components field also includes a semi-automatic turntable and two loudspeakers.

DUAL KA 460 is a discrete 4-channel compact featuring the 601 turntable, a belt-drive single-play automatic. Its 4x30 watt RMS amplifier has separate slide controls and switches for each channel on a panel under the dust cover, plus a master level control on the front. An SQ matrix decoder is built in.

Tuner section has six pushbutton diodes for preselection of six FM stations. Also featured at Dual's Berlin stand was the CS 1249, the company's first belt-drive automatic turntable/changer unveiled earlier this year at the CES in Chicago (OFF DUTY Aug. 75 issue).
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BRAUN TGC 450 is the first cassette deck in Braun's line, styled in charcoal gray with black front panel to match the firm's other components. Deck mechanism features a memory switch and an index counter with prism viewer to permit reading the counter from the front. Circuitry includes both Dolby and DNL noise reduction, and bias switching for ferric oxide and chromium dioxide tapes.

CANTON DISCOSTAT is a record cleaning device that is mounted on the turntable base and connected by means of a wire to the music system's ground terminal. Its plush roll and brush tip, which require no fluid, remove dust particles electrostatically while tracking the record. Canton also offers a line of compact loudspeakers and a variety of pushbutton control boxes and adapters for tape dubbing and loudspeaker switching.
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ELAC COMPACT 1200 is one of five new Elac stereo compacts featuring Quadrosound, a provision for connecting four speakers to get surround sound from matrixed 4-channel records or pseudo 4-channel with conventional stereo. This model, with built-in AM/FM-stereo/Long-Wave/Short-Wave receiver and 30 watts-per-channel output, includes the Elac PC 830 automatic turntable/changer introduced at the Berlin show.

Elac's first belt-drive model, the PC 830, features an additional idler wheel that engages the platter only during start-up and changing cycles, to reduce stress on the belt system. Elac calls its new drive mechanism "Belt Drive Plus."
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GRUNDIG TS 1000, a prototype unveiled at the Funkausstellung, is a 10 1/2-inch reel 3-motor tape deck with plug-in head assembly. Both 2-track and 4-track stereo versions are offered with a fourth head for slide synchronization. Another version uses a fourth head for automatic reverse playback. The electronically regulated drive mechanism has variable speed control, remote control, and cueing control. Circuitry features include mixing panel, echo, sound-on-sound and multiplay, and two Dolby noise reduction circuits for recording and monitoring. The new Grundig top-of-the-line deck will be available in April 1976.
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LENCO L-90 is a new semi-automatic single-play turntable with belt drive, 16-pole IC-controlled synchronous motor and speed control that is adjustable from +7 to -3 per cent. Turntable chassis is viscous-damped. An integrated circuit triggers end-of-play tone arm lift and automatic shut-off.
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HECO 200 is a stereo receiver introduced by the German loudspeaker company since being acquired by Britain's Rank Radio International. Power rating is 40 watts per channel at 4 ohms with total harmonic distortion of 0.01 per cent and bandwidth of 10-40,000 Hz. Tuner section includes Long-Wave band as well as AM/FM.

Latest Heco loudspeakers, Dynamic 4000 and 5000, are powered 3-way models with built-in 25 watt RMS amplifiers with circuitry that shuts them off automatically after three minutes of silence.
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LOEWE QR 320-1 quadraphonic receiver has a built-in CD-4 demodulator as well as SQ matrix circuitry. The front panel features a digital program indicator actuated by the tuner's seven pushbuttons for FM station preselection, while the amplifier section offers a "joystick" control for balancing the four channels.
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NAD 200 DOLBY, an integrated stereo amplifier with a 100 watts RMS per channel power rating and built-in Dolby noise reduction circuitry, is part of a new component series introduced in Europe by Acoustic Research. Three receivers, three amplifiers and a matching AM/FM tuner, as well as a front-load cassette tape deck, are offered, plus four stereo headphones, one an electrostatic model. Also unveiled in Berlin were AR's latest Stateside loudspeakers, models AR-11 and AR-10 pi.
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PHILIPS offers the MFB-Tonmeister 743 TS tuner/preamplifier as a companion to its series of self-energized loudspeakers featuring motional feedback. The new control unit has AM/FM-stereo/Short-Wave/Long-Wave, plus five push-button tuning diodes for FM.

There are two new "Electronic MFB" speakers, models 541 and 544, the first with a 20 watts RMS amplifier, the second with an electronic crossover and a 40 watt amplifier for the low frequencies plus a 20 watt amp for the high frequencies.
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TANDBERG TR 2075 stereo receiver has a 100-watt-per-channel RMS power rating at 4 ohms, with 0.2 per cent total harmonic distortion from 20-20,000 Hz. A front-panel switch converts the signal strength meter into an amplifier power output meter. Preamp circuitry includes a midrange tone control and a special switch to allow preamp controls to be used in tape recording if desired. The Norwegian manufacturer's Berlin exhibit also featured the 10XD tape deck, a new 10 1/2-inch-reel model recently introduced in the U.S.A.
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SCANSONIC P-75 (left) is top model in a new series of Danish-made speakers featuring hexagonal winding of the voice coil, which the manufacturer says permits increased power handling. A 4-way system, the P-75 has an internal woofer facing downward into the enclosure's bass chamber to damp the response of the regular external woofer. The mid-range speaker is damped with an acoustically-resistant vent in the rear of the enclosure. Forward positioning of the drivers is staggered to minimize time delay distortion. The smaller models, P-45 and P-30, are similar but employ a separate rear vent for the woofer instead of an internal damping woofer.
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TELEFUNKEN introduced a new three-speed, three-head tape recorder, Magnetophon 3002 L hifi, in Europe's increasingly popular all-black styling. It meets German DIN 45 500 minimum specifications for hi-fi performance even at the lowest tape speed of 17/s ips. Tape speeds are electronically switched and tape tension is servo controlled. The recorder has slide-type level controls and a built-in 35 watts per channel stereo amplifier.
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SENNHEISER HDI406 is lightweight cordless headphone for TV listening. By means of an infra-red light sensor, signals are picked up from an integrated circuit transmitter on the front of the TV set. The headset's demodulator and amplifier circuitry is powered by a plug-in ni-cad battery, a full charge providing about five hours of operation.
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THORENS AT 410 is a new stereo receiver from the Swiss turntable manufacturer, with electronic tuning and provision for presetting up to seven stations (five FM, two AM) for instant selection. The receiver's signal strength and center-channel meters can be switched to either the preset tuning diodes or the main tuning dial for comparing and optimizing the settings. Filters and tone controls can be switched into the tape monitor circuit if desired, and there is provision for up to three tape decks. Power rating of the AT 410 is 50 watts per channel RMS, measured according to Germany's DIN 45 500 hi-fi specifications.
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UHER SG 630 LOGIC dispenses with the pinch roller on conventional tape transport mechanisms by using a fourth motor to draw the tape into an Omega loop similar to the threading of videotape machines. The tape travels with shiny uncoated side against the capstan, which Uher claims reduces stress on the tape and prevents flaking of the magnetic coating.

The new recorder features electronically regulated tape motion and tape tension, 10 1/2-inch reel capacity, optional Dolby noise reduction, plug-in head assembly, and a control for adjusting alignment of the playback head. A monitor amplifier rated at 12 watts RMS per channel is built in.
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Wega V4810 integrated amplifier has a vertical field effect transistor (V-FET) output stage, reflecting the firm's recent acquisition by Sony, who introduced V-FET components early this year. Features include front-panel switches and jacks for auxiliary equipment such as an equalizer and noise reduction unit.

Power rating is 60 watts RMS per channel into 8 ohms, both channels driven, with less than 0.1 per cent THD at 1,000 Hz at rated power. Wega's new component line includes a matching tuner, direct-drive turntable, cassette deck and open-reel deck with 10^k-in. reel capacity.
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