Disco King!
Sparkomatic started out in the auto accessory business, in 1968 they introduced a line of FM car radios and speakers, making a name for themselves in the automotive sound business. In the late eighties they bought Altec Lansing (another audio company) and in 2000 the companies merged. The Sparkomatic name soon disappeared.
I was a Kraco guy, only because K-mart was the only game in town back then if you wanted to DIY (thankfully Crutchfield appeared not too long after). But I definitely remember Sparkomatic.
ReplyDeleteI'm not an audio guy but "a bone shaking 45 watts" sounded kind of low in terms of light bulbs at least so I decided to see what my current F150 is packing and found this: "...and powered by 1080 watts." I guess times do change lol.
Automotive sound systems were big business, I think most car radios were only AM, so we were eager to improve the entertainment options in our (often our only personal space) cars.
ReplyDeleteThe used car I drive has a stock 10 disc player that I've never even tried...
I remember our first factory changers, that were in the trunk. It was the only place they would fit.
ReplyDeleteI put an 8 track tape player in my 1967 VW bus in 1970. I had it on the little package shelf under the dashboard. I think I paid the princely sum of $89 made by afternoon and summer jobs. When I went off to college in the fall it got stolen along with my metallic purple Gitane 10 speed bike out of my bus. That was one of my “welcome to the real world “ lessons.
ReplyDelete$89 at a time when minmum wage was about $1.50. Princely sum indeed! and a 10 speed English racer? ( as we called them back then.) Major financial event for sure.
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