My Vintage Audio Embracing the Seventh Art

There are moments one doesn't expect. They arrive on their own, like an afternoon breeze to refresh a fleeting instant.

​This time, however, that breeze arrived in the form of a team of young women from the International Film and Television School of Cuba, located in San Antonio de los Baños, Artemisa province.

​The group, composed of both Cuban women and students from abroad, arrived at my house bright and early, fully equipped, following prior arrangements.

​Within minutes, video cameras, recording gear, and lights took over the living room, while cables snaked across the floor.

​Their goal was to capture a wealth of audio and video material to use in a film production.

​They were delighted to be welcomed by an array of vintage Hi-Fi audio gear capable of reproducing sound with exquisite detail—equipment that stirs emotions through both its audio quality and its history, transporting us back to bygone eras. Back to those years when we could still enjoy the affection and wisdom of our grandparents.

I love component audio systems from the 1970s. Renowned brands such as Marantz, Sansui, Scott, Akai, Pioneer, Sony, and Technics, among others, competed to achieve excellence. They stood out for their sound, the quality of their electronic components, and their exterior design, which made generous use of metal.

Nowadays, many are made of plastic and feature integrated circuits and colorful LED lights. When you pick them up, they lack the solid feel of equipment built to last. They hit the market with a very short planned lifespan, ensuring you have to buy another one as soon as they stop working.

The young woman in charge of operating the sound recording equipment loved seeing the oldest piece of equipment: a gramophone, whose soundbox is the cabinet itself. Other models have a flower-shaped horn where the sound comes out.

Equipment belonging to the Victor Talking Machine Company, later known as RCA Victor. Its logo is the iconic little dog named Nipper, who lived in Bristol, England, and lived for eleven years, from his birth in 1884.

​She couldn't believe that this unit—being the earliest sound reproduction system, created in the 1890s alongside the cylinder phonograph—could still work today.

​She carefully prepared her multi-track recorder-player, microphones, and her Sony MDR-7506 headphones.

​I placed a lacquer record, recorded at 78 RPM, and then turned the hand crank. Once the record started rotating, I lowered the soundbox with its needle, and the audio magic began.

​A gramophone’s sound is metallic due to the mechanical friction of the needle’s tip against the record’s grooves. Their faces reflected pure admiration, as they had never heard such equipment live before.

After satisfying our stomachs with some delicious pizza and soft drinks, they continued recording and filming each piece of audio equipment, my collection of vintage film cameras, and even biological tissues through microscopes.

​My son Andrés, who is passionate about and works in everything related to audiovisual production and post-production, joined us from the very beginning to enjoy a day filled with magic, history, and creativity.

Anyway, it was a pleasure to have a group of young, creatively passionate souls at home, and to be able to help them gather those sound and video recordings they needed for their film. I remember they promised to call us to attend the premiere of that project, but I never heard from them again.

For my son and me, it was a very interesting day surrounded by audiovisual technology.

These equipment pieces that I collect and enjoy every day are seen by some people as old and outdated things, but for others, they are living treasures with value.

Thank you to everyone who read my post, and to this great Music community. Thanks as well to the work of its leaders and to every content creator who contributes their writing to nourish the Hive ecosystem. Best regards.