Brown Studio Line
BRAUN Studio Line[edit]
The Studio Line or "Slim line" series follows the Regie series and is the predecessor of the Atelier series.
Design:
- [Dieter Rams]
- Peter Hartwein and
- Robert Oberheim
It is characterized by its extremely flat design, of only 55 mm (65 mm with feet), which was almost (→ Bang & Olufsen) unique at the time (1978-1981).
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Since the level of integration of electronics was not that advanced in the 1980s, the devices inevitably became wider. The Studio Line single components are 50 cm wide, the Studio Line integral components are 60 cm wide.
The flat cabinets consist of a die-cast frame (with internal bracing for Studio Integral) with side cooling fins and a lid at the bottom and a 90° angled lid at the top, which also forms the front.
This Studio Line series or Studio Line Integral series is the last series of appliances that BRAUN manufactured in Germany. The later Braun Atelier Series was made to order in Japan.
Typical for Braun, the clear design guidelines of the past were maintained in these appliances. One can clearly distinguish the individual functional areas. Very beautifully this is to be seen with the Studio Integral series.
Most devices are also available in grey (A 301, A 501, T 301, T 501, TS 501, C 301, PC 1, RA 1, RS 1) but very rarely. The varnish of the grey units is somewhat more sensitive than that of the matt black units.
The amplifiers A 301 and A 501 have identical preamplifiers, but differ in the power of the output stages.
The tuners T 301 and T 501 are analogue tuners and also form the tuner section in RA 1. The tuner TS 501 is a syntesizer tuner and also forms the tuner section in RS 1.
The C 301 and C 301M cassette decoders differ in the "metal" tape capability of the latter. The open cassette compartment is very nicely solved, visually reminiscent of a tape machine. When not in use, the playback mechanism can be covered by a discreet flap.
The record player P 501 is based on the record player P 550S with its belt drive and its sensor buttons.
The 701 series belongs with a built number of only 700 (AC 701, AP 701) respectively 900 (P 701) devices to the probably rarest devices in the Braun Hifi history. It is the flagship of the Studio series. At that time it cost about DM 3800 and is still very expensive on the collector's market (priced above Braun Atelier "Last Edition" level), but also in demand.
The P 701 with its direct drive is one of the most sophisticated Braun turntables of this series. It is a further development of the very similar turntable PDS550. It was delivered with a moving coil system with elliptical needle. All functions are controllable by touch keys (on PDS550 these are sensor keys).
Illustration: BRAUN Studio Line: TS 501 tuner, AC 701 preamplifier, AP 701 stereo/mono power amplifier.
The AC 701 preamplifier features a moving coil (MC) and a moving magnet (MM) phono equalizer and two tape loops.
The power amplifier AP 701 can be switched to mono mode by a switch on the rear panel, and then supplies 1 x sine 200 W / music 300 W (instead of 2 x sine 100 W / music 150 W). Then, of course, two AP 701 are necessary for stereo operation.
The Studio Integral series consists of a receiver (RA 1 resp. RS 1) and a turntable / cash register combination (PC 1 resp. PC 1A). The turntable unit of the PC 1 is (presumably) identical with the direct driven top model PDS 550 and also optically with its 12 rubber pads as record support hardly to distinguish from PDS 550.
Overview[edit]
Brown C 301M ||1979 || DM 848.- || 1979 || see C 301 || bgcolor='#000000'| || bgcolor='#F5F5'|| device name | year | price | production | number of pieces | Colour variants | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiver' | ||||||
| Braun T 301 | 1978 | DM 698.- | 1978 - 19xx | 10500 | ||
| Braun T 501 | 1978 | - | 1978 - 19xx | - | ||
| Braun TS 501 | 1978 | DM 1198.- | 1978 - 19xx | 10 000 | ||
| amp' | ||||||
| Braun A 301 | 1978 | DM 698.- | 1978 - 1980 | 11000 | ||
| Braun A 501 | 1978 | DM 998.- | 1978 - 1980 | 7200 | ||
| Braun AP 701 | 1980 | DM 1398.- | 1980 - | 700 | bgcolor='#000000' | |
| Preamplifier | ||||||
| Braun AC 701 | 1980 | DM 1048.- | 1980 - | 700 | bgcolor='#000000' | |
| Control units (Receiver) | ||||||
| Braun RA 1 Integral | 1978 | DM 1198.- | 1978 - | 6600 | ||
| Braun RS 1 Integral | 1978 | DM 1798.- | 1978 - | 7600 | ||
| record player | ||||||
| Braun P 501 | 1981 | DM 898.- | 1981 - | 1100 | ||
| Braun P 701 | 1981 | DM 1390.- | 1981 - | 900 | ||
| Cassette recorder' | ||||||
| Braun C 301 | 1978 | DM 798.- | 1978 - | 24000 | ||
| record player with cassette recorder' | ||||||
| Braun PC 1 Integral | 1978 | DM 1998.- | 1978 - | 9300 | ||
| Braun PC 1A Integral | 1979 | DM 848.- | 1979 - | see PC 1 Integral | ||
| Equipment cabinets/ equipment base | ||||||
| Braun GT 500 | 1978 | DM 330.- | ||||
| * List price at market launch | ||||||
| device name | year | price | production | number of pieces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiver + record player | ||||
| P 4000 | 1977 | DM 1298.- | 1977 - | 4700 |
| Receiver + record player + cassette recorder' | ||||
| PC 4000 | 1977 | DM 1998.- | 1977 - | 7300 |
| Receiver + Cassette Recorder' | ||||
| C 4000 | 1977 | DM 1198.- | 1977 - | 1500 |
| * List price at launch |
| device name | year | Price (piece)* | production | number of pieces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boxes' | ||||
| L 530 S | 1977 | DM 348.- | 1977 - | 12200 |
| L 350 | 1977 | DM 248.- | 1977 - | 2000 |
| L 1030/8 | 1978 | 1978 - | ||
| SM 1001 | 1980 | DM 298.- | 1978 - | 5000 |
| SM 1002 | 1978 | DM 398.- | 1978 - | 17000 |
| SM 1003 | 1978 | DM 498.- | 1978 - | 18300 |
| SM 1004 | 1978 | DM 598.- | 1978 - | 14500 |
| SM 1005 | 1978 | DM 698.- | 1978 - | 9500 |
| SM 1005 | 1978 | DM 698.- | 1978 - | 9500 |
| SM 1006 | 1980 | DM 698.- | 1980 - | 9500 |
| Subwoofer' | ||||
| LW 1 | 1978 | DM 798.- | 1978 - | 1600 |
| Satellites (small/small loudspeakers)' | ||||
| L 100 | 1975 | DM 198.- | 1977 - | 55000 |
| L 200 | 1976 | DM 198.- | 1978 - | 11300 |
| L 300 | 1977 | DM 298.- | 1977 - | |
| * List price at market launch |
Second-hand market[edit]
Technically, these units are considered very durable. However, problems are very common with the capacitors in the amplifiers (they dry out and can then burst) and the light cabinet sensors of the automatic record player (bulbs defective). However, these defects can easily be repaired. The cover mechanism of the turntables A 501, P 701 or of the record spooler-cassette encoder combination is not very elegantly solved, so that the covers are mostly defective or broken at this point.
Visually, the labels of the control elements are often faulty.
Sources / References:[edit]
- Design + Design (No. 39), Design + Design Verlag, Hamburg
- Braun Studio P701, P501
- Design + Design (No. 43), Design + Design Verlag, Hamburg
- Braun Studio AC701, AP701, A501, A301
- Design + Design (No. 54), Design + Design Verlag, Hamburg
- Braun Studio Systems Integral PC1, RA1, RS1
- Braun + Design Tax 6 (2006 edition), Design + Design Verlag, Hamburg
- Used price list for Braun products
- Bernd Polster: BRAUN - 50 years of product innovations, Dumont Handbuch Design (with many technical errors, but nice pictures)