TP 1

One of the earliest examples of systems design applied to audio. The TP 1 consists of a battery operated transistor radio, T 4, serving as amplifier and speaker to the P 1 battery operated record player. The two devices are held together by an anodised tray with leather handle. The design belongs to a programme of portable audio systems, largely battery operated, sharing a formal language and with some functional interplay. See: T4 , PCS 45/ L 02/ T 530 , transistor K . This programme was phased out by the mid-1960s in favour of high fidelity fixed position audio systems. Interestingly, the studio 2 , the foundation of the latter programme, was introduced in 1959, the same year as the TP 1. The TP 1 design was discontinued in 1962. Use of plastics in audio housings returned briefly in the early 1970s when (unsuccessful) attempts were made to address the youth market. Rams' distinctive combination of grey plastic housings with unworked leather strap handles has been revived today in the wireless speaker designs of various manufacturers, see for example the B & O Beolit 17 and Beoplay A2.