The First Hungarian Innovations
The previously mentioned gramophone adapters represent an excellent solution from the Hungarian Audio Company, with the AM155 model. This device connects to the gramophone shaft via an insert, allowing the tape to adhere to the roller with strong friction, ensuring slip-free operation. Manufactured by Audio Hang- és Kinotechnikai Vállalat, it was equipped with high-quality magnetic heads that provided excellent sound quality through a high-quality radio. The adapter’s recording and playback in electrical mode were facilitated by a preamplifier (AK 154 type). The device could be placed on the turntable surface using adjustable legs. Recordings could be made from a microphone, radio, or gramophone. These recorders could provide better sound quality with high-quality tape than indicated in the factory specifications (frequency response: 60 Hz – 8 kHz). Indeed, magnetic tapes providing significantly better quality than the Agfa CH tape specified in the description existed, but they were scarcely available in Hungary, either then or later in official commercial circulation.
It is worth noting that the Audio adapter was introduced in January 1954, but it only entered commercial circulation the following year and was available only in Budapest. Adapter solutions were not produced for long because their use was somewhat cumbersome, and they were supplanted by complete tape recorders two to three years later. However, multi-purpose, combined portable units continued to be manufactured in several countries even in the early 1960s.