The End of the Wire Recorder

Wire recorders never approached the sales of other electronic devices of the day such as televisions and radios, and went into sharp decline after 1954. In the 1954-55 retail "season," high fidelity equipment became a big seller. While tape recorders (which also suffered from relatively slow sales through the 1950s) became part of the hi-fi phenomenon, wire recorders faded into obscurity. Why did the home wire recorders of the postwar period fail? My theory is that 1) designers of wire recorders aimed at the mass market rather than the professional market, and this led to the perception that wire recording was second-rate, especially compared to tape recording; 2) record companies failed to embrace the new technology, leaving consumers with no pre-recorded wires and hence fewer ways to enjoy the wire recorder; 3) the Armour-designed wire recorders were difficult to use and unreliable. They had the annoying tendency to snarl wires, and the wire was so fine that handling it could be aggravating; and 4)after the LP record appeared in 1948/9 with massive corporate support, it was more difficult to convince consumers that wire recorders would be the next big thing. (END)