Historical review TIVOLI AUDIO

Historical review TIVOLI AUDIO

Tivoli Audio is a new company founded by Tom DeVesto, whose career is intertwined with that of Henry Kloss, (read what HI-TECH magazine wrote in December 2003 under the title “The Great Hero of the People” journalist Panagiotis Karydis….) as co-founders of Cambridge Soundworks, having recently been re-established by Creative Technology.

From his position as CEO of Cambridge Soundworks, he has helped develop and market many of the most popular leisure entertainment products of the last 10 years, including those designed by Henry Kloss. Tivoli Audio’s goal is to continue a long tradition and offer the market unique products of their kind that are able to fully satisfy the consumer.

Why is it the best radio in the world?

While studying at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in the early 1950s, Henry Kloss began building speakers for fellow students who wanted to listen to the Boston Symphony Orchestra concerts. From that point on, thanks in part to the encouragement he received from the inventor of FM broadcasting, Major Edwin Armstrong, and the support of other MIT staff members who were then responsible for designing the most advanced "wideband" FM receivers, Henry Kloss's career was marked by incredible success. He was honored with all sorts of awards, including the Audio Hall of Fame, the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame, and an Emmy Award, for his pioneering work in the field of television broadcasting.

The products designed by Henry Kloss range from the first elastic-mount speaker to the world's most popular multimedia speaker system. However, FM radios from KLH and ADVENT from the 1960s and 1970s remain at the top of his list of favorite products, mainly because, even today, their owners report a pleasant use after so many years. Henry Kloss claims that "my new radio is the culmination of more than 40 years of activity, aiming to bring music into the home with products intended to be used with pleasure. Although my new radio was not designed to look retro, I like to think that it is reminiscent of a time when products were designed with honesty, taste and efficiency."

The radio with modern technology and retro design.

If the radio is an important part of your life, a reliable companion at work, in moments of relaxation or in hours of reading, you will find the new Henry Kloss Model One table radio irresistible.

The Model One radio is capable of stunning high-fidelity sound and receives many more stations than other more expensive radios.

Placed on the desk, on the kitchen table, in the bedroom or living room, at home or in the office or in the shop, the Henry Kloss Model One will immerse you in the pleasure of listening to the radio like no other Hi-Fi device to date. Just as a sculptor removes every element that does not fit his subject, so the famous designer Henry Kloss decided to avoid applying accessories that do not contribute to increasing the auditory pleasure, including the digital display.

The result is a mono AM-FM radio measuring eight inches wide, four inches high and just five inches deep, consisting of only three switches for its control. The first allows the device to be turned on and off as well as changing the FM-AM band, the second allows control of the acoustic sound level (Volume) and the third is a circular selector for tuning. Even the power supply of the device is integrated so that the use of an inconvenient external transformer is not necessary (however, there is a 12 Volt socket to allow the use of the radio on a boat or in a car). The housing of the device is made of wood, not only for aesthetic reasons but also to be equipped with a high-quality speaker that will not distort the sound.

It has an input for an external source such as a CD or cassette player, as well as an output for headphones, as well as an output for recording a cassette player. Henry Kloss' illustrious career takes us back to the days when FM broadcasts were the best source of music available. While Henry Kloss is known for many other groundbreaking products, the legendary KLH and ADVENT radios, which have been around for 30 years, are still used and reverently maintained by thousands of happy owners. The new Model One tabletop radio is a direct descendant of this.

But why is the quality so high?
The new Henry Kloss Model One table radio is the heir to an incredible mastery and experience in the design of high-performance speakers and integrated systems for sound reproduction. The “starting point” is a tiny 3″ loudspeaker endowed with a very powerful magnet and a wide frequency response. It is small enough to reproduce a very extended high-frequency range but equally capable of “pushing” a sufficient amount of air to achieve a good bass, among other things optimized by the presence of an opening (hole) in the rear of its cabinet.

Henry Kloss's Model One has, among other things, a frequency equalization circuit that allows the output of its loudspeaker to be adjusted so that a linear frequency response is always achieved at various levels of sound volume. Although it will not be able to make windows rattle when playing a church organ or an electric bass, it will “play” loud enough to prevent a conversation even in a large environment. More specifically, the naturalness of the sound and its amazing spaciousness will give great satisfaction when listening for many consecutive hours and with any type of music.

But why does it “catch” so many stations?
Instead of using a standard integrated circuit for tuning, Henry Kloss's Model One consists of a new type of “FM Tuner” with discrete elements, a combination of GasAs and MES-FETs. This is a fairly expensive technology that was originally developed for mobile telephony and has never been used for an FM radio. This arrangement allows for high sensitivity while taking into account the generation of “distortions” from the more powerful broadcasting stations. The result is that one can listen to a greater number of stations that often broadcast more interesting programs than conventional radio stations that overwhelm the weaker ones.

To take full advantage of the sensitivity and discretion of this unique Tuner arrangement, Henry Kloss’s Model One radio uses an extremely precise and easy-to-access tuning scale. The circular tuning dial is “weighted” so that its movement is more precise than that of other conventional radio receivers. A variable intensity LED indicator lets you know when the station is tuned correctly. A special AM and FM internal antenna ensures correct reception in urban areas as well as in the suburbs. For more remote areas it is good to use the external antenna by connecting it to the appropriate socket located on the back of the device.

Why is it monophonic? (be careful in the second version it is stereo).
If one takes into account that the goal of Henry Kloss's Model One is to achieve the best possible sound with the lowest possible volume, this radio had to be monophonic. First of all because a high-quality Hi-Fi speaker has better performance than two mediocre speakers. Second of all because it is really impossible to even try to simulate stereo with two speakers placed at a distance of only 20cm between them. Third of all, there is a large part of radio stations that are not rendered correctly due to interference in Stereo listening, offering on the contrary a better performance in Mono listening. It is possible to connect other devices to the radio via a Mini Plug Stereo (small pin). When a cassette player or a CD player is connected, the two channels are added electrically so that they are reproduced in mono, bypassing the radio's "Tuner". When, on the other hand, one intends to listen with headphones or record to a cassette player from the output on the back of the device, then it sends a mono signal (in the second version it is stereo) to both channels. Using headphones automatically silences the main loudspeaker.

Why is it so special?
The disarming simplicity of Henry Kloss's Model One contrasts with the increasingly complex products offered by the modern electronics market. In fact, it is so small and easy to use that it resembles a toy. But one only has to open it and hear it chirping with the prestige of more than 40 years of experience and innovation in the field of sound. Henry Kloss' Model One radio reproduces a higher fidelity sound, in other words more music, than any other device of similar size and cost. It is a true benchmark capable of providing maximum satisfaction with minimum volume. It is very simple, there is nothing else like it in the world!!!