Dieter Rams & The Atelier

DIETER RAMS

In 1957 Dieter Rams, a german industrial designer, develops the modular Atelier 1 series with L1 speakers separated from the receiver unit, an innovation that soon became an industry standard.

I found this one by chance. Almost every day I passed a second hand shop specialized in religious books but they also sell other merchandise given to them. In their window they had the Rams Aterlier 1 top unit and I stopped every time to look at it but I never went in. There was a 65 € pricetag on it. Time went by and it did not disappear from the window so one day I went in. I took a good look at it and decided to buy it. At the counter the saleswoman asked whether I wanted the speakers as well. What speakers I asked. Could it be? And behold, there were the accompaning speakers. I was thrilled to say the least. The personnel assured me that the unit had been stored in a warm house and that it was fully functional. It had belonged to the principal at a religious school in my city. I took the unit home and eagerly plugged it in. At first nothing happened. Then the display lights went off and on. And then there was smoke. A lot of smoke. I concluded that I had been deceived. Not intentionally but still. I took the stereo, went to the local repair shop and asked for it to be fixed, if possible. A week later the guy calls me and instantly asks me where the stereo had been kept. I asked why and he replied that much of the interior was gone, eaten by mice. We had a good laugh and he informed me he would fix it for 90 €. And that was it. It now runs perfectly and sounds great. Quality German design by Dieter Rams. And it made a good story.