Mix Tape - HiFi Systems on film and TV.

[Fandango Andy]

I have just started watching Mix Tape on iPlayer, so far so so good after the first episode.

I always take an interest when I see a HiFi system in a movie or TV show. One of the best examples is High Fidelity (2000), Rob Gordon (John Cusack) is into music not gadgets and toys. His system is a perfect mishmash of Marantz, Sansui, and NAD. In total contrast, a different type of HiFi owner is perfectly parodied in American Psycho (also 2000). Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) the yuppie who is more interested in the system, and what it says about him has an oh so 80's white Harman Kardon system.

My personal favourite is the TV show Bosch. The jazz loving detective has a pair of Ohm Walsh 4 speakers, a vintage Marantz turntable, and a McIntosh power and preamp.

This brings me back to Mix Tape, based on the book of the same name by Jane Sanderson. One of the main characters is a music journalist who we fist meet as a music obsessed teenager in the late 80's. In the present day we get a glimpse of his amp, a Luxman L80, and a what is either a Linn Sondek LP12 or one of the numerous record players of that style. This is the perfect system for the character, an expensive vintage setup that the character wouldn't have been able to afford in his youth. (edited to say we get a better look at the record player later, a Thorens TD160, and a pair of Rogers loudspeakers (possibly LS2) horribly positioned in a corner)

Is it just me, or does anyone else pause pause to look at these things? Do you look for the terribly positioned speakers, or the lack of cables, or just wonder if the system fits the character?

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

Wasn't Bateman's system Sansui? Perhaps Paul Allen had the Harman Kardon?

CORRECTED: in the movie, Bateman had HK; and in the book it was Sansui.

 

[Rui]

i remenber seeing the movie and liked it a lot, but can´t remenber what was his (Bateman´s )system, what i remenber the most is having watched other movies with this actor but only a year later after seeing again the "Sun Empire" ,not sure if it was the name of the movie by Steven Spilberg.

At the time he was in a open war with Hollywood, having the Oscar for best movie been "Driving Miss Daisy".
Well, if i had doubts about the value of an Oscar, that year i confirmed that Oscars have nothing to do with a Film or Movie quality and have happened a lot of times ´till today,

All of this to say that only one year later i found out that the main actor in American Psycho, was the kid from the Sun Empire(not sure if it´s the correct name can also be the Empire of the Sun)

this is what happens when in each country ,change the name of the movie as an example in Portugal the famous romantic kids movie that as the many times refered scene of having a boombox on top of his head playing peter gabriel while raining called "Say anything" in portuguese was called "Say nothing",

and had seen a lot of movies and a tv series with Christian Bale, at least one from AMC in the wild west, liked it at the time, had a good production

 

[Messiah]

Two that spring to mind for me:

1. Diddy's character in 'Get Him To The Geek' has a pair of white Meridian DSP8000 speakers.

2. In 'Reacher' Neagley also has some Meridian speakers, possibly DSP7200.

 

[Fandango Andy]

2. In 'Reacher' Neagley also has some Meridian speakers, possibly DSP7200.

Never noticed that, she is getting her own spin-off show, interesting to see if it is used in that too.

 

[Messiah]

Never noticed that, she is getting her own spin-off show, interesting to see if it is used in that too.

That will be good.

Here is the brief shot. (Let’s not talk about how long it took me to find it! 😂)

 

[Messiah]

McIntosh in ‘The Departed’.

 

[record_spot]

Diva (1981).

Nakamichi tape deck, Revox integrated, no idea what speakers. And I think a Nagra portable.