Setton RS 220 Receiver
Built in 1977 by Setton (a partner or subsidiary of Pioneer), this uncommon tuner is said to have been designed by Pierre Cardin, [update: enthusiast Chris Opfell claims it was actually designed by Allain Caire, an acolyte of Cardin] who has dabbled in things other than clothing.
This thing is a tank – well, more like a ’50s Cadillac. I have fond childhood memories of playing with the controls. The aluminum dials and buttons have a heavy, well-built feel that is rare these days. Changing the volume is so smooth it reminds one of power steering. And you gotta love those hefty handles, necessary for lugging this hunk of metal and walnut veneer.
More pics from a unit sold on eBay.
The type is a pre-digital version of Eurostile Extended.
“Danger, Captain! We have heat! And clipping! The good news is we also have protection. Let's hope it spares us from the heat and clipping.”
The numbers on the tuner panel are very similar to Univers Ultra Condensed Light, but the waist height is different on the ‘5, 6, 9’.
3 Comments on “Setton RS 220 Receiver”
Wow, normally I think of Eurostile as more of a beefy typeface, but at this size and in this context it really has some delicacy here that adds to the overall design of the object.
I thought I would be able to download the font when I sign-up (Facebook signup doesn’t work anyway) so I sign-up. Nope no font. The font looks like Square or Swiss but it would be nice to download the ‘original’.
Eurostile is a commercial font. You can license and download it by visiting the source links on the typeface page.