Uploaded September 2023 | Updated September 2026, 12 hours ago
"At your command, in the palm of your hand--a wonderful world of sound from a tiny, tubeless, cordless Arvin Transistor Radio, weighing only a pound!"
"Tiny," they say but shirt-pocket size this isn't. It's almost amusingly large but what a great looking radio. It's the Arvin 8576 transistor radio and it's from 1957. I think if Fred Flintstone had a transistor radio, he'd have this one. But of course it would have a little bird inside of it whistling "Meloncholy Baby" or something. Reading more from the ad, "Tuck it in pocket or purse, or clip it on your belt and enjoy listening fun on the go, ten times more than before. Set it up anywhere--the clip serves as an easel, too.
You'll marvel at the rich, powerful tone of Arvin Transistor Portables. The transistors are exclusively of the latest, most costly type--premium quality, high-output, almost ever-lasting. One low-cost battery lasts many months.
Shown above is Arvin Model 8576, with 5 transistors, in turquoise or black unbreakable case, $44.95. Earphone accessory, for completely private listening, at small extra cost."
They're clearly trying to sell the radio as small, even, as they say, 'tiny.' Why isn't it? I mean, it could have been. Regency made a much smaller transistor radio THREE YEARS earlier. And Sony's TR-63 was coming to market in 1957, just as this Arvin hit the stores.
I explore the reasons for why most American radio manufacturers didn't seriously try to make shirt-pocket radios until 1959... in another video. But besides all that, there seems to be something else afoot here--that this Arvin perfectly illustrates. I think some people just liked larger radios. After all, people were used to carrying around big lunchbox radios.
Here's Akio Morita on the subject, co-founder of Sony, from his 1986 book on the company. He relates the reaction he received from retailers in the United States when he first offered them a little Sony transistor radio to sell in their stores. And I quote, "Many of them were unimpressed. They said, "Why are you making such a tiny radio? Everybody in America wants big radios. We have big houses, plenty of room. Who needs these tiny things?" End quote.
Uh huh... It could also be rationalized that larger radios had better sound.. because of their larger speakers-- and were more reliable because the parts inside weren't significantly compromised in miniaturization. I think of the Japanese pocket radios as radios for the young. Rock & roll came out of them. But radios like THESE poured forth Vic Damone, ball games, and news. These were old guy's radios, as I see it now. And now that I am an old guy myself, I think I finally get it. Why they called them "tiny," even when they weren't, well, now we're getting into psychology, advertising psychology. I think the radio makers just showed the product, and said about it what they thought people wanted to hear. People who wanted 'tiny,' HEARD what they wanted to hear. People who didn't, could SEE that it wasn't. Make sense?
Here at the bottom of this ad it says, "FULL-SIZE transistor sets too--and another pocket size." Yes, those full size radios are behemoths. I risk a hernia just showing them to you. Ugh. ((9562)). And here's another Arvin, the 8584. And here we are poolside with the Arvin 9577, which the ad calls "pocket size." That would have to be, let's face it, some pocket.
One feature I like very much on this model is the grille. It's a perforated plastic kind of material that has some random lines and curves in it. Sometimes you'll see this sort of thing with glitter in it too. We get the general appearance of space, or as we used to say "outer space," giving the impression of a slew of comets all flying this way and that. This grille material came in white, as you see here, and also in black. Admittedly, the black looks more like 'outer space' but the effect is the same. It's high tech, that's what it is. Arvin used it on table radios too--their own as shown here, and also some table radios Arvin made for Sears.
Finding these old American sets with their original boxes is a rare occurence. Many of the boxes that came with Japanese radios were quite elaborate, and people hung onto them. But the American boxes were pretty utilitarian. This one is more decorative than most.
The carrying case for this radio was an optional accessory and wouldn't even fit in the box. Even the earphone for this model was an optional accessory. This is a pretty rare radio in the world of transistor radios; this carrying case is exceedingly rare. It looks like leather, but it isn't. Call it composition, leatherette, faux leather, or what have you, no animals were harmed in its making.
This goofy belt hook on the back of this radio also turns around to become a table stand. This hook/stand is often missing when these radios are found because over the years, I would guess, people took the lumpy things off the radios and threw them out.
"At your command, in the palm of your hand--a wonderful world of sound from a tiny, tubeless, cordless Arvin Transistor Radio, weighing only a pound!"
"Tiny," they say but shirt-pocket size this isn't. It's almost amusingly large but what a great looking radio. It's the Arvin 8576 transistor radio and it's from 1957. I think if Fred Flintstone had a transistor radio, he'd have this one. But of course it would have a little bird inside of it whistling "Meloncholy Baby" or something. Reading more from the ad, "Tuck it in pocket or purse, or clip it on your belt and enjoy listening fun on the go, ten times more than before. Set it up anywhere--the clip serves as an easel, too.
You'll marvel at the rich, powerful tone of Arvin Transistor Portables. The transistors are exclusively of the latest, most costly type--premium quality, high-output, almost ever-lasting. One low-cost battery lasts many months.
Shown above is Arvin Model 8576, with 5 transistors, in turquoise or black unbreakable case, $44.95. Earphone accessory, for completely private listening, at small extra cost."
They're clearly trying to sell the radio as small, even, as they say, 'tiny.' Why isn't it? I mean, it could have been. Regency made a much smaller transistor radio THREE YEARS earlier. And Sony's TR-63 was coming to market in 1957, just as this Arvin hit the stores.
I explore the reasons for why most American radio manufacturers didn't seriously try to make shirt-pocket radios until 1959... in another video. But besides all that, there seems to be something else afoot here--that this Arvin perfectly illustrates. I think some people just liked larger radios. After all, people were used to carrying around big lunchbox radios.
Here's Akio Morita on the subject, co-founder of Sony, from his 1986 book on the company. He relates the reaction he received from retailers in the United States when he first offered them a little Sony transistor radio to sell in their stores. And I quote, "Many of them were unimpressed. They said, "Why are you making such a tiny radio? Everybody in America wants big radios. We have big houses, plenty of room. Who needs these tiny things?" End quote.
Uh huh... It could also be rationalized that larger radios had better sound.. because of their larger speakers-- and were more reliable because the parts inside weren't significantly compromised in miniaturization. I think of the Japanese pocket radios as radios for the young. Rock & roll came out of them. But radios like THESE poured forth Vic Damone, ball games, and news. These were old guy's radios, as I see it now. And now that I am an old guy myself, I think I finally get it. Why they called them "tiny," even when they weren't, well, now we're getting into psychology, advertising psychology. I think the radio makers just showed the product, and said about it what they thought people wanted to hear. People who wanted 'tiny,' HEARD what they wanted to hear. People who didn't, could SEE that it wasn't. Make sense?
Here at the bottom of this ad it says, "FULL-SIZE transistor sets too--and another pocket size." Yes, those full size radios are behemoths. I risk a hernia just showing them to you. Ugh. ((9562)). And here's another Arvin, the 8584. And here we are poolside with the Arvin 9577, which the ad calls "pocket size." That would have to be, let's face it, some pocket.
One feature I like very much on this model is the grille. It's a perforated plastic kind of material that has some random lines and curves in it. Sometimes you'll see this sort of thing with glitter in it too. We get the general appearance of space, or as we used to say "outer space," giving the impression of a slew of comets all flying this way and that. This grille material came in white, as you see here, and also in black. Admittedly, the black looks more like 'outer space' but the effect is the same. It's high tech, that's what it is. Arvin used it on table radios too--their own as shown here, and also some table radios Arvin made for Sears.
Finding these old American sets with their original boxes is a rare occurence. Many of the boxes that came with Japanese radios were quite elaborate, and people hung onto them. But the American boxes were pretty utilitarian. This one is more decorative than most.
The carrying case for this radio was an optional accessory and wouldn't even fit in the box. Even the earphone for this model was an optional accessory. This is a pretty rare radio in the world of transistor radios; this carrying case is exceedingly rare. It looks like leather, but it isn't. Call it composition, leatherette, faux leather, or what have you, no animals were harmed in its making.
This goofy belt hook on the back of this radio also turns around to become a table stand. This hook/stand is often missing when these radios are found because over the years, I would guess, people took the lumpy things off the radios and threw them out.
