Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
What's only a few inches tall, but looks just like a big 1960s-era hi-fi set?
Well these things were huge--and heavy. Some even had TVs in them. They weren't known for terribly accurate sound reproduction. After all, most were bought more on the basis of the cabinet style than on anything that cabinet contained. But as big as they were, they moved a lot of air in the living room and could set things in the house to vibrating. Mom's housework went a little easier with those smooth hi-fi sounds in the background. And if dad put on a Mantovani record on a Saturday night, well, you knew you were going to be scooted off to bed early.
Looking just like one of those big hi-fi console sets was this, an external docking station for a Juliette "Super Micro" transistor radio. We've looked at some other transistor radio "convertibles" on this channel--portable radios that could dock to larger speaker boxes and thus be 'converted' to a home radio--but this Juliette is a real treat--being as small as it is.
The micro transistor radios are one of the most interesting categories of radios. In their time, these tiny little high-tech wonders seemed impossibly small. And they were!-- as small as a radio with a speaker could then be made.
Here the micro radio is a Juliette TR-91M. The speaker box is model AMP-3 and it is branded "Topp," T-O-P-P, which was the name of the distributor of the Juliette radios. The speaker box is actually wood, or much of it is, anyway. Under the lid is a place for your tie clasps, your Tony Bennett tickets, and what-not. The front panel swings open for the radio, which slides in behind that panel. The radio's earphone jack mates to two prongs on the speaker box and this sends the audio in to an amplifier inside. This amplifier feeds twin speakers and is self-powered by four C-cell batteries.
This radio was made in Japan, probably by Standard, makers of the most popular line of micro transistor radios, the Standard Micronic Rubys. Supporting that probability, the Juliette's earphone jack is similar to the distinctive jacks used on those Micronic Ruby radios. And the Juliette is of the quality level of Standards, far above the quality level usually seen in Juliette products.
The Juliette story is an amusing one. They made some truly hideous transistor radios and were given to over-decorated designs employing fake wood grains and alligator skin, and chunky metal trim. This micro is quite a departure for them and is arguably their best design ever. Those weird ones are fun, though, and over the years I've begun to appreciate the goofiness in their over-the-top designs.
And here's a promotional piece for the radio--what's known as a 'catalog sheet.' These were given to potential dealers touting the merits of this "Juliette 9 transistor miniature pocket radio." The graphics here are very Juliette-like. You'd think with blue and pink and gold it would look rich and impressive--and they probably thought so too!--but, well...I do like the mesh glove idea and have used that technique myself a time or two in photos I've taken.
I'll read you the radio's description from the catalog sheet: "Model TR-91M is a miniature 9-transistor pocket radio designed for reception of standard broadcast band of 540 to 1600 kc, powered by two mercury cells. Volume control and the tuning control are located on the cabinet top; an earphone jack is in the left side of the cabinet." Well, alright. That's pretty dry. Especially for a company whose designs were usually so... well,.. wet.
Topp! Import & Export, Miami Florida. Importers of the Juliette brand--and of this, Juliette's only micro transistor radio. Well, no, not only. There was also this one, the Juliette "Super Micro Movie Camera Type Ten Transistor"--which somebody at Juliette apparently thought looked like a handheld movie camera. Here's the back of it featuring a sort of a key, reminiscent of the winding key you'd find on an old movie camera.
The micros have always been a favorite of mine and I still remember seeing one for the first time as a kid. I was about 10 years old when I saw a Standard Micronic Ruby under the glass counter in a drug store, perched there in an open, satin-lined clamshell box. I immediately felt a major pang of desire. There was a string tied to the radio and as my eyes followed that string away from the radio and towards its price tag, my desire turned to despair. $29.95. To a ten-year-old, it might as well have been a thousand dollars.
These micros were always valued at a premium and they remain so today for collectors. In their day--the early-to-mid 1960s, more than 40 different micro radios were produced. With so many you'd think they would have been big sellers and now wouldn't be that hard to find. But... hard to find, they are.
What's only a few inches tall, but looks just like a big 1960s-era hi-fi set?
Well these things were huge--and heavy. Some even had TVs in them. They weren't known for terribly accurate sound reproduction. After all, most were bought more on the basis of the cabinet style than on anything that cabinet contained. But as big as they were, they moved a lot of air in the living room and could set things in the house to vibrating. Mom's housework went a little easier with those smooth hi-fi sounds in the background. And if dad put on a Mantovani record on a Saturday night, well, you knew you were going to be scooted off to bed early.
Looking just like one of those big hi-fi console sets was this, an external docking station for a Juliette "Super Micro" transistor radio. We've looked at some other transistor radio "convertibles" on this channel--portable radios that could dock to larger speaker boxes and thus be 'converted' to a home radio--but this Juliette is a real treat--being as small as it is.
The micro transistor radios are one of the most interesting categories of radios. In their time, these tiny little high-tech wonders seemed impossibly small. And they were!-- as small as a radio with a speaker could then be made.
Here the micro radio is a Juliette TR-91M. The speaker box is model AMP-3 and it is branded "Topp," T-O-P-P, which was the name of the distributor of the Juliette radios. The speaker box is actually wood, or much of it is, anyway. Under the lid is a place for your tie clasps, your Tony Bennett tickets, and what-not. The front panel swings open for the radio, which slides in behind that panel. The radio's earphone jack mates to two prongs on the speaker box and this sends the audio in to an amplifier inside. This amplifier feeds twin speakers and is self-powered by four C-cell batteries.
This radio was made in Japan, probably by Standard, makers of the most popular line of micro transistor radios, the Standard Micronic Rubys. Supporting that probability, the Juliette's earphone jack is similar to the distinctive jacks used on those Micronic Ruby radios. And the Juliette is of the quality level of Standards, far above the quality level usually seen in Juliette products.
The Juliette story is an amusing one. They made some truly hideous transistor radios and were given to over-decorated designs employing fake wood grains and alligator skin, and chunky metal trim. This micro is quite a departure for them and is arguably their best design ever. Those weird ones are fun, though, and over the years I've begun to appreciate the goofiness in their over-the-top designs.
And here's a promotional piece for the radio--what's known as a 'catalog sheet.' These were given to potential dealers touting the merits of this "Juliette 9 transistor miniature pocket radio." The graphics here are very Juliette-like. You'd think with blue and pink and gold it would look rich and impressive--and they probably thought so too!--but, well...I do like the mesh glove idea and have used that technique myself a time or two in photos I've taken.
I'll read you the radio's description from the catalog sheet: "Model TR-91M is a miniature 9-transistor pocket radio designed for reception of standard broadcast band of 540 to 1600 kc, powered by two mercury cells. Volume control and the tuning control are located on the cabinet top; an earphone jack is in the left side of the cabinet." Well, alright. That's pretty dry. Especially for a company whose designs were usually so... well,.. wet.
Topp! Import & Export, Miami Florida. Importers of the Juliette brand--and of this, Juliette's only micro transistor radio. Well, no, not only. There was also this one, the Juliette "Super Micro Movie Camera Type Ten Transistor"--which somebody at Juliette apparently thought looked like a handheld movie camera. Here's the back of it featuring a sort of a key, reminiscent of the winding key you'd find on an old movie camera.
The micros have always been a favorite of mine and I still remember seeing one for the first time as a kid. I was about 10 years old when I saw a Standard Micronic Ruby under the glass counter in a drug store, perched there in an open, satin-lined clamshell box. I immediately felt a major pang of desire. There was a string tied to the radio and as my eyes followed that string away from the radio and towards its price tag, my desire turned to despair. $29.95. To a ten-year-old, it might as well have been a thousand dollars.
These micros were always valued at a premium and they remain so today for collectors. In their day--the early-to-mid 1960s, more than 40 different micro radios were produced. With so many you'd think they would have been big sellers and now wouldn't be that hard to find. But... hard to find, they are.
