The Audio-Technica Sound Burger was first released in 1983 and it quickly became an industrial design icon, influencing many other music players of the time. It was battery operated and came with headphones, allowing you to listen to your records almost anywhere.
The Sound Burger was re-released as a limited edition in 2022 and it sold out so quickly that Audio-Technica brought it back into permanent production. It’s now widely considered to be one of the best portable record players on the market due to its higher built quality, and the fact that it’s not as hard on your vinyl as many cheaper suitcase-record-player options.
These three images show the sequence of inserting a record. You open the Sound Burger, put the record on the small platter, and close the top before extending the tone arm and placing it on the surface.
Portable record players have been around for a long time, if you think back to some of the earliest phonograph machines they came in wooden boxes with carry handles – making them portable albeit with some difficulty due to the weight.
Given advancements in electronics and battery technology the form factor of the portable record player continued to shrink over time, getting down to the size of a briefcase by the 1970s.
The release of the Audio-Technica Sound Burger in 1983 was a key milestone in the history of the portable record player, but many in the United States have never heard of it as it was released in North America as the “Mister Disc.”
The design of the Sound Burger was brilliant in its simplicity. The record is inserted into the end of the device where it sits on a platter. The center of the record is sandwiched down thanks to an upper pressure element that helps keep it securely in place when playing.
The tone arm comes out the side, and the Sound Burger is battery powered, but can also be powered via a cable from the mains electricity. The original Sound Burger, or Mister Disc, used three chunky “C” batteries for power but the new version uses a built-in lithium ion battery.
Audio-out is by 3.5mm jack and Bluetooth, with most users opting for the Bluetooth option due to the ease of use. Interestingly, the original Sound Burger was often used by people who wanted to listen to records in the record store before buying. You simply plug in your headphones, insert the record, lower the tone arm, and you’re good to go.
The reissue of the 1980s-era Audio-Technica Sound Burger now has modern internals, a modern lithium-ion battery giving 12 hours of battery life, and both 3.5mm audio jack and wireless Bluetooth connectivity.
The modern version of the Sound Burger comes in three colors, Black, White, and Yellow. The original reissue from 2o22 came in only Red, and it must be said, the Red color option would be a welcome addition to the current lineup.
Amazon is now selling the Audio-Technica Sound Burger at a discount here, down to $179 USD from the original $199 USD. It can play both 33-1/3 and 45 RPM records, it recharges over both USB Type-A/USB Type-C, and it has 12 hours of playback time per charge.
Images courtesy of Audio-Technica Japan
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