Space Age Turntables That Turned Living Rooms Into Mission Control

When Sputnik 1 launched on October 4, 1957, the “Space Age” arrived all at once and pop culture quickly followed. Soon, the obsession with rockets, capsules, and futuristic materials showed up everywhere: architecture, furniture, fashion, and especially the objects we gathered around at home.

Stereo systems and record players were perfect candidates for the look. Housed in pods, globes, and glossy shells, they became the centerpiece of the room, part sound system and part sculpture.

From “stereo eggs” to full-blown spaceship consoles, The Vinyl Factory’s roundup captures just how imaginative audio design got in the 1960s and ’70s.

Here are a few standouts that still feel wonderfully futuristic:

Weltron 2005 / 2007

Inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, this “spaceship” turntable is pure Space Age theatre. Lift the visor and you’ll find a turntable, radio, cassette deck, and built-in speakers.

Clairtone Project G

Made in Canada between 1964 and 1967, with only 400 produced, this high-end console was the kind of object that signaled modern living and serious money, equivalent to about $20,000 today.

Wega 3300

Designed by Verner Panton, this system is a crisp collision of Bauhaus logic and pop-art color, a compact cube that still looks gallery-ready.

Electrohome Circa 75

Described as a “communications nerve centre for the future,” this prototype went beyond hi-fi. It was a circular pod connected to a wall-screen TV and even a cockpit-style chair with built-in controls.

Sanyo Phonosphere

A globe-like sphere that pivots, plus a mirrored, glittering “ballroom” light effect. It is an audio object designed to be watched as much as heard.

Brionvega RR126

A modular Italian design classic, with speakers that can be stacked or spread out. It feels more like a playful furniture system than a typical stereo.

Kuba Komet

The “mothership” of the era: a rocket-like structure with TV, radio, phonograph, and an array of speakers, plus a price tag that once exceeded a year’s average wage.

What’s most charming about these designs is how unafraid they are. They do not try to disappear into the background. They make listening feel like an event, a small, everyday brush with the future.

Atomic Daydream