1981 in Hi-Fi

A year before the Compact Disc reached the market, Sony gave serious enthusiasts an early, if unconventional, taste of digital audio with the PCM-F1, introduced in 1981. Rather than using a dedicated digital format, it converted audio into a digital signal and recorded that signal onto ordinary Betamax or VHS videotape using a standard consumer video deck — a clever workaround that let digital recording happen years before dedicated digital formats existed for the home. It wasn't a mainstream product, but it mattered to the recording engineers and dedicated hobbyists who wanted a preview of what was coming.

For most buyers, 1981 still meant choosing between component receivers, turntables, and cassette decks — the CD was still a year from Japanese retail shelves, and further still from a wider international launch.