The former GDR () is becoming increasingly distant from the average European, including Germans. Consequently, hi-fi in the GDR is slowly being forgotten.
Technically, the Eastern Bloc countries in the waning days of the Soviet era were no longer at the forefront. Western technology simply could not be kept up with, which was one of the many reasons the communist model became unsustainable. This was certainly true for the GDR as well. However, until about the early 1980s, the GDR managed to keep up reasonably well on the technical front. For Soviet standards, there was enough money, as the GDR served as a socialist border and showcase state for the West. Coupled with the Germans’ excellent sense of and knowledge of technology, quite a few impressive products made it to the market. If we look at hi-fi in the GDR, you’ll find an interesting overview in this article on Likehifi.de, which also has a follow-up available.
RFT
Great reading material for a quiet holiday day, we would say. Interestingly, the ‘umbrella’ AV brand RFT was also sold outside the GDR and thus in our regions. Often under the same brand, sometimes under a different label. Popular sellers were the mail-order companies of those days. As said, RFT was an umbrella name for AV equipment in the GDR with multiple manufacturers producing under that banner. The brand was certainly not bad, and for ‘us’ in the West, it was cheaper. As you can gather from the linked articles, the quality was comparable to mid-range models of the then-common brands here, and significantly better than the budget models of top brands from back then. Even today, RFT tuners and receivers are beloved by collectors and can be found in abundance on platforms like eBay (see the screenshot above).