Death of the home stereo....R.I.P ?

Godfather.

You moved into your dorm room or new apartment. You started unpacking the car. And the first thing you set up in your new place was the stereo system: receiver, turntable or CD player, tape deck and speakers.

The wires could get tangled, and sometimes you had to make shelving out of a stack of milk crates. But only when the music was playing on those handpicked CDs, mix tapes or (geezer alert!) vinyl records did you move in the rest of your stuff.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/27/tech/inno ... ?hpt=hp_t3


I still have a turn table,tape deck and the rest of the goody's and over 2000 albums guess I'm a geezer.

Godfather.

Jason P

Last night in bed I was listening to music through my iPod dock boom box and realized that it sounded like complete shit compared to what I had set up in high school and college.

I'm searching Amazon for something worth a crap to play music.

Most kids today just listen to music coming out of their phone. :fp:

Thirty Bills Unpaid

I was pretty damn proud of my Technics system with Cerwin Vega speakers.

More than once I got the nod of approval from listeners as Tatoo You and Led Zeppelin II pounded at us.

chadwick

full size home stereos are the shit. i've had some pretty incredible systems. i was at my most happiest with a big ass stereo. pioneer, kenwood, yamaha & infinity speakers shaking the house; good thing most times i lived out in the country. the cops visited often though when living in town (& in the woods) sayin they got a call about the music/noise

currently i have a few smaller systems & i am not as happy as i'd like to be. a x g/f of mine has my stereos & i am a fucking dumbass. of course i kept the owners manuals & her & her outfit will not ever even begin to understand how to fully operate them.

chadwick

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

I was pretty damn proud of my Technics system with Cerwin Vega speakers.

More than once I got the nod of approval from listeners as Tatoo You and Led Zeppelin II pounded at us.

cerwin vega... thump thump pound

Out of My Mind and Time

NO WAY MAN! Small is not better. Digital is not better. I still prefer 7 dresser size speakers and vinyl and amps and receivers and smelling burning electricity since it is so LOUD! Never was a fan of the Bose cubes and smaller is better. I get it when you are short on room. They do sound great when in small areas. Like soundbars. There is a place for them. I'll take the pounding in the chest bass and blaring human size speakers any day!

Out of My Mind and Time

chadwick wrote:

the cops visited often though when living in town (& in the woods) sayin they got a call about the music/noise

I collect these noise violation tickets.

chadwick

Out of My Mind and Time wrote:

NO WAY MAN! Small is not better. Digital is not better. I still prefer 7 dresser size speakers and vinyl and amps and receivers and smelling burning electricity since it is so LOUD! Never was a fan of the Bose cubes and smaller is better. I get it when you are short on room. They do sound great when in small areas. Like soundbars. There is a place for them. I'll take the pounding in the chest bass and blaring human size speakers any day!

full size L & R front two speakers should be 4 - 5 tall & several ft wide & weigh nearly 75-100 pounds or some shit.


rules @ regulations, man

chadwick

i have a dude i know who spends something like $20,000 fricking dollars when he buys a home stereo. he even gets a 'desibels meter' that looks like a remote that goes although with the system. when he'd buy a new system i'd buy his old one. this was nice

he'll get commercial size/quality speakers & whatnot. basically the speakers you may see/hear at a strip club, tavern or dance club. it takes several guys to move one speaker. the stereos run on a couple large ass amps. dude's a fucking weirdo music junky & has to have the biggest most expensive shit

Thirty Bills Unpaid

chadwick wrote:

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

I was pretty damn proud of my Technics system with Cerwin Vega speakers.

More than once I got the nod of approval from listeners as Tatoo You and Led Zeppelin II pounded at us.

cerwin vega... thump thump pound

Yup!

Out of My Mind and Time

chadwick wrote:

i have a dude i know who spends something like $20,000 fricking dollars when he buys a home stereo. he even gets a 'desibels meter' that looks like a remote that goes although with the system. when he'd buy a new system i'd buy his old one. this was nice

he'll get commercial size/quality speakers & whatnot. basically the speakers you may see/hear at a strip club, tavern or dance club. it takes several guys to move one speaker. the stereos run on a couple large ass amps. dude's a fucking weirdo music junky & has to have the biggest most expensive shit

i would like to hear Sirens and Faithful on this.

hedonist

Oh man, I MISS the ritual of playing and listening to vinyl.

Growing up in the early 70s, we had one of those huge wooden consoles with a turntable, stereo and cassette player, with speakers that took up each side. Then in my teens I got my very own system. I just loved it...wish I still had it.

Sucks having some beautiful vinyl and being unable to play them.

josevolution

Jason P wrote:

Last night in bed I was listening to music through my iPod dock boom box and realized that it sounded like complete shit compared to what I had set up in high school and college.

I'm searching Amazon for something worth a crap to play music.

Most kids today just listen to music coming out of their phone. :fp:

Most kids now crap about good music i know i have two teens ....

brianlux

Godfather. wrote:

You moved into your dorm room or new apartment. You started unpacking the car. And the first thing you set up in your new place was the stereo system: receiver, turntable or CD player, tape deck and speakers.

The wires could get tangled, and sometimes you had to make shelving out of a stack of milk crates. But only when the music was playing on those handpicked CDs, mix tapes or (geezer alert!) vinyl records did you move in the rest of your stuff.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/27/tech/inno ... ?hpt=hp_t3


I still have a turn table,tape deck and the rest of the goody's and over 2000 albums guess I'm a geezer.

Godfather.

You and me, brother! (Except my LP collection is fewer in number.)

After looking at babying my 1982 JVC R-s33 tuner/amplifier all these years and looking at reviews for the current line up of crap available, I just purchased a older Marantz 2220B. I figure between the two of them I should be able to keep some good analog sound flowing around this place. Like me, these old machines work better some days than others.

Godfather.

brianlux wrote:

Godfather. wrote:

You moved into your dorm room or new apartment. You started unpacking the car. And the first thing you set up in your new place was the stereo system: receiver, turntable or CD player, tape deck and speakers.

The wires could get tangled, and sometimes you had to make shelving out of a stack of milk crates. But only when the music was playing on those handpicked CDs, mix tapes or (geezer alert!) vinyl records did you move in the rest of your stuff.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/27/tech/inno ... ?hpt=hp_t3


I still have a turn table,tape deck and the rest of the goody's and over 2000 albums guess I'm a geezer.

Godfather.

You and me, brother! (Except my LP collection is fewer in number.)

After looking at babying my 1982 JVC R-s33 tuner/amplifier all these years and looking at reviews for the current line up of crap available, I just purchased a older Marantz 2220B. I figure between the two of them I should be able to keep some good analog sound flowing around this place. Like me, these old machines work better some days than others.

I fgorgot to mention the "snap crackle pop " while listening to an album as the needle glides thru the grooves

Rock N Roll just don't sound right with out it


Godfather.

chadwick

hedonist wrote:

Oh man, I MISS the ritual of playing and listening to vinyl.

Growing up in the early 70s, we had one of those huge wooden consoles with a turntable, stereo and cassette player, with speakers that took up each side. Then in my teens I got my very own system. I just loved it...wish I still had it.

Sucks having some beautiful vinyl and being unable to play them.

lemme tell ya somethin... here's the deal

i wanted a record player & this was due to pearl jam promoting music on the whole vinyl deal. plus with the suped up membership one gets a 45rpm two song jammer. so, i also wanted a brief case style record player as i thought they were cool as fuck & quite possibly the first portable jam box

i spent maybe $130 dollars including shipping as well as two pearl jam albums & then i was so fucking set. a friend went garage saling & found me two.... count 'em, two .... 2

two ........ TW0 waylon jennings vinyl albums

you have never in 347 trillion years ever saw a happier son of a gun than me @ that moment. waylon god damn jennings is my very own personal super hero & i have the bullshit (non-loud) brief case turn table

the extra cool as fuck thing is i cover my record player lid & all areas w/ stickers. the record player is named chompy as he eats spinning vinyls

one thing i must get off my chest... spinning black circles is a real bastard when love making, stop, go, stop, go
the good positive thing is... it breaks up the action & allows a guy to reset .... you get my point

brianlux

Here's some excellent Waymore for ya, Chadwick. Love that dude!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb67hhH811s

hedonist

Ah, chadwick. You made me smile on this lovely Friday evening.

Waylon strikes me as one badass yet cool fellow - much like Mr. Johnny Cash.

Last point - oh I get it. I say if one must go digital, I hope at least the mix-up of fast/slow songs allows for said resetting

hedonist

brianlux wrote:

Here's some excellent Waymore for ya, Chadwick. Love that dude!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb67hhH811s

:thumbup:

Pingfah

Vinyl is the thing which is going to save the home hi-fi. It's on the up in a big way.

Did you know that when Queens of the Stone Age hit number one, 16% of their sales that week were on vinyl? And sales are soaring year on year. It's back, and this time it's back to stay. There will always be a big market for people that want to listen to music in high fidelity, and that simply cannot be achieved with a computer or a mobile phone and headphones.

brianlux

Pingfah wrote:

Vinyl is the thing which is going to save the home hi-fi. It's on the up in a big way.

Did you know that when Queens of the Stone Age hit number one, 16% of their sales that week were on vinyl? And sales are soaring year on year. It's back, and this time it's back to stay. There will always be a big market for people that want to listen to music in high fidelity, and that simply cannot be achieved with a computer or a mobile phone and headphones.

I hope this is mostly true. I say mostly because I'm uneasy with the potential (or actual) voraciousness of music consumers for something that uses as much plastic (oil) as a 180 or 200 gram vinyl disc (not to mention the amount of paper that goes into one). Ideally, buyers would be selective about which vinyl records they own and care for them so they will last into the post-oil era we are approaching.

If that were the case, you might ask, what about those albums you want to here but maybe only once or twice (for the experience) but prefer analog sound? I get that. The solution there, I would hope, would be a digital format that more closely approximate analog. SACD's are said to be closer to analog but they didn't receive enough marketing support to continue. The solution may be Neil Young's Pono system. No disc involved at all, just downloadable superior quality sound (though a player is required). I'm not sure how this will pan out (Pono isn't due out until early 2014) but it sounds hopeful. I really hope it turns out well because, let's face it, 7 billion people owning hundreds or thousands of record LP's would be yet further damage environmentally.

And yes, I have LPs but some of them I've had for 40 years or more and most of the ones I buy are used (there are plenty in circulation) and I've asked in my will that the ones I have be well cared for when I'm not around to enjoy and share them. I limit new vinyl purchases to ones I know I will listen to frequently and settle, for now, for digital forms like CD's and pay-for downloads for those I'm just curious about.

Pingfah

Well, "big market" was probably overstating matters, niche market is more like it. But a big enough market to sustain the ongoing manufacture of the equipment and products. Music will be going mostly digital download though, there's no way around that, and it's a good thing too, because 90% of music listeners are not discerning enough to care anyway.

People only all used to buy records because that is all there was, apart from a few shortlived formats like tape, it's been records and then CDs all the way. I dispute the notion that people care less about high fidelity now, I don't think most people ever cared. Once upon a time separates and vinyl were the only way to listen to music, that's why they were so popular. The mainstream mass audience has never cared about fidelity, they have always cared about convenience, that's why records died out the moment a more covenient format came along, and the separates market dwindled as soon as the Japanese and Koreans started cranking out cheap midi systems.

So no, I don't think you need to worry about billions of records being manufactured, but also I don't think we need to worry about the death of the home hi-fi either.

If they become that popular again, they will just find better materials to make them out of anyway. If the demand is there, it will happen.

chadwick

when we attend live shows we see & hear huge big fucking noise, sure sometimes it may be clearer than other times because of the venues accoustics & perhaps the sound board techs are drunk.

big fucking gear... stacks of (example: marshall amps) speakers

this is the way greatness is played & listened to in a home setting. shelf stereo systems bought at walmart or target do work but they are not the home stereo system badasses. they just get a fucker by, that's it

thank you, brian. i'll give that waymore a go here directly. hedonist, waylon's good frickin times... :twisted:



it is amazing to me that young people today throughly believe what sounds good is a fucking laptop w/ the built in laptop speakers going to town.... fuck me running

wow!

or their bullshit phone music systems... you stupid little shits deserve to be punched in the throats
violent chadwick again freaking people out & scaring folks. believe me, i'm only kidding....... about 97% is truth

yes puntching a earbud rocking cellphone young person is probably going to wake them up, they will get a job & purchase a whoping home stereo w/ a turn table

dudeman

I have been repairing and restoring old stereo equipment and music gear as a side gig for several years. Recently, demand for my services has skyrocketed. Lots of people (locally, at least) are picking up old receivers and turntables at Goodwill or garage sales and bringing them in to be repaired or tuned-up. There is definitely an interest and revival of the home stereo. But...........

IMO and IME, the hi-fi gear from the late '60's to early '80's was made to a much higher quality standard than most of the consumer electronics made today. While there are exceptions, a middle-of-the-line, at the time Marantz 2245 receiver smokes nearly everything built today for under $2,000.00. Most of the entry-level turntables today are a joke compared to even the Realistic, Radio Shack decks from the late '70's. So if one is going to get into the vinyl/home stereo hobby, it either pays to spend big bucks on high-end, modern gear, or seek out the vintage gems that people sold or traded away years ago.

If the majority of people settle for entry level Sony or Pioneer turntables and plug them into home-theater receivers, their experience likely won't be positive enough to keep them interested for the long-term. That will be the major obstacle in keeping the home stereo alive.

chadwick

dudeman wrote:

I have been repairing and restoring old stereo equipment and music gear as a side gig for several years. Recently, demand for my services has skyrocketed. Lots of people (locally, at least) are picking up old receivers and turntables at Goodwill or garage sales and bringing them in to be repaired or tuned-up. There is definitely an interest and revival of the home stereo. But...........

IMO and IME, the hi-fi gear from the late '60's to early '80's was made to a much higher quality standard than most of the consumer electronics made today. While there are exceptions, a middle-of-the-line, at the time Marantz 2245 receiver smokes nearly everything built today for under $2,000.00. Most of the entry-level turntables today are a joke compared to even the Realistic, Radio Shack decks from the late '70's. So if one is going to get into the vinyl/home stereo hobby, it either pays to spend big bucks on high-end, modern gear, or seek out the vintage gems that people sold or traded away years ago.

If the majority of people settle for entry level Sony or Pioneer turntables and plug them into home-theater receivers, their experience likely won't be positive enough to keep them interested for the long-term. That will be the major obstacle in keeping the home stereo alive.

i have a old panasonic or whatever it is, 8 track, record player, am/fm stereo in a wooden chest. i am guessing it is from the 70's. it is nice but needs attention. the chest has artwork on it & it says 1776 on it.

i would love to have it rebuilt to factory new specifications

the thing has massive bass

brianlux

dudeman wrote:

I have been repairing and restoring old stereo equipment and music gear as a side gig for several years. Recently, demand for my services has skyrocketed. Lots of people (locally, at least) are picking up old receivers and turntables at Goodwill or garage sales and bringing them in to be repaired or tuned-up. There is definitely an interest and revival of the home stereo. But...........

IMO and IME, the hi-fi gear from the late '60's to early '80's was made to a much higher quality standard than most of the consumer electronics made today. While there are exceptions, a middle-of-the-line, at the time Marantz 2245 receiver smokes nearly everything built today for under $2,000.00. Most of the entry-level turntables today are a joke compared to even the Realistic, Radio Shack decks from the late '70's. So if one is going to get into the vinyl/home stereo hobby, it either pays to spend big bucks on high-end, modern gear, or seek out the vintage gems that people sold or traded away years ago.

If the majority of people settle for entry level Sony or Pioneer turntables and plug them into home-theater receivers, their experience likely won't be positive enough to keep them interested for the long-term. That will be the major obstacle in keeping the home stereo alive.

Good advices here, dudeman. Your customers and friends are lucky to have you around. I couldn't find anyone competent to repair my JVC receiver so I'm hoping the refurbished old Marantz I ordered is in good shape.

Pingfah wrote:

Well, "big market" was probably overstating matters, niche market is more like it. But a big enough market to sustain the ongoing manufacture of the equipment and products. Music will be going mostly digital download though, there's no way around that, and it's a good thing too, because 90% of music listeners are not discerning enough to care anyway.

People only all used to buy records because that is all there was, apart from a few shortlived formats like tape, it's been records and then CDs all the way. I dispute the notion that people care less about high fidelity now, I don't think most people ever cared. Once upon a time separates and vinyl were the only way to listen to music, that's why they were so popular. The mainstream mass audience has never cared about fidelity, they have always cared about convenience, that's why records died out the moment a more covenient format came along, and the separates market dwindled as soon as the Japanese and Koreans started cranking out cheap midi systems.

So no, I don't think you need to worry about billions of records being manufactured, but also I don't think we need to worry about the death of the home hi-fi either.

If they become that popular again, they will just find better materials to make them out of anyway. If the demand is there, it will happen.

My experience is that people did care more about fidelity in the past but maybe that's just the crowd I hung out with. When CD's first came out I fell for the BS about how "pristine" the sound was until my ears said, "No, not pristine. Sterile and harsh. Fortunately, I didn't dump all my records.

What are "separates"? You mention that term twice above.

Pingfah

Oh sorry, maybe that is a British term. I mean having a separate amp, turntable, CD player, Tuner etc, as opposed to an all-in-one midi system.

dudeman

If you have them locally, I would ask around at record stores, TV, or appliance repair service centers for referrals to people who fix vintage electronics. It might cost a couple hundred bucks, depending on what is needed, but it is likely money well spent.

(Chadwick. If you want, PM me with a model number and list of symptoms. I may be able to help you diagnose simple issues.)

dudeman

Your 2220b is a very capable receiver. Most people are shocked that a 20 watts per channel stereo can sound so good or get so loud. If you have efficient speakers, that may be all the power you will ever need. Congrats on the find!

brianlux wrote:

Good advices here, dudeman. Your customers and friends are lucky to have you around. I couldn't find anyone competent to repair my JVC receiver so I'm hoping the refurbished old Marantz I ordered is in good shape.

Pingfah wrote:

brianlux

Pingfah wrote:

Oh sorry, maybe that is a British term. I mean having a separate amp, turntable, CD player, Tuner etc, as opposed to an all-in-one midi system.

Ah, yes. Thank you!

dudeman wrote:

If you have them locally, I would ask around at record stores, TV, or appliance repair service centers for referrals to people who fix vintage electronics. It might cost a couple hundred bucks, depending on what is needed, but it is likely money well spent.

Yeah, I spent a couple hundred bucks on repairs for the JVC. It only lasted about a year. Maybe because it has slider controls or maybe the guy replaced parts with the cheapo modern stuff. I'm told most new replacement hi-fi parts are crap. I'm hoping the Marantz will last longer.

dudeman

Yeah, some modern replacement parts aren't great, but they're consistent. Techs used to have to sort through bins of components to find matching values, (or close enough ) to complete some repairs. Now, quality control is so good that almost everything is within spec out of the box.

brianlux wrote:

Pingfah wrote:

Oh sorry, maybe that is a British term. I mean having a separate amp, turntable, CD player, Tuner etc, as opposed to an all-in-one midi system.

Ah, yes. Thank you!

dudeman wrote:

If you have them locally, I would ask around at record stores, TV, or appliance repair service centers for referrals to people who fix vintage electronics. It might cost a couple hundred bucks, depending on what is needed, but it is likely money well spent.

Yeah, I spent a couple hundred bucks on repairs for the JVC. It only lasted about a year. Maybe because it has slider controls or maybe the guy replaced parts with the cheapo modern stuff. I'm told most new replacement hi-fi parts are crap. I'm hoping the Marantz will last longer.