The Good Old Days Of The Home Stereo System !!!

Discussion in 'The Good Life' started by Christopher Powell, May 11, 2016.

  1. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member

    One of my greatest memories is thinking back when I was a child and remembering the good old days of my dad's home stereo system. I don't mean those all in one things, I mean the separate component systems that people used to build over time (not unlike a great razor collection). I remember the days when my sisters and I could not walk across the living room floor because dad was listening to a record on the turn table. Then he started making mixed tapes and then we were allowed to run all over again. The CD player came next and it was so big, I thought it was another VCR. I think back and can't help but smile.

    When I was about 16 my dad and I started building my home stereo system. It took about 2 years but we eventually build a superb 7 piece stereo system for me. There was a few pieces I added and/or took away over the years like a CD recorder and open reel tape deck. With the exception my equalizer which gave out last year, the entire stereo still sounds as good today as it did when we put it together 20 years ago. Of course I replaced the equalizer!

    I don't want to sound like the old cranky guy hear and say that everything was better years ago because I don't think that's the case. I am not anti technology and I love the idea that I have most of my music on 2 ipods. But, stereos and razors are definitely 2 things that got worse with age. Much like the world of wet shaving, the music industry is much more about quantity over quality now. Most of my friends and family don't even have a home stereo system. And those that do have a surround sound package or sound bar/sub woofer combo. These set ups sound fine and something is better than nothing, but damn I wish people could experience what a great pair of wood speakers sound like standing on wood speaker stands placed on a hard wood floor !!!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 13, 2016
  2. Robyflexx

    Robyflexx Broke the Like button

    Very nice write up Chris...thought provoking. [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 13, 2016
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  3. Herm2502

    Herm2502 off to elf practice

    Good stuff Chris, brings back some memories of my own. I'm old enough to be your dad and I, too, had one of those systems. The receiver, turntable and tape deck combined with some monster Electro Voice speakers could outplay the digital systems of today. Yeah, those systems were cumbersome and sometimes finicky, but the sound was warmer and more realistic IMHO. I still remember sitting in my basement on a couch that just faced the stereo listening to albums. It was even better when my parents went out because I could really rattle the windows!
     
  4. White731

    White731 Well-Known Member

    I have downsized speakers, but I still use a Pioneer tuner, Pioneer 6 disc changer and a Technics dual cassette deck that I bought back around 92-93. I had a Technics turntable but it bit the dust a few years ago and I never have bought a replacement.
    0511161351-01.jpeg 0511161351a-01.jpeg 0511161351b-01.jpeg
     
  5. Omaney

    Omaney Well-Known Member

    I'm not an audiophile but I couldn't agree more. While I still prefer today's compact storage and audio gizmos; their sound is not as vibrant as the old analog systems I grew up envying.
     
  6. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    Old-School with some updates: Gone are my old Marantz amp & tuner; Nakamichi cassette player, Carver receiver, and old Bose 501s...but now have incorporated audio with video with a newer Marantz A/V receiver to accomodate blu-Ray and HDMI. Magnaplanar front speakers with surrounds, and a killer monster horn subwoofer. Oh and a Shure CS5000 turntable which provides the majority of beautiful analog music! Never giving up the vinyl! :)
     
  7. SHAVEWIZARD420

    SHAVEWIZARD420 Well-Known Member

    I agree that todays music is not nearly as good as It used to be. It seems like it would have been cool to live in the 50's or 60's, it was a different time, and life seemed simpler back than. You were lucky if you owned a TV back then, nowadays people cannot stop watching TV and have become addicted to it. Technology has its good side, and bad side.
     
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  8. 90quattrcoupe

    90quattrcoupe Well-Known Member

    It was. As far as music goes, the hot setup for a car(we didn't have stereo) was a rear speaker and reverb unit for it. I actually had a 45 player for my 55 Chevy.

    Greg W.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2016
  9. Jim99

    Jim99 Gold Water Shaver

    Ah, yes! The rear speaker with reverb! I remember when my father installed one of those in his new 1966 Malibu. I thought it sounded fantastic and told all of my friends we had a stereo in our car, and it was just an AM radio.
     
  10. 45auto

    45auto Well-Known Member

    Makes me want to crank up Pink Floyd "another brick in the wall" then ac/dc Hells bells.
     
  11. ironthinker

    ironthinker Well-Known Member

    It's back. Some do whole house, with wireless speakers. Some have high quality surround sound with their big screen theater. Some feel vinyl quality beats more modern versions, but have both options.

    The bad news is having the ability to hear the quality gets worse with age.
     
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  12. Keithmax

    Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

    While I have a home theater system for movies I use vacuum amps for my music. I converted all my music to lossless files and also use a DAC prior to the amps.
     
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  13. Double Edge Dougy

    Double Edge Dougy Well-Known Member

    I had a technics system...i know its not the best but it was really good...i had a 60 disc cd changer awsome tuner, sony record player and two 15 inch speakers in my bedroom lol (that thing shook the whole house....i sold it off i miss it but they are just too large in my small house. I have some good but old 12s i need to get rid of. Again they are nice but no space....i think others feel the same way because i cant give em away.
     
  14. Redfisher

    Redfisher Doesn't celebrate National Donut Day

    Without going on too much of a rant.... Things are not made as well as they once were. We have somehow come to accept that the things we buy will have a limited life ... The example I will give is the refrigerator I am replacing is 30 years old and still works. My new fridge was $3000 and the salesman told me and I know it won't last nearly as long. I'm in the AC business and we replace old equipment with stuff that again will not last as long as the old one did. But it costs plenty. Somehow this is normal. Craftsmanship and quality are indeed rare today. My old pioneer super tuner is as good as the day it was made, I'm just needing to get some new speakers for it. I'm shutting the ol pie hole now!
     
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  15. White731

    White731 Well-Known Member

    Every word of this is the truth. My mom still uses a microwave that her and my Dad purchased in 1984. My wife and I have went through 3 in the past 2 years. No quality anymore.
     
  16. ob1page

    ob1page Frozen in Phoenix

    I sold car and home audio in the early to mid 90's, this was when surround sound was getting real popular. Everyone was trading in components for new surround sound equipment. I was able to pick up a Carver pre-amp and amplifier, some Klipsch speakers (15's with a giant horn), a Marantz CD player and a Onkyo equalizer. I wish I still had that system.
     
  17. Redfisher

    Redfisher Doesn't celebrate National Donut Day

    So I guess the question in my mind is why do we accept this. And then what could we do about it? (Rhetorical)
     
  18. Christopher Powell

    Christopher Powell Well-Known Member

    My dad had a Technics pre amp, power amp, tuner, turntable and tape deck. He had a few CD players over the years. When his AR-11 speakers fried the power amp, he bought a Denon power amp and JBL 4312 speakers. I have a Pioneer receiver and CD recorder, JVC CD player, Onkyo and Sony tape decks, Teac equalizer and turntable. I also have an old Realistic tape control center so I have enough inputs for all this stuff !!! Without a doubt my favorite part of my stereo are my Altec Lansing 83 speakers. Acoustic suspension 3 way speakers with an 8 inch woofer ported in the back. These speakers sound unreal !!!

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2016
  19. SHAVEWIZARD420

    SHAVEWIZARD420 Well-Known Member



    Lol its funny you mentioned that, my dad said he had a record player in his car back in the day. Seems like it would skip at each bump in the road.
     
  20. Jim99

    Jim99 Gold Water Shaver

    They were an option in Chrysler products back in the 1950's. I think they were special records and ran at 16 rpm.
     
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