Chris A Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 http://gizmodo.com/5825359/why-your-dads-30+year+old-stereo-system-sounds-better-than-your-new-one [:^)] ...I think we should blame it all on Apple, the iPod, and MP3s... [] Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Sorry, total fail. First, my Dad had a mono rig not a stereo rig. It was good for it's vintage but no where near my later rigs. Second, (sorry guys) receivers of the 70s, sounded terrible, the guys that think they sound great, have never hooked up good separates. If new receivers sound worse than that, you new guys are in trouble.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I must be getting old. That is a photo of the receiver (Pioneer SX-1980) that I bought over 30 years ago (not my Dad's) and still use. My 2 channel setup sounds better then my A/V setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEvan Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Well, my dad's stereo sounded pretty darned good but it was a full Dyna tube setup, Weathers (then AR) turntable & Wharfedale speakers. My sharp young ears loved those golden tones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCliff Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 I must be getting old. That is a photo of the receiver (Pioneer SX-1980) that I bought over 30 years ago (not my Dad's) and still use. My 2 channel setup sounds better then my A/V setup. I too must say that for two channel sound, my 25+ year old Kenwood amp/Adcom pre, sound better then my Harman Kardon AV 3600. But I am more then pleased with the 3600's Home Theater sound reproduction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironsave Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 My Dad's Sansui 9090db with JBL L100s was a very dynamic setup. It was impressive then and those components are still sought after to this day for a reason. I just last night got my HK430 connected to the JBL L36s I refoamed 2 days ago...... (My attempt to get something that sounds similar; for nostalgic reasons). The result? Sweet. BEYOND SWEET. (I even A- B tested the speakers versus a Pioneer VSX D606S that I got for a family member for cheap.) The HK wins out on SQ; and Volume; even though the Pioneer is rated much higher....... (Sorry; It blew the Pioneer AWAY)........ I agree with Russ; the right seperates setup can be up on another level; BUT...... The article does have merit. They were not trying to pack HDMI, and Digital Coax; Toslink; SVideo; 3D and 1080p processing; etc; etc into a receiver. There are some really great SQ receivers from that era. I am fortunate to own one of them for 2 channel bedroom listening....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Well, my dad's stereo sounded pretty darned good but it was a full Dyna tube setup, Weathers (then AR) turntable & Wharfedale speakers. My sharp young ears loved those golden tones. Ya know, that old AR TT has to be the biggest bang for the buck ever made. tc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 My son is a bit of a bass head, so for his 16'th birthday I bought him a pair of Cerwin Vegas for his room. They're design goals were bass 1'st, SQ second. I couldn't live with them but my son absolutely LOVES them. I hooked them up to my 60wpc JVC integrated amp that I bought new in the mid 70's. The setup pounds hard. He's recently moved into an apartment and was tired of the JVC not being able to do all the switching required for his myriad of gaming and music inputs so........... We got him an 80wpc Pioneer receiver for his last birthday and after the move to the apartment we switched from the 35 year old JVC to the brand new Pioneer. Once we got it up and running he started complaining. "Dad, there's something wrong with this receiver, it doesn't hit anywhere near as hard as the old one did" LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adoremusic Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 d Sorry, total fail. First, my Dad had a mono rig not a stereo rig. It was good for it's vintage but no where near my later rigs. Second, (sorry guys) receivers of the 70s, sounded terrible, the guys that think they sound great, have never hooked up good separates. If new receivers sound worse than that, you new guys are in trouble.... What a ridiculous statement, you forgot to add IMHO because that's all it is. Sure lots of newer separates will beat the pants of any vintage receiver but to go as far as to call them terrible sounding is outrageous. Time to jump off the high horse me thinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironsave Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Update...... The HK AVR635 will beat the pants off of an HK 430 with maximum volume (and clarity). The AVR 635 is hooked to my Klipsch Heresy Is. The HK430 is currently running the JBL L36s. I remember my Dad having to dial it back often with the volume (I did not know why; I was 6) I think it is related to what typr of music; (JBLs seem to love the classic stuff; not as much with more recent rock; like AC/DC for example. They get a bit shrill and distorted when trying to approach volumes the Heresy Is do easily. I did an A-B test)..... Me thinks the Heresy Is are able to just "give it" on the volume and clarity......... JBL L36s in the bedroom will be great with the HK430; but not reach nearly the same volume with clarity. (Is it the speakers; the receiver or both?) I honestly need to A-B the speakers with the HK 430 to find out. (I suspect the JBLs are not quite up to the task)...... I am happy with my budget bedroom speakers...... I just know which speaker is truly an *** KICKER (with a sub)........ Long live Heresy....... I will NEVER sell them! I am enjoying the comparisons though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 McIntosh MX110 McIntosh MC30s 1976 Belle Klipsch Thorens TD124 As the old McIntosh ad says: "Some people would rather have a used McIntosh (Klipsch/Thorens) than a new anything else." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 My son is a bit of a bass head, so for his 16'th birthday I bought him a pair of Cerwin Vegas for his room. They're design goals were bass 1'st, SQ second. I couldn't live with them but my son absolutely LOVES them. I hooked them up to my 60wpc JVC integrated amp that I bought new in the mid 70's. The setup pounds hard. He's recently moved into an apartment and was tired of the JVC not being able to do all the switching required for his myriad of gaming and music inputs so........... We got him an 80wpc Pioneer receiver for his last birthday and after the move to the apartment we switched from the 35 year old JVC to the brand new Pioneer. Once we got it up and running he started complaining. "Dad, there's something wrong with this receiver, it doesn't hit anywhere near as hard as the old one did" LOL.Reality can bite hard sometimes... lol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I hooked them up to my 60wpc JVC integrated amp that I bought new in the mid 70's. The setup pounds hard. I finally had to dispose of a JVC integrated I purchased around '72. Only 30WPC, but it sounded great. I used it for years with my JBL 4311s. All discrete components, and not ICs. Update...... The HK AVR635 will beat the pants off of an HK 430 with maximum volume (and clarity). The AVR 635 is hooked to my Klipsch Heresy Is. The HK430 is currently running the JBL L36s. Me thinks the Heresy Is are able to just "give it" on the volume and clarity......... JBL L36s in the bedroom will be great with the HK430; but not reach nearly the same volume with clarity. (Is it the speakers; the receiver or both?) I honestly need to A-B the speakers with the HK 430 to find out. (I suspect the JBLs are not quite up to the task)...... I am happy with my budget bedroom speakers...... I just know which speaker is truly an *** KICKER (with a sub)........ Both... I have two HK430s, and they are solid, but a little fuzzy when pushed. Nowhere near as clean as my Merlin and 2A3 amps, but then the cost difference there is huge.The JBLs are good, but not nearly as efficient. Getting the same levels from them as the Heresy speakers will be pushing them rather hard. The mid and tweeter on the Heresy will give you cleaner, higher volume. The JBLs with the HK will be wonderful in the bedroom. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 CNET..... Like they know what they're talking about. [:^)] Trolling with a title like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCliff Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 My son is a bit of a bass head, so for his 16'th birthday I bought him a pair of Cerwin Vegas for his room. They're desigtn goals were bass 1'st, SQ second. I couldn't live with them but my son absolutely LOVES them. I hooked them up to my 60wpc JVC integrated amp that I bought new in the mid 70's. The setup pounds hard. He's recently moved into an apartment and was tired of the JVC not being able to do all the switching required for his myriad of gaming and music inputs so........... We got him an 80wpc Pioneer receiver for his last birthday and after the move to the apartment we switched from the 35 year old JVC to the brand new Pioneer. Once we got it up and running he started complaining. "Dad, there's something wrong with this receiver, it doesn't hit anywhere near as hard as the old one did" LOL. I once had Cerwin D-9s hooked up to Kenwood M2A 220wpc, the party was on, ROCK AND ROLL HOOCHIE CO0! [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 The new receivers certainly have more features than the old ones, but even so, the new stuff is better, based on my personal experience. I had a 1978 Yamaha CR-1020 stereo receiver for many years, but the 1998 Yamaha RX-V392 I replaced it with in 2004 sounds noticeably better. In 2005, I bought a new Yamaha RX-V750 and moved the 392 into the bedroom. The 2005 750 was another step up in sound quality and I'm listening to it right now. Adding features does bite into the overall engineering budget for a receiver, but countering that is the falling prices of circuit boards, which is why the Oppo players can sound better than expensive disc players of just a few years ago. I think that CNet article was just speaking in generalities and was pretty far off base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 My father's system sounded great, here are a few reasons; 1. They didn't call it the "Golden Age of Audio" for nothing, when he began to swap his HH Scott equipment for SAE (and later Harmon and Kardon separates) I began to notice some loss of the "magic" 2. He never had a cassette or CD as source, always his trusty Thorens (later replaced by an AR-1) turntable with Stanton cartridges. I still remember the 78s he listened to of Lead Belly, Bessie Smith, etc. His Scott tuner always sounded great and the glowing lights only made the livingroom sound more magical. 3. We listened to music then, not systems. somehow now we spend so much time obsessing over our system that we forget the music. the perfect example is people alaways asking "which recording make my system sound best", We focus on sound now when before we listened to music that we loved, that spoke to us emotionally, regardless of how it was recorded. warm regards, Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 What I wouldn't give to have my father here again playing music for me on his "stereo." I thought we were rich. I guess, in a special way, we were.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 My Dad's 30 year old stereo...."Hi-Fi", at its loosest interpretation, didn't exsist in the household until I bought my first cassette walkman with headphones in '96. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 "Zenith, the quality goes in before the name goes on" I guess I am really getting (or has that gotten) old if I remember add tag lines like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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