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The death of the home stereo system


lo123

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That guy doesn't get it. What's the point of having a huge music collection if all you can hear is the suggestion of how the music sounds?

With the systems he describes, you might be able to sing along with a danceable tune, but the emotion is so diluted that it's lost. Sure, headphones can be great sometimes, but they don't replace a real music system.

Anyway, if it were all true, why are stores carrying more and more LPs?

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Sure, headphones can be great sometimes, but they don't replace a real music system.

Why do people keep saying that? They make headphones now that can create a sense of space. No, it's not like having it come at you from a wall, but I'm telling you, it sounds really, really good, and when you take them off -- stuff that normally sounds really really good now sounds really really mediocre! Maybe I should send my headphones around!

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In all aspect of our lives technology contiunes to shape our lives. Convience is a major factor, even at the expense of quality. The car replaced the horse and buggy, technology wins war, technology has lead to better health care and technology makes life easier. I don't like saying this but, digital media is easier to get, manage, and store. A lot of people are just happy listening to the ipods. There will always be people that appreciate music and will go the extra mile to get the best listening experience as possible.

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Sure, headphones can be great sometimes, but they don't replace a real music system.

Why do people keep saying that? They make headphones now that can create a sense of space. No, it's not like having it come at you from a wall, but I'm telling you, it sounds really, really good, and when you take them off -- stuff that normally sounds really really good now sounds really really mediocre! Maybe I should send my headphones around!

I get what you are saying and agree to a point . Headphones can sound wonderful but can never replace the visceral experience of music being reproduced in an open room .
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Sure, headphones can be great sometimes, but they don't replace a real music system.

Why do people keep saying that? They make headphones now that can create a sense of space. No, it's not like having it come at you from a wall, but I'm telling you, it sounds really, really good, and when you take them off -- stuff that normally sounds really really good now sounds really really mediocre! Maybe I should send my headphones around!

I think headphones and speakers can't replace one another, but they can complement one another. Neither one is the ultimate, if such a thing is even possible, but both can be really good.

Speakers can't replace a good headphone, either.

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Headphones can sound wonderful but can never replace the visceral experience of music being reproduced in an open room .

I dunno about that... when I was 18, I had a pair of Electrovoice Interface D's crammed into my bedroom (-3 db @ 28Hz)

I think I was playing something quiet & tender like Aerosmith Rocks or perhaps Toys in the Attic.

I was listening through my headphones.

I was laying on the bed absolutely amazed at not only the clarity of the sound but the absolute visceral impact of it. I mean, I was able to just feeeeeeeeeeeeel the impact of the music through my bones. Heck, even my bed was shaking!

I might mention I did have it up loud through the headphones, perhaps very loud.

Low & behold, soon my bedroom door flew open & there stood my angry as $(*# mother with her face blood red, spittle coming out of her mouth saying something that I had no idea because I had the headphones on.

I casually reached to the volume, turned it down and her anger clarified about "wahhhhhh wahhhhhh wahhh wah.... turn that da(* music downnnnnnn and don't play it so loud" [:@]

HUH? [:^)]

I was flabbergasted until I noticed that I had not turned the speakers off. [:$]

Whilst I was jamming to the music in my head, the rest of the house was jamming to the music through the speakers which perfectly explained why I had such a visceral experience while listening through headphones.

Frankly, I thought it was a pretty kick butt combo!!

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Sure, headphones can be great sometimes, but they don't replace a real music system.

Why do people keep saying that? They make headphones now that can create a sense of space. No, it's not like having it come at you from a wall, but I'm telling you, it sounds really, really good, and when you take them off -- stuff that normally sounds really really good now sounds really really mediocre! Maybe I should send my headphones around!

I get what you are saying and agree to a point . Headphones can sound wonderful but can never replace the visceral experience of music being reproduced in an open room .

I totally agree that headphones can't replace reproduction in a room. Judging from the incredible response I've been getting when demonstrating my near-field system, others seem to agree with this as well. Even non-audiophiles are truly amazed at just how involving 2 channel listening can be, and when they are told just how little such a system can cost, they are quite interested in pursuing it for themselves.

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Headphones can sound wonderful but can never replace the visceral experience of music being reproduced in an open room .

I dunno about that... when I was 18, I had a pair of Electrovoice Interface D's crammed into my bedroom (-3 db @ 28Hz)

I think I was playing something quiet & tender like Aerosmith Rocks or perhaps Toys in the Attic.

I was listening through my headphones.

I was laying on the bed absolutely amazed at not only the clarity of the sound but the absolute visceral impact of it. I mean, I was able to just feeeeeeeeeeeeel the impact of the music through my bones. Heck, even my bed was shaking!

I might mention I did have it up loud through the headphones, perhaps very loud.

Low & behold, soon my bedroom door flew open & there stood my angry as $(*# mother with her face blood red, spittle coming out of her mouth saying something that I had no idea because I had the headphones on.

I casually reached to the volume, turned it down and her anger clarified about "wahhhhhh wahhhhhh wahhh wah.... turn that da(* music downnnnnnn and don't play it so loud" Angry

HUH? Huh?

I was flabbergasted until I noticed that I had not turned the speakers off. Embarrassed

Whilst I was jamming to the music in my head, the rest of the house was jamming to the music through the speakers which perfectly explained why I had such a visceral experience while listening through headphones.

Frankly, I thought it was a pretty kick butt combo!!

Richard, you should get a "BUTTKICKER!" I had one hooked up to my office chair and with some headphones it was VISCERAL!

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you should get a "BUTTKICKER!" I had one hooked up to my office chair and with some headphones it was VISCERAL!

You aren't the only person I have heard say that. The low freq. in the chair added to the headphones made for a great listening experience.

Bruce

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Just took a look at the link and commented over there. Actually, I'm glad to see the mainstream mentioning this phenomenon even if supercially. If you read my piece on the same subject, you'd certain know (whatever your own opinion is) I think it much more complex than the few issues mentioned there.

However, accurate enough for what it was.

Dave

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I like the way some music can hit me in the chest with the Jubscala IIs (and the JubScalas and La Scalas before them) playing at even moderate levels. Real music does that, too, but headphones don't, even when augmented with Buttkickers or the like.

Music fans who listen on mini-systems or earbuds just won't hear what the music is really like. When I got my system set up years ago, including getting the sub dialled in, I was surprised at how much more I was hearing, even in unexpected content like TV ads. It must have been there all the while, but the lesser systems I had before, or the TV speakers, just couldn't play the low bass, among other things.

Sometimes when I'm listening to good recordings and hearing all the details that the musicians and engineers have worked so hard to create and record, and realize that the vast majority of listeners won't be able to hear quite a few of those details, I wonder if the music creators are frustrated by that, or whether they want to create the very best music they can, for their own satisfaction, and for the pleasure of the few people who have invested the time and money to assemble premium systems that can play back all of the music.

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Sure, headphones can be great sometimes, but they don't replace a real music system.

Why do people keep saying that? They make headphones now that can create a sense of space. No, it's not like having it come at you from a wall, but I'm telling you, it sounds really, really good, and when you take them off -- stuff that normally sounds really really good now sounds really really mediocre! Maybe I should send my headphones around!

i agree! i love my klipsch speakers and i love my Audez'e headphones equally. theres some things my speakers just can't do as well as my headphone rig, and things my headphones just can't do as well as my speakers. But both are a great music experience.

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My Westone um2s have dedicated low range drivers. They are in ear monitors so they work a little different than earphones in the respect of how the sound is created in the ear canal. While they will rattle your fillings out with just a little bit of power due to their ultra high sensitivity they don't give the out of body experience a chest punch for my 2 ch set up does. But even without the punch they still provide a ton of depth and width to the soundstage. Guess I could always strap the butt kicker to my chest to get that punch back. [8-|]

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The article has some valid observations and nostalgia. Maybe I'm over sensitive but it seems to be a little dig at the audio systems of our youth. Probably only to push some buttons.

Yes, in college and post grad years following, the home stereo, let me say dorm stereo, was the main source of music for most of us. The author has something going about interconnects -- but they were never a bother for me, just part of the fun. AOR on FM was coming to the fore and top-40 AM was in decline.

Not mentioned in the article was car systems. I fixed up the Volvo with an 8-track with FM cart which needed repair. I got it working with four speakers in the very used 1800S This was the '70s. If anything, car systems have not been displaced much at all. Even low end cars have good audio systems. Tweeking car systems is all the rage in recent years. More than tweeking, more like monster systems. Smile.

It is true that smart-phones and ear buds, and downloads have partially replaced much of what we had. But why focus on the replacement of mid-range home systems?

Smartphones have replaced or displaced many things.

35-mm film cameras and trying to get that shot just right.

Super-8 cameras.

Audio and video tape recorders.

Land-lines.

Pocket watches, wrist watches, alarm clocks, and sun dials.

Desk top computers, lap top computers, tablet computers, mice, modems, and punch cards.

That ancient form of e-mail where someone would print it out and bring it to you, and ask for a reply, i.e. Western Union.

Post cards from a relative having a vacation far away. A hand written note from your best gal. Texting isn't quite the same.

Watching a movie at a theater with friends and popcorn. We do it at home.

Yup, that is nostalgia and the old days. While these have been replaced, they have been replaced in many instances by a better and faster and more convenient equivalent systems. It is something to argue.

But, why the heck focus on the home stereo system as the only loser -- the only buggy whip?

Smile,

WMcD

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Absolutely. And it's been this way from the beginning -- when eating meant wandering in freezing weather with spears and arrows tipped with finely crafted points of obsidian and flint; when warmth and cooked food meant learning to harness, control, and make fire. Death of the home stereo system -- it's an interesting observation. I can't help but wonder, however, what the home stereo system did to the thousands of years worth of music at home that was made by actual people - singing and playing real instruments for the enjoyment of others gathered just to listen! We now like to talk about how we find components that almost sound like the real thing (or at least remind us of it). There are times I find myself clinging to these fleeting things -- the old clocks I have collected to repair so I can wind them and listen to them chime the hours......

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