Does Anyone Else Member the Golden Age of Audio Insults and Product Degradation?

@lou_setriodes 

i have a greater appreciation now of what NEC brought to the world of high performance audio.

thanks again for sharing.

And, this one:

"I Sherwoodn't want to own a piece of that gear".

Here's a little on topic/off topic story.

Back in the late 70's the dealer "sound rooms" often used sliding glass patio doors to seal them off.  Vendors were happy to provide stickers with their logos on them, which we proudly displayed on the outside of the glass.

One day, while inside the sound room, a customer was staring at the glass door from the inside with a very confused look on his face.  

A little more time transpired, then he just couldn't hold back his comment:  

"I've never heard of A-HA-MAY."

True story.

Oh, yeah.  Almost forgot ...

Flame Linear:  Phase Linear

These are great!!

Reminds me of a class reunion.  (Without the embarrassment)

Great stuff!!

Thanks for participating.  Lots of old (and, new) memories.

A nice way to spend a little time before heading out in my Fix Or Repair Daily (FORD).

You guys are the best!!!

A little on subject/off subject remark:

When I was 17, I blew a woofer in my brother's Sansui speakers playing The Big Sound of the Drags LP.  I took them to the local audio saloon for repair and was told: "Sansui speakers aren'tt worth the postage to send them here from Japan!!"  That was my first experience with an audio specialty store. 

Then I opened one years later.  Slow learner, I guess.

Guys, so sorry about the typo in the heading.  Should be "Remember" and not "Member".  I know better.

Now you know why I'm a retired Hifi Guy and not an active marketing consultant.

@secretguy Wow!  Sounds like you've got a nice piece of racing memorabilia there.  Congrats!!  I just hauled 3 boxes of LPs from my big brother's basement.  I'm pretty sure that album is in there somewhere.

On the subject of product reviews, here's one of my most memorable comments.

I've lost some of the details over time.  Maybe someone can help fill in the blanks?

It was probably around 1980, and a major manufacturer introduced a new power amplifier utilizing "cutting edge technology" developed by another company that had questionable credentials an was not well received by the audio community for its sonics.

After spending some quality time with the amp, the reviewer, not exactly blown away with its performance, wrote:

"It looks like they copied the Titanic with the hole already in it, and headed out to sea."

@cd318 I'm with you on the Schitt Audio thing. I think they really missed some "marketing opportunities" to leverage their name to promote the brand.  A few in the long list of possibilities:

GIVE-A Schitt:  Gift Card

Schitt TOGETHER: Cables and interconnects

DEEP Schitt:  Subwoofer

Schitt STORM:  Power amp

Im pretty sure I won't be getting a call from the folks at Schitt Audio seeking my advice.

@lou_setriodes 

Good stuff.  Thanks for sharing.

John

@lou_setriodes 

That”s a new one for me.  I feel (a little) smarter now.

@boothroyd 

Thanks for the comment.  I remember NEC and they never moved the needle very far on my "cool stuff" meter.  Not Electronically Competent in my opinion.

@lou_setriodes 

Looks like you've exposed some gaps in my knowledge base.  Glad your experience with the NEC gear was a possible one.  I've now adjusted my opinion towards NEC with a little help from my friends.

Thanks for the comments.

That’s original.  Haven’t heard that one.