Ralph Nader? Rush Limbaugh (sic?).? Just a guess :~)
How's this for a dose of reality???
"Dealers in high-fidelity components, like all dealers, are highly variable in their fidelity to customers' interests. Many are not only well versed in the good and bad features of the equipment they sell, but are honestly concerned to see that customers get the best products for their needs. Others, on the other hand, have a tendency to steer customers to components whose manufacturers have the biggest dealer discounts or offer special sales incentives, whether or not these components represent good value to a customer.
Unless you are certain that you have a dealer of the first kind, you should look with a suspicion on insistent attempts to steer you towards one brand or to switch you away from the brand you ask for. You should look for an unhurried, impartial demonstration of the components in which you are interested and in competing brands if you ask to hear them. And when listening comparitively, insist that the loudness be adjusted to equal levels for the comparison tests.
If the dealer will cooperate in permitting you to listen in your home to the units you have tentatively chosen ( some dealers will do so ), you can then be sure that they will be satisfactory before actually making a final choice."
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Few paragraphs editied out making specific recommendations as to what recordings to use for auditioning gear and what to listen for. This continues on:
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"Magazines which specialize in music and audio subjects publish reports of tests on various high-fidelity components. Despite their best efforts to be honest and impartial in such reports, however, it is extremely awkward for magazines to be openly critical of their advertisers' products. The result is that the reports are often helpful, but to a limited degree; the temptation to rate all components as "best yet" ( or at least to gloss over serious imperfections ) is very powerful.
The reports of general testing organizations whose publications do not carry advertising usually can be relied on to be free of bias. But even these reports vary in reliability according to the skill of the engineers who obtain and interpret test data on which the reports are based. Such variation exists in reports of the same organization.
Audio shows which are held in large cities offer an opportunity to see and hear new products, and to make a preliminary screening of possible choices. Often the rooms or booths at these shows are crowded and do not even come close in acoustic character to a home listening room. Further, the manufacturers of some quite good high-fidelity products conduct deplorable demonstrations, so that their products sound no better at audio shows than do inferior products. Consequently it is unwise to make a final decision for or against any component simply on the basis of what you hear at an audio show."
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Anybody wanna guess who wrote this, when it was written and what it came from? I think it will be interesting to see some of the responses : ) Sean
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PS... If you are CERTAIN that you know the answer, PLEASE DO NOT POST IT. Email it to me and i'll tell you if you're right or wrong. I'd like to see how many different responses / guesses we can get and the different comments that arise from each guess. Those that email me with the correct answer will be "acknowledged" after we've had some fun with this thread. Regardless of who, when and where it was written, it's pretty good, huh ??? : )
Unless you are certain that you have a dealer of the first kind, you should look with a suspicion on insistent attempts to steer you towards one brand or to switch you away from the brand you ask for. You should look for an unhurried, impartial demonstration of the components in which you are interested and in competing brands if you ask to hear them. And when listening comparitively, insist that the loudness be adjusted to equal levels for the comparison tests.
If the dealer will cooperate in permitting you to listen in your home to the units you have tentatively chosen ( some dealers will do so ), you can then be sure that they will be satisfactory before actually making a final choice."
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Few paragraphs editied out making specific recommendations as to what recordings to use for auditioning gear and what to listen for. This continues on:
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"Magazines which specialize in music and audio subjects publish reports of tests on various high-fidelity components. Despite their best efforts to be honest and impartial in such reports, however, it is extremely awkward for magazines to be openly critical of their advertisers' products. The result is that the reports are often helpful, but to a limited degree; the temptation to rate all components as "best yet" ( or at least to gloss over serious imperfections ) is very powerful.
The reports of general testing organizations whose publications do not carry advertising usually can be relied on to be free of bias. But even these reports vary in reliability according to the skill of the engineers who obtain and interpret test data on which the reports are based. Such variation exists in reports of the same organization.
Audio shows which are held in large cities offer an opportunity to see and hear new products, and to make a preliminary screening of possible choices. Often the rooms or booths at these shows are crowded and do not even come close in acoustic character to a home listening room. Further, the manufacturers of some quite good high-fidelity products conduct deplorable demonstrations, so that their products sound no better at audio shows than do inferior products. Consequently it is unwise to make a final decision for or against any component simply on the basis of what you hear at an audio show."
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Anybody wanna guess who wrote this, when it was written and what it came from? I think it will be interesting to see some of the responses : ) Sean
>
PS... If you are CERTAIN that you know the answer, PLEASE DO NOT POST IT. Email it to me and i'll tell you if you're right or wrong. I'd like to see how many different responses / guesses we can get and the different comments that arise from each guess. Those that email me with the correct answer will be "acknowledged" after we've had some fun with this thread. Regardless of who, when and where it was written, it's pretty good, huh ??? : )
58 responses Add your response
After a little bit of web research I found the term High Fidelity has been in use since 1935. The tone of the article suggests it is written for a general audience with disposable income. Since the depression of the 1930s and WWII of the 1940s would have made this type of article uncommon, I'm going to say it is post-WWII. Also the article mentions crowded audio shows, which means people had money and leisure time to spend which really didn't hit full force until the 1950s. This type of audio would have fit in well with the "modern" consumerism of the 1950s as well. So, I'm picking the 1950's as the decade, and the Saturday Evening Post as the publication. |
Some good guesses here. Some of you are closer than others in terms of time-frame, but none of you are close in terms of personalities or where it came from. I will divulge my reference for this material, but only after we've had some fun with this thread. Other than that, what are your thoughts on the subject matter? Is it right on the money, should it be taken with a grain of salt, is it full of bull, etc ???? Sean > PS... For those of you that emailed me privately and wanted to know the source, play the game. The winner gets an all expense paid date with their choice of any Hollywood movie-star i.e. dead people don't count. To make this a bit more fun and revealing of our personalities / preferences, please list the living person that you would want the date with. While i'm not eligible to win the all expense paid date, my vote would go for Drew Barrymore : ) |
You guys are killing me with emails of random guesses. Email me ONLY if your CERTAIN that you have the answer, otherwise, throw your hat into the public arena with a guess. Each guess should contain the following: 1) The person that you think said / wrote / was quoted for these statements 2) What year it was first made available to the public in 3) The format in what the information became available in i.e. a press release / advertisement from a manufacturer, an interview with the individual in a magazine, a published article written by the author in a magazine, a book that the writer had published, etc... If someone gets a partial answer, i'll point out what part of the answer they got right. In other words, if Joe Piscopo submitted "John Lennon, 2005, quoted interview in magazine" and the year was right, i'll specifically say that Joe Piscopo got the year right. From there, you guys have to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I will say that the person that wrote this is a well known audio figure of the past, but maybe not as well known as Julian Hirsch : ) One hint since you guys seem lost. I'll start off by saying that the written text qualifies as being "vintage" or "antique". That is, it is over 25+ years old. Other than that, do you guys agree / disagree with what was said in the text? Sean > |
Ok,Sean,fair enough. I have no idea who said it. If no one gets it right and you have a lottery for the prize and I win,I want a slutty brunette with a three digit IQ,sort of a cross between Catherine Zeta Jones, Angelina Jolie, Winonna Ryder, Salma Hayak,and Lucy Liu. I agree with what the author said but offer this update. I suspect the distance has shortened between low fi and hi fi over the last quarter century and equipment is now reliable enough that it's less of a gamble to buy things unheard(If you have a return privilage.). If you order a built to order Dell Computer,you know from the specs what you are going to get. In the same vien,I think that Odyssey,Van Alstine,and Madisound are on to something. You can get good equipment without having to pay for the retail step and commissioned salespersons. The things I want to hear in my room is the speakers and I got lucky with the Maggie 1.6s. |
None of the above and nobody has even remotely come close on the private emails either. As i mentioned, I will confirm the validity if someone gets "part" of the answer correct, so the more guesses out there, the more potential clues that you have to figure things out. After all, somebody has to be able to guess at least what year it was published. From there, that might give you a better idea of what "famous" audio personalities were around and on the rise. Don't expect a full answer until late Monday night though unless someone gets it all correct. We've got to give the "i only use my computer when i'm at work" crowd a chance. Maybe those people can actually follow the suggestions that i made too in terms of ONLY emailing if your certain of where the quote came from AND what info should be included in one's posted "guess". Each one of you that sent me a "guess" without knowing for certain that it was the correct answer owe's me a date with Drew ( or a suitable substitute ) : ) Sean |
Okay, finally some progress here. Nighthawk was close enough on his second guess that i've got to give you a clue. The origins of this text can be found in 1962, but it was updated and expanded in 1965. The person that is responsible for these statements has not been mentioned as of yet though, nor has the manner in which it was made available to the public. At least you know what time-frame you're looking at now. After all, how many "famous" audiophiles and / or designers and / or manufacturers and / or reviewers were around back then??? : ) Sean > PS... Please review the list of names and printed sources already posted before submitting your guess. Each wrong answer that you repeat will get you thirty lashes while chained up in a stockade from Uma Thurman. Expect no mercy as she'll think your name is "Bill" : ) |
It sounds like it could be a speech. Before the IEEE meeting? I'd guess that whoever wrote it was peripheral to the topic -- probably not an audio reviewer or dealer. I'm thinking it's a manufacturer who wasn't getting a fair shake -- thought maybe the president of Heathkit but 1962 was a transition year for them so that's out. Any of this close Sean? |
I'll give you folks a bit more of a hint here. This person was editor of the following magazines: Radio Communications, TV and Radio Engineering, Communication Engineering, Audiocraft and High Fidelity. He's also worked as a design engineer for at least two different respected audio manufacturers. This person is so well known in certain audio circles that there is at least one audio term named after him. Much of his research and design innovations have found their way into many, many different products over the years. Needless to say, this was a very wise and influential individual. Then again, you should have already known that judging by the comments he made that i posted above : ) Sean > PS... I have to leave for work, so i won't be updating / checking responses during the day. As such, we'll have to wait until i get back home tonight to see who, if anyone, is going out on a date and / or getting whipped by Uma : ) Sean > |
P.S. During my somewhat anal need to research the question, I ran into this very nice history of hi fi -- there are two parts: http://www.nutshellhifi.com/library/tinyhistory1.html |