Music instruments are pretty much what they have always been. And there’s the Stradivarius (and many other) fetishes for vintage stuff that supposedly was never bested.
In audio, and particularly speakers, many fundamentals are extremely similar since the 70s. Which is not a bad thing at all. It means a technology has reached a level where you may consider yourself served for the longer term. I do think there is genuine innovation, but on the other hand the improvements come down to the diminishing results we’re long used to in audio. My dad had phenomenally sounding speakers in the 70s. It was only in the early 90s that I was able to get -for myself, after I moved out- speakers that sounded equal in quality. And when my Dad died, I would have gladly taken those speakers, only they had been destroyed in a fire a few years before he died.
I think what has *really* changed is the quality of sound in the lower end. You were always able to get great sounding sound if you spent enough. But now you can build a system with a very few $500 components that gives anything a run for its money, and definitely puts still pricey vintage stuff in its place.
In audio, and particularly speakers, many fundamentals are extremely similar since the 70s. Which is not a bad thing at all. It means a technology has reached a level where you may consider yourself served for the longer term. I do think there is genuine innovation, but on the other hand the improvements come down to the diminishing results we’re long used to in audio. My dad had phenomenally sounding speakers in the 70s. It was only in the early 90s that I was able to get -for myself, after I moved out- speakers that sounded equal in quality. And when my Dad died, I would have gladly taken those speakers, only they had been destroyed in a fire a few years before he died.
I think what has *really* changed is the quality of sound in the lower end. You were always able to get great sounding sound if you spent enough. But now you can build a system with a very few $500 components that gives anything a run for its money, and definitely puts still pricey vintage stuff in its place.