This is an interesting thread -- I thought everyone here was younger than me, but now I see that I have a few peers.
My audiotrek began around 1963 (age 11). My first "system" was a handheld AM transistor radio and I let Scott Muney, and Cousin Brucie introduce me to the Beatles and some of the other great '60s bands. I was too young to know the sound quality sucked; it was all about the music back then.
Later on in high school, I started experimenting with my first component systems, which I bought mainly at my local Lafayette Radio store. I remember looking through the catalog and eying all the cool-looking reel to reel decks that I couldn't afford. A little later, I moved on to Dyna solid-state amplification with an AR XA turntable and a pair of AR 3A speakers, which I really liked. Next I added a pair of AR 2AXs for rear channels in a passive "DynaQuad" setup. Oh Yeah, it rocked!
As the years turned, I tried tube electronics, and speakers from Infinity, Magnepan, and Acoustat. One of my favorite systems (had a great room at the time!) used Acoustat 2+2s with a tube preamp made by Dan Fanny (AHT) and his direct-drive tube servo-charge amps (based on the Acoustat amps). I had an AR ES-1 turntable with a Monster Alpha-2 MC cartridge and that combination really kicked butt. It's one of the few systems that I'd consider trading back for today. It was a full-range crossoverless electrostatic system that had good bass, a lush, dynamic midrange, and could play LOUD without self-destructing. It was clean, fast, and natural sounding. I have to wonder how great it would have sounded hooked up to the more expensive gear I now own.
I would have to say that the years from the mid 60's through 1985 were the best for me in terms of the music. In the mid '80s, the advent of digital playback screwed things up for a decade or so. Now, the quality of CD recordings and players is generally acceptable, but originality and creativity has been stripped from today's artists by recording companies who seem to strive for homogenity. And being raised in the digital era with digital instruments and recording technology has not helped today's artists in my view. Some bands seem to have no concept of what makes sound pleasing to the ear.
So I just bought a competent reel to reel deck and I have a nice collection of tapes from the late 60s and early '70s to go through. So far my sojourn back to the past has been extremely gratifying. And if the future of audio playback is something similar to MP3, then I just might not return.
Doesn't it suck that we have the technology in place to create a format/system superior to all others in history -- yet due mainly to greed and political issues we could actually end up with something inferior to what was available 40 or 50 years ago?
My audiotrek began around 1963 (age 11). My first "system" was a handheld AM transistor radio and I let Scott Muney, and Cousin Brucie introduce me to the Beatles and some of the other great '60s bands. I was too young to know the sound quality sucked; it was all about the music back then.
Later on in high school, I started experimenting with my first component systems, which I bought mainly at my local Lafayette Radio store. I remember looking through the catalog and eying all the cool-looking reel to reel decks that I couldn't afford. A little later, I moved on to Dyna solid-state amplification with an AR XA turntable and a pair of AR 3A speakers, which I really liked. Next I added a pair of AR 2AXs for rear channels in a passive "DynaQuad" setup. Oh Yeah, it rocked!
As the years turned, I tried tube electronics, and speakers from Infinity, Magnepan, and Acoustat. One of my favorite systems (had a great room at the time!) used Acoustat 2+2s with a tube preamp made by Dan Fanny (AHT) and his direct-drive tube servo-charge amps (based on the Acoustat amps). I had an AR ES-1 turntable with a Monster Alpha-2 MC cartridge and that combination really kicked butt. It's one of the few systems that I'd consider trading back for today. It was a full-range crossoverless electrostatic system that had good bass, a lush, dynamic midrange, and could play LOUD without self-destructing. It was clean, fast, and natural sounding. I have to wonder how great it would have sounded hooked up to the more expensive gear I now own.
I would have to say that the years from the mid 60's through 1985 were the best for me in terms of the music. In the mid '80s, the advent of digital playback screwed things up for a decade or so. Now, the quality of CD recordings and players is generally acceptable, but originality and creativity has been stripped from today's artists by recording companies who seem to strive for homogenity. And being raised in the digital era with digital instruments and recording technology has not helped today's artists in my view. Some bands seem to have no concept of what makes sound pleasing to the ear.
So I just bought a competent reel to reel deck and I have a nice collection of tapes from the late 60s and early '70s to go through. So far my sojourn back to the past has been extremely gratifying. And if the future of audio playback is something similar to MP3, then I just might not return.
Doesn't it suck that we have the technology in place to create a format/system superior to all others in history -- yet due mainly to greed and political issues we could actually end up with something inferior to what was available 40 or 50 years ago?