Who remembers audio from the time when ...


... I recall hurrying home with the newest vinyl, placing it on the rek-o-kut  belt turntable (arm and cartridge beyond recall) then turning on the HeathKit preamp (with all sorts of equalizing circuits) and amp, then watching the tubes warm up.  The anticipation of hearing the new music through a decent system built up with the warming rube glow from orange to red and dimming into the infra red.  Gently grasping the arm and rotating it to place the needle’s crystal  perfectly into the first cut.  The Heathkit 2way speaker was placed forward from center wall to mimic a mono transducer at center stage.  Switching the turntable motor on while gradually increasing gain at the preamp required a soft touch.  Then stereo,  Reel to Reel.  The Dolby cassette deck, tubeless amps and preamps. Digital ...

  i continue to be amazed at the continuing tidal wave of efforts directed to achieve more accurate sound reproduction and more pleasing perception utilizing our incredible ability to hear sound in the spectrum of musical experience.  The sounds of nature: A drip of water on the wet surface of a broadleaf in the rainforest. The startling gasping wheeze of the change in air flow through the mountain pass.  The sizzle of receding waves through the pebbles on shore.  And the sounds made by humans.

  Old timer’s reminiscences of early audiophile recollections are welcome.  




davesandbag
Dweller, that is an interesting theory. The standard however has remained the same, live music. I also think young people appreciate  a fine hi fi. It is just not high on their list of priorities. My kids are always giving me the low down on new music. I have already given them the low down on old music. They and their friends love music just as much as I do. One plays piano the other piano and violin. I think the major difference is that audio electronics is not their hobby.
As an Infant my mother could not get me to shut up at night. In desperation she stuck a radio in my crib. It worked. Believe it or not I can still see that radio. My father had 8 mm movies (now CDs) of me conducting with my diapers falling. When I was 4 years old I was awakened at 2 AM with a large brown box sitting on the foot of my bed.
(it was my birthday). It was a Zenith portable record player complete with a black cobra tonearm with little white eyes and that tube smell. This was 1959. My father put together his first system in 1961 around Bozak B302's. The highlight being an Ampex reel to reel. I used the Zenith until I could convince my father that I could manipulate his system just fine. I was probably 8 or 9 at the time. When I was 12 my father bought an Ariens snow blower. The deal was I could do as many drive ways as I wanted as long as I did ours first. At 10 dollars a driveway with a good New England Winter I could make as much as $500! Pretty soon I had my own system and I was moved to the finished basement of our house.
I attended my first Rock and Roll concert at 16, The Allman Brother's Band at Boston's Tea Party. Music was never the same. Both our systems sounded hopelessly colored and under powered. I guess I have been chasing that first concert my entire life. The closer I get the harder and more expensive it gets to make improvements. But that is our hobby isn't it? We are all chasing that illusive sound but for some it is a jazz band, other's a classical orchestra, and some of us everything. But the hobby is about sound, not music. You do not have to have a mega buck system to appreciate music, a telephone and decent ear buds will do it.
The kids are just as involved with music but not necessarily the sound.
50 years ago in Late September/Early to Late October the following albums were released within the span of about 4 weeks:

The Band - The Band
The Beatles - Abbey Road
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Led Zepplin 2
Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
Pink Floyd - Ummagumma
The Kinks - Arthur
Spirit - Clear
Free - debut album

I doubt we’ll see a confluence of such commercial aspirations and artistic expression as during those heady days again.
In Jr High back in 1973 I had a paper route earned me enough to buy my first system. Today everyone has access to everything. Or at least you know its there, even if you can't afford it. Back then though unless a friend tells you or you happen across it, might as well not even exist. Or might as well, as Seattle might as well not exist, since no way no how are mom and dad driving you to Seattle just to hear stuff you (or hell, even they!) can't afford anyway.

But Puyallup, you can ride there on your bike! Its an hour each way and down in a valley while you live way up on the North Hill but you can do it. So it was I came to pester the guys at Radio Shack and spend God only knows how many hours listening and comparing while saving my paper route money....

It wasn't tubes but it was mine and best of all this was 1973 so we had Dark Side of the Moon, Nilsson Schmilsson, and I had my own listening room- aka bedroom- where I could put the speakers anywhere. Ditto acoustic treatment. Learned a lot about speaker placement even way back then.

Thinking back on it now its hard to say which I liked best, Without You which made my little heart ache, or Jump Into the Fire with the best drums ever. What I do know, I would play those just as loud as that system would go without breaking up. Which in case you ever want to try this, is with the speakers on the floor about 3 feet apart and pointed straight at each other with you laying on the floor with your head right between them. We can make each other happy. We can make each other happy. Waaaaaaa ahhhhhhh!!!!  Ho. Lee. Crap!