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2017 vs. 1990s - How far we have come

Hi Everyone,

I'm just taking a moment to think about how far we have come in the quality and enjoyment of music over the last 3 decades or so. I'm listening to Jazz.fm at 96kHz/16 via a Squeezebox Touch an NAD D 3020, and custom speakers (free design is available here ) on my desk as I work.

I have to say, the sound is pretty fantastic. We do a lot of comparisons to evaluate the relative merits of any given system, but we choose what we compare to. If we compare what we can get now vs. in the late 1980's/1990's I have to say things are really really good, and we should all take time to think about that now and then.

My total outlay is around $800 in electronics + the speakers.

First, I can pick among almost any radio station in the world. When guests from China show up, I have a station from Beijing playing when they arrive. I have 3 or 4 really good jazz stations on tap. There's Spotify and Tidal (great old school catalog) in addition to my 800 albums or so, some hi rez, mostly Redbook.

Digital amplifiers and DAC's are sooooooo much better than they used to be. Some of the DAC improvements in the low/mid market is outstanding. Especially Redbook. Digital amps, even cheap one's, sound so much better than the initial trials around the 1980s I heard. I mean sooooooo much better.

Don't get me wrong, there's a warm spot in my heart for vinyl and tube amps. But let's not pooh pooh an all digital/Class D solution either. The convenience, price and features are really outstanding now.

There will always be room for a discerning ear however. I don't mean to say all DAC's and all Class D amps and all speakers are now great. They are not. I am saying that for the music lover and audiophile your entry level to really good sound is a lot less expensive than before. Let's celebrate this, and also celebrate that this allows us to share not just shopping experiences but culture as well. The better music transmission is, the easier it is to enjoy and share all sorts of music, and culture. We should delight in that.

Best,

E
erik_squires
erik_squires OP
16,924 posts
 
Everyone should listen and buy whatever they like, but we are running afoul of a self-fulfilling prophecy or tautology.

If you see 1960's SET amps and horn speakers as "The Best" then there is no possibility for improvement, in class A/D/H unless they sound exactly like that.

Also, sound quality is not the only dimension of change. Size, convenience, cost and variety are all valid ways to think about our hobby as well.

So if you like listening to a 5W amp with a giant Polish made tube sitting on top, that's what you should listen to, but I hope that even those who do can see other ways in which our hobby has gotten much better.

Best,

E

erik_squires OP
16,924 posts
 
Alan - Have you heard the Stax through the Woo Audio headphone amps? Unbelievably good.

Best,

E
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
When I had my headphone rig I listened to naked Sennheiser 600s through a Woo Audio headphone amp and the world's most modded Oppo 103. Not...too..shabby.

alanholvey's avatar
alanholvey
96 posts
 
Erik, yes I know.  Previously I was using a Stax SR5-SDR6 combo with an Audio Research VSi60 integrated tube amplifier.  And if I had a matching Audio Resarch tube amplifier with say 150 watts per channel to connect to my Audio Research LS27 tube line stage with my SRD7/SB-Lambda combination-well who knows.  All I can say is using the Stax matchng headphone amplifiers limit one to modest power.  With my Rega-Stax combo, with 160 watts per channel they really come thru.  Of course realize that Sax electrostatic headphones are actually minature speakers-thus they call them ear spekers.  And as Michael Fremer has found out on his owm monstrous Wilson speakers, more power is a very good thing.  By the way, with my Stax system,  have added a one foot pair of MG Audio Desrgn wires between my Rega Orisis integrated and the wires from my Stax SDR7/SB box-I have added a high quality speaker wire between the Stax box and my amplifier.  The result is simular to adding an high end speaker wire to one's min speaker system.  This allows an at least 30 year old Sta headphone system to today show what it is capable of.                       By the way, I have also obtained recently an 40 year old Yamaha CA800 integrated amplifier.  The Yama CA80 and Ca1000 were what put Yamaha's reputation on the record.  They, and theCT7000 FM tuner are what their reputstion are based upon-still today.  They were as good as it gets for the money and then some when they first came out.  Class A with the flip of a switch.  Two superior phono imputs.  Headphone imput, and tone controls abundance.  Although I never use them.  For under $200, when used with my second McIntosh MR74-wow.  No, dimefor dime, dollar for dollar, properly chosen "old" stuff can really work for the best.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
We’ve perhaps come a long way in some respects but so has the RFI/EMI problem. It’s an order of magnitude or more worse than it was 30 or 40 years ago. Small wonder expensive systems oft sound like, well, not good. 💩 Are folks trying to catch the dragon and recapture the sound they heard 30 or 40 years ago?  

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