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Hi end audio equip sounds better today than in decades past due to tech - T/F

I am in a hi-end audio store today, speaking with the owner, who has been in the audio business for almost 40 yrs. Super nice guy. Can talk up a storm - but as a good thing... where someone like me can learn a thing or two.

He said something that I found curious... audio equipment (pres, amps, rcvrs, speakers) sound better today than just 20 years ago, b/c ’they didn’t have the same technology back then we have today'. Why? Better materials, better components, better r/d... the stuff just sounds better in today’s world, he is telling me.

Coming from someone who doesn’t know any better.... is there any truth to this?
riffwraith
sugabooger
89 posts
 
Low cost DACs made today are superior to those costing 10x, probably 25-50x what was available 20 years ago. Many expensive DACs are a step backward in performance though you may like the way it sounds.

It is surprising how good many low cost speakers are today.

Class-D has come of age and rivals the best amplifiers. You may not like it, but they work very well. Many are even doing that with switch mode power supplies.

Bass management and room correction has grown leaps and bounds with no cost increase.
alaric62
81 posts
 

 Very good gear from any era still sounds like very good gear. What has improved the most is the availability of good gear. It is much easier to get better gear than it was 20, 30, and 40 years ago. The SQ I have today would have cost the same in the 80s. The difference being $4k-$5k was a LOT more money then. More people can afford to get closer to "high fidelity" than before.

mashif
285 posts
 

@ghdprentice

I’ll nominate my 1978 JBL 4311wxa vintage control monitors. They have a unique design unlike most. The concentric layout of the drivers, the midrange driver wired in reverse polarity, and the simple crossover result in a harmonically rich sound that is well balanced in all ranges. Having no inductors to choke off the output, each driver follows it's natural roll-off and is complemented by the next driver that was specifically designed to follow it. The volume controls on the mids and tweets allow a wide range of settings that result in a flat response, allowing you to tune precisely to the room or even to the recording. The Aquaplas coating on the woofer and accordian surround maintain the ideal stiffness, while the mid driver diaphragm is impregnated with a coating as well. The tweeter has limited high end extension, but is flat to 15k. I don’t think I’d notice if it was higher.

I am always looking for speakers that sound better. While I haven’t heard super high end audiophile speakers, no speaker under $5k comes close, which is about what they would cost today.

 

kennyc
1,655 posts
 

Yes- speaking of the latest DACs, speakers, equipment. Technology marches on.

Many who disagree are stuck in the past, often motivated by very limited budgets. They haven’t demoed the latest gear. They stop at good enough, which is not the same as what’s better or best (usually for a substantial cost).  

Check out some more stores, or much better yet, check out a major high-end audio show like AXPONA. This will give you a great reference point to find the sonics that resonates with you…for a price.

ghdprentice
7,339 posts
 

And some folks simply don’t like change.
 

I happen to live with one… each change is torture… then a few months later, nothing but praise. If it wasn’t for my interest and curiosity we would be living with TVs with tubes… I mean the screen, writing with pens, and flipping out light switches by hand. 

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