Those simpler times.....

This is a nice discussion...... Please don't get me wrong.....I love my present system, and am in no way suggesting that we go back to our audio systems of "those simpler times." Heck, after living with my Rogue tubes and Vandersteen speakers, my ears, mind, and heart are extremely happy. Our shared audiophile hobby is terrific, and long may we wave !!

My point is that every once in a while we should take stock of where we are, and where we once were, in terms of our systems. As phenomenal as all our gear sounds now, let's not forget "those simpler times," when only the music mattered. Let's all remember why we enjoy our hobby as much as we do.............it's the music !!!
Stay well, my friends, and Happy Listening !!!

Reading your post was like reading my own thoughts. My freshman year was the same as yours and I too had a simple system, minus the 8-track. What were you thinking? :) The music was paramount. The equipment didn't seem to matter. And I think that's what underlines the post. People get so caught up in the equipment that they forget what the equipment is for.

"As Lindisfarne said, he got more pleasure out of his high school system than any since, but I'll bet if he had that same system now he wouldn't be so pleased."

We are over 40, our ears and hearing have undoubtedly changed as well plus we are more seasoned listeners.

However, if I had to, I think I am smarter about things now and I could set my old college system up again today if I could much more effectively than I knew how to do back then. Plus, I still have the speakers (refurbished and custom upgraded) and they are still in limited use.

I also still have some pop/rock cassette recordings that I recorded on that system from vinyl using a gorgeous vintage Philips 312 turntable (look it up, its a classic) that sound halfway decent on my current system. The only major issues I hear are of course tape hiss from the cassette a touch of brightness with dolby off that can be adjusted for, and perhaps less dynamic range than would be desired. I've recorded a few of these to CD and played them in the car for my kids....it sounds as good or better than many commercial CD issues there (who cares about a little tape hiss in a moving vehicle?).

Probably would need a power conditioner and decent interconnects still though to be satisfied (I used standard issue RCA interconnects back then, a sign of my ignorance in youth).

"As phenomenal as all our gear sounds now, let's not forget "those simpler times," when only the music mattered. Let's all remember why we enjoy our hobby as much as we do.............it's the music !!!"

Amen.

I remember listening to all of this music with friends back then and we picked it apart mercilessly. Picked it clean to the bones like vultures. Are the lyrics any good? Are there any new sounds? Are the sonics any good? Is this LP as good as their last one? No matter what we decided we still listened to the songs over and over with a few exceptions. This is still the music I listen to mostly and I still have a tendency to pick it apart. Except that now I can afford much, much better equipment so I am constantly re-discovering LPs I've known for years. Most sound even better now than I remember at that is due to the quality of my system components. However, there are a few that don't get spun as much because I can now hear the pigs in the background.

I guess I'm saying that I'm still living the simpler times, but with a much better system to listen with. It has always been about the music and how to get the components to get closer to the music. Some days I just want to hear the music so I'll pull out whatever strikes my fancy. Other days I want to hear what my system does with a particular LP. I don't really think I've changed at all. But my system sure has! ;-)