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Those simpler times.....

Ya' know, it's kinda funny. We're all spending a great deal of time concerned about tables, arms, cartridges, phono stages, cables, impedance matching, amps, pre-amps, speakers, etc. etc. Whatever happened to the simpler times ?.....I am all of a sudden fondly remembering my first college dorm room system, freshman year, 1973. An all-in-one Panasonic receiver, 8-track tape player/recorder, and turntable, with matching speakers. I think I paid all of $260 for the whole set-up (hard earned bucks, back then). I never even thought about my system. All I ever did was cue up the records.....Doobies, Allmans, Dead, Cat Stevens, Led Zep, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Loggins & Messina, Stevie Wonder, whatever.....and simply LOVED LISTENING TO THE MUSIC !!! No stress over all the stuff we seem to be stressing about today. Only the music mattered.

Don't get me wrong......it's a lot of fun researching, buying, and enjoying all our "audiophile stuff," and I totally enjoy conversing with all you guys on these forums,.....but, do yourself a favor, grab one of your favorite old LP's, sit back, and think about those "simpler times." After all, isn't it all about the music ? Happy listening, my friends.
adam18
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,151 posts
 
Reminiscing about simpler times is of course not a phenomena limited to audio systems. I think more and more people are starting to become overwhelmed by technology and how it often intrudes or is forcefully injected into their lives in unwanted ways.

Still, everyone has some technology out there that serves them so well that they could never give it up. That need is what fuels the continuous evolution of technology and the services (or disservices) that it delivers.

The technology that goes into our sound systems is surely the one technology that true music lovers could not live without. In some cases, the technology itself can easily become an obsession as well.

So what's wrong with that? It's an honest hobby. Between music and the technology that goes into capturing and reproducing it, there is much to learn and think about. And it is a constructive, positive thing in most cases I would think.

There are surely many things we could spend our time otherwise that is far worse.

Plus, we may all be obsessive nut cases at heart, but that's besides the point. Nobody forces us to spend our time with the hobbies we chose.
strateahed
301 posts
 
I was thinking about this same thing lately. In the 70's I blew nearly all my summer job college money on my first upgrade ... went from a Denon one-box "component" set-up to a Marantz 1060 integrated, Thorens TT, and Advent speakers. Speaker wire? Didn't think about it. Just clear jacketed unterminated garden variety wire. Interconnects... what?

But the music. At the time, I felt like that was a killer system! Even took it to do sounds for a good sized dance hall disco happenin'. Like most have said, I just enjoyed listening to music and never thinking about my equipment. It was R&B, rock, funk, and jazz all the time ... with a little space left for school. Yes, those were definitely simpler times.
newbee
4,767 posts
 
I loved those simple times too. I remember the times I got drunk and would wake up without a hangover.
I remember the days when I could eat anything and did. Great food and wine was wasted on me.
I remember the dating scene. A little kissing, lots of sex, no demands, no diseases. Wow was that great! Every day had so much potential for new experiences.
I remember the music (not 'audio)' in those days - all live, or over a portable radio.

Then one day I got a home audio system and I discoved 'imaging'.
I got married and found out I had to work.
I had kids and had to raise them.
And sex, well I guess there is still no issue with diseases anyway.

Getting old is really a drag - about the only thing that has gotten better is my audio system, and that is in direct relationship to my ability to listen thru the audiophile aspects to actually focus on musical content. Hard to whistle and chew gum at the same time!

Here comes the grim reaper now. I best hide.
adam18 OP
670 posts
 
You guys are wonderful !!! .....I am so glad I started this thread. Let's keep it going. Please feel free to "philosophize and ramble." Mapman,.....you've been bringing up some terrific points. Newbee,....great thoughts. Everybody,.....Excellent ideas !!

I think I'll now go down to my music room, put "The Allman Brothers Live at Filmore East" (one my my favorite all-time albums, bought when I was a college freshman in 1973) onto the turntable of my modern day audiophile system, and enjoy the great tunes. Duane and Dicky, a summer afternoon with a cold beer, and memories of "those simpler times" while enjoying the modern technology of our wonderful audiophile hobby.....Pretty perfect !!

Stay well, my friends, Enjoy the tunes, and Happy Listening !!
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,151 posts
 
Once in college I provided the music for an outdoor Halloween party out in the boonies on a farm in Western Kentucky. I set my system (cassette tapes and vinyl only in those days) up on the front porch of the farmhouse facing the main activities occurring in a field about 80 yards off and cranked it up.

Hey now, was that MY system I was hearing? The sound projecting out from that porch into the crisp dark night was INCREDIBLE!! My system had never sounded better. Of course I had never set it up outdoors before. What a revelation! Neil Young, UB40, Bob Marley, The Pretenders, Talking Heads...sounded like they were all performing LIVE on that porch that night!

The core of that system was a Tandberg TR-2080 receiver and a pair of original 80's vintage Ohm Walsh 2s.
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