Is there a "golden era" for hifi?

[mjw21a]

Never a Golden Era... more like Golden Choices.

From 1954 to 2018. If you chose top of the line, then you were listening to music at its finest.

I would agree that the aforementioned years were when mass market consumer grade drivel was pretty good, but even today’s BPC bought from bestbuy can meet and beat the specs of those from 1979, and for pennies. Sure, it’s throw-away garbage, but wasn’t it all at some point.

Maybe right now can be called a Golden age.

Perspective.

Yes, now is the golden age. Never have we had so many ways to listen to high quality sound. We can buy vintage gear if we want it, plus there's excellent new gear to choose from.

It's easy to deprecate earbuds and phones, but even earbuds and phones are far better quality than the equivalent from our youth: a pocket AM transistor radio and a mono earphone, or (later) a Sony Walkman.

It's set to become an even more golden future, as high-quality streaming becomes ever more popular and available.

Totally agree with you both. I might add that many classic circuits and also great current circuits have been copied by the Chinese and can be bought at reasonable prices. My darTZeel NHB-108B copy is the finest sounding amp I've ever had the pleasure of using.

Likewise there are other accessories like MC step up transformers that sound better and more affordable than ever (Raphaelite for China, Cinemag from the US etc) even new and many vintage units available at reasonable cost. Even the ultra cheap Boyuu Reisong SUT's compete really rather well though to my knowledge are only available in 1:2 and 1:20 ratios.

The internet makes it possible to source things from anywhere on the planet. My systems use components made in China, USA, Japan, Germany , Russia, Taiwan, Croatia, Holland etc. Never before has such variety been available to the masses. The flip side is there's pretty well nowhere you can go to demo the equipment

Provided you do the research and are willing to take a risk you can assemble some pretty amazing systems now. So yes, the golden age is now

 

[the_nines]

We're living in it.

 

[JoeESP9]

Some folks like me travel to hear gear I'm considering buying.

I'm one of those folks. I've ridden the train from Phila. to NYC, New Hope PA, Wilmington DE and Washington D.C. solely for the purpose of auditioning something.

 

[infullview]

What are we using as the definition for "golden era"? If this means popularity of high quality stereo systems as home entertainment, that ship sailed many years ago (50's to around mid 80's). If you are defining "golden era" as availability of highest quality audio then "now" is always the answer. It would help if the OP would scope what they are referring to as a golden era.I would still say that people don't generally invest in audio anymore, they invest in AV systems for the spectacle of surround sound, and these systems for the most part are inadequate to produce high quality audio - and no, I'm not talking about people who spend ridiculous amounts of money on an AV system, I'm talking about the average Joe who goes to best buy and comes home with a thumper, sound bar, and four little speakers for 5.1 surround sound. I know this to be true because I was one of these people. I grew up with big speakers, and they fell out of fashion. Everyone got rid of them and went to places like Cambridge sound works and got conned into replacing them with these tiny little boxes and a sub woofer that you could hide in a corner. It wasn't cool to have big speakers for a long time. This all began in the early 90's as I recall.

 

[CapZark]

The 70's, just like music in general.

 

[BOUXY]

What are we using as the definition for "golden era"? If this means popularity of high quality stereo systems as home entertainment, that ship sailed many years ago (50's to around mid 80's). If you are defining "golden era" as availability of highest quality audio then "now" is always the answer. It would help if the OP would scope what they are referring to as a golden era.I would still say that people don't generally invest in audio anymore, they invest in AV systems for the spectacle of surround sound, and these systems for the most part are inadequate to produce high quality audio - and no, I'm not talking about people who spend ridiculous amounts of money on an AV system, I'm talking about the average Joe who goes to best buy and comes home with a thumper, sound bar, and four little speakers for 5.1 surround sound. I know this to be true because I was one of these people. I grew up with big speakers, and they fell out of fashion. Everyone got rid of them and went to places like Cambridge sound works and got conned into replacing them with these tiny little boxes and a sub woofer that you could hide in a corner. It wasn't cool to have big speakers for a long time. This all began in the early 90's as I recall.

"It wasn't cool to have big speakers for a long time."
Who said this?
I never followed the masses on any trend!Each of us is our own person aren't we?
I started in the early 60's and slowly over the years developed what I liked and no one,I mean no one would or could change this.Yes I added new whenever it fit into my plans but always wanted or had "big speakers" for better or worse this was my decision and mine alone,still is.I also loved R2R's and such old/vintage and still do no matter what others say or do,that is their right as well as my right also."and they fell out of fashion" whose fashion not mine.I like what I like and it is my decision

 

[donprice]

It was this past summer. I was switching between an internet radio station playing the blues from Athens Greece and pulling up some obscure track suggested by an AK member on Amazon Music...then my brother requested I play a demo track he had recorded 20 years ago from the USB drive parked in the receiver. All this was done pool side with a cold beer in one hand and a cheap tablet in the other. The wife didn't care since this was all done via the zone 2 output and did not affect whatever she was doing inside. About all it required was a $250 used AVR and $100 outdoor speakers and a willingness to make it work.

 

[E-Stat]

I'm one of those folks. I've ridden the train from Phila. to NYC, New Hope PA, Wilmington DE and Washington D.C. solely for the purpose of auditioning something.

During a business trip to Chicago, I took a day to visit a dealer to hear updated Sound Lab panels as they ran about $9k.

 

[DaveVoorhis]

"It wasn't cool to have big speakers for a long time."
Who said this?

No one had to say it, because it's what happened. Of course, there are those who bucked the trend -- like you and probably most of us on this forum -- but the vast unwashed put their big stereo speakers out with the trash in droves in the 80's and 90's. Some of that was undoubtedly due to changes in fashion, but I suspect much of it was due rising housing prices throughout the western world. This meant the traditional market for big speakers and big stereos -- young people -- no longer had the traditional amount of space for big stereos and big speakers: they simply don't fit in the housing young people can afford: a one bedroom flat or tiny apartment shared with three other people.

It's also now considered rather rude to loudly subject your housemates to your taste in music.

 

[OMGCat!]

Some folks like me travel to hear gear I'm considering buying.

Same here. I've driven quite a distance to audition gear. Next spring I plan to visit PS Audio in CO just because.

I think too many people here are confusing their golden age with the golden age of audio.
Spend a bit of time listening to a modern high end system and your perspective will likely change.

 

[David_NC]

What are we using as the definition for "golden era"? If this means popularity of high quality stereo systems as home entertainment, that ship sailed many years ago (50's to around mid 80's). If you are defining "golden era" as availability of highest quality audio then "now" is always the answer. It would help if the OP would scope what they are referring to as a golden era.I would still say that people don't generally invest in audio anymore, they invest in AV systems for the spectacle of surround sound, and these systems for the most part are inadequate to produce high quality audio - and no, I'm not talking about people who spend ridiculous amounts of money on an AV system, I'm talking about the average Joe who goes to best buy and comes home with a thumper, sound bar, and four little speakers for 5.1 surround sound. I know this to be true because I was one of these people.

Agreed.

'Golden Age' is the general term, vs 'golden era', so let's use a definition of that:

gold·en age
[ˈɡōldən āj]
NOUN
golden ages (plural noun)
an idyllic, often imaginary past time of peace, prosperity, and happiness.

• the period when a specified art, skill, or activity is at its peak.

When you add hi-fi to the equation, it gets a bit tougher. I don't think hi-fi as an art is at its peak, but that's a tough call; one can argue that the cosmetics and style of components were major influences of design for mainstream equipment in the 70's and early 80's. The same can likely only be said of much of the equipment in the high end market today. As a skill, perhaps the present is generally the peak with computer-based designs, new technologies that can improve sound, etc. As an activity, it's hard for me to consider the present the peak of hi-fi, though I'd consider most periods to be the peak of high end hi-fi due to its enthusiast base. Once something becomes niche, as hi-fi has, I don't think it's in its peak. Take records, as an example. Today's really high end turntables are really, really good; I'd say better than at previous times in the past, in general. I don't think many of us would consider today to be the golden age of vinyl records, though.
I think of it this way - nobody would likely ever say the 70's - 80's was the golden age of surround sound or portable audio reproduction; that is obviously not the case. That was the era of two-channel hi-fi which was pursued by many... in the general public at all price points. Can one say the same about stereo hi-fi today, outside of fairly low-production / high-priced equipment with a targeted portion of the population? I don't think so.

 

[FONSguy]

1967 - 1988.

 

[infullview]

"It wasn't cool to have big speakers for a long time."
Who said this?
I never followed the masses on any trend!Each of us is our own person aren't we?
I started in the early 60's and slowly over the years developed what I liked and no one,I mean no one would or could change this.Yes I added new whenever it fit into my plans but always wanted or had "big speakers" for better or worse this was my decision and mine alone,still is.I also loved R2R's and such old/vintage and still do no matter what others say or do,that is their right as well as my right also."and they fell out of fashion" whose fashion not mine.I like what I like and it is my decision

Ya, and I used to own a motorcycle too. Funny how being married can change things. You have to be able to compromise and sometimes that means giving up something you like. The case for the motorcycle was strong as I was told "not to get killed before our child grows up". My daughter is an adult now and my wife is "X". I'm also looking for a good used BMW RE-80. Life happens.

 

[Nixxuz]

My brother dropped $4K on a stereo in 1980. It was pretty sweet then and now.

If we consider the value of money halves each decade due to inflation, that same stereo should have cost $8K in 1990, $16K in 2000, $32K in 2010, and over 50K in 2018.

Suffice to say, his stereo, even if restored to better than new condition, is not going to sound as good as a new $50K stereo.

Stereos, both new and used, cost a fraction compared to what they used to cost in inflation adjusted terms.

I think that makes this the golden age of audio, although I appreciated and respected audio more when I was a teenager. I've picked up so much fantastic old equipment that I paid next to nothing for, it's ridiculous.

Not quite. $4k in 1980 is worth about $12k now.

 

[slovell]

We're in it...if you can afford it.

 

[BOUXY]

Ya, and I used to own a motorcycle too. Funny how being married can change things. You have to be able to compromise and sometimes that means giving up something you like. The case for the motorcycle was strong as I was told "not to get killed before our child grows up". My daughter is an adult now and my wife is "X". I'm also looking for a good used BMW RE-80. Life happens.

I married my Wife 52 yrs ago recovering from a Motorcycle accident,now that's funny!
I also had a Stereo back then.
3 adult Kids later and 5 Grand kids with all of the "life happens"moments in between I still love all of them even more as well as my own "TOYS" I still use and own stuff today

 

[Tom Brennan]

The 70's, just like music in general.

They didn’t have hi-fi in the 1870s.

 

[tubeornotube]

We have so much choice today...
You can choose equipment form your "Golden" era...
You can choose the best of any decade..
You can choose the best(of what you can afford) of today's offerings..
You can mix it up..a sixties Mac tube amp driven by a nineties ARC preamp fed by a souped up
collectors quality Lenco turntable all heard through a pair of the latest 'state of the art' JMLabs loudspeakers...
Or you can crank your old Dual 1019 through a beefy Sansui to a pair of VOTT (not that they need beefy)..
Or you can....well so much is Golden nowadays anything goes..

Matt...tubeornotube

Yes it is mine

 

[TomBig58]

Tonight. In my living room. With my humble set-up.

 

[Hak Foo]

What makes the 1970s-early 1980s era a "golden age" isn't that it necessarily had the best models overall, it's more that across the range, you had competent, well-made choices.

If you bought the best on the market at any given time, it was probably good, but what about that mere mortals can afford?

When we got to the late 1980s/early 1990s, it was a shift into multi-channel and AV features, which obsolesced quickly and often came at the cost of music performance. Yeah, your early 1990s mass-market AVR supports surround sound, but it's 20wpc x 4 instead of a better built 60wpc x 2. on the same parts budget.

The late 1990s and early 2000s are going to be stuck with build-quality issues-- the Capacitor Plague, and transitions to RoHS materials had known issues.

The HDMI era has some interesting advances-- switching-mode power supplies and class D designs can be exciting, but ever more of the budget is being burned on AV stuff,, and I'm not sure we're handling user interface complexity, and an increasing software and update dependence, well.

But if you pull out a hi-fi store circular from anywhere between say 1973 and 1983, and threw a dart, you're going to hit something that covers the basics well.