Higher End=More user friendly

TAGO MAGO

TAGO MAGO

Super Member
Is it just me, but the awful Wal-Mart all in one units are a horrible confusing array of useless buttons, lights and tone settings such as "jazz", "rock", "classical" and "talk", all of which sound horrible while most higher priced units have straight forward controls easy enough for anyone to comprehend. Anybody else notice this?
 
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Of course. High-end gear strives for best possible sound and less flash and dazzle. When a stereo system sounds like ass, they must sell it via flashiness and advertising.
 
This is new to you? Its been like this for years and thats what the kids want, sure they sound bad but they are cheap and its obvious many like the look even if its for the most part worthless fluff.
 
You think that's bad I garbage picked a 3CD, AM/FM, 2 cassette stereo once. (this was a while ago) Half the time hitting the power button would cause the tray to eject and then you had to turn the wheel just right or it would go down instead of up. :yes:
 
chadnliz said:
This is new to you? Its been like this for years and thats what the kids want, sure they sound bad but they are cheap and its obvious many like the look even if its for the most part worthless fluff.
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I think it's been a while since I have been in one of those stores and looked at the stereos. I think it must have first occurred to me when my step-father replaced the Pioneer SX-3600 Flouroscan Receiver and Dual 1215 turntable that was normally in our living room with one of those horrible Aiwa (because he felt cd's were "the way to go") units with the dual cassettes and three disc cd changer and a bunch of flashing lights. It was a horrible thing to use and sounded horrendous. I sold both components (as at the time I was in the process of moving out of the house and had my own stereo) to a friend for $50.00. He still has them and they are working fine, as for the Aiwa, it died three years ago. He should have just bought a cd player for it. Of course this is a guy in 1970's photos was wearing leisure suits (something my father never did).

As bad as the Aiwa was, the ones now are even worse!!!
 
I always thought that bad sound from those bookshelf units was from the crying children who make them, I had no idea it was music!
 
TAGO MAGO said:
I think it must have first occurred to me when my step-father replaced the Pioneer SX-3600 Flouroscan Receiver and Dual 1215 turntable that was normally in our living room with one of those horrible Aiwa (because he felt cd's were "the way to go") units with the dual cassettes and three disc cd changer and a bunch of flashing lights. It was a horrible thing to use and sounded horrendous. I sold both components (as at the time I was in the process of moving out of the house and had my own stereo) to a friend for $50.00. He still has them and they are working fine, as for the Aiwa, it died three years ago. He should have just bought a cd player for it. Of course this is a guy in 1970's photos was wearing leisure suits (something my father never did).

As bad as the Aiwa was, the ones now are even worse!!!
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That sure was a dumb move on your step-father's part! Sounded like your friend came out with the best deal!
 
everytime consumers shop at walmart there money leaves america for good the co. pays nothing to its employes and even less for the junk they sell you.
who cares? answer nobody. :smoke:
 
Oh here we go, I guess this thread wont be open long. I knew somebody was gonna bitch and complain about Walmart.
 
chadnliz said:
I always thought that bad sound from those bookshelf units was from the crying children who make them, I had no idea it was music!
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you brought crying childern into this, i guess i should have said target but i bought a tv converter box there:smoke:
 
I dunno....grab any HT receiver or processor regardless of price. None of them are simple unless you're use to all the settings and how they work in general.
 
Today's gadget buyer is more interested in how many features one unit can accomplish, rather than how well it can accomplish just one feature. In today's world, electronics our considered disposable gadgets. It's the way of the future, we just have to get used to it..........................................


And if we want to see quality products continue to get produced, I guess we will all have to bite the bullet and take a hit on the wallet, or they too will go the way of the dinosaur.
 
Walmart is largest seller of music so they have made their mark like it or not.....I happen to love Walmart and although it isnt perfect they have done more for the average American than any social program.
 
AnalogDigit said:
That sure was a dumb move on your step-father's part! Sounded like your friend came out with the best deal!
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Yeah, he made many changes around the house I was less than pleased with. He was a "quantity" and "best deals" type guy and I think most of the stuff he bought for around the house bit the dust within a short amount of time. I should have mentioned my friend got a nice set of Boston Acoustic speakers out of the deal (again still using). I can't remember what I was running at the time. I seem to remember having a Fisher quadraphonic receiver at the time that I liked better and was using a Philips 212 (which I still have, but it needs to be restored).

Sorry if I started a Wal Mart debate. If it helps, my step-father bought the Aiwa at Circut City which is biting the dust. I happen to like Wally World, just not to buy audio gear.
 
I think we here at AK tend to forget that we are not average consumers, we are audio enthusiasts. To the average consumer poorly reproduced music played at background levels IS music and the equipment we listen to is just LOUD, and they don't like loud! The somewhat higher end system that they probably have in their car, simply because it came with the car, is also just louder. That's how they explain the clarity. "If you make it louder of course you will hear the details...but I don't want it loud!"
To folks like us the whole situation is just maddening, like trying to explain color to a person only capable of seeing in black and white.
 
Yeah, but the build quality is horrible and the flashing lights are just wretched. At least the consumer stereos of yore exercised some level of taste (although I do recognize there are even exceptions here). It is not only a question of sound, it is a question of user friendliness and durability (which these systems are lacking in both areas). In most cases when I buy something I would rather have it work for years than have it bite the dust when it is less than a decade old.
 
Well, we want it cheap and want it to do everything. My HT Pioneer has the various setting for "Hall" "5 Stereo" and so on. The general public wants, as has been stated , back ground noise. Most companies who sell audio gear, offer mostly 5.1 or 7.1 systems. The 2 channel system is very rare and mostly forgotten. I agree, we are few and far between because we want to hear the music, not the noise.

As for Wal-Mart*, I don't usually shop there but its not because of my money going out of the country. My money leaves anyway, cuz I have to gas up my vehicles ya know;)
 
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