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"Peak periods of audio innovation" theory
- Thread starter C Hart
- Start date
Yes - I love 70s stuff - it's when the bar was raised for all components. The only problem was that vinyl was the best available - real ultra high fidelity source material wasn't available until the 80s with CDs, IMO the last big sound quality advance. But later on, class D, Bluetooth, streaming, digital music files, and remote controls made audio life worth living. Some would add DSP, time alignment, subwoofers - anything else?
Hmmm. I think of vinyl as high fidelity. CD allows for greater dynamic range, but less frequency extension than vinyl. I don't see that as providing higher fidelity.
Late Boomer
Super Member
In my comment above that you liked I was being sarcastic. One has to really hate math and science to have such a disdain for engineers who "squeeze a computer chip and memory into a digital server". Out of LP, R2R, 8-track, compact cassettes and CDs, the latter has been the best format hands down, and it is still relevant, if not on a plastic disc but in a FLAC file. Redbook is all a normal person needs if two channel audio is enough. The development of sigma-delta DAC in the late 1980s early 1990s allowed producing cheap DACs with consistent characteristics, democratizing high-quality audio.
I love being an *abnormal* person enjoying more transparency than what was fenced in using late 70s digital storage media.
Late Boomer
Super Member
A typical "newer is better" response. As long as you don't inflict music reproduced in gamma ray band on general population, I am fine with itI love being an *abnormal* person enjoying more transparency than what was fenced in using late 70s digital storage media.
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Come on man, you know the clientele here look at the past with rose colored tri-focals
'Beat available was Vinyl" Says who? R2R was pretty darn good back then
I knew/was around a lot of people that had them. But I grew up in a family of audiophools and so where a lot of their friends.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Agree with BOUXY, tape is the best format.
Then you say CD is a real ultra high fidelity source. In my rig, playing a CD on a Rega Planet and the same record on a vintage high end turntable, two sets of non-audiophiles chose the record as sounding better. It has a fuller more musical presentation with depth. The CD was clean without pops and clicks (the record was very clean with almost no pops and clicks) and had some dynamic range which has been engineered out of way too many CDs but there was just a flat wall of sound, not the presentation of a performance in front of the listeners. Maybe you need better stuff to be able to hear those differences, I don't know. A former member of our group had a $5k CD transport and DAC that was his only source. We had a get together one time and he heard the difference between a record and a CD and immediately added a turntable to his system. He was the one in our group with the best hearing and had a very capable system. Made even better with the addition of record playback.
All the convenience stuff, meh whatever. I know I'd like to add some but it is better if I get up every time a record needs to be changed. Class D isn't an improvement in sound, my speakers are time aligned and they are from the early and mid-80s depending on which pair. Subwoofers, one set has a sub but subs have gotten a lot better and split between musical and wall shaking explosion capable. I need the former, don't need explosion sounds from my stereo. That's for the video rig in a different room.
But look at some of the high end gear being made today. Luxman has some excellent amplification, a few different companies have amazing turntables and then speaker technology has come a long way since the poly cone replaced paper. It just keeps getting better. That is why I'm waiting until gear from this century is vintage and cheap.
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No argument that there is greatness all over the place in every era. Also ears and preference differ - I will be the first to admit my ears are probably average at best. But I like all those advances. And my SL-1600 is inbound and we’ll soon see if it’s transformative for my vinyl.
Not at all. The Redbook standard necessitated by limited storage *never* had the functional bandwidth of higher sample rates. At least not without ringing or other artifacts using brick wall filters.
Sophomoric comments unnecessary.
Well the SL-1600 is here. After quite a bit of cleaning and tuning it is fully working. I have it running a Shure Premier Yellow (reissue of VM95) with a new Jico M95EJ stylus and it sounds marvelous. IMO this is more evidence that the theory is correct - cartridge and turntable from the 70's. 
By the way check the specs on the SL-1600 Mk I vs. $1000+ current turntables - it blows them away.
By the way check the specs on the SL-1600 Mk I vs. $1000+ current turntables - it blows them away.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Well cartridges have certainly gotten better than what was available in the 70s.
Your comment shows you haven't kept up. I haven't either on so many things but a sharp nail on the turntable is something I've moved on from the 70s.
Your comment shows you haven't kept up. I haven't either on so many things but a sharp nail on the turntable is something I've moved on from the 70s.
Come on - "sharp nail"? Now you're just trolling. What cartridges are better now than what old cartridges? I saw an extended review of the AT VM140LC that recommended it highly but also compared it ("in some cases even better") to the Shure V15 Type IV, which I don't like as much as the M95. Let's have some data and suggestions. BTW I will be getting one of those ATs and will be able to report from the field once I get over the $270 MSRP.