Which Decade had the best SOUND QUALITY?

[Herr Eickhorn]

Imagine SEVEN Hi Fi demonstration rooms - one for each decade. There will be a 1950’s room, 1960’s room, 1970’s room, 1980’s room, 1990’s room, 2000's room, and a 2010 to Present room.

You can stock it with the finest new equipment/sources that are commonly available for purchase to audiophiles during that decade. Money is NO object. The equipment can come from anywhere in the world. To keep things simple, assume all 7 rooms are identical with the same room treatments.

Use common sense. For example, the Present room can have new tube equipment and new vinyl, but the 1950’s room obviously can’t have solid state equipment and CD’s.

This can be a fun & educational thread if everyone is respectful of each others opinions. Just state what you think and why. And let’s not get butt hurt and descend into tribal warfare when someone says something you disagree with.

So with that being said, which Hi Fi demonstration room will have the best SOUND QUALITY?

 

[guiller]

Money is no object? No doubts for me that it is now, which in turn would be worst than next year´s!

 

[Herr Eickhorn]

My opinion is that there is little difference in Sound Quality between the decades. That the best of the 1950's would sound as good as the best of today.

However, today's equipment is much more versatile and convenient. There is no debating that. But this poll is only interested in Sound Quality!

 

[Ken Boyd]

Money is no object? No doubts for me that it is now, which in turn would be worst than next year´s!

+1

But I still keep remembering that old Western Electric giant horn with an old field coil compression driver reproducing David Oistrach playing a violin concerto, it was down right scary how realistic is sounded. That thing was from the 1920's or 30's.

 

[just dave]

If money is no object then I guess 2010 to the present would be right?

 

[tubeornotube]

I would have to go with the present.
If money were no object then only the present as there were no real 'money no object' product in any previous
decades with exception of the 2000's perhaps.
In the 50's to the 90's there were no astronomically priced turntables like the Clearaudio or Walker Proscenium.
No speakers approaching 7 figures.
No flagship products well into 6 figures.
Sure there were expensive amps like the Marantz 9
or speakers like JBL Hartsfields but they weren't so priced only the elite could afford.


Matt....tubeornotube

 

[4-2-7]

Sound Quality.........is today.
Still shopping

The C1000 consists of three separate modules: a C1000C control unit, a C1000P transistor preamplifier, and a C1000T vacuum tube preamplifier.

2X
The MC2KW monoblock 2,000 Watt

2X
McIntosh MC2301 tube amplifier. With an output of 300 watts

MCD1100
2-Channel SACD/CD Player

D150 digital stereo preamplifier

MB100 Media Bridge

Neolith

Velodyne
2X
Digital Drive PLUS 18 Inch Subwoofer

SOTA MILLENNIA Vacuum Turntable System

SME
Model 30/12 Turntable

2X
SME Series V

 

[sKiZo]

I was just recently reminded of the outstanding sound quality of the dbx encoded vinyl from the '70's. I got a real deal on a batch to augment my collection. Most of what I already had in the collection hadn't seen a spin in ... forever, but dusted everything off, fired it up, and wOw ... just WoW ...

I'd put it right up there with hi-res flac for impact. Granted ... flac with surface noise, but hey, these albums are 40+ years old!

Working my way through a stack now, grinning all the way!

 

[Herr Eickhorn]

If you pick a decade for the best sound quality, you might say what you would put into your demo room. It would be a way for everyone to learn what was/is considered the finest gear of that decade.

 

[Ken Boyd]

2014 Lady Gaga

 

[Pio1980]

We have the ability to build on the legacy left by our predecessors, we should and do know how to presently achieve the best reproduction possible within and without practical constraints.
I find the notion that perfection was achieved x decades past and we've just dumbed it down since thoroughly illogical.

 

[Daunia 70]

70's of course!! Music was way better too

 

[DaveVoorhis]

70's of course!! Music was way better too

Define "better".

 

[Daunia 70]

Quality and effort,but let's not go off subject now

 

[DaveVoorhis]

Quality and effort,but let's not go off subject now

Ah, I get it. For you, "quality" means "stuff I like."

 

[jimbo2k]

70's of course!! Music was way better too

I agree probably mid to late seventies before discrete turned to amplifier packs/IMHO. As far as music being better then, my sentiments lie in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s

 

[biscuithead]

Of course 2010 to present.... But I own not a single piece of 2010 - present new equipment. I like the old stuff, here is why:
5 Golden reasons:
Reuse-ability *I consistently practice discrimination against plastic! (vinyl not included)
Style! The warmth of vintage aesthetics wrecks the frozen blandness of modernity.
Quality! *Just get inside a vintage piece of anything... the build quality of yesteryear was outstanding. Before "planned obsolescence" was a strategy. Before surface-mount and before printed... Before the IC!
Repair-ability! Watch a you-tube video and repair it yourself!
Affordability... Today's real Hi-Fi gear is very expensive....

But... as far as music goes...I also like to discover new music, and their is a ton of great stuff out there. If you aren't discovering the new good stuff, then your head is in the sand.

 

[Dr Tinear]

I went with 2010 to the present because of speaker quality. While there are some truly outstanding vintage speakers such as the Quad ESLs, the best of today's speakers would be very hard to beat with anything from a prior decade. Sources and electronics have also improved over the years, though not to the same extent as speakers.

 

[ggregg]

Here we go again.

 

[Raynald]

We have the ability to build on the legacy left by our predecessors, we should and do know how to presently achieve the best reproduction possible within and without practical constraints.
I find the notion that perfection was achieved x decades past and we've just dumbed it down since thoroughly illogical.

1) I own mostly stuff from 80/90/00 decades because you can't beat the bang for the buck of top quality gear bought for a fraction of the original price and some of the stuff from those decades is outstanding.

2) A depressing amount of high end and super high end gear today is made by incompetent charlatans.

3) Most people today care more about convenience than SQ so mass market gear is abysmal.

Those are some of the reasons a lot of people think older gear is better. However the best of today's gear built by people who are really trying to do a good job and have the appropriate technical resources at their disposal is better than what came before. Pio is right as far as I am concerned.