Gregory's ServerYou know what’s awesome? Every time I use my 1970s Hi-Fi stuff I just turn it on and it works.
There’s no updates to download and install, no notifications to swipe away and no Bluetooth that needs reconnecting.
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@thomasfuchs I have a Bryston prepro paired with a Linn amp. It must be pushing 20 years old now. It sounds phenomenal. My GF wants to replace it for something that is “easier.” She has no idea. lol. @thomasfuchs this is kinda why I dislike the tech industry trying to barge into the audio industry and dictate their own terms. Felt like when the 3.5mm jack was removed it was them saying it’s outdated and we all just need to move on to BT. Guess what still works after 15 years? My AKG headphones. Guess what doesn’t work? The BT connection between my iPod nano and my AirPods, despite them being only 5 years apart. Audio should be timeless. But that’s not “cool”, I guess.  @xodium @thomasfuchs My quarter-inch stereo Koss can headphones from the 70s work like the day they were made. Any new headphone is lucky to last a year. @farseen yeah that’s one of the hilarious bits to me. The pro-BT crowd said that hey, things will get better because Apple’s forcing it along! Guys, Bluetooth has sucked, continues to suck, and likely will always suck at this rate. That we still have to suffer with a protocol that can’t walk and chew gum at the same time when 2024 is on our doorstep just feels…nuts to me.  @jonhendry @thomasfuchs indeed. We used to have the choice! And then companies began charging us extra for shoddy dongles but the real motivator was so they could force you into buying their headphones. Because every. Single. OEM. Who removed the jack just so conveniently had a set of BT headphones to sell you. Sly jerks. @thomasfuchs my dad had a problem a few years ago with a tube he couldn’t find a replacement for. I don’t know where he looked, but I would not have given up so easily.  @thomasfuchs I have an 80s throwback (that I bought new in the mid-80s in college) that I need to re-cap. Hafler DH-500. But I have no idea where I’d use it at this point. Maybe I should just build a big subwoofer around it. And probably it will turn on immediately after being connected to power. No need to wait for it to boot up. @thomasfuchs personally I think the late 90s / early 2000s were peak home HiFi time. The integrated class AB amplifier ICs were pretty good, there was minimal DSP manipulation going on and affordable speakers sounded OK. It's gone downhill since as class D has become the norm and penny pinching has become extreme.   @thomasfuchs I’d love to have my dads old reciever, but I’d need a Bluetooth receiver, because 95% of the time, I’ll play from my phone.  I have a BT dongle for my 20-year old air-gapped stereo and yeah it's the most flaky part of it. @thomasfuchs Not to mention all those cool knobs and switches!! Beats scrolling through the setup menu on yer app. @thomasfuchs And:  @thomasfuchs I miss my old stereo.. Technics all the way, with all the trimmings. @thomasfuchs  @thomasfuchs @thomasfuchs And you had actual music you had on physical things you could open and hold in your hands. @thomasfuchs Still love the look of the old gear. Yours looks pristine. Still using my old Klipsch KG1's. Loved going into the high end stereo shops and seeing all the amps and receivers. @thomasfuchs @thomasfuchs You go. I had a nice Tuner/Amplifier that looked a lot like the picture. Had in storage until we moved into a place with enough room - found that the box had fallen and it got smashed. I do miss my nice Hi Fi equipment, but I've been consciously trying to own LESS things as I get older, so ... 🤷♂️ @thomasfuchs although not particularly musical, we have a piano also. I call it The Old Analogue Friend. Makes music for us when the power goes out; warms our fingers when there’s no heating.  I certainly miss those days. Gave all of my records to my son, who has them boxed up in a back bedroom. Loved cranking the songs up through my Bose 901's. carry on  @thomasfuchs I brought a CD to play at my Mom's during Christmas dinner, and she was worried the system wouldn't work since it hadn't been used in two years. It worked fine of course.     @thomasfuchs I call it the iPhenomenon. Everything is planned for obsolescence, profit, spying. And fueled by fomo users with access to credit.  @thomasfuchs Also, tons & tons of physical buttons & meters & not a touch screen in sight... 🥰  @thomasfuchs That is what I love about my old system as well. People laugh at it, but it never fails.
 @thomasfuchs it’s really sad that high quality equipment doesn’t make financial sense because everything needs to be collecting data or have a subscription just to make financial sense for companies today. High quality physical goods = slow growth = market punishment. @thomasfuchs @MGraversen I agree and also have a fully analogue system, but you do miss out on conveniences as digital in, HDMI in and music streaming. All those require additional boxes. You win some you lose some. 😄👌🏻 |
It also sounds fantastic despite being nearly 50 years old.
Maybe every 20 years or so it needs a bit of TLC and maybe replacing some capacitors, and then it’s as good as new.
I doubt that your iPhone and your Sonos speaker will even work 10 years from now.