Anyone remember Hi Fi?

H

harry

At the Start
Joined
Apr 16, 2005
Messages
5,694
It is fascinating how everyone seems to listen to music on phones and through ear pieces. What has happened to big stereos and Hi Fi systems?

They've disappeared by stealth. :(

No bass anymore even on flat screen TVs.

Anyone still proudly listen to music properly?
 
I have a sound-bar with the flat screen, and the music on the Deezer app comes through crystal clear.

Mind you. I am tone-deaf and couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.

Do I win a record token? :D
 
We discussed this before When I bought one. Yes, love mine, a Sony one. Cost roughly £150.
 
its been a lifelong interest for me..still have a decent separates stereo..did use a flac file media player for a while into the system..now use a Marantz CD player that also plays wav files from a memory stick. I still have a Thorens 150 turntable but rarely use it.

i hate MP3 files with a vengeance..in an age where its possible to have the highest fidelity..using a compressed lossy system removes all the step forwards in sound reproduction that have been made. Most new music is compressed losing all the dynamics..again actually reducing realism.
 
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I have a Marantz Amp as part of my separates including Technics CD and jPW speakers. Used to blast the Sabbath etc. thing is, they just got mothballed and replaced by family stuff to make more space and the smaller gadgets seemed to take over, although I rarely listen to my old stuff now. It's funny how every house seemed to have a huge Hi Fi system or a midi stack system and a TV. Not any more.

Maybe it's the music nowadays without real bass?

As I'm typing this I feel old :eek:
 
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I have marantz stuff too. But I bought some sennheiser headphones for about £270 recently (johnlewis. Look them up) and the sound is so extraordinary that speakers seem redundant.
 
Sennheiser are amazing headphones. Messed around with decks about 15 years ago and they were unbeatable; great brand.
 
Astonishing sound. Like being in a concert hall. My music is classical jazz and jazz/soul so naturally fussy about sound quality
 
JPW were good little speakers. I set a system up for a mate in teh 90's with a pair..i had some as well for a period of time..lent them my son for a few months and he blew them. The Sennheisers are great for classical but for rock i prefer Grado's. I agree headphones can be amazing..but i just have never really taken to them as good as they can sound..prefer the in room sound.

When i first left school I bought a set of Koss Pro4AA headphones..in 72 they were supposed to be about the best you could get..they cost 25 quid..which were a lot of money then..they sounded good but were very heavy compared to todays efforts.

Over the years i've lost track of the boxes i've swapped. At the moment i have the Marantz CD6005..which is phenominal for the money...and you can stick a memory stick or larger HD into it and play Wav files. .Naim Nait 5i amp and a pair of Dynaudio DM 2/6 speakers...the main thing with speakers is decent stands..using Custom Design FS104's. Stands are as important as the speakers in many ways.

Its a totally obsessional game..when i was between 14/16 my brother got into it in a big way..he had a right set up then Thorens 150/SME 3009 + Shure cartridge..Quad 33/303 pre power amp and large Goodmans Magister speakers. So all the music i heard then sounded amazing and the bug bit..it was all i wanted when i started work..it was never cars or bikes with me..always the music and decent kit.
 
EC1 said:
JPW were good little speakers. I set a system up for a mate in teh 90's with a pair..i had some as well for a period of time..lent them my son for a few months and he blew them. The Sennheisers are great for classical but for rock i prefer Grado's. I agree headphones can be amazing..but i just have never really taken to them as good as they can sound..prefer the in room sound.

When i first left school I bought a set of Koss Pro4AA headphones..in 72 they were supposed to be about the best you could get..they cost 25 quid..which were a lot of money then..they sounded good but were very heavy compared to todays efforts.

Over the years i've lost track of the boxes i've swapped. At the moment i have the Marantz CD6005..which is phenominal for the money...and you can stick a memory stick or larger HD into it and play Wav files. .Naim Nait 5i amp and a pair of Dynaudio DM 2/6 speakers...the main thing with speakers is decent stands..using Custom Design FS104's. Stands are as important as the speakers in many ways.

Its a totally obsessional game..when i was between 14/16 my brother got into it in a big way..he had a right set up then Thorens 150/SME 3009 + Shure cartridge..Quad 33/303 pre power amp and large Goodmans Magister speakers. So all the music i heard then sounded amazing and the bug bit..it was all i wanted when i started work..it was never cars or bikes with me..always the music and decent kit.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:
 
I love my separates system. It's quite old now but still sounds as good as the day I bought it.

Arcam Alpha 9 amplifier
Arcam Alpha 7 CD player
B&W DM603 speakers

My mother has just given me my Dad's old system too but I need to work out where to put it. Naim Amp and CD player with Dynaudio speakers.

You can't beat a proper hifi - as EC says mp3 is crap, compressed nonsense.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have no idea what a sound bar is, but I do like this:

i hate MP3 files with a vengeance..in an age where its possible to have the highest fidelity..using a compressed lossy system removes all the step forwards in sound reproduction that have been made. Most new music is compressed losing all the dynamics..again actually reducing realism.
Click to expand...
 
EC1 said:
its been a lifelong interest for me..still have a decent separates stereo..did use a flac file media player for a while into the system..now use a Marantz CD player that also plays wav files from a memory stick. I still have a Thorens 150 turntable but rarely use it.

i hate MP3 files with a vengeance..in an age where its possible to have the highest fidelity..using a compressed lossy system removes all the step forwards in sound reproduction that have been made. Most new music is compressed losing all the dynamics..again actually reducing realism.
Click to expand...

I think that's a myth. To say it loses "all dynamics" is rubbish IMO. I listen to both formats and would challenge anyone to tell the difference. I also listen to string quartets and small jazz ensembles where any quality defect will quickly be exposed.

The key is the speakers or headphones.
 
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clivex said:
I think that's a myth. To say it loses "all dynamics" is rubbish IMO. I listen to both formats and would challenge anyone to tell the difference. I also listen to string quartets and small jazz ensembles where any quality defect will quickly be exposed.

The key is the speakers or headphones.
Click to expand...

i didn't mean MP3's are dynamically compressed Clive..they lose "air" and sound shut in compared to a full file version....I was referring to most new music and remasters are dynamically compressed by the person actually doing the mastering..so reducing the recording's realism

check out this database..look at remasters and new recordings after the mid 00's in general

http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list/year?artist=Paul+Simon

a reasonable Dynamic range is 9/10..very good dynamic range is 13+.....sh*tey dynamic range is 7 and below

For example..Paul Simon's Graceland..search it in this database..when first released had a DR of 14.....it was used as a reference disc in hi fi mags then.....they remaster it in 2004...DR down to 9

thats seriously sh*te...the remaster is all sqaushed into the mid-band losing lots of Dynamic range..its been done for the MP3/ipod generation..compressed ..as in mastering...music sounds brighter on an ipod..so seemingly more clear.....but on a hifi system it hurts your ears when turned up...and lacks the dynamics of the original mastering..which on a hifi system pi$ses all over the remaster

80% of remasters do the same thing..and are sh*te if you have a decent hi fi

search any artist you want..in most cases new recordings or remasters of old albums have less dynamic range than albums from the 80's & 90's
 
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