General Asylum

General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

Return to General Asylum


Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

Page: [ 1 ] [ 2 ]

Stereos are not cool anymore

172.4.51.86

Posted on October 9, 2014 at 14:24:10
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
back,in the day the coolest thing you could own would be a great stereo. Kids would come over after school and listen to records. It was a great social scene. Nowadays you would never catch a bunch of young people gathered around a stereo system. They don't believe in sitting in one spot and listening to music. When I have had young people over here they look at my audio gear like it's a 100 year old antique. To them it is just clutter. When I was there age I would go Gaga if I saw an audio system in someone's house.

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
RE: Stereos are not cool anymore, posted on October 9, 2014 at 14:40:47
Awe-d-o-file
Dealer

Posts: 21037
Location: 50 miles west of DC
Joined: January 10, 2004
So what are you saying the manufacturers want you to buy big TV's and 7 channel amps and 7 speakers and a sub instead of a two channel amp and two speakers? Huh, imagine that, business wanting customers to buy more.


ET
ET

"If at first you don't succeed, keep on sucking till you do suck seed" - Curly Howard 1936

 

The coolness of stereos from 1956 to 1986 was a one-shot deal., posted on October 9, 2014 at 15:38:08
John Marks
Manufacturer

Posts: 7774
Location: Peoples' Democratic Republic of R.I.
Joined: April 23, 2000
The coolness of stereos from 1956 to 1986 was a one-shot deal--a "perfect storm" of developments in societal structures, social mores, cultural developments, and advances in material culture and technology.

Here's the recipe that cannot and will not be repeated:

Start with a World War that followed a Depression.

Get to the point where there is a huge population of young men who are not only ready to settle down, they have had technical training and in some way usually some exposure to cultures other than their home town or farm, who qualify for free education under the GI Bill, and who in many cases yearn to be "Blue-Collar Intellectuals."

The development of the Long-Playing phonograph record coincided with the high point of the popularity of symphony music and with the revolution in small-combo jazz that had been fueled by the stupid wartime "Cabaret Tax," that priced big bands out of business. Toscanini and Charlie Parker could both be cool at the same time.

The advent of stereo coincided with the rediscover of Blues and the Folk Revival, followed by the Singer-Songwriter revolution in pop music, wherein artists like Joni Mitchell could actually lay claim to some sort of mainstream career. Ambitious artists made the "concept [LP] album" an art form.

MOST OF ALL: The only music-media competition for most of that time consisted of radio, where someone else picked the music, and TV, where music was featured only a few hours a week.

So, seeing as NONE of the factors that made stereo cool 1956-1986 exist today, why are you unbearably surprised and uncomprehending that between Twittering and Facebooking and texting and sexting and porning and selfieing, young people today do indeed regard LPs as our younger selves would have regarded illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages?

It's really really simple. Things change. Nothing lasts forever. You can't un-ring a bell.

JM

 

RE: Stereos are not cool anymore, posted on October 9, 2014 at 15:43:02
I remember those days, those were good times. Guess I was in my early-mid teens and we'd listen to my dad's stereo when him and mom were out, system was an allied receiver, garrard tt, not sure which cart but probably a shure, dynaco A25 speakers, nothing special but not half bad either. I remember playing Boston's and Van Halen's first albums, great stuff and great memories.

 

RE: The coolness of stereos from 1956 to 1986 was a one-shot deal., posted on October 9, 2014 at 15:50:17
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
I see you keep referencing 1986 as the day the music died. What happened in 1986 that caused this change?

 

Excellent summary..., posted on October 9, 2014 at 16:06:27
kuma
Audiophile

Posts: 10254
Location: IN
Joined: July 8, 2001
In my book both Toscanini and Parker are still cool. :)

 

Don't care, posted on October 9, 2014 at 16:45:54
mark111
Audiophile

Posts: 4699
Joined: April 12, 2002
I still like mine.
enjoy,
mark

 

It is a ghost world out there ...., posted on October 9, 2014 at 17:14:26
woober goober
Audiophile

Posts: 727
Location: Atlanta
Joined: November 6, 2009
filled with Thoras and Scarletts and I am Steve Buscemi. And to that I say, so what! My rig is a purely selfish endeavor.

 

The price of Projection TV had crossed a Tipping Point by 1986, posted on October 9, 2014 at 17:54:11
John Marks
Manufacturer

Posts: 7774
Location: Peoples' Democratic Republic of R.I.
Joined: April 23, 2000
Very few people remember (or have learned) that Henry Kloss, formerly of AR, KLH, and Advent, in 1976 had staked all his chips on projection TV.

His business venture failed because the technology was unproved and very expensive. And hard to set up.

However, 10 years later, companies with sufficient backing and clout had established high-quality and relatively affordable video playback and projection. The first LaserDisc player with a solid-state laser was Pioneer's LD-700 of 1984.

For not insane money, a yuppie in the mid-1980s could see operas, music videos, or soft-core porn on a 10-foot diagonal screen from an Ottoman-sized three-gun projector, and all the "aspirational" magazines like Playboy and Esquire abruptly stopped pushing audio and began pushing Home Theater.

End of story.

JM

 

Great points, especially the cultural expansion, nT, posted on October 9, 2014 at 18:03:26
M-dB
Audiophile

Posts: 295
Location: Nor Cal
Joined: June 26, 2014
and

 

RE: Stereos are not cool anymore, posted on October 9, 2014 at 18:12:22
painter27
Audiophile

Posts: 5057
Location: wi.
Joined: January 7, 2003

who say's kids don't get together & listen to music?

Your wrong!

 

Don't Agree........., posted on October 9, 2014 at 18:17:38
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37308
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
"The coolness of stereos from 1956 to 1986 was a one-shot deal--a 'perfect storm' of developments in societal structures, social mores, cultural developments, and advances in material culture and technology."

Interesting you chose "1986".... Of course it was around the time digitized audio became the mainstream medium of choice.....

I think from the music angle, enough great acts from the 1960s have faded away..... And the pop culture has seeded the notion in our youth that classical music and old-school jazz were "uncool"...... (I fought this personally in school. Fellow kids in my classes thought it was "strange" that I was interested in Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff. And in retrospect, I've been troubled over what may have motivated young people to think this way. And I'm certain it's worse now than when I was in grade school.)

"Here's the recipe that cannot and will not be repeated:

"Start with a World War that followed a Depression."

I don't think that would be requisite for the enjoyment of music and audio......

"Get to the point where there is a huge population of young men who are not only ready to settle down, they have had technical training and in some way usually some exposure to cultures other than their home town or farm, who qualify for free education under the GI Bill, and who in many cases yearn to be 'Blue-Collar Intellectuals.'"

I'm not such an individual..... About three-fourths of my audiophile friends over the years weren't such individuals......

"The development of the Long-Playing phonograph record coincided with the high point of the popularity of symphony music and with the revolution in small-combo jazz that had been fueled by the stupid wartime 'Cabaret Tax,' that priced big bands out of business. Toscanini and Charlie Parker could both be cool at the same time."

But people like the music because it was music.... The tastes in music at the time was eclectic..... The media reflected those tastes.... Where today, the media shapes those tastes.... (By first giving people a false impression of popularity, then the masses going for the music because it's perceived as "popular".) The eclectic interests in music died because the mainstream media only fed its audience what the media execs wanted them to hear.

"The advent of stereo coincided with the rediscover of Blues and the Folk Revival, followed by the Singer-Songwriter revolution in pop music, wherein artists like Joni Mitchell could actually lay claim to some sort of mainstream career. Ambitious artists made the 'concept [LP] album' an art form."

Just a few parts.... The variety of music choices in the mainstream at the time was endless...........

"MOST OF ALL: The only music-media competition for most of that time consisted of radio, where someone else picked the music, and TV, where music was featured only a few hours a week.

"So, seeing as NONE of the factors that made stereo cool 1956-1986 exist today, why are you unbearably surprised and uncomprehending that between Twittering and Facebooking and texting and sexting and porning and selfieing, young people today do indeed regard LPs as our younger selves would have regarded illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages?"

I'm not surprised, but my contention is that the prefabricated music that dominates the modern mainstream is not exactly material that makes people strive for high-fidelity sound reproduction.... Not to mention the audiophile community viewing such music with disdain, it lacks the artistic depth that makes those people want to enjoy it on a good audio system.

"It's really really simple. Things change. Nothing lasts forever. You can't un-ring a bell."

I think if that were true, there wouldn't have been a vinyl revival.... There are young people out there going for music beyond the mainstream, and some of those people have the same passion for quality sound reproduction that we had.

 

Stereos Are Not "Cool" Anymore Because........, posted on October 9, 2014 at 18:28:08
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37308
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
.....the mainstream media has shielded the masses from music that would motivate them to reproduce it with better fidelity.

Think about it, how often do you hear classical (orchestral) music, classic jazz, or even classic rock on the mainstream networks? (Contrast this to the mainstream media prior to 1970.) Or recent independent acts (like Porcupine Tree or Zero 7) that might actually light a passion?

It also doesn't help that most mainstream acts today use so much processing, even the decent ones sound more like cartoon caricatures than real performers.

 

RE: Stereos Are Not "Cool" Anymore Because........, posted on October 9, 2014 at 18:37:13
painter27
Audiophile

Posts: 5057
Location: wi.
Joined: January 7, 2003
I've heard this all before & I say pooy !

 

Well I think ..., posted on October 9, 2014 at 18:47:39
Bromo33333
Audiophile

Posts: 3502
Location: Ipswich, MA
Joined: May 4, 2004
... the penetration of the VCR was the start of the era of "on demand entertainment" with video stores and recording TV shows.

By the 1980's the price of VCR's had fallen enough that nearly anyone who wanted one could have one, and the stereo was relegated to the background.

The number of entertainment options really proliferated starting then, where now, there won't be any one dominant media, for very long anyway.

I suppose streaming media is the likely end game for passive, but who knows what the next decade will bring?
====
"You are precisely as big as what you love and precisely as small as what you allow to annoy you." ~ R A Wilson

 

I know that many old farts (I'm an old fart too) think the same, however, in my experience at least, Sudz,, posted on October 9, 2014 at 18:54:46
Road Warrior
Audiophile

Posts: 21652
Location: Dallas
Joined: August 31, 2004
our daughter's friends (25-35yr old) go gaga when they come over to our house and see my rigs. Very recently our daughter's 30 yr old Dutch friend, a STUNNING, single, beauty, walked into my man cave and said, "Yup, I want to live here." No comment, other than to say that at least, for a moment, I felt pretty f'n cool ;>
----------------------

"E Burres Stigano?"


 

Naw, stereos are bad now (mt), posted on October 9, 2014 at 18:56:28
Rod M
Web Geek

Posts: 16199
Location: So. California
Joined: March 1, 1999
Contributor
  Since:
March 1, 1999
And cool is such an old fashioned word.

Excellent stereos are totally rad.

-Rod

 

Very uncool., posted on October 9, 2014 at 19:08:57
bjh
Audiophile

Posts: 18614
Location: Ontario
Joined: November 22, 2003
But if you're cool that doesn't bother you.


 

Turntables and LPs are very popular..., posted on October 9, 2014 at 19:17:08
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
...among the millenials, like my daughter.

They need something to play them through which is a stereo.

Maybe it's just stereos without turntables that aren't cool anymore.

Although her friends are impressed by the music playing through mine...

 

RE: Stereos are not cool anymore, posted on October 9, 2014 at 20:02:10
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
Are you telling me kids sit in a 100 square foot room listening to vinyl for hours? If it is true I would like to see it.

 

RE: Stereos are not cool anymore, posted on October 9, 2014 at 20:04:40
digda_beat
Audiophile

Posts: 1723
Location: Canberra
Joined: July 31, 2003
you are unbdoubtabley coeerct in at least some ways. I think the main thing is just that there is so much more around these days for kids, and people in general. Home hifi was the start of home entertainment- then cam tv, videos, gaming, home computers. Hifi is somehwere there, but just part of a big mix

 

RE: Naw, stereos are bad now (mt), posted on October 9, 2014 at 20:06:19
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
Isn't rad a Southern California slang? I grew up in Michigan and we never used that word. Back in the day they used to say" that's the bomb"

 

RE: The price of Projection TV had crossed a Tipping Point by 1986, posted on October 9, 2014 at 20:09:11
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
Are you saying that back in the 60's and early 70's playboy had an influence on stereo buyers? If that is the case I have never heard that before.

 

RE: Stereos Are Not "Cool" Anymore Because........, posted on October 9, 2014 at 20:12:52
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
Todd Kreiger, you make some excellent points. I enjoyed reading them.

 

There age ... outasite insight ... cool ... N/T , posted on October 9, 2014 at 20:49:49
musetap
Audiophile

Posts: 31815
Location: San Francisco
Joined: July 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since:
January 28, 2004
N/T
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure



 

You're kidding right??, posted on October 9, 2014 at 20:52:48
DustyC
Audiophile

Posts: 960
Joined: November 4, 2000
Way before Holt (much less HP) held court in these parts, Playboy would feature articles about stereo gear. After all, if you wanted to get laid, a great stereo could help set the mood. (along with the round bed!)

 

Surely you jest..., posted on October 9, 2014 at 20:54:35
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
...what sort of man reads

 

Playboy used to run an editorial like this.., posted on October 9, 2014 at 21:32:00
kuma
Audiophile

Posts: 10254
Location: IN
Joined: July 8, 2001


Altho, GQ just ran an article about Return to HIFI. Sadly, not enough momentum reversing the pendulum but apparently it's COOL to have a hifi again.
The latest trend for metro sexuals: drink micro brew whisky or burbon with wagyu beef and spin vinyl records.

 

RE: Stereos Are Not "Cool" Anymore Because........, posted on October 9, 2014 at 21:39:50
bjh
Audiophile

Posts: 18614
Location: Ontario
Joined: November 22, 2003
When you were a kid you likely swore you'd never be like that when you heard the older generation moan. ;)


 

Says who?, posted on October 9, 2014 at 23:23:00
Used to be every Tom, Dick and Harry had one trying to be cool. These days only people who are actually cool have them.

 

It's a slang abbreviation for radical..., posted on October 9, 2014 at 23:40:47
eppis1
Audiophile

Posts: 1114
Location: So. Cal.
Joined: September 21, 2003
...I didn't realize it was popularized by the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." My stereo gives me great pleasure. I'd shout it from the rooftop if I didn't have vertigo.

 

Yeah, they are now, sic .... , posted on October 10, 2014 at 02:01:08
... Still plenty of youngsters love & appreciate good audio equipment.

Of course there are now 50 other things to spend their limited money on. Many kids around here love decent audio gear and do sit around listening to it and often have an instrument or 3 to jam along with it. It certainly happens here in my humble lean-to with late teens & twenty somethings.

In this part of the world kids will take some powered speakers fed by an an iPod filled with lossless files, a generator, drums, guitars, brass etc and jam down on the beach or the like.

I live in a very musical and creative part of the world.

Life is good, so is high-end audio, no matter what your pessimistic carcass says.


Edit; Syntax


 

excellent summary - nt, posted on October 10, 2014 at 02:47:00
Green Lantern
Audiophile

Posts: 16952
Location: San Diego, Ca
Joined: November 12, 2002
Contributor
  Since:
June 17, 2003










 

Walkmans (remember those?), Boomboxes, ghetto blasters, portable discmans, portable MP3 players and , posted on October 10, 2014 at 02:55:31
Green Lantern
Audiophile

Posts: 16952
Location: San Diego, Ca
Joined: November 12, 2002
Contributor
  Since:
June 17, 2003
most importantly today's smartphones with Pandora, et al; are all responsible for taking the glam away from home stereos.









 

Until they hear it, posted on October 10, 2014 at 03:26:40
JeffH
Audiophile

Posts: 4574
Location: Orange County, So Cal
Joined: April 5, 2000
For one, I do this for ME and ME alone. Do I have friends and family who dig it? You bet, but they are besides the point.

Now, I've had more than one of my friends kids turn mini audiophile after hangin' out with my stereo. Two of my 3 kids are audiophile bound. My early 30's Daughter and Son-In-Law just bought a turntable. As far as my friends are concerned, their better 1/2's just wouldn't allow it and that's why we hang out here :) which is cool because I don't have to drive home tipsy.

 

Were they EVER?, posted on October 10, 2014 at 04:08:27
J.Mac
Audiophile

Posts: 3553
Location: Colorado
Joined: November 6, 2002
You must be either kidding, or else very, very old, to think that stereos were anything close to "cool" at any time in human history.

Too funny.

 

RE: Were they EVER?, posted on October 10, 2014 at 04:37:40
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
If you actually grew up in the 60's and 70's you would know that stereos were cool. That's a no brainier!

 

RE: Life style change or disposable income?, posted on October 10, 2014 at 06:00:25
Condorsat
Audiophile

Posts: 1909
Location: NE Ohio
Joined: January 13, 2003

Coming from an area that has a rather robust Amish community ... numerous hand made furniture outlets is my point here.

Collector cabinets do not sell in near the volume that they used too. The local merchants tell me that the young people they talk too have absolutely no interest in collecting. Customers are late middle aged and are continuing to trend older.

Is it a cultural life style change (minimalism) or lack of disposable income that's driving this? Take your pick. Stereo's seem to be in the same category IMHO.

 

Ah, the starting conditions will likely be repeated..., posted on October 10, 2014 at 06:41:02
morricab
Distributor or Rep

Posts: 9160
Location: switzerland
Joined: April 1, 2005
Whether anything worthwhile is left afterwards is another story. Maybe the surviors will learn how to play records with wheel hub and pine needles attached to a rolled up sheet metal horn or something.

 

Decisive influence upon stereo buyers, posted on October 10, 2014 at 07:02:56
John Marks
Manufacturer

Posts: 7774
Location: Peoples' Democratic Republic of R.I.
Joined: April 23, 2000



Yes, that is what I have been saying for more than 6 years, and you have not been paying attention.

In the 1960s and 1970s Playboy's circulation was 5 MILLION copies a month; Playboy was read by appx. 25% the college-age men in the US (on the assumption that most copies were read by the subscriber and from 2 to 4 friends--and barbershop copies were probably read by 50 customers a month).

I wrote about this phenomenon in Stereophile's August 2008 "As We See It."

JM

 

ADD, posted on October 10, 2014 at 07:19:27
Hyfi
Audiophile

Posts: 732
Joined: January 30, 2002
It's not just stereos, it is anything that does not move after 3 seconds.

It started with MTV videos and the attention span since then for young people is nill.

 

RE: The coolness of stereos from 1956 to 1986 was a one-shot deal., posted on October 10, 2014 at 07:21:22
Agreed John;

I graduated high school in '86 and would agree with you that it was the tail end, if not the end of the stereo era.

When college came along, so did the GSL (guaranteed student loan) loans.
We all jokingly referred to them as "guaranteed stereo loans".
When my GSL arrived I did the prudent thing and spent a good chunk of it on some Adcom separates and a pair of Kef speakers.

I can still recall my excitement as I hauled the gear back to my off campus apartment to set it all up. My roommates and other friends had a lot of good times listening to that system.

Do young men do the same today? No.
Do I worry about and lament the passing of the era? No.

It is what it is.

300 years ago young men gathered in a similar manner to shoot their long bows. Time marches on.........

Great post - you nailed it.




 

RE: Naw, stereos are bad now (mt), posted on October 10, 2014 at 08:27:13
-æ-
Bored Member

Posts: 788
Joined: May 9, 2013
Contributor
  Since:
March 1, 1999
>>Excellent stereos are totally rad.

Don't you mean "sick"?

If you aren't quite noticing or accepting what is really going on in the present,
but are responding based on your thoughts or feelings about what ought to be,
then you are apt to collide with what is really going on.

 

How cool were your parents?, posted on October 10, 2014 at 08:39:14
Frihed89
Audiophile

Posts: 15703
Location: Copenhagen
Joined: March 21, 2005
Or didn't that occur to you?

 

No, but it makes me wonder: What is "cool" nowadays?, posted on October 10, 2014 at 09:44:11
I'm not sure I know the answer. Do you?

Headphone related stuff might be the closest thing to "cool" in electronic entertainment nowadays, but I'm thinking that the concept of "cool things to own" may have finally run it's course. Unless you're talking about women and their ongoing addictions to shoes, clothes, and cosmetic refinements that is...

IMO, today's people don't want to think about things that might need care, cleaning, or maintenance. Everything useable must also be disposable - the more disposable, the better. If there is anything that is considered cool nowadays, it has as much to do with *concepts* (such as "connectivity" and "communication") as it does with any physical THING. If the home audio experience is to exist at all, it is best kept confined to one's own head.

 

RE: Stereos are not cool anymore, posted on October 10, 2014 at 09:58:35
fantja
Audiophile

Posts: 15486
Location: Alabama
Joined: September 11, 2010
Yep- that is how I got started in this hobby-

 

RE: Naw, stereos are bad now (mt), posted on October 10, 2014 at 10:23:57
AudioSoul
Audiophile

Posts: 4594
Location: north central AZ
Joined: July 9, 2005

Bitchin!, Bitchin is the California slag for cool, rad, and bad all rolled into one word....

 

RE: Stereos are not cool anymore, posted on October 10, 2014 at 10:27:24
AudioSoul
Audiophile

Posts: 4594
Location: north central AZ
Joined: July 9, 2005

I am sure it happens sometimes but I agree with you for mass majority nah....

 

Having a lot of friends who you are in near constant contact with is what is 'cool' nt., posted on October 10, 2014 at 11:01:25
.

 

RE: The coolness of stereos from 1956 to 1986 was a one-shot deal., posted on October 10, 2014 at 11:04:59
Dman
Audiophile

Posts: 7211
Location: Kansas
Joined: January 28, 2001
Agreed- In Ontario Canada, we had "O.S.A.P."- the Ontario Student Assistance Program, which we all half jokingly refered to as the Ontario Stereo Acquisition Program. This was in the mid 1990's!

Dman
Analog Junkie

 

Yeah, some kids do. Ace Hotels provide vinyl and TTs. It's a hipster thing. Not, as some loonie in Oz argues, posted on October 10, 2014 at 11:52:52
tinear
Audiophile

Posts: 65782
Location: Kansas City, KS
Joined: April 9, 2006
mainstream, at all, but a tiny niche that has legs.

 

I think you are right..., posted on October 10, 2014 at 11:56:22
.., and it doesn't take a big living room full of electronic gizmos to accomplish that feat.

 

There is a difference..., posted on October 10, 2014 at 12:41:50
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
...our parents didn't try to be cool or be our friends - they were our parents.

We on the other hand are trying to be cool.

Anything we like our kids will reject because that makes it not cool.

Take Facebook, for example - once all the moms got on, the kids bolted to Instagram and other sites.

Audio equipment?

Kids don't care about it, cool or not, because they get their music from downloads or streaming and listen on their smartphones.

Muscle cars and Corvettes were cool when I was growing up - now it's smart cars and Priuses.

 

Prius's have and never will be cool.. , posted on October 10, 2014 at 13:06:14
ErikM
Audiophile

Posts: 96
Location: New Jersey
Joined: November 13, 2004
I've never meet nor do I think there is any kid (male) that thinks a Prius is cool.. Ferraris are cool, Porsches, McClarens, and Lambos are cool.. Big block anythings are cool. Prius.. not so much.

 

Is all about perception... being brainwashed just means I have a clean mind...~nT~!, posted on October 10, 2014 at 13:16:11
Cleantimestream
Audiophile

Posts: 7542
Location: Kentucky
Joined: June 30, 2005
~!
The Mind has No Firewall~ U.S. Army War College.

 

Lots of kids..., posted on October 10, 2014 at 13:55:04
mkuller
Audiophile

Posts: 38130
Location: SF Bay Area
Joined: April 22, 2003
...think green is more important than flash today.

 

Speak for yourself... , posted on October 10, 2014 at 15:49:19
My stereo is so cool that it can make popsicles in its shorts.

 

. . . until the next shiny fad comes along, posted on October 10, 2014 at 16:00:15
Brian H P
Audiophile

Posts: 1285
Location: Oregon
Joined: December 18, 2012
Most of the kids doing the turntable thing now are doing it as a fashion trend, rather than from any appreciation (or even concept) of superior sound quality.

How much quality can you get out of a cheap entry-level TT with a terrible groove-chewing cartridge, anyway? Especially one with a built-in AD converter and a USB output? So you can dumb your expensive 180g virgin vinyl records down to MP3s and listen to them on your i-phone, through mud-thumpy fashion statement headphones?

Ain't gonna last. These kids are not budding audiophiles, just trend followers soon to be distracted by the next flashy trend.

 

RE: Stereos are not cool anymore, posted on October 10, 2014 at 17:20:21
DKL
Audiophile

Posts: 1043
Location: Deland, FL
Joined: November 20, 2001



I enjoy listening and looking at my stereo systems, both in the car and at home. I have a pretty decent car system with Dynaudio speakers, JL Audio sub, and vintage Soundstream amps, and my latest amp acquisition for my home system - a Neodio NR-600 Signature has my Merlins singing better than ever (this from a solid state amp!).

 

RE: . . . until the next shiny fad comes along, posted on October 10, 2014 at 17:28:32
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
That is so true!

 

My late-teen girls, posted on October 10, 2014 at 17:55:47
tesla
Audiophile

Posts: 3180
Location: San Diego County, California
Joined: October 25, 2000
would disagree.

They both love records, and the older refuses to listen to anything else, including radio. They report that many of their classmates are the same, and records are now cool again, hell, even the local Frys has a pretty decent collection for sale.
Proudly serving content-free posts since 1984.

 

RE: Lots of kids..., posted on October 10, 2014 at 19:02:36
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
Green is in, flash is out.

 

RE: Prius's have and never will be cool.. , posted on October 10, 2014 at 19:06:35
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
Most kids aren't even into cars nowadays. I think most kids spend their time on social media.

 

RE: Were they EVER?, posted on October 10, 2014 at 19:26:13
J.Mac
Audiophile

Posts: 3553
Location: Colorado
Joined: November 6, 2002
I'll bet you also thought ham radio and playing the sousaphone in marching band were cool.

 

RE: Were they EVER?, posted on October 10, 2014 at 20:41:26
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
I never thought that.

 

RE: Decisive influence upon stereo buyers, posted on October 10, 2014 at 20:55:26
lord addleford
Audiophile

Posts: 1094
Location: new england
Joined: July 5, 2005
JM,

It would help my understanding of your post and your hypothesis if you would cite any peer reviewed research that studied the effect of 'reading' Playboy on the college age demographic and purchasing audio equipment during the "baby boomer' years of the 1960s-70s.

Thanks.

 

It Ain't Necessarily So, posted on October 10, 2014 at 21:05:10
George S. Roland
Audiophile

Posts: 1464
Location: N W Pennsylvania
Joined: March 20, 2004
I recently retired from a college teaching job. I have had several young people of undergrad college age recently who were very intrigued by my audio system.
One young man from China had never seen or heard a real turntable playing a real LP. He was fascinated. He came by my house at least three times while he was finishing his education to listen. We compared LPs to CDs and several different speaker and amp combinations so he could hear some of the differences that audiophiles love to discuss.
I do think it is true that most kids nowadays want it personal, portable, small and downloaded or streamed, but there are a few who are interested in conventional "stereos", collect LPs because they like physical media, cover art, etc.

 

I think Sudz is speaking of the mainstream and he is right., posted on October 10, 2014 at 21:28:06
Michael Samra
Dealer

Posts: 36118
Location: saginaw michigan
Joined: January 30, 2005
While in our immediate circles we see a new interest from young kids in two channel audio,the masses have not yet caught on..It is changing a bit however,you don't see the socializing around the stereo like we did years ago..Of course,the computer has changed everything from how we play videos and watch sporting events and listen to music.
We also need to take into account how many young kids put money in their car stereo before they will a home stereo.Things change little by little and we are seeing movement with vinyl..Any growth we get is encouraging.
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong" H. L. Mencken

 

"He Was Fascinated." ......., posted on October 10, 2014 at 21:42:45
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37308
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
What got me interested in audio was the "fascination" in hearing a semblance of real live music out of a pair of loudspeakers.... All the rest is history.

If a young individual is fortunate to hear enough unadulterated live music, and then hear a pair of speakers recreating that experience, he'll be fascinated too. This has nothing to do with generation, technologies of the time, or even cultural surroundings.

The only difference between when audio was popular and when it wasn't is simply the amount of unadulterated live music young individuals have been exposed to. We simply need to provide avenues for our young people to discover music acts outside the mainstream that they might enjoy. Which in turn could drive a passion to recreate the experiences via quality sound reproduction.

 

Really I thought most parents were/are trying to be cool..., posted on October 10, 2014 at 21:48:32
and unfortunately sometimes around their kids.

 

True, but that's because most of us use tube or Class A amps which run hot, not cool., posted on October 10, 2014 at 22:32:51
Raiderman
Audiophile

Posts: 2129
Location: Silicon Valley, California
Joined: March 14, 2003
;-)

 

RE: There is a difference...#1 from me [n.t.a.], posted on October 11, 2014 at 03:59:45
wangmr
Audiophile

Posts: 2410
Location: Downtown
Joined: November 29, 2012
.

 

ladyboys, posted on October 11, 2014 at 04:35:34
Lady Gaga?

 

In HiFi stores, you see more 5 ch than 2 ch, posted on October 11, 2014 at 06:58:08
Alpha Al
Industry Professional

Posts: 2957
Location: N. Carolina
Joined: February 16, 2004
Contributor
  Since:
December 3, 2015
I'm sticking to 2 channel, thanks.

 

RE: Stereos are not cool anymore, posted on October 11, 2014 at 07:37:03
PoisonM
Audiophile

Posts: 107
Joined: January 13, 2011
People those days had less distractions. However to say stereo isnt cool anymore is premature. That's same as those who were singing about the death of CDs and Vinyl or even VHS.

 

Have you been out for a cruise night lately?, posted on October 11, 2014 at 08:11:41
mark111
Audiophile

Posts: 4699
Joined: April 12, 2002
Tuner cars are in. Take a look sometime.
enjoy,
mark

 

Conventional Stereos are not cool anymore but..., posted on October 11, 2014 at 08:54:59



I sure get lots of interest in my systems everyone who stops over asks for a listen and comments highly on the sound quality. They particularly enjoy the old RCA MI gear with modern amps and a nice TT for source.

 

Too much work. Anything that requires any tinkering is out. Motorcycles, cars, , posted on October 11, 2014 at 09:00:02
tinear
Audiophile

Posts: 65782
Location: Kansas City, KS
Joined: April 9, 2006
typewriters (now, of course, computers): none of them involve any skillful work: just "plug and play."
Involvement in audio requires effort. Actually moving stuff around. Vinyl? A real nightmare, for today's kids. All the cartridge, needle, platter, etc. adjustments are a non-starter.
Yes, a few kids are into it. Many are the same kids that wear bell-bottoms or dye their hair green and have fanciful tats.
It's over.
Evolve or die.

 

No, it would not, because you have an attitude problem that has lasted more than 4 hours, posted on October 11, 2014 at 09:34:26
John Marks
Manufacturer

Posts: 7774
Location: Peoples' Democratic Republic of R.I.
Joined: April 23, 2000
And I don't need peer-reviewed research because the fact of the matter is that hi-fi companies were frequent advertisers in Playboy from 1956 on through the time I cite as the changeover from stereo to home theater. Companies that buy ads in the wrong media often don't stay in business.

But there actually is some peer-reviewed research I am aware of that indeed does cite chapter and verse for the strong linkage between the urban/indoors ethos of Playboy (versus the suburban/outdoors ethos of Esquire), hi-fi, and Hefner's particular vision of "the life well lived."

From JSTOR:

“ 'Turn it down!' she shrieked: gender, domestic space, and high fidelity, 1948-59”
Keir Keightley
“Popular Music,” Vol. 15, No. 2. (May, 1996), pp. 149-177.
“Popular Music” is currently published by Cambridge University Press.

# # #

I attach only two pages, in the spirit of Fair Use. Yes, that study ends at 1959 but by then the die was cast as far as Playboy's embrace of both hi-fi and jazz as signifiers of Hefner's ideals of modern male life.

Perhaps there is more research that is on point but I am more than satisfied that my thesis holds water, and more to the point so is JA, and he matters a lot more than you do. And I have discussed my thesis with academics in American Civilization and Musicology, and nobody has ever said, "You are barking up the wrong tree."

The book that someone has to write is about how Hefner, I believe, did more than anyone else during the years when Rock was in its ascendency to keep Jazz on life support, so to speak--one of the few instances in which Hefner consciously took a position that was uncool by the prevailing standards of the time. And perhaps it was Hef's continued showcasing of relics like Mel Tormé that was the chink in Playboy's armor that let Guccione's Penthouse come into the cafeteria and eat Hef's lunch... .

Have a nice day.

jm










 

do they still say 'cool' anymore? nt, posted on October 11, 2014 at 09:37:28
Green Lantern
Audiophile

Posts: 16952
Location: San Diego, Ca
Joined: November 12, 2002
Contributor
  Since:
June 17, 2003










 

apparently not everyone thinks so......, posted on October 11, 2014 at 09:41:43
mikel
Audiophile

Posts: 2773
Joined: July 4, 2000
next Sunday night i'll be hosting a group of 6 in my 2 channel room that paid $2700 to win a live auction for an Evening of Music and Food. the auction benefits a local High School award winning Jazz Band.

Food and Wine will be provided by audio asylum forum member and good friend Jazdoc and his wife, who's son was a member of this band in previous years but is now attending Berklee College of Music in Boston.

this is the second year we have done this. last years winners apparently thought Stereo's were plenty cool.....this year even more so.

mikel

 

Motorcycles and cars are "plug and play"?, posted on October 11, 2014 at 10:08:59
rlw
Audiophile

Posts: 3347
Location: Near West Palm Bch, FL
Joined: August 29, 2006
You absolutely do not know what you are talking about, your opinions are worthless to me...

-RW-

 

Now THAT'S..., posted on October 11, 2014 at 11:28:05
musetap
Audiophile

Posts: 31815
Location: San Francisco
Joined: July 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since:
January 28, 2004
cool!

"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure



 

RE: apparently not everyone thinks so......, posted on October 11, 2014 at 11:53:08
jedrider
Audiophile

Posts: 15152
Location: No. California
Joined: December 26, 2003
They could buy their own stereo system for $2700??

How do you do it? Is that 20 people at $135 apiece?

 

RE: apparently not everyone thinks so......, posted on October 11, 2014 at 12:20:50
mikel
Audiophile

Posts: 2773
Joined: July 4, 2000
in April there was a Live Auction event at a local Club with likely 200 people in attendance. mostly parents, relatives, friends, teachers, and band members. it's a fund-raiser for the band to help with trip expenses for low income band members, and instruments for low income band members, and other band expenses. having a jazz band in a High School costs money....most of which needs to be contributions. really a first class event i attended last year but not this year. the band also finds a nationally known Jazz luminary to attend and play as an added attraction.

there are many types of things auctioned, one of which is this Night of Music and Food. last year they ended up auctioning 2 different nights for $500 each. this year it was one night for $2700. this dollar amount is a contribution from the winners. and it happens to be one of the groups from last year....and trust me, they had a great time. so did i and Jazdoc and our wives.

as far as how the winners view the $2700 and how they rationalized it, i have no idea. but obviously they saw the value somewhere for it. i was not present for the bidding but i'm told there was much interest.

as far as value for the $2700....you have not been to my room......or witnessed Jazdoc's jazz and music knowledge on display. :-)

my wife has always said i should charge admission.

stereo not 'cool'?....hardly!!!

mikel

 

I'll pay an admission fee to your audio room. Cheers (nt), posted on October 11, 2014 at 12:47:54
bouncy ball
Audiophile

Posts: 1219
Location: British Columbia
Joined: July 26, 2003
.

 

RE: I'll pay an admission fee to your audio room. Cheers (nt), posted on October 11, 2014 at 13:00:21
mikel
Audiophile

Posts: 2773
Joined: July 4, 2000
thanks for kind comment.

seriously; if you are ever in the neighborhood you would be most welcome to visit for a listen. i noticed from some of your recent posts that you live in Canada, and have been here in the Seattle area recently. so if you get down here then contact me and we can set it up.

and even though my wife is serious about her comment about charging admission, i only require having a common ground of enjoyment of fine audio and music...nothing more. i enjoy meeting like minded audiophiles.

mikel

 

RE: No, it would not, because you have an attitude problem that has lasted more than 4 hours, posted on October 11, 2014 at 13:01:14
lord addleford
Audiophile

Posts: 1094
Location: new england
Joined: July 5, 2005
JM,

It is an easy call to agree that Playboy played a not insignificant role in shaping the aspirational ethos of post WWII, white middle class males during the 1950s.

I specifically refer to the generation of white middle class,'Baby-Boomer kids who came of age in the early 1960s to the mid 1970s.

I would suggest that the Playboy aspirational life style ethos and view of the world was, in any practical sense, absent, if not anathema, to the life style of the aforementioned kids. They were, in fact, the adolescents and young adults who were in active revolt against their parents and who formed the core soldiers of the political and cultural struggles of those times. I remember the struggles of those times quite well. Music propelled the struggle. We bought audio equipment. Playboy was as dead as the proverbial door nail, just, as we thought, was our parents way of life; the former was a solid truth; the latter, well, we learned a lot about ourselves and attempted to pick and choose among the bones of what we rejected and arrived at our middle age a wiser lot.

 

Well, if you are speaking of the family truckster they are, posted on October 11, 2014 at 13:18:53
Posts: 3040
Location: Atlanta
Joined: December 15, 2003
but there are plenty of cars with things you can adjust or those wanting more performance out of a car modify the car.

One can get as tweaky and fiddly with a car or a motorcycle as a serious turntable.

You do not seem to know all that much about high performance cars and motorcycles which are akin to high quality audio.

tinear did not offer advice here, it is a fact.

 

The hippies and revolutionaries got far more media attention than their numbers or importance merited, posted on October 11, 2014 at 14:48:50
John Marks
Manufacturer

Posts: 7774
Location: Peoples' Democratic Republic of R.I.
Joined: April 23, 2000
Look at age breakdowns in the 1968 and 1972 national elections. Nixon got lots of young voters. Arguably, they were his margins.

You are lapsing (I think) into the mindset that when a year ending in "9" ends and a year beginning with "0" starts, it is like flipping a light switch. In most cases, not so.

All one has to do is look at Playboy's still-astonishing circulation and ad revenue figures from the 1960s through the mid-1970s, when Penthouse began spanking Playboy's rear for its complacency.

Indeed, the "real" Playboy died with the early death of Auguste Comte Spectorsky, the guy who was able to get world-class writers to swallow their pride while pocketing their check. Hef wandered around in his satin bathrobe while Specs put out a world-class general-interest magazine that also featured bare boobs.

Anyone who lived through that era (I still can hardly believe with the bad lottery number I got, I was not sent to Vietnam) can remember (selectively) what they wish to, in however self-congratulatory a way.

I not only lived through it, I studied it at the college level and have continued my studies in History and Material Culture and Technology as academic subjects, life-long. I am currently reading a Niall Ferguson essay on chaos and determinancy in History, and, frankly, it's hard work.

Indeed, later in life I met and was influenced by an important member of Shure Brothers' outside ad agency in the 1960s and 1970s, and for them, Playboy was a supremely important "get." And I don't think they were living in the past, they were reading the sales reports. Playboy's circulation in that time frame was more than TEN TIMES Stereo Review's!!!

Let us not forget that counter-cultural as they were, The Grateful Dead splurged on McIntosh amplification for their PA system. The revolution might not have been televised, but they like them their nice stereos.

JM

 

The best-selling Playboy edition was the November 1972 edition, which sold 7,161,561 copies., posted on October 11, 2014 at 14:53:34
John Marks
Manufacturer

Posts: 7774
Location: Peoples' Democratic Republic of R.I.
Joined: April 23, 2000
nt

 

Neither are CB radios. Everything has a lifespan...., posted on October 11, 2014 at 16:25:04
reelsmith.
Audiophile

Posts: 13112
Location: CT
Joined: June 7, 2005
Contributor
  Since:
January 19, 2010
...some shorter than others.

Dean.




reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.


 

RE: Don't care, posted on October 11, 2014 at 16:25:46
REL54
Audiophile

Posts: 1944
Location: Virginia Coast
Joined: January 3, 2003
Mark III, neither do I. I, like you, don't care what "they" think because I don't have my stereo systems for THEM.

One's life is generally more enjoyable once one learns to not really care that much what other people think of him.

ymmv,
roN

 

They were never cool, actually. Radios were cool, especially pocket radios. And boom boxes! , posted on October 11, 2014 at 17:38:42



...

 

RE: apparently not everyone thinks so......, posted on October 11, 2014 at 17:57:06
c1ferrari
Audiophile

Posts: 640
Location: Southern California
Joined: March 16, 2001
Perhaps, I'll think of you as M-Squared...Magnanimous Mike!
Seriously, good show, Mike.
You, Jazdoc, and all involved are to be commended :-)

Vbr,
Sam

 

RE: Now THAT'S..., posted on October 11, 2014 at 18:55:41
+1

 

RE: Now THAT'S..., posted on October 11, 2014 at 19:33:57
ive read most of this thread and you guys have missed maybe the most important thing.

Im 27 years old and seriously, 99% of people my age doesnt really listen to music anymore. Not like I do and not like you guys do. They dont even know what it is to dig a artist and listen to every note he plays, or follow all the musical lines of a song, ect.
People my age and younger have been expose to crap pop music, and have been sort of raised like that: to not listen to the music. I dont blame them because the musica we are now expose to is pure SHIT.

JAzz is indeed seen as weird, heck even rock is seen as a thing of the past. Electronica and rap and pop is the only thing we know.
Nobody cares enough about that music to want to invest in a system

That said, anybody my age who listend to the many iteration of my system all said the same thing: HOLY fuck, didnt thought it could sound that good.

Then, since nobody is ever expose to a good sound system anymore, its like the circle has ended. no body is faced with a good system enough to even know that amazing sound is possible. They just dont know what they are missing; its not advertised anywhere anymore. You do not see big speakers nowhere, not even in videoclip, on tv, or movies.

Its like a sound system is not part of our culture anymore.

oh well, were the lucky ones!

 

RE: In HiFi stores, you see more 5 ch than 2 ch, posted on October 11, 2014 at 19:58:57
unclestu
Dealer

Posts: 5851
Joined: April 13, 2010
easier to sell 5 channel for the wife and kids....

 

RE: Now THAT'S..., posted on October 11, 2014 at 20:05:10
sudz1234@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 2956
Joined: February 20, 2011
Did you read what he said sox? "Kids my ago don't even listen to music" there goes your theory on young people being audiophiles.

 

RE: Now THAT'S..., posted on October 11, 2014 at 20:15:23
peace and love

 

Music is cool, Trolls are not., posted on October 11, 2014 at 20:15:43
Chip647
Audiophile

Posts: 2633
Location: The South
Joined: December 24, 2012

 

Page: [ 1 ] [ 2 ]

Page processed in 0.187 seconds.