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I have to disagree with a lot of responses...

Posted by el_37 (A) on February 21, 2007 at 20:57:47

In Reply to: Hi Fi Fetishism posted by Tancred on February 21, 2007 at 10:02:01:

There is A LOT of hi-fi fetishism going on with people who post on the
vintage board. It is not limited to "hi buck doctor/lawyer" audiophiles who spend $100,00+ on their systems.

Most people here do not spend $5000.00 on cables, but most "normal" and abnormal people (including audiophiles) do not have 37 receivers from the 1970's in there houses. The also do not spend every free moment going to garage sales, thrift stores, combing classified ads, craigslist, and EBAY looking for more vintage gear.

That my friends is fetishism as well.

There is also a lot of reverse snobbery going on with vintage guys. "Cheaper" is always better, and there is always someone blabbing about how their $100 system beats out $10,000 systems. Sure I have heard many a high buck system that sounds like crap...and I have heard many great ones to. I have also heard many awesome sounding vintage systems (and some not so awesome sounding)...but they tend to be quite expensive as well...the great vintage units are not chump change. Price out a hi end 1950's or 1960's tube system that is up to snuff...and you are quickly approaching (check out the prices on a pair of Marantz 9's these days) the five figure range...and your Dynaco PAS and ST-70 you scored for $50 does not fall into that range.

Male dominated hobbies are all the same, Audio, Cars, Fishing, Photography, Woodworking, etc...they are gadget driven, magic bullet driven, and just plain fetish driven. You have guys who spend top dollar to have a few things, guys who spend very little money to have a lot of things (ala 37 receivers in the basement), and guys who spend a lot of money to have a lot of overpriced junk that they sell at a huge loss a few years down the road. "Battles", "Names", and pissing contest are always the key as well. Ford vs Chevy, Marantz vs Pioneer, Fisher vs Scott, Nikon vs Canon, the list goes on and on.

Male hobbies seem also to more about having than doing. People on this list seem to talk alot about fixing and finding hi-fi equipment rather than listening to hi-fi equipment. Just like the guys who are the most into cars seem to the least into driving them, and the tool fanatics are the least into actually building stuff, and the photo buffs always seem to be trading in MINT condition Leicas for the latest model.

Most people I meet (and it is quite a number of people) who are into audio border on the fanatic. Very few seem to have fun anymore, and even less actually seem to be into music. But this seems to be the mode since the beginnings of hi-fi in the 1930's. Even back in the 1950's audiophiles were the butt of jokes and seen as a bunch of strange closet cases.

The glory years of "mainstream" hi-fi seem to be the 1970's and this seems to be the era that many people on this board love. There were a lot of guys into it in the 1950's and 1960's...but as someone pointed out already- they really knew what they were doing- but it also was very craft and spec oriented back then as well. The 70's seem to be the era when it was a MUST for the average Joe to have a "killer system"...but that was also the era for the average Joe to have a Nikon around his neck in order to pick up chicks- and how much did he really know about photography??? Having a great system was a status symbol in the 70's...not a choice by people to suddenly care about sound. If this was the case than BOSE would not be selling tons of wave radios- all of that junk is in middle aged peoples homes.

I am also shocked by the disdain many people seem to have on this board for "doctors" who buy hi end audio...they seem to forget it was the very doctors who were buying what is now vintage audio. A Fisher 500-C was $379.00 in 1963 when you could buy a new Caddy for $5000...the same thing today is what- $50,000??? Fisher's top line console in 1963 was $4,500!!! A pair of Bozak Concert Grands would set you back $3,000!!! Spending $30,000 on a pair of speakers doesn't seem so crazy when you put vintage gear into its proper context. I have a 1957 Allied catalog that has $1200.00 tape decks in it!!! Mr. Average Joe was not buying this stuff. Avery Fisher was not putting an ad every Sunday in the New York Times to appeal to factory workers.

The post war to present audiophile is an extremely interesting subject and I wish you well in your research. I would love to read a copy of your research paper. It is to strange of a sub culture to ignore.

Please feel free to contact me off list.

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