Beyond the Ariel

[g3dahl]

Originally posted by badman

It's funny that this comes up over and over and over.... and that the people who favor big speakers (and make big messes building them) talk so kindly about their wives. Look at the way Lynn talks about his S.O., . . .

No wonder Lynn speaks so highly of his wife, Karna. She is a brilliant, exceptional woman, and a terrific partner for Lynn. Also, she truly cares about and enjoys good music and good sound, even though she doesn't seem to be nearly so interested as Lynn in the technical elements of sound reproduction (not that they would be beyond her capacity).

As you said, Lynn's respect for and appreciation of Karna comes through in his writing. I'm here to testify that she deserves it!

Gary Dahl

[David Gatti]

He's a lucky man.

My ex girlfriend actually demanded that I get rid of "those huge speakers" if we were to live together.

I told her, if thats the case, I prefer to live alone, thanks very much.

[john k...]

Originally posted by kyrie48



When "analog" was king... and there -was- a quality choice!!

TTYL, kyrie

By analog do you mean vinyl? But in any event there are still the same choices out there.

But high quality audio and the masses? The masses never got past a KLH model 11 or a Magnavox console stereo.

[pedroskova]

Care to venture what a 1959 Magnavox stereo console would cost today after adjusting for inflation? I don't know the answer, but I have a feeling that it would come in just south of two grand.

Originally posted by john k...

But high quality audio and the masses? The masses never got past a KLH model 11 or a Magnavox console stereo.

[nickmckinney]

Originally posted by john k...
When was it ever popular among the "masses"?

It was a lot more popular before cable TV, video games, computers, then DVD. IMHO it really died once DVD came out. How many people from the 60-80's bought records and how many still buy CD's today? Just using my extended family I think I am the only one that has bought any new CD's lately.

[JoshK]

Originally posted by g3dahl


No wonder Lynn speaks so highly of his wife, Karna. She is a brilliant, exceptional woman, and a terrific partner for Lynn. Also, she truly cares about and enjoys good music and good sound, even though she doesn't seem to be nearly so interested as Lynn in the technical elements of sound reproduction (not that they would be beyond her capacity).

As you said, Lynn's respect for and appreciation of Karna comes through in his writing. I'm here to testify that she deserves it!

Gary Dahl

My wife is somewhere between. She is a music lover like me and appreciates good sound (and my system, even though she rarely admits it). She has a keen sense of hearing. She often points out if I did something that made things sound worse. She just doesn't like the obsessiveness of the hobby, although I've gotten much better about that and she has taken a mild interest in encouraging me to try to mimic Josh Stippich.

However, she is artistic and has a sense of decor she wants to acheive and nowhere in that is big speakers. She compromises, I comprimise. Housing in the Northeast, convenient near the city--so we can still have a social life--is quaint, to put it charmingly, or outrageously expensive.

No extra rooms for stereo systems. Living room it is, so it must not be an eyesore.

One thing that I do have going for me is the living room is right above a semi-finished basement. I decided to hang racks from the ceiling under the LR floor and put all the electronics san sources and preamp on that rack and drop cables through and back. Less visible gear = less things to argue about.

My wife was really onboard for an IB in the floor as well (= no big subs in the LR).

[nickmckinney]

Originally posted by pedroskova
Care to venture what a 1959 Magnavox stereo console would cost today after adjusting for inflation? I don't know the answer, but I have a feeling that it would come in just south of two grand.

I think we have a winner here. I remember the large consoles my parents and aunts/uncles all had. Much better sound than the computer speakers they listen to on these days.

[kyrie48]

Originally posted by john k...



By analog do you mean vinyl? But in any event there are still the same choices out there.

But high quality audio and the masses? The masses never got past a KLH model 11 or a Magnavox console stereo.

Vinyl, cassette, FM, even reel-to-reel... can anyone imagine people of today cleaning albums, putting reels on and off, or rewinding tapes? Just think of this, then add all the seperate amps, preamps, integrated amps, tuners, etc, and those HUGE speakers so many bought... and most had built-in woofers, not some little cube that could be stuck in a corner somewhere. Those were fans of quality sound... even people that preferred all-in-one receivers, many bought the larger, or massive higher powered models.
Even with many not having the money for HiFi, sells of quality equipment were higher than might have been expected. Those -were- the "good old days"!!

TTYL, kyrie

[winslow]

My girl loved my Edgar Slimlines and the tapped horn we had in our old apartment. Said they were kind of ugly and wanted to paint them...but she enjoyed them. I would come home and find her listening to them. I was like a proud poppa.

But whatever the home side is feeling, the car guys have nearly been put to death because of it.

[john k...]

Originally posted by kyrie48



Vinyl, cassette, FM, even reel-to-reel... can anyone imagine people of today cleaning albums, putting reels on and off, or rewinding tapes? Just think of this, then add all the seperate amps, preamps, integrated amps, tuners, etc, and those HUGE speakers so many bought... and most had built-in woofers, not some little cube that could be stuck in a corner somewhere. Those were fans of quality sound... even people that preferred all-in-one receivers, many bought the larger, or massive higher powered models.

TTYL, kyrie

It was the style of the day. But more improtantly, nothing you have listed says quality. There were plenty of really poor quality analog recordings, equipment and speakers; large or small, at all prices that were trash. And many high quality records from the late 70's and early 80's started out a digital recording. I am afriad I am one who still looks forwards, not back. I enjoyed the 60's, the 70's the 80's ...probably more that I should have, but I don't want to relive them.