Difference between today and yesterday.

There is some serious Nostalgitis happening here.

Mrtennis, you have already determined that your vintage rig would sound better than ANY current combination of gear,
"i have a favorite stereo system from the 70's that i would prefer over any stsereo system comprising current-production components."

Evidently, you don't even have to hear today's gear to know it's not as good as your old stuff! Your reference is fixed emotionally with 1970's gear. Severe case of Nostalgitis.

There's a paradox going on here. Undoubtedly modern products offer a better performance/value ratio than what was available a generation ago and at the high end increased design and manufacturing knowledge coupled with better materials make it possible for real improvements to have taken place. Yet it's not all that clear that the best systems of 20 or 30 years ago are any less musically satisfying that the best systems of today. Modern systems may do more hi-fi tricks than older systems, but are they really more musically satisfying? It's not a case of nostalgia. There are valid reasons for people preferring vintage products to their modern equivalents. Ultimately, performance is not the end all and be all of what all people are looking for.

hi doug:

my preference is based upon hours and hours of listening at ces shows, stereophile shows, audio clubs, audio dealers and visits to friends' and acquaintance stereo systems.

if you are so convinced of the superiority of current production stereo systems, would you care to make a wager ?

you and i will select a stereo system. i will confine myself to components from the 70's and 80's , and you can assemble a stereo system of your choice.

place me in a room, blindfolded and i will listen to both stereo systems, according to some procedure.

i will indicate my preference, for either stereo system.
i will bet i prefer my stereo system at least 90 percent of the time.

what say you ?

gentlemen:

the proof of the pudding is what someone does with one's money. those of us who purchase "vintage" components do so with the awareness that there are other choices. chances are, those who prefer vintage gear have also heard modern gear and prefer the vintage gear because it sounds more like the real thing than current production components.

Eldartford(et al): I'd love to own a plane like that(it would probably be flat-black too)! The open door is good. Then again: If being in an airplane is flying, then riding in a boat is swimming. Get out of the vehicle sometime, and REALLY experience the element. That's my advice to the ones that are in love with their stuck-in-the-past sound systems: Get out of the house and listen to some of the real thing, especially something with a lot of vocals. Go home with the group's CD(hopefully well engineered) and see how your equipment's reproduction compares with the live experience. Of course: that's only IF you care.