Difference between today and yesterday.

Like I said most who say vintage is the best performing are guys who grewup with it;) Great to try to relive the past.But to ignor such major progress in transducers, cabinets ,crossovers, cables, design tools etc all are far more advanced than the 40s-70s. Sure some interesting and fun kit was produced then and its great you guys love it. But you do have to admite theres some truth to what Iam saying. You love it because you grew up using, reading or wanting it. Not because its the best performance availible. It just brings back pleasent memorys of your past and nothing wrong at all with that.But proclaiming vintage to be the best in performance just might lead others to try what you suggest. And if they didnt have the same past they just might hear it for what it is old stuff. Seems when we reach a certain age we tend to romaticise the past. Please excuse my spelling errors. And happy listening

Rodman99999...Needle, ball, and airspeed, and the door open. What avionics?

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 ?