1. Home
  2. music
  3. 131376-20253

2017 vs. 1990s - How far we have come

Hi Everyone,

I'm just taking a moment to think about how far we have come in the quality and enjoyment of music over the last 3 decades or so. I'm listening to Jazz.fm at 96kHz/16 via a Squeezebox Touch an NAD D 3020, and custom speakers (free design is available here ) on my desk as I work.

I have to say, the sound is pretty fantastic. We do a lot of comparisons to evaluate the relative merits of any given system, but we choose what we compare to. If we compare what we can get now vs. in the late 1980's/1990's I have to say things are really really good, and we should all take time to think about that now and then.

My total outlay is around $800 in electronics + the speakers.

First, I can pick among almost any radio station in the world. When guests from China show up, I have a station from Beijing playing when they arrive. I have 3 or 4 really good jazz stations on tap. There's Spotify and Tidal (great old school catalog) in addition to my 800 albums or so, some hi rez, mostly Redbook.

Digital amplifiers and DAC's are sooooooo much better than they used to be. Some of the DAC improvements in the low/mid market is outstanding. Especially Redbook. Digital amps, even cheap one's, sound so much better than the initial trials around the 1980s I heard. I mean sooooooo much better.

Don't get me wrong, there's a warm spot in my heart for vinyl and tube amps. But let's not pooh pooh an all digital/Class D solution either. The convenience, price and features are really outstanding now.

There will always be room for a discerning ear however. I don't mean to say all DAC's and all Class D amps and all speakers are now great. They are not. I am saying that for the music lover and audiophile your entry level to really good sound is a lot less expensive than before. Let's celebrate this, and also celebrate that this allows us to share not just shopping experiences but culture as well. The better music transmission is, the easier it is to enjoy and share all sorts of music, and culture. We should delight in that.

Best,

E
erik_squires
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
alanholvey
geoffkait: I myself have no RFI/EMI problems whatsoever. Thus when I am playing a CD for instance, my system will be toally quiet between uts and of course when it completes its play. But my favorite test is when I am listening o local FM Boulder radio station late evenings when my audio systemgoes completly silent.

The silence between tracks and silence during FM broadcasts are not really evidence you have magically escaped the same fate as everyone else. Of course RFI/EMI influences are expected to be minimized at night. Everyone knows that. I would consider revising your first sentence to something like, I myself have no RFI/EMI problems whatsoever that I’m aware of. 😀 As said previously, you get used to the distortion and noise since it has always been there. Silence is relative, so is noise and distortion. The signal to noise ratio of some military electronics is way greater than any commercial audiophile stuff. Many orders of magnitude greater I’d opine. FM signal to noise ratio is OK, nothing to write home about, though. Besides who wants to listen to compressed digital?
alanholvey's avatar
alanholvey
96 posts
 
I actually realized 35-40 years ago listning to KLOS and KMET radio in Los Angeles that when the announcers were talking live, that their voices actually sounded better than if you were yourself sitting next to them in the radio system.  I still remember the sound when they were going thru their papers on their desk.  It actually sounded better over the airwaves on my FM tuner thru an Stax headphone system.  Years later thru a Stax tube system hooked up thru an Audio Research LS27, that overall local FM broadcasts over KGNU here in boulder over a McIntosh MR80 FM tuner overall sounded far, far superior to top quality CD's thru an Naim 555CD player syste.  Even today the Naim 555 is one of the very finest CD players of all time.  And Neil Young at Massey Hall on HD CD-even on my Oppo 105 it is really something speial.  I don't have a large CD collection, but I have HD CD's, XRCD's, Mobile Fidelity CD's, so I know what I am talking about.  There is something really special about FM radio and electrostatic speakers.  If tubes are involved, even more so.  In fact I would not be surprised if much of the success of the original Quad electrostatic speaker system was greatly enhanced by BBC FM broadcasts, which are often claimed to be of exceptional audio quality.  They make truly beautiful music together.  And thru Stax headphones it is so easily observable.  Throw in tubes-audio extasy.
alanholvey's avatar
alanholvey
96 posts
 
I would just like to give one example of using the latest top of the line pair of MG Audio Design's interconnects from a 30+ year old McIntosh MR74 tuner to my Audio Research LS27.  I first learned about MG Audio Design products from a review by Arnie Nudell in which he uses themhimself.  Further research showed that Paul McGowan also uses them.  And that the Colorado Audio Society compared them to the top of the line Nordhost, and preferred the MG Audio Design.  Bu the way the MG Audio Design costs $1600 for a one meter pair.                                                                              Anyway, basically not to many would pay possibly $20,000 for a pair of Nordhost, but if they did then they would realize how incredible FM radio ca really sound on a good audio system.                                                                   If you live in Boulder and listen to KGNU then you would understand.         Anyway, to put it into perspective, without MQA internet radio sucks compared to FM radio brosdcasts.  And a live FM broacast, don't even menton the subject.                                                                                                     And on a tube bases Stax electrostatic headphone system, pure bliss.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
Pure bliss. The RFI/EMI not withstanding. On the other hand Boulder is probably relatively benign RFI wise. Aspen certainly was, especially at 8,000 ft.

213runnin
562 posts
 
Yep, great SQ can be had for so much less these days.  I wish I had the time to listen as I did when I was young.
More to discover