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Old vs. New

I see a lot of threads on various audiophile forums that basically go like this: I sold my 5-6-10 year old speakers, amp etc. and bought new this or that and it kills the old stuff and sounds so much better.

I have listened to a lot of classic hi-end speakers, amps and preamps and also listen to a lot of FOTM stuff and to my ears a lot of the "old junk" sounds better, sometimes a lot better. Don't get me wrong a lot of the new gear on the market sounds very good.

So let me ask a question, why do so may people automatically assume that older gear sounds inferior to new stuff? Audio tech did not really changed that much in 10 y. We still have the same two ears now as we did 10 y ago? If something was good 10 years go why is it no good now?
faust3d
rbschauman
113 posts
 
I agree with Elizabeth that, in some cases, yesterday’s components truly had “a warmer, romantic sound” which some prefer.

Example: In 1982 I purchased a Conrad Johnson PV2 preamplifier for $485 - and that included a phono stage! I sold it off some years ago but have very fond memories of this piece. About a month ago, in wanting that CJ tube sweetness again, I bought a Premier 16 preamplifier on Audiogon which retiled for $8,000. In some ways I actually like the PV2 more than the Premier 16!

And consider tuners – tube models from the 70’s seem to be the most highly acclaimed!
chadnliz's avatar
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
I think there have been large gains in cabinet technology and driver tech has come along too. The 90s wasnt all that long ago but there is no doubt the speakers from 70s into 80s have been bested.
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
"The 90s wasnt all that long ago but there is no doubt the speakers from 70s into 80s have been bested." In some ways, no doubt, but the Quad ESL 57 from a couple of decades before that is competitive with many modern speakers...in some ways. Likewise the Klipschorn is competitive with modern speakers, particularly if you have a DH SET amp.....in some ways. That one was authored in the mid 1940s. The Ionovac tweeter, Electro Voice Patrician, JBL Paragon, they all are competitive....in some ways. Very few speakers have it all, and none have it all at a real world price. So in the end most of us are going to compromise, if decades old speakers speak to what we are looking for, so much the better. But they are not for everyone.
lapierre
547 posts
 
The older components tend to also have better raw materials...cooper, silver, metal, glass, wood and rubber.

Kinda like the older houses with real hardwood flooring and thicker mil cooper pipes.
chadnliz's avatar
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Well I originally noted todays speakers are better than 95% of older models. Those examples in particular are prime examples.
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