Slawney,
I believe the sense of golden age has more to do with one's own innocence, enthusiasm, and lack of experience at an early stage of involvement than with the actual state of audio recording or componentry.
Yes, the field has become impossibly commercialized, but the truth is that virtually all phases of audio, from recording to electronics design, are technically much better now than 30-40 years ago. It's easy to see backwards with rosy glasses, and to forget that your less-well educated ears in those days forgave many more distortions, coloration, poor signal:noise ratio, crummy bass, and poor microphone placement than happens now.
As to Sayas's comments on analogue, my ears are too well developed not to hear the coloration and signal limitations that are par for analogue - its just one more variation on the limits in electronic reproduction of live music. Electronic reproduction will likely always fall short of the real event - the thing is to focus on music, find the electronics that best capture the aspects most important to you, and dispense with the endless search for the impossible! (But do accept new technology when it really represents an improvement, as multichannel someday will )
I believe the sense of golden age has more to do with one's own innocence, enthusiasm, and lack of experience at an early stage of involvement than with the actual state of audio recording or componentry.
Yes, the field has become impossibly commercialized, but the truth is that virtually all phases of audio, from recording to electronics design, are technically much better now than 30-40 years ago. It's easy to see backwards with rosy glasses, and to forget that your less-well educated ears in those days forgave many more distortions, coloration, poor signal:noise ratio, crummy bass, and poor microphone placement than happens now.
As to Sayas's comments on analogue, my ears are too well developed not to hear the coloration and signal limitations that are par for analogue - its just one more variation on the limits in electronic reproduction of live music. Electronic reproduction will likely always fall short of the real event - the thing is to focus on music, find the electronics that best capture the aspects most important to you, and dispense with the endless search for the impossible! (But do accept new technology when it really represents an improvement, as multichannel someday will )