Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Audio generalities..T/F ????

  1. #1
    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    in "managed decline"
    Posts
    10,054

    Audio generalities..T/F ????

    waayyy back in the olden days (69/70/71 ??) I sat with an audio enthusiast friend in some club (Olongapo ?? HK ? Taipei ?) discussing the perfect audio system and keys/generalities to building it.

    many of the ideas we batted around are still in SRAM ..some that I recall......
    ( no offenses intended to countries mentioned)

    Speakers - USA (JBL-AR) & UK are the choices...Japan does make quality speakers (construction is fine, just not a full sound )

    acoustic suspension was 'da bomb

    Electronics - Japan shines here ...German seem fussy & unreliable ( B&O also) , US has great & crap..uneven quality.

    Vinyl - Japan pressings are best

    tubes are fussy & low fi ...

    best gear obtainable is Swiss


    anybody agree/disagree ?? remember these are 40 year old musing between 2 sloshed sailors in a foreign bar..somewhere.
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

  2. #2
    Senior Member timc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Norway
    Posts
    953
    TBH i would say all of them are rubbish today.

    TAD is japanese right? Doubt Widget would agree that his 4003's does not have a full sound.

    Marantz is also japanese. Their premium products are truly great.

    IMO most countries make both good and bad equipment.
    2213 + 2435HPL w/aquaplas + H9800 (Matsj edition)

  3. #3
    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    9,719
    I think it was more or less accurate in it's day. As for TAD, I have never heard a TAD (Pro audio) system so I can't comment, but as Seawolf said, excellent construction but the complete systems always seemed a bit lacking.

    Swiss the best? Nagra is and was great, some of the Revox stuff came out of Switzerland, but it was generally overly complicated and unreliable. And let's not forget Norway... Tandberg and Electrocompaniet were both fabulous.

    Back in the day I was certainly a USA/UK speaker fan and by the mid 70s certainly the budding high end American brands seemed pretty tough to beat for electronics. Today, I don't think any of these generalizations hold... not to mention what does "Made in USA" or "Made in Germany" even mean anymore?

    Widget

  4. #4
    Senior Member timc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Norway
    Posts
    953
    Tandberg of the past is gone. The name remains for other industries.

    Electrocompaniet is still going.
    2213 + 2435HPL w/aquaplas + H9800 (Matsj edition)

  5. #5
    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    9,719
    Quote Originally Posted by timc View Post
    Tandberg of the past is gone. The name remains for other industries.
    Same is true of Ampex.


    Widget

  6. #6
    Senior Member timc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Norway
    Posts
    953
    Sadly it is true for many legendary companies. For me, i think the greatest loss is Infinity. It lives on as Genesis, but still.......
    2213 + 2435HPL w/aquaplas + H9800 (Matsj edition)

  7. #7
    RIP 2021 SEAWOLF97's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    in "managed decline"
    Posts
    10,054
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    Swiss the best? Nagra is and was great, some of the Revox stuff came out of Switzerland, but it was generally overly complicated and unreliable. And let's not forget Norway... Tandberg and Electrocompaniet were both fabulous.
    Widget
    best R2R deck I ever heard was a Tandberg ..not a really high end one either.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    Today, I don't think any of these generalizations hold... not to mention what does "Made in USA" or "Made in Germany" even mean anymore?

    Widget
    well China wasnt in the picture back then....My USA made Ford truck has engine from Germany and tranny from France....the 70's were much less globalized...it was easier to make country of origin comparisons.
    Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

  8. #8
    Obsolete
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    NLA
    Posts
    12,193
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    what does "Made in USA" or "Made in Germany" even mean anymore?
    That the owners of the company aren't looking for slave labor somewhere else? That they have a vested interest in their communities and their progeny?

  9. #9
    Senior Member Don C's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Santa Rosa CA
    Posts
    1,722
    We could argue for months on the question of vented vs acoustic suspension. For a JBL fan I'm more of a sealed box fan than you would expect. I wish JBL had tried more sealed box designs.

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Central Coast California
    Posts
    9,042
    Quote Originally Posted by Don C View Post
    We could argue for months on the question of vented vs acoustic suspension. For a JBL fan I'm more of a sealed box fan than you would expect. I wish JBL had tried more sealed box designs.
    PT800 and PC600; SAM1HF and SAM2LF; S4Ai.
    Out.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Maverick Audio dac ??
    By midlife in forum Miscellaneous Gear
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 07-04-2010, 04:01 AM
  2. car audio
    By jonemere in forum General Audio Discussion
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 01-12-2010, 03:49 AM
  3. 25 AUDIO INNOVATIONS THAT CHANGED THE (PRO AUDIO) WORLD
    By MJ Bing in forum General Audio Discussion
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 09-11-2007, 07:46 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •