30 years later

[Shadow_Ferret]

30 years ago I was into stereophonics and I know what brands were a good deal and what wasn't. What with marriage and kids and such, I've lost track of such things.

Back in the day brands like Infinity, Klipsch, and Polk Audio, to name just a few were considered higher end and found in the better stereophonic stores.

Now I'm finding them at Best Buy.

Has their quality gone downhill that much? Are they still decent speakers for the money? Should I avoid big box stores at all costs?

Just curious and thought it would be an interesting topic.

(As a side note, whatever happened to Technics? They were a hot new brand for audio electronics back in the late 70s and now they have simply disappeared.)

 

[Nomo]

Klipsch Polk and Infinity, IMO, are still good quality speaker manufaturers. But for the money I think they are second to some of the canadian companies such as Paradigm and others.
As far as Technics goes, I'm still using some 20 year old floorstanders for my fronts. Can't find any info on them anywhere. All I know is maybe they're not supposed to be very good speakers but to me they still kick ***.
I've shopped around extensively for replacements. I'd have to pay a small fortune to replace their sound.

 

[rschleicher]

Another comment is that 30 years ago both Klipsch and Infinity were more focused on the high-end, and both companies have "broadened" their product line substantially to go after the mid-fi market.

30 years ago Klipsch sold Klipschhorns, and a couple of "mini-Klipschhorn" models like Cornwalls and La Scalas, I think it was. The lower-cost speakers that Klipsch sells at the big-box stores don't have much in common with these, other than the use of horn-loading for the tweeters. You're not going to see Klipschhorns at Best Buy, even though they are still sold via higher-end stores.

Same goes for Infinity. They started out by selling a VERY expensive, and massive, tower speaker that had their EMIT-line of ribbon tweeters and ribbon midranges running floor to ceiling, flanked by a large stack of woofers. This was a total "cost no object" design. There are still some very uncompromising Infinity models, but the volume is in their mid-fi line.

I don't think Polk has changed their focus as much, but Infinity and Klipsch are much different companies than they were 30 years ago.

 

[sjdgpt]

I too date back to the days of Klipsch, Infinity, Polk et al were at the forefront of audio.

I personally owned some of those famous Infinity RS-4's.

Ok, I didn't own the really big megabuck RS's, but in those days $900 or so for a pair of speakers was big bucks out my meager wages.

If you noticed, the speakers of yesterday were often solid, and I mean SOLID wood.

Klipsch were advertised as being furniture that happened to sound good.

My RS 4's were some heavy pieces of furniture. 1/4" (?) thick oak veneer over solid hardwoods. Solid internal bracing. About 90 lbs apiece. Drop one of them on a toe and see what happens.



So what happened to these companies?

The desire to sell more units, to be profitable. Basically the choice of selling furniture, or selling speakers. Selling to the masses, or selling to a small group of fanatical customers. Look at automobiles. How many companies making exclusively $200k cars could survive in the market today?

Even back then, you saw "entry level" speakers coming from these companies. Something that you/me could afford. My RS 4's are not "serious" speakers. They were a budgetary compromise to get a sub $1000 speaker on the market. The same goes even more so for the RS 5's and 6's. Klipsch Heresy's were far removed from the K-horns and it brothers and sisters.


Today, I own Polk LSi's. I like them. Give me a year or two, and I will tell you if I love them. The LSi 15's are Polks marketing effort to have a main speaker aimed at the under $2 market. Does a pretty good job in my opinion. Are there better speakers on the market? Sure. For less money? Maybe, but I don't think so.

Are those speakers "furniture grade". No way. Will I own them for 10 or 20 years? Nope. And I would not own any of the competing speakers on the market for 10 or 20 years either.

The market has become "disposable". Solid furniture that will last a life time is being replaced with a functional model that will last a few years.

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

Yes, my first pair of speakers were Polk Monitor 7s. I loved those things and still have fond (if distorted) memories of them being the best speaker I've owned. Probably paid around $500 (maybe more) for them and a midline Yamaha receiver. Not petty cash in 1977. Those speakers, as you said, were solid. Heavy. Made of quality components.

After I blew them up (my Yammy met it's demise in a shipping accident and I got a much more powerful integrated amp) I bought a pair of Altec-Lansings. Another company that was well-known for good quality speakers. Those too were well-made, heavy, and pumped out bass that would make many subwoofers today envious.

I looked around for Altecs today and all they seem to make are some HTiB speaker systems and computer speakers.

As I do research for speakers I can't help but still try to look at speakers that I remember being of good quality. Unfortunately, today, most of the current breed of good speakers are made by companies that didn't exist back then, or even 10 years ago or so, such as Paridigm, PSB, NHT, and Mirage, to name a few.

 

[Tex-amp]

Those lines have become very broad but still include some highend stuff. You aren't going to find the Klipsch Heritage series at a big box store. Polk LSi line is unlikely to be there either.

 

[cornelius]

My dad had a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 10s from around '79. They also were a solid and well made speaker, back when Polk consisted of a line of 3 speakers (all a variations of the same theme). Today, many of the big companies are constantly introducing various product ranges to try to keep themselves competitive, often dropping succesful designs never to return again(except on eBay).

I've since left the big companies behind. I guess that's why three of my favorite speaker companies are Ohm, Vandersteen and Magnepan. They all came out with a great design years (decades) ago, and just chugged along with the same basic design, making improvements along the way.

 

[cbraver]

(As a side note, whatever happened to Technics? They were a hot new brand for audio electronics back in the late 70s and now they have simply disappeared.)

Technics is far from dead. They just aren't into consumer electronics anymore. They are THE industry standard for turntables among DJs. Any respectable club will have a pair of 1200s (or 1210s, meaning a black enclosure) and basically anyone who mixes vinyl uses them (vinyl emulating CD players doesn't really have an industry standard yet, lots of people like Denon, but Technics makes a good one too). There are competators, but, as a whole, Technics is still number one.

I have a pair of 1210s myself, and absolutely love them.

Check out what they are up to: http://www.technics1210.com/

-Chad