What was the Decade for the Golden-Age in Audio?

[BMXTRIX]

I've gotta say the 70's. This was actually a bit before my time as I was just a kid then, but it was before music became the personal entity which the walkman age brought about. I remember that my father, my brother, my sister... they all had speakers in their room (or family room for my dad) and they were all playing their own music through 8-tracks or record players. I even had a record player in my room as a kid. You didn't listen on headphones, you had to have speakers. You listened to the radio in the car.

The 80's were also a great time, but music suddenly became much more convenient with cassette tapes and the Walkman. But, the Walkman really was the beginning of the end of big music. It began to usher in an age of personal music. Of headphones. I definitely remember getting my Aiwa personal cassette player ($100+!) and going skiing with it, or sitting on a plane or bus with headphones in my ear and drowning the world out. But, when I got home I was done listening to music and didn't have much on other than the TV at home. Yes, it was often MTV, but it was a complete shift from what had been the norm in the previous decade.

The 90's were probably the biggest shift in music history as we went from the home audio system to the personal audio system. We saw the Internet rise to power and the release of Windows 95 and Napster with the MP3 and MP3 players skyrocket as a personal music listening tech. Or at least start to hit the states and start their meteroric rise to power and the death of physical media.

I admit, I participated in the Napster craze of the era, and it was almost easier and quicker to download a album from Napster than it was to stick my CD in my computer to make a backup of it. Now, it's WAY easier and faster.

I think the saving grace for a lot of audio was the automobile. You can't (shouldn't!) pay attention to your phone or your other distractions while driving, so that leaves you with music. It's still the primary time of my day when I listen to music. Maybe I do have it on in the background while I'm at work, if it's not too distracting. I definitely crank it up if I'm cleaning my house. But, while I'm driving, which can be hours at a time, it's the main opportunity when I can sing along or listen to news or whatever else I may be doing. Until self-driving cars come along and rule the world, I will need that entertainment to help me stay awake as a slog through the masses of traffic I must deal with in my metropolitan area.

As my son says... There has been very little since 2000 which has been worth noting in the music world.

 

[koblongata]

The golden age is when the best solutions were found using raw materials while they were cheap.

I still believe in technology, though, don't underestimate the power of mass-market cost-saving and massive computing/clocking power come with it; with very little energy required.

 

[Auditor55]

Clearly its now.

 

[Fletch]

First, thanks to Steve Feinstein for this article - great trip down memory lane. One thing mostly missing in this discussion is the evolution of the media itself and how fortunate we are today to have such breadth and depth of music content to pick from. The current 2020's era has given us the ability to stream High Definition music across systems ranging from inexpensive smart speakers (e.g., Alexa) to high-end digital-only systems, to everything in between. And we can continue to listen to Vinyl, CDs, Internet radio stations, and FM to tap into several decades of music content. This week I used Amazon Music Unlimited HD to stream 1920-1930's era Hank Williams, 1960s era Jazz, and some Americana music that was written a few months ago - all this via an iPhone and a Bluetooth streamer. But I also get to play vinyl and CDs, listen to college radio on the receiver, or hunt for something totally different streaming on Internet radio -- all through an affordable but well balanced "mid-fi" stereo system that features a 2010-era Onkyo receiver, Wharfedale speakers acquired in 2019, a Sony CD/SACD player from about 2000, and a B&O turntable from 1980. I pick the 2020s as the Golden Age of Audio!

 

[JerryLove]

First, thanks to Steve Feinstein for this article - great trip down memory lane. One thing mostly missing in this discussion is the evolution of the media itself and how fortunate we are today to have such breadth and depth of music content to pick from. The current 2020's era has given us the ability to stream High Definition music across systems ranging from inexpensive smart speakers (e.g., Alexa) to high-end digital-only systems, to everything in between. And we can continue to listen to Vinyl, CDs, Internet radio stations, and FM to tap into several decades of music content.

But all the good multi-channel sources are gone; and mastering on CDs is much hotter than it was in the 80s.

 

[2channel lover]

I think the 60s...at least as my collection bears...most of the recordings were in stereo...i.e. it was the norm and paved the way for quad mixes in the 70s.

That said...the 80s and digital formats were a game changer as well.

 

[lovinthehd]

Audio as far as the music itself, the 60s and 70s are more meaningful to me, but I think that's a generational thing because that's from my discovery/growing up with that music. As far as gear and accessibility it's the last decade.

 

[Big-Q]

There is great access to music today. For example: last night I streamed music, listened to CD's, and spun up some LP's. I have artists in all three formats and can compare them. Depending on the recording, some sound better streamed, some on CD and some on LP.

I grew up listening to the AOR and LP's so I think you should put an album on and listen to the whole thing. I am not a fan of play lists or buying a single song. I love the conveniences we now enjoy but the best listening is done the old way, a good album on a good source (LP or CD), pre-amp, amp, and speakers. Sitting on the couch with your eyes closed.

Most youngsters don't know what good sound is so they don't miss it.

 

[Capitol C]

This is an excellent article, bravo! I have a pair of AR-3a speakers that I restored, including replacing the tweeters, which usually last, and yes, they are still very good. The AR amplifier from the same era is one of the first to get bass response to very low frequencies, using a direct-couple output. It can be a bit tricky to repair if the output transistors are shot, but it can be done, and it is worth it.

 

[jeffca]

Being 60, having bought my first audio system when I was 16 and pretty much becoming an audio nut right then, my perspective and judgement is, after careful consideration, that the 70's/80's would be the closest thing to a "Golden Age" that audio has had.

Reasons:

• That was when young people really started realizing that you could enjoy music on a decent system and audio stores were popping up like weeds
• The previous generation, for the most part, saw music as a thing you listened to in the background
• Somewhat inexpensive speakers sounded not only fairly good, but could also play rather loud without sounding terrible ("Turn that crap down!")
• Albums were about $2-5 each and CD's, later, started of around $6-7? Get them from Columbia Music Club and never fulfill your contract and they were $1 each.
• You could get a turntable, receiver and a pair of speakers that was way better than what most people had for $500-600 around 1976
• Remember all of the great print magazines? Stereophile, Stereo Review and Audio to name the biggest.
• When the CD came in, this was the first time you had a chance to hear something similar in fidelity to the original studio master... if it was mastered correctly (big if)
• A lot of the equipment looked even better than it sounded... Superscope's Marantz, SAE, Technics, TEAC and Pioneer to name a few...McIntosh's stuff is timeless

As much as I love that old crap, I love my latest system even more. It's the best audio system I've ever owned and it's also my home theater (Emotiva XMC-1, five KEF LS50's, four Rythmik L12 subs). And the space it's in is the best sounding room I've ever heard. I am not hating life.

The one thing, though, that I hate right now is the proliferation of magical, non-science based products that offer world changing results, but no proof that they do so. There was hype (sometimes super-hype) in the "Golden Age", but the current level of fantastical product claims did not exist. People would deride a $3K power chord. They should do that now if it has nothing to back it up.

Hopefully, one of the other upsides of COVID-19 (aren't you loving how clean the air is?) is that a good number of the companies that market questionable products ($500 CAT 6 Ethernet cables, for instance) will go out of business. The air will get dirty again and audiophile snake oil will re-proliferate, but it will be nice until it does.

While you have more dreck and nonsense to wade through to get to great audio these days, it has never sounded better than the present.

 

[Jeepers]

Every decade had something to offer.

For me it is the switch from tube to transistor and from analog (vinyl, video recorder) to digital (CD, DVD).
Aesthetic wise it was clearly the 70's with the silver front plate.

 

[iraweiss]

I first got hooked on this hobby in the late 1950's. I remember an uncle playing the 1812 Overture on his Ampex 612 open reel tape player (it did not record) through McIntosh MC-30 power amplifiers into Jensen Triaxial speakers in Carlson (sp?) enclosures. I thought this was incredible. My uncle later got a Sony preamp and power amp and an early pair of Bose 901 speakers. Back in this days, those Bose 901 were considered to be first class. My voice teacher at Indiana University, who would later sing at the Metropolitan Opera, also had Bose 901s. Of course, he thought you pronounced them "booze". They were powered by an AR amplifier and fed by an AR turntable and Revox A77 tape deck. To many, his previous equipment, that included Quad ESL-57 electrostatic speakers and Leak electronics and later a Tandberg 64 tape deck, was in a different class. Unfortunately they were stolen from his apartment.

As for me, my first real piece of high fidelity was a Sony TC-260 tape deck my father bought me as I headed off to college in 1965. Since then I've had numerous amplifiers, including the Dynaco SCA-35 mentioned, receivers from HH Scott, Marantz, Pioneer, Sony, Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha, open reel tape decks, cassette tape decks, Hi-Fi VCRs, laserdisc players, turntables, cartridges, speakers, DVD players, Blu-Ray players, 4K Blu-Ray, etc. I still use the Hi-Fi VCR to record our local symphony broadcasts that I dub to CD.

One other comment. I remember at one time subscribing to Audio, High Fidelity, Stereo Review, Video, Video Review and Home Theater magazines. The amazing thing is that I found time to read them all and still get a life. Now, after mergers and failures, only Sound and Vision remains.

It's been a great 55 years of hobby and as I tell my wife, it's still less expensive than collecting cars. Being a musician in this hobby is a curse. You know exactly what music should should like from creating it yourself and experiencing it in the flesh. The hobby is an impossible dream. That being said, I'm looking forward to getting a new receiver with HDMI 2.1. And who knows what else.

BTW, if you are not familiar, you can find information on just about anything at Hi-Fi Engine https://www.hifiengine.com and it's companion Vinyl Engine https://www.vinylengine.com/

 

[dmf-fjr]

My interest and involvement started in 1958. I think I built every Dynakit made. Back then, my favorite amp was the Harmon Kardon 60 watt/channel Citation. I became a close friend with John and Joan Dunlavy and was the attorney for Dunlavy Audio for years. John was a great inventor and scientist with many patents in the antenna field. His Dunlavy speakers set records and in fact his Model IV/A was chosen as the year's finest component by Stereophile Magazine one year. He educated the industry on the real effects of diffraction on the design of speakers, and was the first top line speaker to use the vertical array for the drivers. I currently still have four of his IV/A speakers with the center channel speaker having the same components but the drivers arrayed for horizontal placement of the center channel speaker. I recall the hell he went through finding the appropriate drivers, and am certain that there are better drivers and materials today. But these speakers remain first rate.

When I got to know the various manufacturers at the CES shows I attended for years (starting in Chicago), I got to know Arnie Nudell (who BTW) married a girl from my city, and his partner whose name I cannot remember right now. However, the partner designed the Spectron digital amp which I still use and believe it's still the best. In any event, those were good times.

 

[Sal1950]

The 50-60's were the FUN days of HiFi. Just about any component you could want was available in kit form to help those of us with less money to get near SOTA gear.
I lived it and loved it.

Today is the true golden age, with digital sources of just about everything ever recorded via streaming in CD and higher quality.
Immersive codecs in lossless high definition providing a incredible level of reproductio, I love my 5.2.4 system.
Today's electronics are mostly fully transparent leaving only speakers needing further development.
We have today both sources and gear at affordable prices we could have only dreamed about 30 years ago.

 

[zaywop]

Audio used to be a FUN hobby in a way it is no longer. Analog was fun. Digital sounds better, but it is antiseptic and vacuum-packed in its operation. Anti-skating controls and tape bias tweaking were FUN. Operating big switches and knobs and watching analog meters jump was tactile and FUN, as was adjusting the pitch control while watching the strobe ring on the turntable, or even just seeing the reels turn in a cassette.

Serving up invisible data files over wi-fi sounds great, but it is not fun. Everything now is boringly perfect, there are no adjustments to make, no tactile or mechanical elements to interact with. Remember how the brushed silver panels would silently open on a Bang & Olufsen component to reveal the mysteries beneath? Interesting switches and buttons and dials and levers... now all we get is page after page of menus.

I don't want to go back to the lower sound quality of yesteryear, but is there a way we can bring back the fun mechanical interaction we used to enjoy?

 

[Sal1950]

I don't want to go back to the lower sound quality of yesteryear, but is there a way we can bring back the fun mechanical interaction we used to enjoy?

Do what many others that feel the same have done, get back into vinyl with all it's tweaking, adjustments, and suffer-enjoy it's various failings.
I for one have no use for vinyl and rejoice in the 7.2.4 or more lossless high resolution music we enjoy from todays SOTA. More time for listening and less needed for tweaking.

 

[jinjuku]

Golden age is Today. 8lb amps the sip electricity idle and measure incredibly well for $1/watt. DAC's that are $500 and well engineered. I can access Naxos entire library of Hi Res audio for free with my public library account. Streaming services that let me try music that I otherwise couldn't afford at all. Speakers are better than ever.

 

[Bucknekked]

I would vote in two directions just because I can.

For the music, hands down the decade of the 1960's (and a wee bit in to the 1970s) had the most vibrant music scene. Wonderful, songs, exciting change and colorful artists. That fifteen years between 1960 and 1975 was awesome for music.

For the technology of sound, I think we are in the hayday and golden age of tech for audio. I can walk around with a little tiny device in my pocket and wireless buds in my ears and listen to the highest quality audio that exists anywhere in the world. Entire libraries at my finger tips. At home, my music room creates sound that is world class at the press of a button. Again, the entire sound catalog of the world is accessible.

 

[davidscott]

Now but I sure do miss those days in the 80s when I was looking for audio nirvana.

 

[Kingnoob]

Very good article, Steve. It's a shame and an irony that as hi-fi audio has evolved to such amazing levels of performance and sound quality, interest has increasingly waned. Nowadays it's basically a niche market and a hobby for a small fraction of the populace, even though the price of entry for amazing sound systems is lower than ever before. The highest selling loudspeakers are those dreadful blue tooth things, and monoaural sound is the new hotness.

Yeah Bluetooth speakers , soundbars a audio travesty . Ruining audio world , Siri spy speakers always recording audio .
I vote the 70s for golden age or audio .

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