The New Audio

If you’re old - like me, you remember buying stereo equipment. And, like me, you remember spending a lot of money on what looked like great stereo equipment, only to find that it was ... well ... mediocre stereo equipment.

In the 1970s, we knew what the “Good Stuff” was. McIntosh, Marantz, high-end Sony - the stuff that we saw in Stereo Review magazine. Those full-page ads with mouth-drooling stuff that we couldn’t afford if we took-out a small business loan.

All I can remember is seeing that stuff, and knowing that I couldn’t afford it, and going to a low-end stereo store (like at the Mall) and buying a rack of stuff by Panasonic that came in twelve boxes, with speakers that could have substituted as furniture. If I paid $400 (1976 dollars) for a giant rack system, I felt like a winner. That was substantially better than spending $1,000 for a McIntosh amp, where I’d still have to spend another $1,500 for qualified speakers and a Dual or Audio-Technica turntable. Somehow, that Panasonic turntable would have to make-do, even though it was probably gradually destroying my records every time I put them on the damned thing. Such was the life of a minimum-wage earner in the mid-1970s.

As it was, the Panasonic system that I bought (similar to the photo above) was QUADRAPHONIC, and as such, well above my pedestrian (although semi-sophisticated, since I read the magazines) skill level. The only quadrophonic album I owned was Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells,” and since I didn’t have the requisite quadrophonic pre-amp (what the HELL was that?) I only had a pseudo-quad system, in that I had four speakers, but they were really two-channel stereo. Still, they took-up a quarter of my bedroom, so I guess the “quad” thing applied, somehow.

Over the years, I went through a couple of turntables. Grew from buying “needles” to “cartridges,” and learned the difference between sapphire and diamond, but never adapted to the noise and fragility of the vinyl record.

I also went through several different record-cleaning devices, eventually settling-on dish soap, warm water, and a terry cloth towel. All that futuristic crap of sprays, sponges, and cloths (that I also read about in the magazines) was pointless, and a waste of money that I could have spent on a better sound system.

And then ... like a beacon of light in the darkness, came the Compact Disc. Sure, we sacrificed the 12” x 12” album artwork, but hey - it was a COMPACT ... DISC. No scratches, no noise, no dish soap. Just a disc that I put in a player and it sounded the same EVERY TIME.

They were about four times the price of my old albums, and the player was another expense. I spent $125 for a single-disc CD player, and it was the cheapest one I could find. The first disc I bought was King Crimson’s “Larks Tongues in Aspic,” and I couldn’t wait to hear it noise-free through my $400 Panasonic semi-quadrophonic sound system. I was in sonic heaven.

I skipped-over the cassette tape and 8-track “revolution.” Cassette tapes were more of a convenience for cars, and were a major pain-in-the-ass to anyone trying to find the third song on an album. 8-track tapes were just stupid from the start. Mid-song, they would fade-out - make a loud clicking noise - and fade back in. We were supposed to enjoy that. I owned many cassette player/recorders, but never owned an 8-track player. I had my limits.

And so, here we are - in 2021. Vinyl records have made a comeback, even though I can put my entire record collection (vast as it is) on my iPhone. Noise-free, and with a simple $10 subscription to Apple Music, I can listen to anything with just a search and click. No more standing in line at the record store, waiting for the new releases to come out, only to come home and find that the record skipped, and I’d have to either deal with it (penny on the tone arm) or take it back.

Purists (whom I used to consider myself) would tell you that vinyl is “pure,” but people my age would tell you that the convenience and simplicity of electronic media is so much better, that I don’t give a crap about your purity.

Over the last 50 or so years, I have been through several forms of media. Records, tapes, CDs, mp3 ... and I have no idea what the next 50 years holds, but I’m happy to point-and-click and listen to whatever I want to hear without traveling to a record store or going through the agony of preserving the media and spending a small fortune on equipment.

So, go ahead and believe that vinyl is some sort of God-given path to music. For me, I’ll continue to appreciate the convenience that technology has given me, and never again have to go back to scratchy records and storage.

Sometimes, you have to go through the agony of the process to appreciate the convenience of technology.