We have never had it so good

[JJB70]

This weekend I have been listening to a range of music using my Shanling M3s DAP and my new Etymotic ER4SR IEMs. The music has mainly been classical, FLAC files ripped from CD. Total cost of the DAP and IEMs was £400 (admittedly the DAP was clearance and I got a good B stock deal on the IEMs). That is the sort of money hard core audiophiles would not consider enough to buy an interconnect or USB cable, yet the sound quality is phenomenal. The M3s has a transparent DAC and amp, and can drive the Etymotics way louder than I want, while the ER4SRs are staggeringly detailed and precise and with a very neutral tonal balance. Initially I found the Etymotics light on bass but as I have adjusted to their sound I think that may be unfair as the bass is there, it is more that they have a neutral tone and are not bass heavy. I can carry a library around in my pocket and enjoy music at a quality whereby I really cannot see the point in going any higher up the audio food chain. I have listened to some very expensive DACs and headphone amplifiers and my honest opinion is that if you just want great sound as opposed to audio jewellery then save your money as you don't need to spend much. Can it get any better? Well maybe it can. I also listened to the same IEMs using my Sony Xperia xz premium and that can drive the Etymotics to a sufficient volume and has an audibly transparent DAC. Or in other words you don't even need a dedicated audio device to enjoy great music via good headphones or IEMs. I found the Sony phone a bit anaemic volume wise for some of my headphones thanks to our hearing protection regs (hence my DAP, also battery life of the Sony Xperia is falling off a cliff) but with the Etymotics it is fine (maybe because of the excellent isolation).

I think that we really are living in a great era in being able to access terrific sound so easily. We have never had it so good.

 

[pjug]

Live music is a real bargain these days too at many venues.

 

[Soniclife]

I agree. My phone, plus my very old but still hanging on thanks to the wonders of super glue, future sonics atrio IEMs gives me all I need away from my loudspeaker system. With tidal and 4g I effectively have infinite music, which is mind-blowing if you think about it, and evidence we are living in the future.

 

[solderdude]

I think that we really are living in a great era in being able to access terrific sound so easily. We have never had it so good.

2 Weeks ago I re-bought an old record player (Philips AG4000 from 1963) because I remember it sounded pretty good to me back in those days.
Put in new belts, cleaned and greased, refurbished the amp (replaced all elco's) and put on some of my old records.

Sounded NOTHING like how I remembered. I reckon we were easy to satisfy in those days.
Every cheap device I own sounds way better.

But it sure is fun listening to old records again... amazed that the DC motor inside (with mechanical speedcontrol !) still has an accurate speed. The device is almost as old as me !
I don't think any device, currently produced, will still work 50 years from now.

In my younger years the only way to get some music was either buy the LP, tape it from someone else or the music library or tape it from the radio.
The quality and amount of music accesable now is beyond compare.
So yes .... quality improved, access greatly improved, VFM increased, longevity ... not.

 

[JJB70]

I think the longevity of most smart devices, DAPs etc will be limited, but does that really matter if you can have audible performance that is transparent and well past the point of diminishing returns for peanuts? If people do want high quality build and premium materials etc then you can still buy high end gear, however the point is that if you just want good sound then cheap entry level gear which is not expensive to replace offers a top quality audio experience. My main objection to most of these devices is the use of sealed non user replaceable batteries, I am loathe to spend much on battery powered devices of that type.

The IEMs however I do hope to get many years of use from. Looking around it would appear Etymotic products are well made and the ER4SR has a replaceable cable, replaceable ear wax filters and tips and Etymotic seem to provide spares support for the long term.

 

[Cosmik]

I watch quite a lot of old TV as far back as the early 1970s - it's a way to travel back in time to when life was a little less conformist. I always get a kick from seeing the stereos in people's stylish pads and I still remember my absolute craving for probably-not-very-good stereo equipment at the time.

Even though I am a digital audio person now, my speakers are (cosmetically) straight out of the 70s, in an attempt to evoke something of that cool stylishness and excitement. It's the best of both worlds.

 

[Hypnotoad]

2 Weeks ago I re-bought an old record player (Philips AG4000 from 1963) because I remember it sounded pretty good to me back in those days.
Put in new belts, cleaned and greased, refurbished the amp (replaced all elco's) and put on some of my old records.

Sounded NOTHING like how I remembered. I reckon we were easy to satisfy in those days.
Every cheap device I own sounds way better.

Its like how we used to ogle over the graphics on our Amiga computer, seeing them now makes you wonder how we could actually make anything out on the screen.

 

[JJB70]

I remember the impact made by the Sony Walkman, it is difficult to remember now just what it meant to have mobile sound that didn't rely on radio station play lists and which offered decent sound quality for the day.

 

[restorer-john]

Sounded NOTHING like how I remembered. I reckon we were easy to satisfy in those days.

I still have pretty much all the cassette tapes I recorded in the early-mid 1980s, some off vinyl and most of those were from brand new (mint) records. My friend and I used to record them so we could play the tapes and not wear out the vinyl.

IMO, those cassette tape recordings sound as good as the day I made them. (all TDK ADX/ARX/SA/SAX etc). (when played on the deck they were recorded on) Personally, I think we were just as fussy, if not more so. We had to extract everything from a flawed format and even then, it wasn't perfect.

I must also admit, even with a very large collection of turntables and cartridges, I rarely play my records anymore.

 

[restorer-john]

I remember the impact made by the Sony Walkman, it is difficult to remember now just what it meant to have mobile sound that didn't rely on radio station play lists and which offered decent sound quality for the day.

I have got something from that era you'd like to see. I'll dig it out and take a pic...

 

[JJB70]

The humble cassette tape is a very unfairly maligned technology. It may look dire if compared to today's digital technology but it made recording accessible to all and allowed us to make mix tapes, the forerunner of our digital play lists. We take these things for granted now but in its day the cassette tape was an amazing and transformational format.
Although it is probably less unfairly maligned than the CD, quite how a technology and format which was so superior to what had gone before and represented a paradigm shift in audio became so reviled by certain parts of the audio hobby still staggers me.

 

[Hypnotoad]

Although it is probably less unfairly maligned than the CD, quite how a technology and format which was so superior to what had gone before and represented a paradigm shift in audio became so reviled by certain parts of the audio hobby still staggers me.

It was the in car cassette player IMO that really made the cassette tape, you could record an album on each side of a tape at home and play it in the car with very good sound quality. The amazing thing it was only ever intended for voice recording.

 

[solderdude]

I still have pretty much all the cassette tapes I recorded in the early-mid 1980s, some off vinyl and most of those were from brand new (mint) records. My friend and I used to record them so we could play the tapes and not wear out the vinyl.

IMO, those cassette tape recordings sound as good as the day I made them. (all TDK ADX/ARX/SA/SAX etc). (when played on the deck they were recorded on) Personally, I think we were just as fussy, if not more so. We had to extract everything from a flawed format and even then, it wasn't perfect.

I must also admit, even with a very large collection of turntables and cartridges, I rarely play my records anymore.

The AG4000 sounded nothing like how I rememberd it.

 

[restorer-john]

The AG4000 sounded nothing like how I rememberd it.

Haha!

When properly fettled, this cheeky little, entry level Philips vintage player, can play happily with today's big boys.

An arm upgrade is clearly step one, followed by judicious placement of platter dampening material, some quality isolating footers, and of course, a modern servo DC motor. It will sing with virtually any cartridge, but a vintage Koetsu would be a delicious match made in heaven. Think strawberries and cream and you get the picture.

Those brave souls wishing to take this wonderful tune-meister past mere giant killer status, and into the rare-air of stratospheric performance, would be well advised to take advantage of Philips Heritage, a cottage start-up based in the former Czech republic and run by the affable, but eccentric Zdislav Blatnik.

Zdislav, which incidentally means 'here comes glory' in Czech, is very apt in this case. He takes these forgotten and unloved treasures and turns them into true state of the art, heirloom quality masterpieces. You'll need deep pockets and patience (he has a 3 year backlog) but the results are utterly transformational.

Next month, in HiFi Universe's Hidden Treasures, we take the bargain priced Barbie CD boombox, add a rubidium master clock, take the SPDIF straight from the processor IC via some superb cryo-treated pure silver cables and into a bespoke R2R NOS DAC from last year's winner in the Golden Ear DAC Faceoff- can't wait!

 

[solderdude]

I guess I have my work cut out for me then ....