What Have you to say about this 70's & 80's HiFi advertisements. Were "they" abominable audiophiles or did they Know how to enjoy music.

[eightiesHiFiguy]

What horrific images are these? Expensive HiFi stereos advertised as such - with a complete lack of understanding about what makes an audiophile and audiophile.

Horrible speaker placement...are you kidding me...look at that speaker placement:
speakers against the wall,
not even spaced out at minimum required distances,
artifacts/things between the speakers,
things between the people and the speakers,
Listening position? what listening position.?.. this is insanity ... sitting off to the side as if you want to hear mono.. I mean this is utter displeasure.
Room acoustics - did that even exist?

This is a tragedy, people purchasing HiFi systems not set up according to room acoustics, sitting positions, speaker placements... It seems people back then were happy to have a hifi system and enjoyed the daylights and nightlights out of their systems with knowledge and equipment that was void compared to the understanding and quality of even mid hifi of today that we take for granted, continually chasing what the marketing conditioning tells us.


I took a step back and looked at my Humble CD60(Marantz) with gold plated shielded interconnects attached to my humble 2.0 Integrated amp putting out a pathetic RMS 140 @ 8ohms and 180 @ 4ohms , 4 way towers 40-40khz +/- 3db form 2007, for my 1800 cubic square foot room where which I do not go above 75db average listening in my apartment. If I wanted to rock the apartment next to me, above me and beneath me, my system would not break a sweet.....BUT..but..but, go into any hifi store and I will be told my 1.500.00 speakers form 2007 are no good. My pathetic amp with no UV meters just does not cut it, and how dare I be so ignorant to listen and learn basic audio engineering concepts and dare to ask audio engineers and electrical engineers questions about the extent of maximum human hearing capabilities pertaining to Playback - Not mixing or recording( yes higher rates are used for a reason but not for playback), so shame on me for sticking to a red book playback CD player instead of scad.

So I put some tunes in and enjoyed the music without analyzing if the bit of echo/reverberation should not be there... you all get the drift.
Seems music was enjoyed more back then.

In conclusion I realized my equipment is more than good, its great, along with my proper speaker placement and listening postiion where I have a very clear centre image and very satisfying soundstage and enough resolution of the speakers where I enjoy what I am listening too.

I always wanted a nice telescope and a dirt bike... I got my scope and looking for a nice new dirt bike because I realized upgrading amp/dac/speakers/and acoustic treatment other than two quadratic diffuser up front, would not give me better sound for the money required. Instead that the money was used to enjoy other hobbies..heck I even have the two most world famous headphones and headphone amp/dac HD600/HD650 and JDS labs headphone amp/dac and digital music on devices. This stuff would have been outrageously coveted in the 70's/80's.

Enjoy your gear. Have a great day.

 

[Todd68]

All I know is some of the best recordings I heard are from that era, before any digital processing was available. Some of the normal folks just used a “rack” system with the speakers right along side. You get sound, but not much of the benefits of stereo.

 

[DannyBoyNYC]

They probably didn't even know or care about unboxing videos - what noobs!

 

[Joe Smith]

Well, quite a difference between the "lifestyle" products with the fancy designs and the bread-and-butter stereo ads for normal type systems. Growing up in LA, we had great print ads from Pacific Stereo, Rogersound Labs, Sony, Marantz, Pioneer, TEAC, AKAI, Maxell, etc. Just flip through a mid-70s Rolling Stone - the quality of the ads and the writing in them was pretty great. Created much teenage equipment lust back in the day!

 

[Matt_Holland]

Back then HIFI was cool. And appropriate to advertise in lifestyle scenarios with hot chicks.
Now it is the preserve of middle aged geeks who obsess over minutiae.

Bring back the bad old days.

 

[mhardy6647]

how did I miss this thread last autumn when it debuted?

 

[mhardy6647]

Like this iconic (pun intended) ad for the redoubtable Altec Model Nineteen -- the last gasp, simplified but barely domesticated consumer variant of the time-honored Voice of the Theater two-way, high sensitivity theater loudspeaker design.

image borrowed from a random eBAY listing -- this ad still appears to be an oddly popular collectible.

 

[ta240]

This is a tragedy, people purchasing HiFi systems not set up according to room acoustics, sitting positions, speaker placements...

Pictures created by ad agencies designed to convey a feeling. Sure, people mimicked the setups but see below for that.

It seems people back then were happy to have a hifi system and enjoyed the daylights and nightlights out of their systems with knowledge and equipment that was void compared to the understanding and quality of even mid hifi of today that we take for granted, continually chasing what the marketing conditioning tells us.

Ignorance is bliss. With no online forums to go on and be told you were missing out, there was no way to know you were missing out on something. With no Youtube pitchmen, there was no way to know that there was equipment that would elicit more adjectives than your current setup. Most people only went to the audio shop when something broke so they didn't get multiple sales pitches a day telling them how much better something is than what they have.

Imagine how amazing it was to listen to music and not think "I wonder how it would sound if I angled the speaker 10 degrees out more." or "Do I need a sound absorption panel over there?" and on and on.

If what you have is the best you've heard then what you have is the best.

 

[userPaul]

what am i missing here. 10 degree speaker, like determining the furthest cross throw distance. adding ads, because of whose actions.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

The ads were visually designed by people who were primarily interested in displaying the equipment in what they considered a pleasing manner. A lot depended on what was also in the "room." They wanted to create an image of affluence and high status. Also, there was a neatness factor like the computer ads where the computer and peripherals had no cords.

 

[userPaul]

instead of advertising, what's important is that the advertisement is approved and distributed

 

[livinon2wheels]

Back then HIFI was cool. And appropriate to advertise in lifestyle scenarios with hot chicks.
Now it is the preserve of middle aged geeks who obsess over minutiae.

Bring back the bad old days.

Even Playboy and Penthouse had audio ads in them...sometimes for fairly exotic equipment for the time. Good audio gear was considered 'sexy' no wonder we all went off the deep end into audiophile land...much more socially acceptable than other xxphile words. Many of us were chasing long legged playmates and thought the women would be swayed by our fascination with audio gear, when all they wanted was something easy to use that sounded ok. Otherwise, how did WAF ever come into being? My heart truly goes out to those who are stuck with wives that don't appreciate good gear and the good sounds it can produce. I am blessed with a woman that loves what it provides and cares NOTHING for the inner workings. She gives me carte blanche to buy and equip rooms with systems that express my imagination, with no limitations on the decor. Its a special thing to have this. She is a keeper.

 

[wadude]

Like this iconic (pun intended) ad for the redoubtable Altec Model Nineteen -- the last gasp, simplified but barely domesticated consumer variant of the time-honored Voice of the Theater two-way, high sensitivity theater loudspeaker design.

View attachment 424188
image borrowed from a random eBAY listing -- this ad still appears to be an oddly popular collectible.

That particular model had lots of treble and great bass, but the mids are a little recessed for my taste.

 

[Salt]

That particular model had lots of treble and great bass, but the mids are a little recessed for my taste.

90-60-90 weighted, as to be expected (rotate Harman 90° left, it's the same)

 

[wadude]

I’m gonna have to look that up.

 

[Keith_W]

What about this Tannoy Westminster ad? Wood panelled Victorian mansion. Really dark inside requiring artificial lighting despite a bit of daylight streaming through the window. Snobby guy sitting on a chesterfield chair holding a glass of whiskey (Johnny Walker Black Label ... why so cheap?), ignoring his sultry blonde lady who is giving him a seductive look ... whilst listening to one speaker. Where is the other speaker? Opposite the first one, to his right?

Actually that image looks pretty accurate. That's pretty much what I imagine Westminster owners to look like, except much older and without the hot wife.