When I was in college, pre-iPod (or PC, or cell phone), the hot technology must-have was a component stereo system, comprised of a receiver/amplifier, a turntable and two or more big ass floor speakers, with woofers of at least twelve inches. I had a roommate with a Marantz 4400 quadraphonic receiver, a Beogram turntable and four Bose 901 speakers that could nearly lift the roof of the house when ZZ Top was cranked up to 11.
Does anybody listen to music like that anymore? Or are earbuds the preferred method for going deaf these days?
I worked for Bose headquarters until 2002. Their 901 speakers were still selling just great back then even on the used market. However, I always got the impression that a lot of them were being used in the professional market. I think there was a big change since then though. Bose pioneered small speakers with big sound and they did a good job of it. Other companies copied and now you can buy a complete home theater surround sound system for $300 from Best Buy and that is plenty good enough for most people. I have one and it sounds great for casual use.
I was killing time at Best Buy the other day waiting for my girlfriend to finish doing some errands and I happened by the Speaker Enclave or whatever it’s called and I let them take me for another “test drive”. Sure, plenty of the speakers in there are loud and clear and warm sounding…but they don’t move air. My really big old speakers move the air when they’re turned up loud, so you can feel those drums and that bass. If I really push it, they can distort space time and walking across the room feels like you’re drunk. Little tiny speakers just can’t hack it.
I’m just going to go to Guitar Center and buy some studio monitors. Those fuckers can crank it all the way up and they move air.
That’s what I am talking about, massive floor speakers three or four feet tall with a woofer that bounced like a Playmate on a trampoline. Most home stereos these days are no more than glorified boom boxes with relatively small speakers. Some cars systems must be pretty robust though, as I can hear the bass a block away.
Yep – pair of Kenwoods I bought in the post stereo/camera store in Germany in 1976. They’re hooked to the Pioneer receiver/tuner I bought at the same time (the Sony reel-to-reel and Technics turntable have long since bit the dust). And that is all hooked into our TV stuff – excellent for watching movies! And occasionally, we still throw some Stones in the CD changer and rock out.
My father has in his possession an antique (by audio standards it’s from the late 50’s early 60’s) matched set of end table looking things made by Magnavox where one is a turntable when you lift the lid, and the other one is the speaker and amplifier. A 500 watt speaker and amplifier. That’s probably a foot and a half in diameter on the speaker face. *That * sucker will move air.
It’s not in working order right now, buy my brother and I have acertained that the speaker body isn’t ripped and the cone is in good shape, so we’re thinking that a tube swap and a little soldering touch up and this thing is ready to rock. We fight over who’s going to get it all the time.
I had a pair of Audio Concepts Sapphires with dual Sub-I’s similar to this.
They were awesome speakers. When my girlfriend moved in, I sold them and bought Home theater speakers (the amazing Rocket ELTs ) from the same company. The new speakers are a much better match to our current lifestyle. They are great theater speakers, and they are small enough to not take over the room. Their sound qualtiy, while maybe not quite as good as the Sapphires, is still better than the dreck that most people have. I’m very happy with them.
When I was in the Army I bought a pioneer system and a couple of Bose 401’s. A friend of mine bought a sweet Carver system and the 901’s, set them up facing out of his window and turned on AC/DC with the volume set to 11 before leaving for the weekend. Those things are loud! My system went south long ago, but I’ve still got the speakers packed away somewhere. I was wondering yesterday if anyone would buy them.
I used to have a pair of Infinity floor-standing monsters. IIRC, they were the “Kappa” model, and were about four feet tall.
Now, I’ve gone relatively tiny - up front is a pair of NHT “bookshelf” speakers - 1.5’s with a Super Center and a pair of Super Zeros in the back. Not bad on their own, and they disappear pretty well.
What really disappears from sight is the Velodyne subwoofer. BOOM diada, indeed! Stealth bass is fun!
I’m still using the Sony system with the big floor speakers that I bought in 1990, although I haven’t used the tape deck for many years. I keep waiting for one of the cats to use the speakers as a scratching post – that black fabric should be tantalizing – but they don’t.
My folks have a pair of massive, wood-cabinet speakers (I wanna say Technics?) that they’ve had as long as I’ve been alive. They still use 'em, though they’re hooked up to a modern receiver, and mostly these days they don’t listen to anything harder than “A Prairie Home Companion”. But, those suckers are HEAVY (I’ve had to move them) and the coil magnets on the speakers are MASSIVE. You really feel it when they’re turned up.
