I recently received a thoughtful e-mail from S+V reader Michael Kiley. He commiserated with my perception that the general level of sound quality has declined. Like me, he worried that the rise of mobile phones as our preferred playback source, the popularity of listening to compressed files stored or streamed (and through earbuds), isn’t exactly making for audiophile heaven. Mr. Kiley’s letter provided some perspective and got me to thinking…
Quoting Mr. Kiley:
Like you, I never cease to be appalled by the abysmal sound quality of the vast majority of consumer electronics products. However, I think the awful sound quality which pervades our society has its roots long before MP3 downloads and iPods with cheap earbuds. The family television I grew up with was a 1952 vintage 21-inch console model. The cabinet was rather boxy and the bottom third of it housed an eight-inch speaker. This was driven by a four-tube circuit, and, while considered mediocre even in its day, it sounded reasonably full and clear...
Fast forward to 1966, when we upgraded (I must use this word loosely with regard to the sound) to a color TV. Now we had a flimsy four-by-six inch speaker which was crammed in a corner of the cabinet, behind decorative louvers, and it was fed by a cruder three-tube arrangement. It was certainly not as good as that of the older TV, and, worst of all, it resonated obnoxiously just above 200Hz, with little response below that pitch. The hollow, drummy, and muffled sound drove me up the wall. Looking at other televisions of that same era, almost all of them were as bad or even worse.
During the time between acquiring these two televisions, in the late 1950's, came the "transistor radio." These hand-held, battery powered, AM radio receivers had a two-inch speaker, tiny audio transformers, and about a 1/10th watt audio power output. They had no bass below 500 Hz and distorted badly if turned up beyond normal conversational volume levels. However, their convenience and cheapness made them highly popular everywhere, and, I think, dumbed the public and the industry down to lower standards of sound quality.
I’d like to respond to (and agree with) Mr. Kiley’s comments. First, some of the earliest audio products were very good for their era. In the ‘50s, companies knew that sound quality was important and engineers were pushing hard to raise the bar. When was the last time you saw a TV with an 8-inch speaker? Second, in too many cases, “improved” technologies come with a hidden cost. Color TV was a leap beyond B&W TV. But, probably to cut costs, many manufacturers downgraded the audio as they made the transition. Perhaps their thinking was the improved picture would make people overlook the degraded sound. Third, in almost all cases, convenience trumps fidelity. The advent of the transistor radio put audio in your pocket, along with awful sound quality – a tradeoff that almost no one minded.
Also — and this is the idea that interests me the most — the transistor radio planted the seeds of audio class warfare that have now blossomed. The decades-old pursuit of high fidelity was suddenly pitted against convenience. Compromised audio was big business and increasingly became the mainstream business. High fidelity got sidelined. The change didn’t happen overnight, and high fidelity continued to get better, but after awhile, it wasn’t cool anymore. Today, the smartphone is much cooler. In return for usability improvements, features, and convenience, audio fidelity was shafted.
We have ended up with a situation of 99% versus 1%. The great majority of people really only value convenience; their purchases of audio products (such as phones) do not particularly rely on sound quality. A tiny minority of people still appreciate, indeed – worship, sound quality. Sadly, there is almost no middle ground between them. Gone are the days when a large, solid middle class of audio products aspired to sound good. Compared to earlier days, that’s just not where the market is. Other “innovations” like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and speech recognition are more important in audio products.
As Mr. Kiley puts it: “Sadly, [today] virtually all flat screen televisions have small built-in speakers which are of "transistor radio" quality. There are plenty of add-on external audio systems, but the vast majority of TV users don't seem to be interested.”
Well, is it only the 1% who care?
You and Mr Kiley make some very good point but I think the downfall began with the Sony Walkman. Through the 60s and 70s audio equipment continued to improve and it was "cool" to have a nice stereo. Big speakers ruled. Beautiful receivers and separates were built like tanks, especially as compared to what followed in the 80s and 90s (and 2000!). Of course everyone had a turntable. Some turntables of that era hold up well vs today's offerings. At least in my circles, reel to reels were very common along with nice cassette decks.
All that seemed to go out the window in the 80s and I think the Walkman and then the CD Walkman were a turning points. Small size and portability began to rule and being able to take you favorite music with you was liberating. And don't forget boom boxes. A whole stereo in one box became the new cool.
For the mass market it all when down hill from there. Convenience trumped quality and that seems to still be with us today. HTIB is a great home theater system for a lot of people. I like my IPod as much as the next guy but it will never replace my STEREO audio system .. and I still have, and use a turntable .... and reel to reel, Pioneer RT707 ... and it sounds great!
As I read articles in this publication - at times I wonder WHY? are some obvious points left out. Do We tend to comment based on our OWN preferences or through an assumption everyone shares the same viewpoints or likes the same things as I.
Many middle-class Folk ABHOR Tee Vee - a deliberate less than complementary reference to television. Tee Vee with all its advertisements is negatively affecting the attention span of millions of citizens. IMO - the reason many do not care of the quality of the Audio. I do have my Large screen attached to an audio system but have not used it for a long time as the Networks CHEAT us of air time WE PAY FOR!
Yes, the Audio system of the past were built like tanks. I'm 60 listening to the Sansui I purchased when I was 21. This unit along with a new acquisition - a 13 tube Integrated amp is in a soundproof room where most of my time is listening to music.
Mr. K, you seem to talk too much about Home Theatre - many of us look upon that and the following 'of' as an oddity.
Contrary to the ravings you put out there for MP3 - We the few sensible Folk will keep our CD/SACDs - music at it's best. I know, Iknow...there is 24 bit BUT the storage requirements are ridiculous!
By the way - I'm not a dinosaur clinging to technology of the (recent) past - I have been building my own Computers for years. One I built to choose music files from my computer music library using a wireless mouse from a 65 inch Tee Vee connected with Optical cable long before this type of system was mass marketed.
It is most unfortunate the Business Folk out there forgot all about the Baby Boomer's - a large percentage of the population - and into retirement. Why unfortunate....they don't know We will pay good money for GOOD audio equipment. Audio equipment is to us what a fishing rod or Golf clubs were to the retirees of the past generations.
We grew up in the 'band' era - not big band mind you but in the days when the Doors began it all with Light my Fire.
But 'they' are so focused on Home Theatre - while we are still searching for Stereo Review magazines. We watched as nearly all of the Audio boutique stores disappeared. Don't even think of saying there is still "Bad Buy" - it does not qualify.
You shouldn't signal the death of hi-fi so soon. I grew up with a walkman, boombox, etc. I remember it well when I got my first cd player. It was a Magnavox which was a rebadged Pioneer 6 disc changer (complete with the cartridges that you loaded the cd's into). I hooked it up to my Sony boombox (dual cassette with detachable speakers) and I was amazed by the "sound quality". My next upgrade was a pair of Pioneer 3-ways from Service Merchandise. Again, the improvement and sound quality got my juices flowing. I then saw a Crutchfield catalogue at a friend's house. Here is where I learned about receivers, etc. I purchased a JVC surround receiver and again, saw a huge gain in sound quality. In college, I was exposed to Klipsch speakers and eventually saved enough money to purchase some KG 4.5's. That was the huge ah hah moment for meand the hobby continues today. I think as people are exposed to higher quality sound, and truly appreciate music, they will invest in hi-fi equipment. The internet is a positive in this regard as people can be exposed to so many options whereas when I was younger, we had local birck and mortar stores in small towns that really limited options.
speed333,
Nice to see support for 'HiFi' .
My Life also took me down roads to Service Merchandise and I also appreciate Crutchfield catalogs - yet not for the merchandise but rather for the technical information, though still lacking as far as I'm concerned.
Mr. speed - do not stop there - keep going down the road. Ummm - many seem to think Bose, Klipsch and Polk speakers are Hi end speakers - in reality though they DO NOT RATE!
Take a look at HigherFi online - there you will need a bib.
Interesting items like Cayins' A100T, units from MLB; Marantz, Marantz SA8004 SACD player; speakers from Definitive Technology, (all affordable) you know I can go on as much as you do - so I'll stop here. Go on your own adventure.
What I discovered....take a disc you have been listening to for years - place it into an Audiophile system and hear it for the first time.
Folks move away from the 'box', cell phones and Laptops - those devices will make you a zombie - you'll lose your interpersonal communication skills.
Dear Mr. Pohlmann
I have in my library a first edition of your Principles of Digital Audio and have a high regard for it. Congratulations.
My 'enlightenment' moment was over 50yrs ago, when I went to work in a very high quality radio station as a junior technician.
All tube equipment (Ampex reel tape recorders, Altec electronics, Stentorian speakers,etc), top notch for the time.
Today, as a retired EE, I still build all my electronics and speakers.
Besides the points risen above, I think the price of high quality audio has became ridiculously expensive, as $1000 speaker cables that costs no more than $50 to manufacture...
So the potential purchaser is scared out of the store, back to the lousy commercial gear.