Interesting point. When my son was in Berklee a few years ago he said vinyl was regaining popularity there because the analog output was much better than the digitized sounds of modern CDs, and I agree with him. My old vinyl albums on a good turntable still sound fantastic.
Some of that can be explained because bench testing equipment simply measures the wrong thing because the tester doesn’t know better. An example of this is when they measure noise levels in dB. The problem is that the human ear doesn’t interpret a 50 dB sound at 1 kHz the same as a 50 dB sound at 10 kHz. The 10 kHz sound will seem significantly quieter. A better interpretation is sones or phons.
As an example, Edmunds reports my Mazda6 at 67.1 dB at 70 mph cruise. A Lexus ES of the same year tested at 67.5 dB. The Ford Fusion came out at 65.6 dB. Those numbers are near meaningless because they simply aren’t measuring the right thing. If one car lets through sound at irritating frequencies and another doesn’t, it might sound quieter even if it measures a higher dB.
On the other hand, I think Consumer Reports is out of their %$@#%@! minds when they say the low point of the Mazda6 is road noise. WHAT road noise? I’m not deaf (my hearing tests at ranges normal for a 20 yr old without any hearing damage), and I don’t hear it.
@mountainbike "I think my 8-track tapes might be obsolete… "
8-track tapes are modern to me–I still have some old 78 rpm albums. The sound quality is not as good as the 33 1/3 rpm vinyl albums. I agree with you that these albums on a good turntable playing through a good amplifier and speaker system do sound great. Some of the best vinyl recordings I have were made by Mercury recording engineers. These engineers suspended the microphone at the focal point of the hall and did the recording. To me, the sound is more natural than multiple microphones being mixed.
Vinyl on a good system is definitely richer. Interestingly, according to my son when he attended Berklee, faculty at Berklee (the sound engineers in particular) agree.
Analog is richer than digital.
MB - There’s a guy in Merrimack NH who use to make custom turntables. Last I knew he was still in business just 5 years ago. Cost - $50,000 EACH.
I personally like Vinyl…but I don’t have a turntable anymore. Most of the music I listened to was no longer being stamped in vinyl. Vinyl has made a huge resurgence in the past 5 years. But for very limited type of music. And you have to buy it on-line. No store I know of sells NEW vinyl records anymore.
Ouch. That bugger must be balanced to the Nth degree. It must have active vibration cancelling. Fortunately, good quality home turntables are still available…or should I say “once again” available.
I bought a very very good used Turntable (Thorens) a few years after DVD’s came out. People were selling their turntables. I bought it for less then 1/10th it’s original asking price. And it was in mint condition. Actually I still have it…but it’s no longer connected to my system and in storage someplace. Haven’t seen it in years.
I did that too. I picked up a professional grade table for $100. Hawked it when I got divorced. I have a Radio Shack turntable now, and even that still takes me back to the early days when I play my Beach Boys Live In Concert album or my Animals album.
Vacuum tubes are still used in some guitar amps…
on purpose…
to get ‘‘that sound’’.
Vacuum tubes are still used in some guitar amps
They are still used in NEW home stereo amps. I know…My 5 channel home theater amp is tube. A whopping 20-watts per channel. Listening to a tube amp with the right speakers is a beautiful experience.
Tubes really do provide a richer, more complete sound.
I’ve lived on the low end all my life ,so I pretty much like anything new-but perception is everything.Once told a guy I worked with that something wasnt level,didnt believe me ,so he got a level and checked it out,turns out I was right,told me I was right but that I couldnt see the difference.So it goes-Kevin
I don’t know whether to blame the engineers or the inventory controllers for this one. Coming home the other night in the rain in my 09 G6, the wipers stopped working. At home I quickly determined that the wiper transmission/module was at fault. A metal ball inserts into a plastic socket. The socket wears and the arm pops out. Its a $157 part at the dealer or $78 at Rockauto. The plastic sockets are not an available part but must be worth less than $2. Its about a 30 minute job so no big deal except for the cost. The old one still has two useable plastic sockets on it that I will use in the future if it happens again but seems to me every dealer should have a bag of the plastic sockets in stock.
'‘They build ‘em from pieces…
But they don’t SELL the pieces.’’
A phrase that I must utter daily to many who balk at the only choice for their repair…the assembly.
I guess you might call it inventory control of a sort, or industry control, or cost control.
The industy is segmented and some segments ( like me in retail ) can’t even contact the manufacturing side.
Those penny pieces are sold only in mass quantity bulk to the assemblers.
The retail parts warehouse therefore does not need to bag, box, number, and inventory a list of dozens of pieces for one assembly plus the assembly too.
Back in the early days you could buy every bushing, brush, bearing, lever, and pin.
We even had customers back then complain when they could NOT buy an assembly.
----- the industry has shifted --------
and now some complain when they cant buy the piece they want
it’s a no win either way.
True, Ken, but in defense of the new manufacturing systems one can now buy a 29" color TV with remote control, high def, and digital channel reception for less money than it cost for a 19" black and white TV in the late '60s. Adjustd efor inflation, the cost is actually MUCH, MUCH less that that B&W TV. Heck, it costs less to buy a new color TV today than it used to cost to REPAIR the old B&W TVs!
Yeah, I understand. I’ve talked about the GM turn signal switches before. There are little cancel springs in them that after some years of use break. I used to grab a few from the junkyards back when I was young to avoid having to put in a new switch. Surprise when at a GM dealer a few years ago and asked about them. They had a little box of left or right for 50 cents a piece. I think there were 50 or 100 in the box. Sometimes I think a sharp parts guy just needs to know the part number to order and can get most anything-true may have to buy 50 or 100 of them, but can probably still get them.
There are often great differences in the procedures for warranty repairs as compared to for pay repairs at dealerships. The turn signal switch would likely be replaced if the customer pays while the spring would be replaced if done under the warranty. I have gotten the small parts from a dealer to repair Mazda multi-function switches when the dimmers failed but you must know to ask and they hope you don’t ask. The replacement switch is several hundred dollars.
“…you must know to ask and they hope you don’t ask. The replacement switch is several hundred dollars.”
That seems unethical to me. It’s a shame that so many business people throw ethics out the window. It’s auto dealers or repair shops who pull those stunts that make me leery of the good shops. The store I buy my tires from does suspension and brakes, too. They have always been right when they recommended a repair, yet I still find it hard to trust them. I bite my tongue and authorize the repairs, but it’s still hard to do.
Automobiles are more and more sophisticated every year and the manufacturers find it more profitable to produce a car from sub-assemblies. And even the sub-assemblies are often made up of sub-assemblies. There’s just too much to keep up with dealing with the intricacies of hundreds of such pieces so most repairs are just the replacement of the sub-assembly. The public would be surprised at the poor level of training and lack of expertise in many dealerships. And I would guess that the situation will continue to decline in the near future.
Ah,that is were my hypothetical duplicating machine comes into play(its closer then you think,one of these days if you have the software,you will be able to make it-and of course the feedstock).Your preaching to the choir about the dealerships.But by some quirk of fate in the Covington ,VA area,there are guys that are motivated and dont mind working on your vehicle,can fix things and the shop rate is reasonable.Wish all dealerships were like that-Kevin