People of my age as teenagers, (even Dusty) playing a record didn't really need much more than one of these. In fact some pop records sounded better on them than on more sophisticated equipment. On an Audio/AV message board site, on which I post occasionally, but mostly read, (the photo of Dusty comes from another running thread) contributors are encouraged to post photos of their "listening rooms." This was a typical example yesterday. It won't come as a surprise that it's a USA based site.
We have vinyl and we have glass and a Victrola to play them on !! The stereo unit is long since shot !! But still a nice cabinet hubby has had for many years so guess it has to stay !! For Now !!
I remember lots of homes having these things, up until the early 80s. But that's where the trend started to change. As boomboxes became more popular. They obviously had inferior sound quality in comparison to records. But since boomboxes were the new must have gadget, almost everybody fooled themselves into thinking that it was superior - It clearly wasn't. But just because it was new, the myth caught on in a big way. As that's how they were marketed. And of course, there was, (and even now still is), the urge to somehow outdo your neighbors or relatives. One-upmanship is actually very deeply rooted in modern urban lifestyle... So who didn't want to show off with a new gadget which had an LED bar-graph audio equalizer display. Later the exact same thing happened by the mid 90s. When music CDs became the norm, (this time with blue and white color LED bar-graph equalizer display). But their rain was short lived. As very quickly MP3 format became popular - And people got addicted to stealing free music straight from the internet. So is where the era of giant speakers for PC sound card systems became the norm. Purists still retained their LP systems, and kept them very well maintained with a lot of love and affection, (as they were the ones who even now know what superior sound quality really is) - But unfortunately they are very few and far between... And mostly they are restricted to playing their old records, (as nobody has seen any store for records in almost the last 35 years). Today of course, everything has become ultra miniaturized and embedded into the smartphone. So in the last 10 years, the hottest selling item for music - Are Bluetooth speakers, for home and cars. As well as wireless Bluetooth headphones. However it is indeed a delightful sight to see that someone is still maintaining their classic music system. So thanks for sharing this treasure with us all over here.
Hubby wanted to buy a new car recently, but none have CD players ! Thats what he likes and we have tons of them ! Car dealers lost a sale on that ! All of the new stuff is more trouble than just putting the CD`s in that you want too hear !
I'm still burning CDs to play in my car. I've a memory stick with over 3000 music mp3s, that I can stick in the side of the TV and play through my vintage hi-fi.. They are also on my Humax HDR as well as about 50 films, with which I can do the same. Like it or not CDs are becoming a thing of the past. CDs became a necessary evil, as it was the only way for me to buy classic jazz albums that had long been de-listed on vinyl. But like vinyl albums which were always a rip-off price wise, when CDS came out they cost a fraction of what it cost to produce a vinyl album, yet the record companies charged far more for them.
In my experience, CDs can't be trusted when it comes to long term storage. As sooner or later, they have a tendency to decay. Magnetic medium so far is the only time tested option. However, just like CD rot, magnetic tapes too can get damaged by fungus. Therefore removable external hard drives are the only option I can trust - But that too, not without several backups. You can always install a CD player in the car later. There is a huge market of after sale car upgrades almost everywhere. Personally, I don't even turn on the radio in the car either, (too distracting). I actually threw out the radio and music system, and had something else installed (not related to music). I feel like I am playing with danger, if I drown out any external nose of the road. I do of course keep the windows rolled up, as the AC is always running, (as it's always hot outside, plus I don't want to inhale the pollution of traffic). But when driving, I can't afford to let my attention be divided...
My routine when I was working never changed. When I finished work in the evening, I never gave it a thought until I got in my car the following day. I would then plan out my day on my way to work, without any distractions. On the way home, I'd turn on the radio and play a CD, so by the time I got home, I was in a good frame of mind. More recently, when going to play golf, I would always be traveling at peak times, because we like to play in the mornings, which frees up the afternoons. If I'm stuck in a traffic jam for a few minutes, I'll put something like this on, which is quite soothing. On the subject of A/C even here in the UK when it can be cold for much of the year, it's best to run your A/C for at least half an hour a week, whatever the temperature to prevent future problems with it. (It'll say so in the manual, but many people don't get that far into it).
Played tracks from a few vinyl albums last night, including Dick Haymes. Who? Yes many won't have heard of him. I've only the one album. But this track is one of my favourite tunes. I like playing it on my leccy piano. https://app.box.com/s/zy12psxmnh1f3nj8ylh9eqqy4pmjmfow
I remember him, he was one of my Mom's favorites in the early 50's no records but the radio stations played a lot of his music.
