DS Forums

 
 

Remember when your music had bass ?


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 30-01-2016, 19:43
barbeler
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 11,688
I wonder what happened to the electrostatic speakers which were trendy in the late 1970s. They had very slim profiles, similar to the latest TVs. Then there was another kind, which claimed to be able to turn an entire wall into a speaker. They were supposed to be very advanced at the time and were quite expensive, but seem to have simply disappeared. Was it because they were simply over-hyped rubbish?
barbeler is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 30-01-2016, 21:47
1saintly
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 3,663
Years ago i bought a Sony Walkman.

came with same headphones as this model
http://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/wa...wz-e580-series
(check second image)

They have great sound/base no matter what i plug them into. You can really hear the base compared to any other headphones i use.

Also bagged http://www.engadget.com/products/logitech/x-230/ a while back for £10 off ebay and Base is loud on them
1saintly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 30-01-2016, 21:55
Chris Frost
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 6,450
I wonder what happened to the electrostatic speakers which were trendy in the late 1970s. They had very slim profiles, similar to the latest TVs. Then there was another kind, which claimed to be able to turn an entire wall into a speaker. They were supposed to be very advanced at the time and were quite expensive, but seem to have simply disappeared. Was it because they were simply over-hyped rubbish?
Electrostatics are still available. Quad, Martin Logan, Magnepan. There's also a number of companies using electrostatic tweeters also known as ribbon tweeters: e.g. Monitor Audio's Gold range, Dali's Ikon range, Samson's Rubicon range
Chris Frost is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31-01-2016, 15:20
ianradioian
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 24,336
my 1950 murphy baffleboard radio has a lovely "mellow tone" .......

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/murphy_a122_a_122.html
I have an A186. It sounds great on AM
ianradioian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31-01-2016, 15:22
ianradioian
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 24,336
I own a pair of AE 120 floor standing speakers. They are slim but incredibly heavy and will rattle the windows out of the house opposite if I turn the wick up. A beefy amplifier, working at a lowish volume, these speakers.. and a concrete floor gives me all the bass I want without booming, and its nice and deep too.
ianradioian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31-01-2016, 16:35
Chris Frost
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 6,450
Good points, and of course, the technology and sometimes components used in the high-end products gradually filter down the chain, so we all benefit.
Nautilus tweeters in B&W products are a good example of trickle-down.
Chris Frost is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-02-2016, 10:41
Betty Swollax
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 558

There's always the chance of vintage stuff from ebay I suppose but that's likely to be a bit of a lottery.
Plus there's always the chance that the actual speaker cones and seals have deteriorated over the years.
Betty Swollax is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2016, 20:04
d'@ve
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Darn Sarf
Posts: 28,728
Just played Berlioz' Symphony Fantastique streamed losslessly, LSO Live/Gergiev, proper floorstanders. The dynamic range is astonishing even for classical music and you just don't get that on most modern music or devices, nor can you 'feel' the deep bass, if only they knew what they are missing.

From almost inaudible at quieter moments to the sofa-shaking bass drum of the finale, what a performance. No subwoofer needed, though my body still feels a bit like one!
d'@ve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2016, 14:41
Deacon1972
Guest
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 8,103
Just played Berlioz' Symphony Fantastique streamed losslessly, LSO Live/Gergiev, proper floorstanders. The dynamic range is astonishing even for classical music and you just don't get that on most modern music or devices, nor can you 'feel' the deep bass, if only they knew what they are missing.

From almost inaudible at quieter moments to the sofa-shaking bass drum of the finale, what a performance. No subwoofer needed, though my body still feels a bit like one!
What sampling rates are you streaming, 24/96, 24/192 or higher?

I've been listening to some 32/384 and DSD256 files, a mixture of easy listening, acoustic/electrical and classical, some truely stunning tracks.

Work of Art was a favorite.

https://youtu.be/22U4piPll5U
Deacon1972 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2016, 17:09
barbeler
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 11,688
Here you go.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Peavey-His...-/222003439804

or these.

http://www.soundproject.com/Scoop15.html
barbeler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2016, 17:17
anthony david
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,457
Just played Berlioz' Symphony Fantastique streamed losslessly, LSO Live/Gergiev, proper floorstanders. The dynamic range is astonishing even for classical music and you just don't get that on most modern music or devices, nor can you 'feel' the deep bass, if only they knew what they are missing.

From almost inaudible at quieter moments to the sofa-shaking bass drum of the finale, what a performance. No subwoofer needed, though my body still feels a bit like one!
I assume you are playing this very loudly, hope you have a detached house, because if you go to a concert hall and hear it live you will find that you don't shake, the only exception is the "Verdi Drum" used on performances of his Requiem. The downside is that once you have heard a few concerts live you realise that no HiFi system, at any price, is remotely like the real thing.
anthony david is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2016, 17:19
Lamin_Ator
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 1,034
feeeel de beat o dat drum an de basse
I miss it.
Lamin_Ator is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2016, 01:29
d'@ve
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Darn Sarf
Posts: 28,728
What sampling rates are you streaming, 24/96, 24/192 or higher?

I've been listening to some 32/384 and DSD256 files, a mixture of easy listening, acoustic/electrical and classical, some truely stunning tracks.

Work of Art was a favorite.

https://youtu.be/22U4piPll5U
Nope, just plain old 16/44.1 music, though I have tried Qobuz streaming at 24/96 and 24/192 in comparison (my setup handles all that) and there's no audible difference to my old ears, so I have changed to Tidal for now, which is less quirky. My DAC is better than my CD and DVD players so for me, this is better than CD and I am getting picky now about the artistic and technical quality of the recordings themselves!

I assume you are playing this very loudly, hope you have a detached house, because if you go to a concert hall and hear it live you will find that you don't shake, the only exception is the "Verdi Drum" used on performances of his Requiem. The downside is that once you have heard a few concerts live you realise that no HiFi system, at any price, is remotely like the real thing.
I have been to many classical music concerts and it'strue, nothing is like the real thing - though being able to listen to cough-less and rustle-free music through home hifi has its advantages, too.

As I said, the quiet passages were just audible as they would be in a concert hall so no, I didn't turn up the wick, the dynamic range did that all by itself. You can also feel certain bass / percussive notes in certain pieces in a concert hall, depending on your seat, and that's what I meant in this case. It was a rather nice feeling and yes my house is detached.

Of course, listening to loud transients within classical music that's dynamically uncompressed or barely compressed is a far cry from listening to stupidly compressed pop or rock music where it's loud for much longer. Both have their place but there's a difference.
d'@ve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2016, 09:06
Inkblot
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: West London
Posts: 24,303
My system has a pair of AVI bookshelf/standmount speakers which are around 15 years old and don't go below about 100Hz. I find the modern idea of very aggressive bass quite unpleasant, I was listening to a 1960s album on vinyl yesterday and could hear every note the bassist was playing but it didn't overpower the rest of the instruments.

Having said that I would love to hear the full depth of the bass notes, if I could find some speakers that reproduced them accurately without annoying the neighbours.
Inkblot is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2016, 09:16
aurichie
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 5,100
If strong bass is important to you then you can't go wrong with the Beats Studio Pro headphones. They sound amazing even with the volume limits in the iPhone. Pricey but worth every penny as far as I'm concerned.

Admittedly Beats products used to be shocking when they were manufactured by Monster. So a lot of people still trash them. But the newer models are really very good if you're a bass man.
aurichie is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 22:17.