Seminal moments in Hi-Fi

[admin_exported]

Okay something a bit less heavy than the last few hours have provided. It's fun, it's funky, it's completely pointless...

Many people have suggested, probably unfairly to Thorens, that the Linn Sondek "invented" hi-fi. It undoubtedly represents a seminal point in the development of home audio even if you attribute it to something else ! ? !

What are the other seminal moments or products?

My starter for ten is the CD63 Ken "Dishwasher" special.

I read lots of reviews and then I went and auditioned it and I spent two happy hours listening to it through my own speakers and amp, loud, playing track after track after track. The shop knew I'm sure after a couple of minutes at most that they'd made a sale but they just left me be.

It was the first CD player that I'd ever had any hope of affording that could stand in company with my Sondek. Not match it let alone beat it, but I no longer chose what music to listened to based upon whether it was vinyl or CD. It changed the way I listened to music.

I vote it a seminal product - one that brought the ability of the best CD players to a realistic market for the first time.

Whatcha think?

 

[gregory]

good post this one,how about the ar turntable,linn and thorens based their 3 point suspended decks on the original ar turntable if i'm not mistaken and ariston was at least a year or so before the linn.my product would have to be the linn sondek,when i first heard this deck i just had to have one except when i was told the price my heart sank as i just could not afford it at that time.i now have the deck i've always wanted and am very happy with it.with regards to the cd 63 i agree with your comments making it an affordable alternative to the over priced cd players at the time.another couple of products that could enter the arena are the rega planner 3 and the ar 18 speakers and who could forget the nad 3020 probably the best budget intergrated of all time.yes a good post this one i think there is more to come.

 

[Anton90125]

My Seminal moment in Hifi was when I was "converted". I was only 14 (1978) and got into a friendly arguement with a friend. He said his father had speakers that could go to a 100 Watts. I didn't believe it. I was used to seeing the equipment in my mums Marshell Ward catalogue. At that time the only items there went as high as 30-40 watts Music power. My friend invited me round to show me these speakers. These turned out to be Yamaha NS1000. My friend's father left the grills off so I could see the graph drawing on the front. Sure enough it showed that they reached 100Watts and more. As a 14 year old I was shocked, I had never seen speakers like them. My friend's father played a recording of aircraft at an airshow and I sat in the "listening chair". I heard aircraft (Merlin engins) drone from left to right- my first stereo image (I was only used to hearing music centres up to that point) ! The next thing I heard was Jean-Michel Jarre Oxygen- wow! Thus I was hooked on to Hifi.