Well said. Most youngsters don't realize that in day gone by we had
just as much quality in our entertainment technology as we do today.

I some areas yes. I other areas, I beg to differ.

Yes digital does do better in many respects, exceptionally in visual
media. But it falls short in the audio department with 16 bit
technology just not living up to the quality of the better anaog hifi
gear, which can be gotten in thrift shops and second hand stores for
next to nothing.

Do you understand how digital audio works at all?

In CD, 16-bit quantization allows up to 65,536 possible values of voltage for a
given sample. This translates roughly into 96 decibels of dyanmic range with
approximately the same level in signal-noise ratio. Mind you, this is on the
average for a CD player, which is far superior to even the best $5000+ LP rigs.

Plus with CD you have superior channel separation, better noise floor, wider
and more even frequency response, lower THD+N, and wow and flutter below
measurable thresholds.

In terms of frequency response, CDs are sampled at a rate of 44,100 times a
second. This translates directly into a maximum frequency response of 22,050
cycles. With LPs, the master recording is rolled off at about 15-16 KHz for
the record lathe. This is done because any attempts to run the lathe at
frequencies exceeding the cutoff will overheat the cutter head.

Also, CDs are more accurate than LPs because records have inherent even-ordered
harmonic distortion. This means you have distortion that actually sounds
pleasant, and this is what gives LPs their airiness and "muscality." But,
regardless, LPs are not an accurate representation of the master tape purely
because of this distortion.

If you want to wonder why you may have a bad sounding CD, it can mean a few
possibilities:

1. The CD was not made optimally in respect for CD. Digital audio is most
unforgiving to any deficiencies in a session recording. Whatever the limits
are that could be concealed with various analogue formats will be reproduced in
a digital audio system.

2. The session recording was made with equipment not properly dithered, which
means you get zero-bit noise. But improper dithering is still a problem with
the recording and not the technology.

3. CD sound may be limited by the playback equipment. Most CD players use
rather cheap components, especially in the analogue section. For instance, any
CD player that uses JRC 4560 or 4558 operational amps in their analogue
sections is simply not a hi-fi piece of equipment. I have an Onkyo six-disc
that I modified by beefing up the power supply somewhat and replacing the four
JRC 4560 opamps with a set of Burr-Brown OPA2604 opamps. Result: improvement
in sound which not only sounds cleaner and easier with good accuracy but
eliminated listener's fatigue.

(If you ever listen to a stereo system that uses
valved amps you'll never pass a signal through a transistor again.)

Depends on the quality of the solid state equipment.

A well designed solid state amplifier can yield extraordinary results with
better reliability, efficiency, and accuracy than tube equipment.

Of course, this also depends on other factors, such as the quality of the
speakers and source equipment.

Also, older tube equipment has a tendency to create even-ordered harmonic
distortion.

Maybe 24bit digital audio will correct that if it ever catches on.
Flat screen HDTV would be nice to have, but it's got come way down in
price.

Be more specific when you describe a flat screen HDTV. I assume you mean
plasma HDTV sets. You also have rear projection HDTV sets that have a flat
screen and CRT HDTV sets that also have a flat screen. HDTV is coming down in
price for rear projection and CRT models, and apparently faster than you
realize.

Todays intelligent consumerhas gotten to wise to the tricks of the
retail industry. We all got burned with the outrageous overpricing of
vcr technology when it came out and most vowed never again.

When VCRs first came out, it was a new technology. No technology has ever been
released cheap when it first came out.
How much did you think radios cost when they first came out? How much do you
think the first TVs cost when they came out? How about the first color TVs?
The first personal computer? The first CD player? The first DVD player? The
first tangential tracking turntable? The first Hi-Fi VCR?

Most of the technology I do enjoy I got from using common sense and
frugality not just running out and buying it just because everyone
said so.

Hey, that's how I built my system. While some components had to be new, like
my audio receiver (Technics SA-DA10) and DVD player (Sony DVP-S360), a lot of
my other components, such as my LaserDisc player (Pioneer DVL-700), VHS hi-fi
(Sony SVO-160), Beta hi-fi (Sony SL-HF400), CED (RCA SJT-200), CD player (Onkyo
DX-C106), tape deck (JVC TD-V711), turntable (Technics SL-7), stereo mains
(Optimus Mach Three), and television (Sony KV-27S66) I got from looking around
and buying cheap. Most of the stuff wasn't even working, so I repaired them to
get them working.

As for my computer, I bought many new components and I built the whole thing
myself. For computers, you really ought to get what's up to date (doesn't mean
highest end). Hell, I needed a computer that was powerful enough to run
WindowsXP reliably. I would've went with Win98SE, but that OS runs unstable on
my computer, so necessity dictates that I run WinXP.

I've been a staunch supporter of the philosophy behind the Mother
Jones publications all my life.
people should realize that you can have a good quality of life and not
be a slave to this consumeristic society we live in.

Good for you! But, other people may feel differently. There are people that
buy things not because others tell them to, but because they really want
something and are willing to spend what they earned to get it.

As for my stuff, I've no regrets. I bought what I felt I wanted and I got it,
not because some other schmuck told me to get it. For instance, I swear by
Sony TVs. Not because other people say they're good, but because my own
experience dictates this choice. I've found them to be very reliable and high
resolution TV sets, especially in the professional scene. - Reinhart