Just me or did things look better back then

My funny pictures didn’t post! A young Brad Pitt and a wrinkled old man. New here and have to figure out posting pics. I guess cutting and pasting doesn’t work.

 

Not really. Never cared for silver faced gear with dozens of buttons and switches. Prefer the look of modern gear from 2000's and on as a general rule.

Yes there are some beauties like the Klipsch Belle, but it doesn't mean I want to listen to them on a daily basis.

 

Uh no. It’s not just you.

 

Check out Wrensilva.

 

It's not all bad dude...
Yamaha, Luxman, Accuphase, etc still maintain the same thing. A lot of the Chifi stuff (non existent back then) are solid metal beasts.
Maybe, a lot of the Anglo/American junk has gone with more plastic to boost profit.

 

Take the black ones then!

 

“made in the USA” - I mean, made to maximize profit lol
But there are still plenty American devices in heavy metal cases like the Parasound amp I got quite recently.

 

One thing this thread illustrates for me is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

In addition to beauty being in the eye of the beholder, there is the influencing factor of what is "in" at the time. In the late 1960s when receivers with wooden cases, metal faces, and lots of switches and meters were popular, a lot of people would have disliked the simplicity of a Rogue Sphinx and felt they were missing out on a big part of the experience. I recall my delight on watching the meters on a Yamaha M-4 in the eighties, dancing in the dark. As styles change, the experience also changes. My appreciation for the old school look is certainly colored by nostalgia.

 

But if it's in the ear of the beholder, why wouldn't it be in the eyes as well.

 

My worse example of 80'/90' is more buttons was better by then even if I did not agree ...
Receiver Revox B285 https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/revox-b285-1125524934/

 

you're probably talking about American "design" vs specifically "made in the USA" but I'm pretty sure those parasounds are made in Taiwan.

 

Not just you but not for me. Sure there are some stand out classics but in general quality modern hardware and supporting furnishings looks better than ever.

 

Ah yes I forgot...
They moved production to Taiwan to maximize profit... whoops bad example lol

 

I own a vintage McIntosh rig (C-33 + MC-2105) solely because they look incredible. Of course, the sound is great, but I reckon I could buy a brand new Yamaha integrated (that also look nice, but not as nice) and have great sound too.

I have no qualms admitting that I own my vintage McIntosh units because they are beautiful. And obviously, if they didn't sound great, I wouldn't have them.

 

I definitely looked better back then.

 

I don't use them anymore, BUT I still have them, I still love them

 

Beauties! Why don't you use them anymore?

 

There's something about nostalgia in general that makes old things look better now, I think.

I remember in the late 80's looking at all of the boxy, square cars on the road, thinking they were ugly and plain at the time and wondering if they would ever become 'classics', viewed the same way cars from the 50's-70's have been. Now when I see an old boxy, 80's car on the street I think they look so cool, simply because they are unique now.

 

Newer pre+amp in the main system, no place for a 2nd system in the house...

 

As I read through the thread I was preparing to say that the '70s Marantz typeface is a thing of beauty and should be available in the MS Word font dropdowns...

 

Here's a book that many of you might be interested in.

My copy hasn't arrived yet, but it looks to be a glossy art book about the history of audio design.

 

Having lived through the "Golden Age" of HiFi, I'd have to be of two minds on this. In the 50s, a lot of equipment - even expensive McIntosh stuff looked pretty industrial. They got more fancy in the late 50s and beyond. The Japanese stuff from the 60s and 70s looked pretty impressive.

Today, the trend I'm afraid to say is to look more like an appliance, like a toaster oven. Perhaps there's marketing research to support the look, but personally I find today's gear boring, or with very high end gear, outright gaudy.

 

Things looked 'much better' back then.

 

Nostalgia or not I think some of those are really nice classic designs. One thing about hifi I have felt is that a lot of modern gear is very ordinary looking aesthetically. Of course the sound is the most important thing but some designs just look like an afterthought.