They don’t make ’em like they used to.
That aphorism has few fans among people shopping for cancer drugs, contact lenses, GPS receivers, and laptop computers, all of which seem to get better with each passing year. Hell, even I know that.
It earns a more positive reply from anyone who’s shopping for an oriental rug, or a fly rod, or a tweed jacket, or a musical instrument—people who will tell you that their fond response to the market for vintage examples of such goods is motivated by two things: older products were better made than their newer counterparts (better designs, better materials, better manufacturing techniques), and some, if not all, of those products, over time, actually improve with use.
Take musical instruments: Many, if not most, adult westerners are aware that the stringed instruments made in the late 17th and early 18th centuries by Antonio Stradivari are prized not only for their superior sound but also for their seven- and eight-figure values. Less well known—though common knowledge among certain male baby boomers, a group for whom this magazine’s founder felt a special warmth—is the extent to which other instruments, including those associated with more modern music, have earned similar distinctions. There are markets for vintage drums, mandolins, banjos, analog synthesizers—and, of course, guitars. The market for the last is thought by some to have been kick-started by a 1975 auction in which musician Stephen Stills and a Japanese industrialist fought a bidding war over a WWII-era Martin guitar. Because the final price was in the high four figures—a remarkable amount for the time—the event is linked to the endurance of guitar shops that cater more to the investor than to the musician, and whose proprietors, many of whom are otherwise scrupulous, engage in a continual effort to raise prices for no reason other than the hope and expectation that the market will bear them.1
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2016-Ausgabe von Stereophile.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 2016-Ausgabe von Stereophile.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
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INSTANTLY ICONIC
AUDIO SALON HOST/ENTREPRENEUR/SYSTEM AND FASHION DESIGNER DEVON TURNBULL'S RECORD-BREAKING ART OF NOISE SHOWING AT SAN FRANCISCO MOMA.
Buckeye PURIFI EIGENTAKT 1ET9040BA1
Back in 2016,' I documented the rise of class-D amps using the early Tripath technology. Used in the Bel Canto eVo 200.2, TriPath cracked open the door to the High End but was never admitted due to a dim and opaque treble.
Moon 891
No less than eight boxes, powered by six after-market power cables, comprise my current reference front-end.'
Clearaudio Signature
The Clearaudio allowed each mix, each sonic artifact, to reveal its unique character.
Gryphon Audio Designs Diablo 333
What's in a name? Denmark-based Gryphon Audio Designs laid down a marker when company founder Flemming Rasmussen chose that name in 1985. Browsing through the current Stereophile Recommended Components list, I only found one other manufacturer that utilizes an animal moniker.
The Rega Naia Turntable. Add Lightness.
To watch as Rega very slowly expands its turntable offerings upmarket requires the patience of a Thomas Pynchon addict waiting for each new tome from the notoriously slow-working and reclusive author.
Phono Preamplifier Seduction
Give me the seduction, give me the pleasure,\" Ron Sutherland was nearly shouting into the phone. \"I want to turn off the analytical mind and just enjoy myself!\"
Record Player Revelations
Like romance or car racing, the act of playing records is tactile by design. Like drifting through curves or making out, spinning vinyl is a learned skill that requires users to touch everything with practiced assurance.
Taking Care of Business
As Jim Austin wrote in this space in the December 2024 issue, following a medical procedure that he had in mid-October, he needed to take several weeks' leave to recuperate. He delegated the magazine's production to Managing Editor Mark Henninger, AVTech Editorial Director Paul Miller, and myself. The three of us worked with copy editor Linda Felaco and longtime art director Jeremy Moyler to produce the issue you hold in your hands.
Estelon X Diamond Mk II
Taste is a funny thing. Love cilantro? Millions swear it tastes like soap.