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Big stereo systems. Hmm.... The 70's were also when really small stereo systems gained in popularity as well. At least--in Europe. Micro speakers that really packed a punch, possibly for small apartments?
Do you see this as a fad?
No, not since I started in the 60's, and I'm still at it. Still have the original Wharfedales, altho they've been rebuilt twice, thanks to Pink Floyd. 2 sets of Wharfedale, 2 sets of Klipsch and a pair of Polk in my listening room. Music is always on in my home.
Not a fad. Plus, you're mixing two different, but related things. Back in the 70s/80s, stereo equipment was big because much still relied on vacuum tubes. It just took space. And bigger speakers reproduce better sound, esp lower notes.
Then combine that with the related item of CD vs vinyl sales. Really two different markets. CDs are feeding the digital market and have been heavily replaced by various digital delivery formats such as itunes, Pandora, and others. Many of which are streaming.
Vinyl on the other had feeds the market for pure sound. People who buy vinyl aren't looking to play it in their car or while running around on tiny earbuds. Sound is an analog wave. Vinyl records and plays back in analog format. CDs and the various digital formats are digital reproductions, and the more compression involved the more loss of pure sound. In fact, there is a market among audiophiles for vacuum tube systems because they believe the vacuum tube's different technology softens the harsh edges of digital sound and helps replicate the most pure sound possible.
You have one market, the popular mass market you see in places like Best Buy that just wants lots of music in the smallest package possible and has less of an interest in sound quality vs a audiophile that wants to as closely as possible experience the sound in its natural form.
A large chunk of vinyl buyers dont even play their vinyl. Also, lots of people buy vinyl for the experience of playing it more than the sound quality. Vinyl superiority has been debunked for decades. Vinyl can sound better than digital, but its not the superior format(its quite flawed, actually) for sound.
Ok, memory lane time.
I bought my first serious sound system in the late '70's, All mix & match components from a place in NYC called "Crazy Eddies"; Sansui771 receiver, Sansui 2500 speakers, 12"woofers, 2-6
' midrange speakers, & 2 1 1/2' tweeters with a 3 way crossover. Garard zero-100 turntable, Pickering moving coil cartdridge, Sony 10 band EQ, Marantz cassette deck with a 4 in, 2 out mixer with pan pots, Sony reel to reel tape deckand a set of Akai mini speakers on top of the Sansui's
Those were good times.
These days it's a Denon receiver with 92 watts per channel, Definitive Technology speakers with 2- 8" passive woofers per side, a 15"powered sub that'll shake the house off it's foundation, a Sony six disc CD player.
The audio boutique I bought it from sent out an audio engineer to calibrate the system to the room's acoustics and the sound quality is off the charts! it sounds like real people talking in the room. I had the TV run through the system and it's better than any cinema's sound system. I can hear the musician's fingers on the strings! currently looking for a digital audio controller to pipe the CD changer through to recreate the warmer vinyl sound.
Ok, memory lane time.
I bought my first serious sound system in the late '70's, All mix & match components from a place in NYC called "Crazy Eddies"; Sansui771 receiver, Sansui 2500 speakers, 12"woofers, 2-6
' midrange speakers, & 2 1 1/2' tweeters with a 3 way crossover. Garard zero-100 turntable, Pickering moving coil cartdridge, Sony 10 band EQ, Marantz cassette deck with a 4 in, 2 out mixer with pan pots, Sony reel to reel tape deckand a set of Akai mini speakers on top of the Sansui's
Those were good times.
These days it's a Denon receiver with 92 watts per channel, Definitive Technology speakers with 2- 8" passive woofers per side, a 15"powered sub that'll shake the house off it's foundation, a Sony six disc CD player.
The audio boutique I bought it from sent out an audio engineer to calibrate the system to the room's acoustics and the sound quality is off the charts! it sounds like real people talking in the room. I had the TV run through the system and it's better than any cinema's sound system. I can hear the musician's fingers on the strings! currently looking for a digital audio controller to pipe the CD changer through to recreate the warmer vinyl sound.
Older cd players = warmer sounding. Newer tech will be cleaner because they use super quality modern dacs. Late 80s and early 90 tech is a good place to start.
Rega makes new equipment with older tech. Not a cheap brand, but it might be worth it if you want new and warm. Check out the rega saturn
Do you see this as a fad?
No, not since I started in the 60's, and I'm still at it. Still have the original Wharfedales, altho they've been rebuilt twice, thanks to Pink Floyd. 2 sets of Wharfedale, 2 sets of Klipsch and a pair of Polk in my listening room. Music is always on in my home.
I remember from back in the day Klipsch speakers were among the most efficient (same wattage put through them were louder than the same wattage put through many other brands). They were also considered among the best for rock music... IIRC, Polk speakers were good/very good for clear sound. I remember seeing a somewhat geeky looking Mr. Polk in advertisements... I remember the Wharfedale brand but they were never on my radar because they were unaffordable for me.
I also remember the speakers that were like a screen covered with some kind of cloth. I can't recall how they sounded because they were unaffordable for me. I know the bass response was considered on the weak side but the salesmen said it was the way bass was meant to be heard. I think later some people started adding subwoofers to those kinds of speakers.
Ok, memory lane time.
I bought my first serious sound system in the late '70's, All mix & match components from a place in NYC called "Crazy Eddies"; Sansui771 receiver, Sansui 2500 speakers, 12"woofers, 2-6
' midrange speakers, & 2 1 1/2' tweeters with a 3 way crossover. Garard zero-100 turntable, Pickering moving coil cartdridge, Sony 10 band EQ, Marantz cassette deck with a 4 in, 2 out mixer with pan pots, Sony reel to reel tape deckand a set of Akai mini speakers on top of the Sansui's
Those were good times.
These days it's a Denon receiver with 92 watts per channel, Definitive Technology speakers with 2- 8" passive woofers per side, a 15"powered sub that'll shake the house off it's foundation, a Sony six disc CD player.
The audio boutique I bought it from sent out an audio engineer to calibrate the system to the room's acoustics and the sound quality is off the charts! it sounds like real people talking in the room. I had the TV run through the system and it's better than any cinema's sound system. I can hear the musician's fingers on the strings! currently looking for a digital audio controller to pipe the CD changer through to recreate the warmer vinyl sound.
Crazy Eddie was nailed on some white collar crime.
A receiver or pre-amp and amp with 200 watts per channel will increase the quality of the sound even if you don't play it loud. The powerful amps have a punchiness to them at low volume that isn't easy to get with less powerful systems.
I remember in the 1970s when it was popular for people (mostly younger men) to have really elaborate, big home stereos. B&O was a company that made sleek, ultramodern turntables. They also had a thing called Discwasher which you'd use to clean your records. It had a really nice wood handle.
There was also Stereo Review magazine, which still exists. Audiophiles also claimed reel-to-reel tapes were the way to go. Really expensive Bose headphones.
Do you see this as a fad? Maybe it's just me.
I graduated College in 1979. I had a friend on my dorm floor who had all of that stuff. I personally had a reel to reel tape onto I recorded much material from WNEW-FM. When the CD era came, I had about seven or eight big wheels converted two CD format at a studio in New York City. Since then, most of those MP3's live on my computer and on my iPhone. I now have over 7000 MP3's, from that source, Napster in the early 2000s and ripping of my album collection.
I remember in the 1970s when it was popular for people (mostly younger men) to have really elaborate, big home stereos. B&O was a company that made sleek, ultramodern turntables. They also had a thing called Discwasher which you'd use to clean your records. It had a really nice wood handle.
There was also Stereo Review magazine, which still exists. Audiophiles also claimed reel-to-reel tapes were the way to go. Really expensive Bose headphones.
Do you see this as a fad? Maybe it's just me.
The title of this thread reminded me of a scene from the movie Ruthless People. It was a hilarious movie and one of the main characters had a job selling stereo equipment. He talked a customer into getting a speaker that was bigger than a coffin and one of the selling points he made was that you could use it as your coffin when you die because it would last a lifetime. Big speakers and all the attachments to a turntable were a fad. You know no one uses that stuff anymore, it is Smaller is better now.
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Those were good times. 
