“Save The Stereo is a much needed project for a variety of reasons. As audiophiles, we understand each other and trust each other, which is a true virtue which we proudly share.” – Jim Romanello
“Music has always been a great form of joy in my life. I can’t imagine a world without it. Our artists need to be heard the best way possible. After all, they dedicate their lives to bringing us this special gift, music.” – Adam Brunkhorst
“While all music benefits from hi-fidelity reproduction, I believe classical music demands it. I enjoy many varieties of music, but my passion is for the classics. Promoting classical music is important to me and I think the most powerful way to do that is to present the music on a hi-fidelity stereo system. I owned the same integrated amp and separate FM tuner for over forty years. Yes, the internal components lasted that long.
Over that time, as the recording media changed from vinyl to tape to CDs, to streaming, I added components to my system to accommodate the new media. When my amp finally died, I went into the market to find a replacement. I was stunned by what I found. The number of options available to replace my equipment with equal quality gear was very limited. Some integrated amps could not handle digital or streaming while others could not handle vinyl, and the prices were insane. I eventually found gear that did what I wanted thanks to Stereophile (they reviewed Outlaw gear and that’s where I found a replacement). I never sought perfection in reproduction of sound (I have some hearing loss form my military service). I also never had the ability to detect subtle nuances in the sound reproduction. My goal was to get a sound that reproduced all the instruments in the group and the sounds they produced alone or in a group.
If the orchestra sounded undifferentiated, distorted or if the equipment could not reproduce some sounds at all then I would look for better equipment. This goal could be reached easily in the mid-price range gear that was available. Today, there seems to be little mid-price range gear, let alone gear for beginners. There is also no entry level publications promoting stereo sound. Stereophile had so much technical jargon, I was constantly looking up technical terms to understand the articles. All advertising today is for theater sound which, while having its place, is not appropriate for every kind of music.
I would love to see stereo sound be what it was forty years ago, a middle class hobby that was widely enjoyed. What we have today is strictly an elitists/specialists pursuit (no offense intended).” – Marc Matloff
“I have had stereos since 1972, when I put together a system knowing very little about what a stereo could do if done right. Limited funds limited what I could buy, but it was my understanding of how every part of the system can and did affect my enjoyment of music that changed everything. My funds are still quite limited, but what I have learned over years is not. I learned from trial and error, but today with good informative magazines, online web sights, and excellent stores, you can find a whole world of experience at your fingertips to make the transition from earbuds to “Ear Love”. Today I am Dynaudio, Musical Fidelity, MIT, and Oppo. I am toed in and finally in the Sweet Spot. And my music never sounded better! Just remember, until you really listen, you are not really hearing!” – Richard G. Henriet, Greer, SC
“The younger generations do not know how good reproduced music can sound! They need to put down their mp3s and listen to some well recorded vinyl. I never understood how some folks could be so heavy into music, yet not care if they have quality sound!”– Lisa Rumberger
“There’s nothing like hearing what we intended, an audio time machine.” – Daniel Schwartz, Musician, Writer
“A vinyl LP and its cover is like a piece of art. When I listen to the music I grew up with in the 1960s/1970s, I am transported back to a simpler time of my youth. Even when I play my albums at a low volume, there’s a depth and warmth that exudes from those speakers. It does not have the sterile sound, that digital audio has today. I put my headphones on, and drop the needle and its the 1970s all over again, and you can’t put a price on that! You’ve got to love the Internet. So in a period of about six months, I’ve been buying/bartering and/or trading, so that I can acquire, those pieces to replicate that same sound system I had back in 1978.” – Roger Kinney
“I might have never have discovered the joy of experiencing and sharing high quality stereo playback if it were not for an adult friend who took time to share this delightful hobby with me when I was a teen. Years from now, I hope that many are able to say the same of me.” – David C. Snyder
“I have enjoyed listening to music on quality stereo equipment since high school days and music has been a major component of my life as it gives great pleasure, insight into previous eras as well as an eye into the future. We need to encourage everyone, especially the younger folks to listen to and appreciate good music well reproduced for the added joy it will add to their lives. This is where the Save the Stereo Project would play a major role.” – Bruce Schlein
“As a young audiophile, I feel that it is important for people of my age (20 somethings) to discover what a real stereo can do. I think that it’s an exciting time to be getting into high preference audio, with products starting to become available at real world prices that actually sound good! I hope this trend continues and more people will discover there favorite music again.” – Michael Johnson
“Few things touch the soul the way music does. The difference between noise and music is in the translation of the sound being produced, and the sound being heard. Sterile and safe are not the breeding grounds for transformation. We are a culture because of how we value art. Stop cutting corners.” – Tom Overley
“Audiophiles need a voice in this ever changing and challenging landscape of music reproduction. Every day it seems there are new ways to listen and enhance the listening experience. We need a forum to express our opinions on these changes and share them with an understanding and enlightened audience. I support Save The Stereo Project in their efforts to develop a truly knowledgeable, understandable and shareable platform that will benefit the audiophile community. Best wishes!” – Jay Brunner, Audiophile Community Member
“I am a member of the younger generation, and a witness to the more popular question, what is a record? It pains me, and I am working with a buddy of mine, trying to save interest in audio gear. Having a high end setup from the 1970s in my room for years, it becomes personal to carry on the legacy for others in the future.” – Mark Boerschinger
“It is not just about saving the stereo as it pertains to gear, but also about saving the music! Mass consumption on mass market gear encourages the production of mass produced music, which takes away from music as an art form rather than just a new ringtone of the week.” – Brian Gray
“I fully support the Save the Stereo Project. We need the next generation!” – Phil Page
“We must listen to live music and we’ll recorded music played back well for our mental health and social cohesion. We were making music and art before we had language! One of the reasons concerts and festivals have become so much more popular in the last decade could well be a craving for the kind of musical experiences that MP3 through earbuds cannot produce.” – Mark Wheeler
“A worthy project. I am happy, as a life time listener, to contribute where I can. I have three sons aged from 26 to 31. One caught the hi-fi bug and two didn’t. Why? I’d love to know.” – Ian Rodger
“For over forty years I enjoyed quality music as a radio announcer and producer. It was my good luck to listen to the best equipment and speakers, quite unlike some of the tinny radios that received our programs. The Save The Stereo project endeavors to give the quality that I had to all.” – Larry Chapman, Retired Broadcaster
“Having attended college in the 70s, I can remember the Golden Days of High End Audio. I had a fraternity brother who had a reel-to-reel high end recorder. Another fraternity brother had one of the first quad systems. May quad rest in peace! I had Marantz stereo and Acoustic Research AR3a speakers, but I still have a Yamaha receiver and Paradigm speakers and Bose headphones.” – Stephen Lyons
“I’m 51 and have been listening to music forever. I bought my first album when in second grade, a Three Dog Night album. I still have it and all my record albums. I’ve introduced my son to music he’s never heard of and I’ve been fortunate to like some of his music. First and foremost is the quality of sound; not only can you hear it but feel it too. You also hear things you wouldn’t normally hear with your petite player.” – Russell Barry
“My name is Randy, and I began listening to music on simple stereo systems as a teen and have built up a more complex system over the years. The nuance and sound quality that comes from my system is a daily joy to me and produces sound that is unmatched by computer speakers or any other current alternatives. Sound lives!” – Randy Moredock
“We have two ears. Two speakers are needed. Not more, no less.” – Christoph Koelle
“As an audiophile in my mid-twenties, I daily encounter the dearth of audiophilia. It is not rooted in the lack of love for music; rather, it is a combination of preference for convenience and pure ignorance. I’m absolutely dedicated to convincing my peers to Save The Stereo!” – Chris Lau
“Until some years ago I used to listen to music through headphones from my PC/cassette/mp3 player. Then I bought a compact stereo system when I was a student. After I moved to my own house I was given my first Denon stereo amplifier, from the 80s. Borrowing a collection of LPs from my father in law, and merging my CD collection with my wife’s, I finally started to listen to music with my first set-up. It has now upgraded a little, thanks to the advices of the internet and of TNT-audio above all. I moved from the loud booming sound I was used to, to a much cleaner,
realistic sound, loving it much more! Some months ago I was forced to move my system to a less fortunate
position (to prevent it from being destroyed by my beloved first barbarian kid): the music really got worse! Until one experiences first-hand, one cannot understand how much there is in music that could not be played by lo-fi devices.
My advice is to listen to some good sounding systems, that some of your friends have, for sure, and really understand the differences a real hi-fi equipment can make. Nowadays, moreover, there is plenty of budget oriented components that will cost about the same as a bluetooth system, but with much higher quality!” – Daniele Aspesi
Quoting Plato, “Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” – from Anthony Kimball
