In the Last Twenty Years

[MylesBAstor]

Which component in the audio system has improved the most and why?

[david k]

I gotta go with phono stages, specifically tube ones. Mostly in the noise department and not across the board, still many noisy units exist and some with a ridiculous no. of tubes. Looking back I miss my CJ Premiere 7, it had a beautiful, rich golden sound that the new ones just don't have...

david

[Rob]

Everything has improved but in my mind loudspeakers of every type esp direct radiating moving coil speakers the most. There was a paradigm shift about the time DRA Labs introduced MLSSA into the world (late '80s), once that happened the weekend tinkerer finally had an affordable and very advanced design tool/protocols previously available only to giants like KEF B&W, et al. Established cos. benefited because they could now analyze aspects of speaker design they only dreamed of without owning an anechoic chamber and dedicated FFT equipment.

[Steve Lefkowicz]

DACs, mostly because they were in their infancy 20 years ago. A decent $300 DAC today is superior to most of the most expensive DACs from back then.

Some aspects of speakers (mostly detail retrieval) is far superior today, but many good speakers from 20 years are still good today. Same with turntables. Improvements in some areas, but nothing as drastic as with the digital end of things. There was just much more room for improvement.

[david k]

Everything has improved but in my mind loudspeakers of every type esp direct radiating moving coil speakers the most. There was a paradigm shift about the time DRA Labs introduced MLSSA into the world (late '80s), once that happened the weekend tinkerer finally had an affordable and very advanced design tool/protocols previously available only to giants like KEF B&W, et al. Established cos. benefited because they could now analyze aspects of speaker design they only dreamed of without owning an anechoic chamber and dedicated FFT equipment.

Rob,
Like me you're living with a vintage design, why did you go with speakers?
david

[Johnny Vinyl]

Although I don't utilize digital in my main system, I would say DAC's have improved the most for the very same reasons that Steve cited. I don't believe any others have improved as dramatically.

[MylesBAstor]

I gotta go with phono stages, specifically tube ones. Mostly in the noise department and not across the board, still many noisy units exist and some with a ridiculous no. of tubes. Looking back I miss my CJ Premiere 7, it had a beautiful, rich golden sound that the new ones just don't have...

david

Me too. I didn't use SUT back then but I must have been crazy back then to put up with that noise and lack of gain. Plus today's phonostages are far more dynamic than those of yesteryear.

The Premier 7 was a great preamp/phono and the company's first dual mono unit. I had the scaled down Evolution 20 at that time.

[david k]

Me too. I didn't use SUT back then but I must have been crazy back then to put up with that noise and lack of gain. Plus today's phonostages are far more dynamic than those of yesteryear.

The Premier 7 was a great preamp/phono and the company's first dual mono unit. I had the scaled down Evolution 20 at that time.

There's a learning curve for everything Myles, we were still green in the 80's & 90's plus a lot of misinformation floating around to add to the confusion. I lucked out when I fell in with some old timer Japanese audiophiles and later with Vladimir, otherwise I might be still chasing my next fix!

david

[MylesBAstor]

[Rust]

New loudspeakers. I continue to be impressed by the performance which was impressive out of the box and improved with break in. Not that my previous long time speakers were slouches in any particular aspect, but the new ones do everything better. In particular dynamics, the high efficiency allows for very good dynamic contrasts even at low listening levels, with the volume set to "stupid" there is no compression noticeable.

[Garth]

I would say the biggest leap forward is in the prices they have gone where no one has gone before.

[MylesBAstor]

I think you can take it to the bank that you could get a group of audiophiles to agree on that! OTOH, entry level gear hasn't been better ever and if you take the CPI into account, may actually find that prices have remained the same.

[JackD201]

I would say the most dramatic improvements in the last twenty years is with Solid State in general. I can't think of a single 1996 solid state device that has not been bettered.

[MylesBAstor]

I would say the most dramatic improvements in the last twenty years is with Solid State in general. I can't think of a single 1996 solid state device that has not been bettered.

Excellent point. How could I forget? Most ss electronics in the '80s was flat, dimensionless, grainy (let's talk boulder sized) and hard. The '90s was only slightly better with SS tending to sound washed out. And actually neither ss nor tubes were especially quiet.

[david k]

I would say the most dramatic improvements in the last twenty years is with Solid State in general. I can't think of a single 1996 solid state device that has not been bettered.

Lamm M1.1 & M2.1! Yes there is a .2 version but its mostly a parts upgrade the original design basically remains the same. Incredibly that design is still at the top of the heap 20 years later .

david

[Socrates]

I would say the most dramatic improvements in the last twenty years is with Solid State in general. I can't think of a single 1996 solid state device that has not been bettered.

Oh I don't know if that is entirely the case-- I'd still take a pair of Levinson ML-1 Monos over most of today's offerings

Same with Phono Stages-- I've yet to hear any that emote as fine as the Mares Connoisseur or a Vendetta 2T

Merely my opinion

Soc