Rant... Ok, Whine... The Life and Death of Stereo.

[Steve]

What ever happened to 'Stereo'? How could it have such
a grand a glorious life, only to fade away into 
obscurity?

Enquiring minds want to know.

I have a pair of stereo speaker cabinets that I 
designed and built for my college woodworking project.
I carefully calculated the speaker's resonance, plotted
the most aesthetically pleasing dimensions, then carefully
calculated the proper port size, I combined the best 12" 
bass speakers, with the finest mid-range horns, and the 
newest pizo tweeters I could afford. There was a time 
when 'stereo' was a complex blend of art and science. 

Since moving to my  new location, I have been running
my TV through my stereo sound system, it sounds great,
and is especially good when I play movies. However,
do to a combination of enthusiasm and bad hearing, the
volume tends to get a little high. 

I got the idea that if I added some rear speakers I 
could better fill the room with sound and could 
therefore keep the overall volume lower. So, I got the 
'build your own' bug again. Just one problem, where to
get the parts... and that brings me to today's rant.

I remember when every town had a stereo shop, one wall
lined with a large assortment of ready-made speakers,
the opposite wall line with an assortment of amplifiers,
tuners, and receivers, plus a variety of tape decks, 
the back wall lined with 'raw' speakers with suggested 
design plans so you could build your own. (Something I
have done many many times.)

Today, these shops are gone. Trying to find a good stereo
equipment store is like trying to find tropical birds at
the North Pole. Trying to find people who know even the
slightest amount about 'building your own' is even harder.

Even the high fidelity/stereo section of electronic stores
like Best Buy and Circuit City has been relegated to one
small corner with a very limited selection, when at one
time, that section dominated the store. 

Now this is not about Surround Sound vs Two Channel 
Stereo, it is about all high fidelity related equipment.
If that section of the store has been reduced to one 
dimly lite corner, I have to wonder what young people are
doing about good quality music systems. Has the world 
been reduced to crappy computer speakers, headphones, 
and iPods? Are all this kids listening to cringe-worthy 
boom boxes? 

Which brings me to the next section of my rant, 
power ratings. There was a time when the FTC set
a standard for amplifier power rating to prevent
manufactures for stating outrageous over inflated
ratings. Today, that has gone by the wayside. Amplifier
power ratings are a joke. Total Harmonic Distortion 
(THD) would be factional. A THD of 1% is outrageous, 
even a distortion rating of 0.1% is only modest. Yet I 
see Boom Boxes with 10% THD. 

The standard FTC (Federal Trade Commission) rating is
RMS (root-mean-square) at fractional percents of 
distortion. This is a very precise calculation and
measurement that assure that any amplifiers that has
this rating can be fairly compared to any other 
amplifier. Maybe the average Joe can live with 10%
distortion, but I wouldn't let that crap in my 
house. 

Now of course, today, we have the internet, a place 
where you can find anything, and if I look long enough, 
I'm sure I can find a range of 'raw' speakers that might 
server my needs. I just missed the days when people
pursued listening to music with a passion. I miss the
days when I could drive to the store and talk face-to-
face with another person who shared my passion.

I've also noticed that 'do it yourself' electronic
stores have faded into obscurity. Isn't there anyone
any more who longs for the satisfaction and knowledge
of 'doing it themselves'? 

In the mean time, I bought a $60 pair of compact Sony
bookshelf speakers for $25 at the Pawn Shop. Can't 
build speakers for $25. And they are adequate, but
they are also inefficient, meaning not much sound for
the amount of applied power, no mid-rage, poor highs,
and exaggerated 'one-note' bass. That might fool some
people, but it doesn't fool me.

Thanks, I feel better now.

Steve/bboyminn