In our move from the 9th floor to the 6th, a box containing a large amount of Stereophile back issues was damaged. All sorts of wildly-covered, strangely-colored, digest-sized issues came spilling out. A river of history.
"I noticed a box of old magazines exploded during the move, Stephen. They're valuable. They make up the last complete set we've got."
"I'll take care of it."
I figured that rummaging through all of the old issues might lead to a cool slogan for the t-shirts we're working on. If not that, it would at least be fun. I enjoy history and Stereophile's got a lot of it.
Some quick, simple, superficial observations:
1. Many of the people involved in our industry today were involved in our industry twenty, thirty, forty years ago. It's freaky. I can't believe that [blank], and [blank], and even [blank!] were once young. WTF?
2. In 1983, a yearly subscription to Stereophile (then only ten issues) cost more ($26) than a full two-year subscription costs today ($23.97).
3. Ads were funnier in the old days. Take, for instance, the Moscode Black Hole amplifier: "How does one describe a $267,000, twenty story high dual mono amplifier which delivers 10,000 watts a channel into 0 ohms...?" I'm not sure, but I bet DUP could do it. Good stuff.
4. What's with all the roses? Real women like lilies.
5. Audio Research gear looks almost the same today as it did twenty years ago.
6. Classé gear looks completely different.
7. In Vol.9 No.3 — "The Big Announcement" issue — both J. Gordon Holt and Larry Archibald confess that Stereophile was not as good as Hi Fi News & Record Review. What kind of noise is that? Screw the competition. How about that for a slogan?
So, anyway. I cleaned up that mess, and came back to my desk. Continuing my search for a catch-phrase, a Google search led me to a Time magazine article dating back to February 28, 1955 — almost exactly 52 years ago. The article is called "Hi-Fi Takes Over," and it offers another neat look at the early days of high fidelity. It's fascinating, really, to look back in time, to compare the way we were with the way we are, to try to connect the dots, make sense of things, predict the future. Trying to better understand the hi-fi phenomenon, the article states:
My italics. Funny, huh?
And then:
The Chlorophyll of the Record Business
The Heat of An Inspired Performance
Good Music in All Its Detail
A Concert Hall without Walls
Here's my favorite bit:
1. Many of the people involved in our industry today were involved in our industry twenty, thirty, forty years ago. It's freaky. I can't believe that [blank], and [blank], and even [blank!] were once young. WTF?
2. In 1983, a yearly subscription to Stereophile (then only ten issues) cost more ($26) than a full two-year subscription costs today ($23.97).
3. Ads were funnier in the old days. Take, for instance, the Moscode Black Hole amplifier: "How does one describe a $267,000, twenty story high dual mono amplifier which delivers 10,000 watts a channel into 0 ohms...?" I'm not sure, but I bet DUP could do it. Good stuff.
4. What's with all the roses? Real women like lilies.
5. Audio Research gear looks almost the same today as it did twenty years ago.
6. Classé gear looks completely different.
7. In Vol.9 No.3 — "The Big Announcement" issue — both J. Gordon Holt and Larry Archibald confess that Stereophile was not as good as Hi Fi News & Record Review. What kind of noise is that? Screw the competition. How about that for a slogan?
So, anyway. I cleaned up that mess, and came back to my desk. Continuing my search for a catch-phrase, a Google search led me to a Time magazine article dating back to February 28, 1955 — almost exactly 52 years ago. The article is called "Hi-Fi Takes Over," and it offers another neat look at the early days of high fidelity. It's fascinating, really, to look back in time, to compare the way we were with the way we are, to try to connect the dots, make sense of things, predict the future. Trying to better understand the hi-fi phenomenon, the article states:
A mere fad until recently, hi-fi has become a $250 million business (equipment sales have increased as much as 500% in some areas since 1952). There is a standard pattern: about two years after an area is saturated with TV, hi-fi moves in.
Looking Forward. When the all-out audiophile swings into action, his pet weapon is the tape recorder, with which he captures music for future use from his FM radio or his own and his friends' LPs.Sound like anything we've got going on today? Perhaps we're ready for a new hi-fi revolution. Perhaps we're ready for some new t-shirts! Hi-Fi Takeover
The Chlorophyll of the Record Business
The Heat of An Inspired Performance
Good Music in All Its Detail
A Concert Hall without Walls
"High-fidelity sound," says one expert, "is like the term love. It means whatever you choose it to mean."Stereophile: Just Like Love Click the external link to read the full article.
