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October 19th, 2017 at 4:04:35 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: Pacomartin
So the mini stereo systems of the 1980's that replaced the monsters of the 1960's and 1970's has now been reduced to two speakers.


Where do you spin a record on two speakers? :)
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
October 19th, 2017 at 5:08:23 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Nareed
Where do you spin a record on two speakers? :)


This photo shows what a radio looked like when I was in high school 71-75.
October 20th, 2017 at 7:07:39 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: Pacomartin
This photo shows what a radio looked like when I was in high school 71-75.


I don't think that's a radio, but a radio tuner. that is, by itself it cannot produce any sound. You need to connect it to an amplifier, and thence to a speaker. Even in the 60s there were portable, battery-powered radios :)
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
October 20th, 2017 at 12:40:50 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Nareed
I don't think that's a radio, but a radio tuner. that is, by itself it cannot produce any sound. You need to connect it to an amplifier, and thence to a speaker. Even in the 60s there were portable, battery-powered radios :)

Yes, I should have called it a tuner.
October 20th, 2017 at 12:55:12 PM permalink
kenarman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 14
Posts: 4470
Quote: Nareed
I don't think that's a radio, but a radio tuner. that is, by itself it cannot produce any sound. You need to connect it to an amplifier, and thence to a speaker. Even in the 60s there were portable, battery-powered radios :)


All 'modern' radios were battery powered until 1926 when the first AC radios appeared. Battery radios were still the only option long after that on farms since few farms had power.

The earliest radios were all 'crystal' that required no outside power source but the 'crystal' was powered by the radio waves themselves. These had very little volume. I even built one from a radio shack kit in the 50's as a kid. My first attempt at soldering.
"but if you make yourselves sheep, the wolves will eat you." Benjamin Franklin
October 20th, 2017 at 1:15:01 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: Pacomartin
Yes, I should have called it a tuner.


Oh, well. Remember, and I'm sure you do, boxy, cheap, portable record players? Often the lid contained the speaker and the power cord. The sound quality was "you can barely tell it's music at all," but they were record players.

A turntable with a finely balanced arm, bearings, and diamond stylus could produce Hi Fi sounds, but only when hooked to an amplifier and speakers (and a good equalizer to boot). By itself, it couldn't play records at all.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
October 20th, 2017 at 3:41:25 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Nareed
A turntable with a finely balanced arm, bearings, and diamond stylus could produce Hi Fi sounds, but only when hooked to an amplifier and speakers (and a good equalizer to boot). By itself, it couldn't play records at all.


When I look up powered speakers in Wikipedia, it says they were first developed over 50 years ago. But I can't remember having one more than 15 years ago. The company SONOS is about fifteen years old.

I don't know how many people purchase passive speakers any more. I imaging audiophiles still like them.
October 23rd, 2017 at 6:45:10 AM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: Pacomartin
When I look up powered speakers in Wikipedia, it says they were first developed over 50 years ago. But I can't remember having one more than 15 years ago. The company SONOS is about fifteen years old.


The old portable record players probably had an integrated amplifier which sent the signal to the speaker. the whole thing was one piece, and used a power cord.


Quote:
I don't know how many people purchase passive speakers any more. I imaging audiophiles still like them.


I often wonder whether audiophiles are like oenophiles, and mostly imagine some product to be better than another.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
October 23rd, 2017 at 5:35:10 PM permalink
Ayecarumba
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 89
Posts: 1744
Vinyl is making a comeback. Don't toss your old turntable yet.
December 29th, 2019 at 2:36:42 PM permalink
reno
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 58
Posts: 1384
A family member bought a Google Hub + Nest for my wife for Christmas.

It seems to be smarter than Siri or Alexa.

It seems very competent at giving me current weather and traffic news. But the limitations on its abilities are really weird. For example, if I want to know the flight status of a particular airline flight, it absolutely will not make any attempt to tell me, regardless of whether I ask it vaguely ("What's the flight status of Delta flight number 2109?") or more specifically ("When will Delta flight 2109 arrive in Minneapolis today?").

The webpage for troubleshooting the Hub says that flight status can be accessed only if the flight is already entered into your Google calendar. (In my case, I wanted to know the flight status because I was giving a ride from the airport to a friend. I didn't have it on a digital calendar.)

What's the difference between caribou and reindeer? It will tell me. How many Americans die annually from scorpion stings? It will tell me.

Is Delta 2109 delayed? A web browser on a laptop, a desktop, a tablet, and a smartphone can all find that information in a nanosecond. Siri, Alexa, and Hub can't.
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