STEREO Magazine Issue 24
Editor's Lead In
Back To The '70s?
Editorial By Michael Lang

  Maybe some of you still remember the 1970s? Hi-fi was a growing industry and it was prestigious to equip the living room with an "electronic altar" at its center.

However soon the strategists in the corporate headquarters began to devise alternatives to stacking equipment towers made of individual components – and invented the compact system. In it, radio, amplifier, tape deck and turntable were united under one mostly flat and wide bonnet and the result was sold to the inclined clientele as a purchase without regret and quality without compromise. At first, these 'compact systems' had considerable success in sales, but soon critical ears noticed that the highly praised "All-in-Ones" were afflicted with various compromises – which was primarily due to significant weaknesses in some of the installed components.

Yet another problem usually appeared years later when a repair was due and you often had no music system at all for weeks. Perhaps one should at least consider the last mentioned aspect also today, when it comes to buying a new hi-fi system. As practical and space-saving as these compact systems of modern times may be – a failure of one part of the system means either the withdrawal of music from the home for weeks or even its complete loss if a repair turns out to be impossible or too costly.

Not to mention the non-existent possibility of step by step updating and upgrading the system. What do you think?

Michael Lang, Editor STEREO Magazine

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