Do they make stereos anymore? Before the movie last night, I was in a consumer electronics megastore with my daughter and all I could find were either rinkydink mini stereos or gigantic home cinema setups.
If one wants good quality etc is one required to buy a home cinema nowadays? I suppose I could live with that, but…
Can you still get just a stereo?
What does one look for in one nowadays? I found this first venture into stereoshopping as unnerving and stressful as I’d expected it to be.
Buy an iPod and the small stereo system for it ;-)
Maybe you should look in a smaller store where you get expert advice? Often they also still have older models. Even small ones.
I have never bought a stereo. I still use the one I got for xmas 25 years ago plus all the more modern parts of stereos my dad sorts out and sends east.
I always find what I need in a Crutchfield catalogue- even if it’s just to learn the differences and features of products before I buy from a retailer. That way, I can avoid having to interface with annoying salespeople. You can also order online of course at crutchfield.com. Plus, their Customer Service has proven excellent if I’ve needed help during set-up or installation.
They do still make stereos, but the prices have gone up, and the big stores are mostly only selling home cinema stuff. Only Saturn in Gerngross has some stereo components (pretty good ones though) tucked away in a corner. Depending on how much you’d like to spend, you might try Hifi Aktiv (off Mariahilfer Strasse) or Raumakustik (on Lerchenfelder Strasse).
Tivoli: http://www.tivoliaudio.com/
Little, cool, and, yeah they make stuff for your iPod, but they make stuff that’s NOT for your iPod too.
Mig, I was in the very same situation recently. My old Yamaha receiver/amp, which I had purchased in (are you ready?) 1978, was finally dying. So, I went out to my local Circuit City where I too was confronted with a vast array of home theater set-ups or bookcase stereos. However, in a little backroom, they had a bunch of plain, old fashioned component stereo equipment. I ended up buying a Denon receiver which runs both my old JBL and my newer Bose speakers just fine, thank-you. It has input plugs for just about any audio source you could desire (I have a cd-changer and a wireless feed from my computer so I can listen to streaming music in the living room…it is way cool) hooked up to it right now. I could add the TV, but then I’d have to reposition the speakers–something I would really like to avoid…
So, the short answer after all of that is, yes, they do. And, I have to say that, so far, I am quite happy with the Denon. My music has not sounded this good for years…I probably should have replaced the old Yamaha ten years ago, but the sound degraded so slowly that I didn’t really notice it. Until, that is, I got this new receiver and suddenly had this truly crisp sound again. And now I can listen to Radio Paradise while sitting and watching the logs burn in the fireplace. Life is good!!
Jim is right, Denon makes very good components, and Horst is right, stay out of the big stores. But don’t let a little store sell you something that costs more than a Cadillac, as one of my late professors did.
http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/default.php
Click the globe and select Austria.
This is Stereo the way you want it – from budget to more expensive.
I can recommend this manufacturer after 25 years of experience.
Thanks, Ian. One of the Vienna shops recommended by Horst is on their list of dealers, giving me the feeling that, I dunno, something. Meanwhile, Alpha and the girls are beginning to say things like, Home Cinema, cool.
I had a hard time just finding a simple radio for the kitchen. Good luck.
Just a note to support what Horst said. I’ve found it good practice to buy the cheap end of the high end instead of the expensive end of the standard stuff.
And of course there’s one important rule with Hi-Fi stuff: The less buttons it has the more expensive it is.
Good CD players, like the Marantz CD-5001 or the Cambridge Audio 340C, are in the EUR 250-300 price range. Good amplifiers, like the Marantz PM-7001, the Cambridge Audio 340A, or the NAD C325BEE are in the EUR 500 price range. These are the “cheap end of the high end” products TH referred to.
I bought the two Marantzes last year and am very happy with them.