#Usb mp3 player digital how to#

Control panels glow in soft orange, blue and green hues, and needles bounce with the music. Stained wood, brushed aluminum and glass are par for the course in '60s- and '70s-era gear. Vintage audio equipment often looks as beautiful as it sounds certainly more appealing than the plain plastic and sheet metal aesthetic adopted by so many modern electronics manufacturers. 'They sound so good, and you can pick one up for $20 or $30.' Pitted against today's home audio gear, a classic Kenwood receiver, for example, fares remarkably well, driving a full, powerful and variously adjustable sound.Īnd then there's the design. 'Those things are phenomenal,' says Stereophile senior contributing editor Michael Fremer. This is a boon to music lovers today, as it was 40 years ago: If you don't happen to have a pile of audio equipment in storage already, acquiring some is appealingly cheap. As Japan's tech giants lusted after the American hardware market, companies such as Kenwood, Pioneer, Yamaha and Sansui overbuilt and underpriced their receivers to get a piece of the action. In terms of stereo equipment, the late '60s and the 1970s were a golden age.

#Usb mp3 player digital how to#

Here's how to bridge the gap, bringing your classic audio equipment into the Internet age. One problem: Our music collections are increasingly digital-iTunes downloads, MP3s and streaming services-while vintage audio equipment is decidedly, and even proudly, analog. Many older receivers and speakers still produce remarkable sound-often better than the overamplified, undertuned, all-in-one 5.1 surround-sound systems that have come to dominate the home audio aisle-and they're certainly more attractive than some of their modern counterparts. This isn't just about nostalgia-vintage audio equipment simply ages well. They're fixtures at garage sales and thrift shops, yet they are also the rare type of tech product that gets passed from generation to generation. Aging speakers and receivers fill basements across the country, or sit decoratively and underutilized in living room corners.

Today, vintage audio equipment is anything but rare. The '70s were important years for the audio world, and they left a lasting legacy.

Electronics weren't disposable, and we understood that newer didn't always mean better. There was a time when we shared music through walls rather than social networks, when we prized the tactility of knobs and dials over the numb stroke of a thumb on a touchscreen.