I was at a local Sears earlier tonight to return something for someone (which contained a rather infuriating moment where they nickle and dimed me) but I was looking at the electronics section and I came across the dedicated stereos.

Looking at these I was wondering, does anyone even use a dedicated stereo system anymore? Personally I use (and have used) my computer for my music needs for years... and if I wanted a better set up I'd honestly just shell out for a surround sound speaker system and just funnel it from my computer.

I got rid of the last stereo I had like five years ago when I took it to work when the one we had died. I didn't even try and take it back when I got laid off and moved on to another job. However, it was kind of half broken anyway.

The only people I know that might use or have a stereo are audiophiles (oh God I hope I'm not opening up a huge can of worms here) and I know Zane was into listening to his soundtracks from the actual disc... but does anyone else...?

The only place I use (burned) CDs is in my car (thank God it reads mp3s so I don't have to switch discs a lot) but other than that I squirrel the originals away.

Anyway, what is your take on the stereo?

God I don't think I've listened to an actual CD for YEARS now.
First thing I do when I buy a CD is rip it to my PC, put it on my iPod and then never touch the CD again.

And to be honest, good riddance, I say.

I actually just splurged on these. Using them as a dedicated 2 channel system. Yay for tax refunds:

http://www.martinlogan.com/electromotion/em-esl.php

Running them off a vintage 1975 Kenwood Receiver (lotsa power!), but will probably upgrade in a few months so I can add a center speaker.

I reached a point where I decided I had a ton of music, that was worth investing in making it sound good. I've been dabbling with higher end headphones and amps, but they trigger my tinnitus as I've discovered. The Logan Electrostats are thankfully not bass monsters, but sound good at fairly low volume. And while not exactly cheap, the technology I feel outperforms a good number of speakers (instead of cones, you're charging a very thin diaphragm that creates sound) and is trickled down from their more outrageously expensive speakers ($25000 for the top of the line, these were around $2000). Very surreal soundstage. With the speakers on the left and right, it really creates an illusion of having an "image" of the music centered in front of you.

At work, I have been getting away with a small headphone set-up I bought cheap/used (Peachtree Dacit, Schiit Magni and Mr Speakers Mad Dog headphones...we're not supposed to have electronics plugged in, so since no one understands what they do, I lie and say everything is battery powered!). Prior to that, I had been using in ear monitors (IEM's), but it was a hassle ripping them out to talk to people every 10 minutes or so.

Most of my music is ripped into FLAC or downloaded in the format and I run it through a Fostex A8 DAC, which feeds whatever amplifier I'm using. I'm still experimenting with sources, but ideally you just want something that can read the disc/files and have the DAC do all the work (iPods and most CD players have DAC's built in) I'm not really into the home theater thing, with the surround sound. No space (definitely no space for a subwoofer).

I also have a record player set-up, but it really is a pain in the ass, so I don't use it very often. 20 minutes per side before flipping is so last century.

Edit: Hopefully Crash responds. He has a lot of cool stereo gear.

Heh, just saw this. This is actually becoming a really popular setup. USB audio has come a long way in recent years, ever since DAC's started using asynchronous connections (long story, but it basically "cleans" or reclocks the USB audio signal to flow through the other components). Just add a fairly cheap USB DAC, then zap the signal into an amp feeding speakers or headphones. Voila! Computer driven stereo setup.

I want to buy a stereo amplifier along with loudspeakers (just two), but I own a condo. If I owned (and could afford) a house, then I would definitely get a stereo sound system. I prefer to listen to pressed discs and CD-Rs. I have a low opinion of using a computer, iPod and similar devices for music. Despite this low opinion, I do use my PC for music when I'm not using my headphones. It's fine for my small condo, but I know a stereo system would sound a lot better.

With vinyl resurgence I think they would. I need to get my stereo fixed.

Btw. how does that technology perform with the dreaded loudness war victims? I'd be afraid they'll sound as bad as they are through this.

Not bad overall. I'd say they reveal more information from recording to recording and sometimes you can hear the speakers trying in vain to separate everything out. I think I need to feed them from a different amp source (my vintage Kenwood amp tends to bloat the midrange...not sure if it is age or its own sound signature), so I am still getting acclimated to them. I will say my Mad Dog headphones fed from a Schiit Lyr headphone amp do seem to do very well in separating the sound layers in highly compressed albums, but the issue is more about instrument/vocal placement in the recording (I tend to get fatigued if a sound is too far back in the recording or if something is too upfront).

i miss my jvc gigatube mxGT-90 system (that broke in 2007 while moving from apartment to condo)
being in front of those tubes was like standing right behind a flatulent elephant

http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfiel … 90DMT.jpeg

Yes, I still have my stereo.  Here's a picture of my setup a few years ago (I still have it, but don't have any recent pictures in my current house):

https://plus.google.com/photos/10852977 … 7001218031

It's a total MBL system (CD transport, DAC, pre-amp, monoblock amps, and speakers).  That thing sounded otherworldly in that place.  I often think about selling it, especially when we move (which has been every 1-2 years for the past 10 years or so, and is coming upon us again).  But last week, I put on a CD for my girls, and watched them dance around to it, and realized that I just couldn't do it.

Some people think that only the speakers matter for a sound system, but I disagree.  If you ever get a chance to listen to a top-flight sound system that is well-matched in a room that is properly designed, and with source material that is well-mastered, it can be a revelatory experience.  The problem is that you may find yourself chasing that sound again, which can prove to be extremely elusive and maddening.  Basically, if everything is set up right, it is startling how good music can sound.  If any component is off (including speaker placement in the room or having components that are incompatible), it can sound anywhere from pretty good to awful.

I had to update this thread because I kind of bought a stereo... well, a turntable and good pair of speakers.

My amplifier has headphone jack in it as an input so I rigged my computer into it, so now I have make-shift surround-sound as my normal computer speakers are still in the mix.

I ready to say I'm ready to eat my words. I love shaking my (expletive) house with this thing.

Kind of sucked that I had to re-arrange my whole room to accommodate all the new equipment... but I think that worked out well enough.

I do all of my listening through a stereo.

Not only does it sound much better than computer speakers, it also lets me listen on my couch with a laptop (rather than having to sit at a computer desk).