Next big things that never lived up to the hype, failed, or disappeared without a trace... What do you remember??

[BrumJim]

Fuel cell cars were touted as the coming thing, yet seem to have died a death.

Have all the problems of a fuelled car (generation and distribution of fuel, having a fuel tank on the car) without any of the exciting brum brum noises.

 

[raleighnut]

Hi-Fi separates.
(Okay you can still buy them, but it is very much a niche)

Aye they said 'Vinyl is dead'' too and a bunch of silly beggers believed em. HiFi has always been a 'niche' product, these separates systems that the masses bought were never HiFi merely radiograms dressed up a bit differently as no single (Japanese) company made the best of all components.
The best Amplifiers were British with the likes of Quad, Leak, Radford, Sugden, Naim and latterly Linn.............Best Turntables British, American and Germany/Holland with Linn, Thorens, Acoustic Research,. Michell, Pink Triangle, Garrard and Rega.
Loudspeakers were again the preserve of Britain and America....... Klipsch, Quad (Electrostatics) Celestion, Bowers & Wilkins, Wharfedale, Tannoy
JBL and a bunch more.
OK the Japanese made some top notch Compact Cassette player/recorders (Nakamichi) and Compact Disc players (Sony) but again Philips were up there with their posh 'Marantz' brand and some top flight Phono Cartridges come from Japan.

Oh and if anyone mentions Bang & Olufson or Bose they've got 'Cloth Ears'.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Aye they said 'Vinyl is dead'' too and a bunch of silly beggers believed em. HiFi has always been a 'niche' product, these separates systems that the masses bought were never HiFi merely radiograms dressed up a bit differently as no single (Japanese) company made the best of all components.
The best Amplifiers were British with the likes of Quad, Leak, Radford, Sugden, Naim and latterly Linn.............Best Turntables British, American and Germany/Holland with Linn, Thorens, Acoustic Research,. Michell, Pink Triangle, Garrard and Rega.
Loudspeakers were again the preserve of Britain and America....... Klipsch, Quad (Electrostatics) Celestion, Bowers & Wilkins, Wharfedale, Tannoy
JBL and a bunch more.
OK the Japanese made some top notch Compact Cassette player/recorders (Nakamichi) and Compact Disc players (Sony) but again Philips were up there with their posh 'Marantz' brand and some top flight Phono Cartridges come from Japan.

Oh and if anyone mentions Bang & Olufson or Bose they've got 'Cloth Ears'.

Most people I know would not even know what separates are, let alone how to set them up. They all have a small BT speaker as their main source of music. I have a (Panasonic or Marantz?) amp in the shed which I got off ebay for £30. Hooked up to some wharfedale speakers that were on sale for £49.99, and a BT receiver which was a tenner. Overkill for the application, but sounds better than a £30 BT speaker. And people have called me OCD, "techy", audiophile etc for that. I guess fashions have changed where music now has to be small, portable and not necessarily high quality

 

[PedallingNowhereSlowly]

Most people I know would not even know what separates are, let alone how to set them up. They all have a small BT speaker as their main source of music. I have a (Panasonic or Marantz?) amp in the shed which I got off ebay for £30. Hooked up to some wharfedale speakers that were on sale for £49.99, and a BT receiver which was a tenner. Overkill for the application, but sounds better than a £30 BT speaker. And people have called me OCD, "techy", audiophile etc for that. I guess fashions have changed where music now has to be small, portable and not necessarily high quality

Don't forget sound bars! Actually we do have a sound bar in the bedroom - a Dali and it's actually brilliant for music. And to be fair, some bluetooth speakers can sound very good for the dimunitive size.

Aye they said 'Vinyl is dead'' too and a bunch of silly beggers believed em. HiFi has always been a 'niche' product, these separates systems that the masses bought were never HiFi merely radiograms dressed up a bit differently as no single (Japanese) company made the best of all components.
The best Amplifiers were British with the likes of Quad, Leak, Radford, Sugden, Naim and latterly Linn.............Best Turntables British, American and Germany/Holland with Linn, Thorens, Acoustic Research,. Michell, Pink Triangle, Garrard and Rega.
Loudspeakers were again the preserve of Britain and America....... Klipsch, Quad (Electrostatics) Celestion, Bowers & Wilkins, Wharfedale, Tannoy
JBL and a bunch more.
OK the Japanese made some top notch Compact Cassette player/recorders (Nakamichi) and Compact Disc players (Sony) but again Philips were up there with their posh 'Marantz' brand and some top flight Phono Cartridges come from Japan.

Oh and if anyone mentions Bang & Olufson or Bose they've got 'Cloth Ears'.

To be fair, I think some of the Japanese HiFi was pretty good. Althought not much of it here - just the cassette deck! Growing up in the 80s I always really wanted a nice separates system. All second hand/refurbed apart from the turntable. SVS sub and Wilson Benesch ARC speakers out of shot.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Quadraphonic recording and sound systems. Born, developed and died in the 1970s.

 

[Elybazza61]

My little set up.

Linn LP12/Roksan Nima/Ortofon Kontrapunkt TT - Rega Planet CD - Naim Nait Mk1 amp - Cura speakers with REL sub out of shot.

Old Leak tuner for decorative purposes only!

 

[PedallingNowhereSlowly]

Linn LP12/Roksan Nima/Ortofon Kontrapunkt TT - Rega Planet CD - Naim Nait Mk1 amp - Cura speakers with REL sub out of shot.

Got to like a top loading CD player.

Others for the list.

• SACD
• DSD
• Optical turntable cartridges

 

[ianrauk]

Got to like a top loading CD player.

Others for the list.

• SACD
• DSD
• Optical turntable cartridge

Talking of SACD.
A few people on here know I am in the music business.
About 20 years ago we signed a deal with a company called DTS. They decided to launch their own HD Music disc label. All the music high bit rate 5.1 surround sound. Akin to SACD. We picked up the distribution rights for the UK and Europe. It launched and was an immediate success.
Putting out a stack of releases. We couldn't get enough of them in the country to supply. Sold over 100,000 discs. A couple of years later it was dead. Market dropped out completely.

 

[PedallingNowhereSlowly]

Digital Theatre Systems? I was looking at a Sony SACD/DVD Audio player on ebay earlier today and noticed the DTS licensing blurb printed on the back of the unit.

Killed by napster?

 

[raleighnut]

A lot of (normal) people think QUAD is a 4 channel brand of equipment, it is not. The name is an acronym of 'The Acoustical Manufacturing Co. and stands for 'Quality Unit Amplifier Domestic' originally to differentiate this range of products from their professional public address and studio equipment.

 

[swee'pea99]

A lot of (normal) people think QUAD is a 4 channel brand of equipment, it is not. The name is an acronym of 'The Acoustical Manufacturing Co. and stands for 'Quality Unit Amplifier Domestic' originally to differentiate this range of products from their professional public address and studio equipment.

Let me assure you, no normal person thinks QUAD is a channel brand of equipment. Vanishingly few normal people woud even have a clue what that means. I don't.

 

[Drago]

Cliff Richard.

 

[DRM]

A lot of (normal) people think QUAD is a 4 channel brand of equipment, it is not. The name is an acronym of 'The Acoustical Manufacturing Co. and stands for 'Quality Unit Amplifier Domestic' originally to differentiate this range of products from their professional public address and studio equipment.

Cliff Richard.

With regard to the above, I bet Cliff does know, after all he Is "Wired For Sound"

 

[raleighnut]

Let me assure you, no normal person thinks QUAD is a channel brand of equipment. Vanishingly few normal people woud even have a clue what that means. I don't.

Not in my personal experience, a bunch of people upon hearing my set up have said "Where's the other speakers then" I dunno but have you ever owned one of Peter Walkers products.
Although I have heard a set of 'stacked' Electrostatics * (EL57's) in the proper frames driven by 4 QUAD 2 valve poweramps, sadly playing Classical music but a glorious sound.

* stacking electrostatic speakers (one pair inverted) gives an extra octave of bass response over a single pair.

 

[SuperGalactian]

My little set up.

Linn LP12/Roksan Nima/Ortofon Kontrapunkt TT - Rega Planet CD - Naim Nait Mk1 amp - Cura speakers with REL sub out of shot.

Old Leak tuner for decorative purposes only!

View attachment 815945

Reminds me that in the 1970s I knew a chap who had lodgings in a house underneath Durham railway viaduct. When a train went over he had to grab the needle off the record, otherwise it went skating.