Speakers are like everything else and have gone up in price.) Today it doesn't cost any more to build good-sounding electronics than it costs to build poor-sounding electronics. The main difference is that electronics have become super-cheap. The only thing that would make the system obsolete is if you want to play 5.1 surround sound. A system that had top-notch sound 30 years ago, is still top-notch today (assuming nothing's broken). There's not necessarily any thing wrong with 30-year old equipment on the 'analog side'. Quote I'm currently using my Laptop as a source, connected to an old Stereo (30 years old! Built by my uncle). Probably it's used to compensate the low quality of most headphones and speakers people use. Well, I'd try to keep the sound as pure as I can.

I ask, is this somekind of EQ algorithm? I turned it off and the boomy bass went away with the metallic bright sound. Problem is that, it seems to add gain and listening with my cheapo headphones sounds way flat. Deactivating it feels like music sounds more muffled but it loses brightness and the bass is much more natural. I found it exaggerates the soundstage and instrument separation. I was trying to differentiate how it affected sound. Yesterday I was messing with the soundcard setings and found this 'SRS premium sound' thing, it seems to be included in Windows 7: Never used anything past computer speakers or cheapo headphones/buds. Perhaps not optimal but excellent for me.

I'm currently using my Laptop as a source, connected to an old Stereo (30 years old! Built by my uncle). I'm a poor student who recently (3 months) got interested in music listening (audiophilia, if you can call it). I'm new to the forum but have been lurking for a while.

Srs surround sound