Welcome to RETRO-TECH [always a work in progress!]
Before the age of personal computers, netbooks, cell-phones, Blackberry®'s, mp3 players and other such technical marvels, we did have "technology". Such things seem archaic to many these days, "High Tech" was a beast of a different colour back then.
Yes, I still like high fidelity sound reproduction. I just don't have the need to shake things off of the neighbour's walls with that annoying THUMP THUMP THUMP bass line that I at one time thought was so important.
These days I do most of my listening to music either on the home made 2-way bookshelf speakers, driven by a Kenwood KA-88 amplifier, connected to a computer, or from mp3 files I've copied to a USB key and then can be played on a portable ghetto blaster unit. I find it amazing that I can have so much music on a component that's not much larger than a stick of chewing gum!
Update: The JVC receiver died :( . I don't have the Behringer mixing board anymore either.
I still have most of the components that are in the caricature. My actual set up is different, though. At one time it looked like the photo below, and although not visible, my computer was connected to it, too! I no longer have the specific components below the equalizer. The below setup is almost 10 years old, too.
I use the JVC receiver as a "patching bay" now. It routes the Panasonic turntable, Technics cassette deck and the AM/FM of the receiver to a Behringer mixing board, which then connects to the line level inputs of my M Audio soundcard. The AKAI open reel can also be connected if required. I stll have some 8-track tapes, but no player anymore.
I still have the stand shown in the picture below. From top to bottom, I also have and use the Panasonic turntable, the AKAI reel to reel and the JVC receiver [mentioned above]. I no longer have the bottom four components [which were, in order from top to bottom, a JVC equalizer, a Fischer 3 Head Cassette Deck, a Kenwood Dual Bay Cassette Deck, and an Akai Single Play Compact Disc player.
Update: The only components from the photo below that I have left are the turntable and the AKAI open reel.
