Hey All,

Let's face it, eletronics are not made they way they used to be made. Be it audio gear, computers, peripherals, you name it. The build quality and durability of those old components and gear is second to none. Here is a good example. I just got a few weeks ago a Pioneer SX 780 Stereo reciever from 1979. I cannot get over how well this thing is made compared to things today. The faceplate, tuner and all the knobs are REAL machined brushed aluminium. The toggle switches (which I have rarely seen on newer gear) are machined aluminium as well. Next, the case of it is composite wood with walnut wood veneer on it (very beautiful especially with the brushed aluminum faceplate and tuner) as opposed to often just thin sheet metal on recievers of today. As for the inside of this, there are oversized and high quality components everywhere inside. These kinds of recievers put out true power, which you don't see on ones these days. This unit puts out more power than the newer Pioneer VSX 818 that I have, impressive considering that the newer Pioneer supposedly has 100 watts per channel vs. the older SX 780's 45 watts. You can hear the difference in build quality in the quality of the sound too.

Another example of this would be in keyboards. As of this moment, I am typing on a keyboard that is around 15-20 years old, though I am not sure of the exact manufacture date. You just can't get the tactile feel of these older style keyboards these days. The one I am using has spring loaded type keys on it, not only giving the tactile feel, but also quick and crisp response to keystrokes and the awesome clicky sound. Eventually I want to replace this on (A Chicony KB 5181) with an old IBM Model M, preferably one of the later ones made in the early 90's. These have the same spring loaded feel as the one I have now, but have a sturdier body with a steel backplate in it. That's right folks, I said STEEL backplate. Don't see too many of those these days.

I'm not here to say that ALL electronics these days are made poorly, as there are some still out there if one is willing to look for them. One example would be the Enermax Aurora Aluminum keyboard (Chris used to have one of these as well, and he has a video review of it on YouTube). It has an aluminium body to it, and just a nice overall quality. Another example would be the Dell computer I have sitting right next t \o me here. It's a Dell XPS 700 from 2006. It has an aluminium shell on it, oversized fans, oversized heatsinks, and very strong steel frame inside the aluminum shell. This thing weighs around 30 pounds at least (it's a pain to move, I'll say that much.)

Here is my wishlist for well made electronics:
Metal and glass as opposed to plastic when at all possible
Made in the USA (preferably)
Use of genuine materials
Occasional use of wood on larger electronics
tactile feel to controls
thick and well made cabling
oversized internal components
overall care in manufacturing
strong materials
strong internal frame

What would be your list?

Cheers!
DellMan94