I'm very much into buying things that work well... to me the trick is to ruthlessly research what actually works well, and not be biased by what is new or more expensive. Most often these end up being older, cheaper, things built with a simple timeless design and no extra complexity that leads to unreliability.
Some examples:
Maytag 575 commercial grade residential washer and dryer
1980-early 90s Mercedes W124 or W201 diesels
1980s Volvos (mentioned in article)
IBM Model M keyboard
Military/commercial security marketed heavy nylon and wool clothing
Vintage Yamaha solid state electrical devices (or anything 1970s ish with real hardwood cases, and discrete components you can test and replace)
1970s professional grade Pioneer studio monitor headphones (e.g. Monitor 10s, etc.)
I've often had people accuse me of being a 'hipster' into vintage stuff that is impractical because of the aesthetic. In such cases I usually could not convince them that I just had what worked best- I didn't care about the age or aesthetic, but some good stuff happens to be old.
For services, companies, and products I recommend reading every 1 star review you can before choosing. For actual good stuff, the 1 star reviews will all be petty: they got what they paid for and it was perfect but are mad or confused about something else, or they just had random bad luck. I keep forgetting to do this, and everytime I have an awful experience, someone else had it before me and warned everyone but I didn't remember to look.
>Vintage Yamaha solid state electrical devices (or anything 1970s ish with real hardwood cases, and discrete components you can test and replace)
Too bad active (especially active digital, for anechoic factory calibration and room correction) is definitely the way to go these days. But as I said in other posts, Genelec is the brand to go for in this space; ME Geithain might be a good contender if you're in Germany.
Some other examples to complement your list:
A modern Mazda (from after Ford sold its shares back, i.e. made in Hiroshima) after a lot of research; including the software vulnerabilities side, quality of its engines and manual transmissions.
Been buying AMD for almost 15 years now, ever since I learned of Intel's ubiquitous anti-competitive shenanigans and consumer disdain (in the form of locked non-K CPUs, constant socket changes or switching to non-solder TIM with Ivy Bridge).
Rocking an Eizo CG, one of the last with a Panasonic panel with polarizing filter and generally rock solid build quality.
Key is knowing the rare good technically minded reviewers: TFTCentral for monitors, https://www.spinorama.org ASR/Erin, AudioXpress, Fidelity Online/Sound&Recording for audio (as long as you know your theory and the various physical/psychoacoustic limits), JonnyGuru (RIP) for PSUs, Chips&Cheese (and before it RealWorldTech) for CPUs, notebookcheck.net for laptops, etc...
> active (especially active digital, for anechoic factory calibration and room correction) is definitely the way to go these days
An amplifier is just an amplifier... wouldn't that be something better done with software than replacing the whole amplifier?
I think I'm a "midphile" and not an audiophile. I don't want to listen to music on a cheap laptop speaker or a smartphone like most people I know do, but a high end 1970s hifi system sounds as good as a modern one to me, and I cannot tell the difference.
Another big benefit of these older devices is customizability and repairability. I am working to refurbish an MPC1000 right now (drum machine) and the fact that it is repairable at all was a big factor in choosing to sell a newer, nicer device in favor of an older one that wasn't fully working.
Not everything can be treated that way, like a phone or a laptop I would prefer to be no more than 5 years old. But so many things don't need to be terribly modern in order to work well.
One issue is: for new stuff, you cannot know yet if it's actually good. It's only once it has withstood the test of time that you can be reasonably sure.
> Vintage Yamaha solid state electrical devices
Yamaha are still producing modern amps that are very good quality wise compared to their price point: the "ToP-ART" (that's how they call it) basis they use in many amp is actually good stuff and has been tested and analyzed by many objective metrics. They may not be simple but they sure as heck do sound very good (and they've got a "loundess" control, which basically only Yamaha or $$$$$ Macintosh amps or preamps do have and nothing beats that for people who also need to listen at lower volumes later at night when everybody, including the neighbors, do sleep).
Overall I'd say Japanese companies still know how to build quality stuff: cars, amps, digital pianos, laser printers (even if even Brother and Epson can be criticized on some points, we're far from the turds companies like HP or Lexmark have become), tools (I love all the Makita tools and power tools), etc.
When it comes to music there are objective measurements and there are companies out there still building amazing stuff, punching way above their pricepoint.
One could lament about the cost cutting on the material (like plastic knobs) on entry level Yamaha amps, but the innards is actually good stuff. They also come with long warranties (two years but you can register your stuff online and get 2 to 3 additional years of warranty).
I have maybe 15 IBM Model keyboards but... I'm using since many years a HHKB Pro JP. And HHBK are, well, japanese keyboards (it took the japanese to create the amazing Topre switches).
That's the thing: sadly by only using older tech you're giving up on something. Amps from the 70s are not competing with modern stuff. Speakers from the 70s and 80s do age. Cars are going to be less secure and consume more fuel (I know: I've got two "youngtimers" cars from the late 80s).
Kitchen knifes? Japanese.
But I agree that quality overall has gone down a lot and that it takes time to find quality brands / models.
FWIW I paired DALI (a little Danish brand) loudspeakers with a modern Yamaha amp and I couldn't be happier.
P.S: although I do have family in Japan I'm not japanese ;)
Newer amps might be better but I can’t hear the difference in the sound quality myself, and the older ones look and feel a lot nicer.
Newer cars are definitely safer- but I don’t find them nicer to drive or more economical. You can get an 80 VW rabbit that gets 50mpg, or a Mercedes 190D that gets close to that. Both are really fun cars to drive. Modern cars are much heavier and lower emissions- which ultimately cancels out the improved engine efficiency.
unfortunately the build quality of some Japanese products is declining, due to temporary migrant underpaid factory workers who have no stake in the company (and increasingly terrible working conditions). Not blaming the individuals, I'm blaming those in power who made these choices.
Some examples:
Maytag 575 commercial grade residential washer and dryer
1980-early 90s Mercedes W124 or W201 diesels
1980s Volvos (mentioned in article)
IBM Model M keyboard
Military/commercial security marketed heavy nylon and wool clothing
Vintage Yamaha solid state electrical devices (or anything 1970s ish with real hardwood cases, and discrete components you can test and replace)
1970s professional grade Pioneer studio monitor headphones (e.g. Monitor 10s, etc.)
I've often had people accuse me of being a 'hipster' into vintage stuff that is impractical because of the aesthetic. In such cases I usually could not convince them that I just had what worked best- I didn't care about the age or aesthetic, but some good stuff happens to be old.
For services, companies, and products I recommend reading every 1 star review you can before choosing. For actual good stuff, the 1 star reviews will all be petty: they got what they paid for and it was perfect but are mad or confused about something else, or they just had random bad luck. I keep forgetting to do this, and everytime I have an awful experience, someone else had it before me and warned everyone but I didn't remember to look.