Sometimes discreet is better. In the early years of What Hi-Fi?, and certainly before then, home entertainment kit was hidden away, or disguised as other pieces of furniture. There were stereograms the size of sideboards and televisions hidden away in cabinets. Often the only equipment not lurking out of view was a pair of loudspeakers.
In the past few decades, however, changing technology has brought changing lifestyle habits with it. Now, people don’t blink at 55in or larger television screens dominating a relatively small living room. (It’s those tech changes, you see; they might think twice if it was a 55in old-school cathode ray tube set hulking down in the corner. Imagine that? You would need a crane to get it in situ…). Equipment these days is often proudly out on show – and, where once it was just vinyl, radio and television, there are now so many more ways to get your home entertainment fix.
