When did you finally ditch your entertainment center?
Posted by JJStray@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 162 comments
Eventually rich people in the 90s stuff became middle class college kid stuff in the early 2000s by my experience because we had a similar set up in our college house from 1999-2004ish.
When we moved the last time we smashed it to pieces and took it to the dump with all our other busted ass college kid furniture.
Instead of carrying it down to the U-Haul we filled with stuff for the dump we threw it off the 2nd floor deck. Along with our couch and a few recliners.
Accomplished_Pen980@reddit
That sound system looks like it says Sony but I had the Aida just like it
Spartan04@reddit
My mom still has the one we had growing up, though it's been repurposed since modern TVs don't fit in it.
I never owned one myself though. Always have had stands that the TV sits on top of with shelves and/or cabinets underneath.
PhotographsWithFilm@reddit
We kinda still have one. When we reno'd our lounge room around 8 years ago, we got a nice wall unit, that houses the receiver, DVD Player, XBox, speakers and TV. Thinking of putting a CD in there as well now
Ralinor@reddit
My parents still have it.
TechnicalEntry@reddit
Rich people? That looks like every middle class living room from the 90’s.
I remember seeing some real rich people living rooms back then, and this ain’t that.
CodeCleric@reddit
The 90s Beosound stuff from B&O like the 9000 still looks futuristic today
TechnicalEntry@reddit
Exactly. My parents had some rich friends, they had a home theatre room with a front projector TV (with the 3 RGB CRT lenses), B&O stuff, laserdisc player etc.
That’s a 90’s rich person setup, not this basic stuff.
JGrabs@reddit
Well now they have the $60k Transparent LG projector.
taylorwmj@reddit
Actually they'd likely have a $20-$30k JVC projector or go bonkers and have a Christie projector installed for north of $130k before -- yes BEFORE -- lens
insanelygreat@reddit
B&O's industrial design is like bauhaus on acid. Take, for example, their $1275 mobile phone from 2006.
Bean_Johnson@reddit
I remember the cheap knock offs of these at those Sharper Image stores in the mall 😭
butbutcupcup@reddit
Is that what Will Smith had in iRobot? I think he had a vertical CD player of some sort
wintercast@reddit
exactly - that was the sign of rich. i actually knew someone's parents had that.
Calm-Tree-1369@reddit
Yeah. I dunno about rich. My dad was a factory worked and my mom stayed home and we had shit like this.
DingJones@reddit
Yeah you could not lift a rich person’s tv on your own. At least two people were needed, three to be safe.
BlueSteel_12@reddit
This is definitely upper middle class:rich people. You can tell by the purpose built entertainment center. Middle class folks had to settle for using the broken 80s TV set as a TV stand for the 90s TV.
jacksonmills@reddit
lol
BlueSteel_12@reddit
Hey bro just how I remember a lot of houses in the 90s. Broken console TVs were the perfect height for a TV stand.
seiggy@reddit
Seriously? My dad was a community college professor, single father of 2 kids, and we had stuff like this in the 80's and 90s. We definitely weren't rich. I went to the "poor" school, never really had brand name clothes. I would have put us solid middle class. Definitely weren't upper middle class or rich. Then again, dad built the entertainment center himself, along with a lot of our furniture, so I guess maybe that's why?
BlueSteel_12@reddit
What did you guys do with the broken 80s console TV cabinet? That was the TV stand/entertainment center piece of furniture until the early 2000s in tons of households.
seiggy@reddit
We never actually had a TV console cabinet that I remember at least. Dad had a Sony Trinitron from the 70s I think that was our TV until like 1993.
joshyuaaa@reddit
We had one of those tv cabinets but no idea what happened with it. We moved when I was around 10 and probably didn't bring it with us.
beebsaleebs@reddit
That is a Kmart entertainment center
JasonGD1982@reddit
It's what I had. It was rickety as fuck.
TechnicalEntry@reddit
That sounds more like a food stamp/welfare family, not “lower middle class”.
BlueSteel_12@reddit
🤷♂️ Definitely wasn’t welfare families from my recollection. I mean these were families that had a big console TV in the 80s. Maybe just more frugal than others.
copyrighther@reddit
Exactly. Everybody and their grandmother had an enormous oak armoire that held your entire entertainment collection, even working class people. They were even sold on TV as a set with a matching coffee table and couch, always shown in a low-budget commercial for your local furniture store.
statistacktic@reddit
Rich peeps had 48-50" flat screens that were the size of closets.
TechnicalEntry@reddit
Yeah, rear projector TV’s. They looked impressive until you actually saw the image, which looked like a dull, blurry dark mess.
https://www.howtogeek.com/rear-projection-tvs-were-terrible-but-we-all-wanted-one/
J0k3r77@reddit
Super fun to move too, especially up and down stairs.
NYCHW82@reddit
Yeah exactly that TV is way too small!
Username_NullValue@reddit
Not even. If someone had a decent size house and a few kids, this would definitely be the kids play room.
JasonGD1982@reddit
I would say my bedroom at 15 was close to this. Not as big tv maybe and shittier stuff. But the aesthetic is similar
SomethingElse-666@reddit
That entertainment center must have been moved 3 feet from the wall
SubMikeD@reddit
You can tell who was poor in this thread, cuz damn if that set up is way beyond what my parents had.
Miserable-Lawyer-233@reddit
Rich? That was average people stuff.
SubMikeD@reddit
I've still got mine, but when I get my next TV with 4k, it will have to go. It can only fit 42", and I haven't found a 42" 4k TV,.
waywardviking208@reddit
Sttocs@reddit
Never had one, never had to ditch it.
One giant console TV is all we ever had.
Classic-Month-5184@reddit
2003, still had the magnetic push glass door
lastchance14@reddit
More like, drug dealers
sh0ckwavevr6@reddit
Poor people in 2020
Eredic@reddit
I still got one! Built it myself.
EditorRedditer@reddit
Who says I have?
ppardee@reddit
We still have ours. It's now a coffee bar.
cutesarcasticone@reddit
Or in my family poor people in 2007
Biscuits4u2@reddit
This was pretty standard. Not sure why you're associating it with rich people at any point in time.
aardw0lf11@reddit
That was back when you could get quality entertainment centers which weren't like the small, flimsy crap sold these days. To be fair, TVs were heavier. But large 4k+ TVs aren't exactly light either.
BrainFartTheFirst@reddit
FlamesNero@reddit
Back in the early aughts, I was moderately put out when I learned that my (now) sister in law (who lacks empathy), had demanded that we return this exact entertainment center (after seemingly giving it to us the year before).
Now? I laugh and laugh.
Bartnellie@reddit
I still have and use that Aiwa stereo
novasolid64@reddit
When I got a flat screen TV, so in 2008
Moocat_@reddit
We turned one into a kitchen set for our daughter.
withbellson@reddit
When I was househunting in 2003 I ruled out a few condos that had built-in TV niches that would just restrict your TV to a certain size. Nevermind the fact that TVs all went widescreen a few years after that, I wasn't gonna be restricted to a 28" tube.
Thank goodness technology has advanced beyond the point where I will ever need to move a 36" Sony CRT behemoth HDTV again.
Konnorwolf@reddit
I turned mine into a desk for a few years. This was over 15 years ago!
NachoNachoDan@reddit
This is not a rich people's anything in the 90's. This is some standard ass shit. Aiwa bookshelf stereo system, CRT TV....record player connected to nothing.
If someone had money it would be a BOSE stereo and a gigantic projection TV set, maybe a carousel style CD player.
Username_NullValue@reddit
Whoever posted this has obviously never seen a Sony component stereo, with amp, equalizer, 5-disc CD changer, dual cassette deck, record player, and huge ass floor standing speakers. The TV would be a 32” Sony Trinatron.
None of this is even “rich” people stuff. Pretty standard setup for middle class. We had it.
LardLad00@reddit
I'd look for a projection TV but otherwise agreed.
joshyuaaa@reddit
I had a pioneer system in the 90s with a 50 disc changer and I paid with my own money and we definitely were on the poor side. The thing was it was bought through the Fingerhut catalog so not really smart purchasing lol.
Routine_Ask_7272@reddit
Rich people would have a large (40"+) projection TV and a LaserDisc player.
r/LaserDisc
Or, if you had a DVD player by the end of the 90's.
garaks_tailor@reddit
Laser dic player was the true mark of upper middle class.
Or the single uncle with no kids or wife
burnednotdestroyed@reddit
Can confirm. My aunt (the 'fun' one) bought a laser disc player just so we could watch Michael Jackson's Thriller.
TargetApprehensive38@reddit
I never understood that. Projection TVs looked way worse than a CRT, and you could get pretty big CRTs by the late 90s (if you didn’t mind them weighing 300lbs). I guess it was just a status symbol thing.
TeutonJon78@reddit
Widescreen and size were the reason to get projection over CRT. There were very CRTs that fit both of those. LED wasn't up the size requirement either as they were mostly relegated to computer monitors at the time.
TargetApprehensive38@reddit
Yeah fair, but idk - there wasn’t exactly much widescreen content to watch at the time and I’d personally rather be looking at a 37” CRT with great picture quality than a blurry 50” projector with terrible black levels. I’m not exactly the average consumer though I guess.
NachoNachoDan@reddit
Status symbol. The 42" Plasma TV became the replacement status symbol in the early 2000s
Puglet_7@reddit
We all that but we had a Pioneer but isn’t wasn’t carousel, we had these cartridge style things you loaded with disks. My Dad had tons of cds pre loaded on them. Anyone else remember these?
BadChris666@reddit
They bought all of it at Walmart
True_Dimension4344@reddit
This was some normal people shit.
gonzagylot00@reddit
Those AIWA stereos could bump.
Dr-McLuvin@reddit
Haha I loved mine. 6 CD changer.
RBJII@reddit
Not rich. More like middle class charging stuff to credit card until kids are grown.
spderweb@reddit
TV got too big.
MrThouu@reddit
I think in the 90s the "rich people" setup was the rear-projection tv, and the hi-fi system with the huge speakers.
This here was common but not default for middle class. It was middle class affordable but also contingent on what your parents wanted to or would buy. Some parents just didn't want cable or too big a tv in the house, regardless of if they could afford it.
Also I didn't entirely ditch the concept, I've had a Logitech Z-5500 speaker system on my PC for a while now and watch media on my PC.
wafair@reddit
My brother had a really nice oak one that he kept way past its usefulness. He might actually still have it in his storage
FollowingNo4648@reddit
I finally got my parents to get rid of their 5 disc DVD player surround sound that they've had for god only knows how many years. Why do you need something like that?
madsci@reddit
Haven't quite ditched it yet. The cabinet that held our Commodore VIC-20 is still in my shop's yard serving as outside tool storage and I think the top shelf section got used as a planter box.
Dependent_Bill8632@reddit
Those 45” CRTs weighed like 440 lbs.
I guess the bigger the screen size and tube output, the thicker they had to make the walls of the set. Crazy.
OkMap8351@reddit
Laser disk
psychodire@reddit
Evolution, Baby.
**"He who is resistant to change is destined to perish."
babe_ruthless3@reddit
Not even close. This TV is too small to be in some rich peoples houses. This looks more like a regular person's home in the early 2000s.
HermioneMarch@reddit
My parents had one but I never did. Our TV currently sits on the fireplace
justbrowse2018@reddit
Future civilizations will find these and think. “They lived in these small recycled wood and glue constructed compartment homes”
Prestigious_Door_690@reddit
Still have it. Repainted it and turned it into a closet organizer in our mud room to hang bags, hold hats and mittens and outdoor stuff. Works great and kept it out of a landfill
flux_capacitor3@reddit
After I moved it 2-3 times, it kinda fell apart. lol. Also, the first wall mount tv. So, 15 years ago.
Knight_thrasher@reddit
When I had to buy all new in 2013
StillhasaWiiU@reddit
Looks like my dorm room in 2002
unexpectedwetness_@reddit
My Aiwa 4 disc was legit
MonkeyBred@reddit
That was such a mint setup.
Hot-Sauce-P-Hole@reddit
When I moved out of my parents' house in 2001, I had a setup like this by 2003 on my Chick-fil-A paycheck. Definitely went into a little credit card debt, though.
taleofbenji@reddit
You had to be rich to pay four guys to carry in that TV.
sodangshedonger@reddit
This is a particleboard POS. Rich people had their shit built in.
Skyblacker@reddit
I think a lot of them got ditched around 2010, when wide screen TVs fell in price and replaced CRTs.
WorkingRecording4863@reddit
My parents are in their 70s and still have their solid wood shelving and entertainment units thay they've had since they got married 50 years ago.
They refuse to get rid of them. I think they're thinking they can be buried in them.
MightyCaseyStruckOut@reddit
I didn't.
No-Atmosphere-2873@reddit
This setup would not have fit in the living room of the trailer house I grew up in.
trustedbyamillion@reddit
Hey Crabman
MLDaffy@reddit
We were dirt poor but always had them. I wish I still did tbh. Sucks nowhere to put stuff especially since TV is on wall now.
freexanarchy@reddit
Nah, Rich had that huge reverse mirror projection tvs.
texan01@reddit
last time I moved. the nice entertainment center I had went to a neighbor of my parents, along with my worn out washing machine and dryer and 36" CRT TV.
Old-List-5955@reddit
Had to ditch mine when we finally went to a flat screen. Gonna say around 2011.
Buzzbomb115@reddit
The rack system needs to be bigger, bulkier, and take up the whole entertainment center.
wilsonexpress@reddit
My neighbor and I helped another neighbor move an entertainment center exactly like the one pictured out of her house. She asked us how much she should sell it for, I had to pause for a few seconds because the only answer is free. I felt bad because i think she actually thought it had value.
Positron14@reddit
I never ditched mine. I have "rebuilt" and rearranged it to accommodate a modern TV and my consoles.
soopirV@reddit
Had an aggressively 90’s mission-style center, 6 pieces, solid wood, great shape, for CRT tv. Let the ex leave it when we split, figuring I’ll donate and write-off, but not a single used furniture place in 50 miles would take it. Ended up paying a junk hauler $350 to get rid of it.
4score-7@reddit
BugImmediate7835@reddit
We didn't ditch it. It's in the basement bedroom, holding the same tv and vcr that was on it 30 years ago.
bcentsale@reddit
Sounds perfect for a retro gaming nook.
bluemitersaw@reddit
Absolutely!!! I have the same basement setup except mine also has a Sega Genesis (with Sega CD), PS2, and DVD player attached. It's peak!!!
BugImmediate7835@reddit
My nephew used to play our old Atari on it for hours. I ended up giving him the whole console with the games about 25 years ago. Found out later that my sister threw it all away because he stopped playing it.
bcentsale@reddit
Dude that suuucks. 😭
DateCard@reddit
I haven't used one in decades but my parents still have one to this day. It takes up nearly the whole wall - TV in the center and curio cabinets on the sides.
cmaxim@reddit
I think the boomer generation never wanted to let go of this concept. To this day my dad also has a full stack of equipment plugged into the tv, like audio controllers, dvd loader, etc. It's kind of funny because he doesn't really use it very often, and when I turn on the TV I need to use like 3 remotes lol.
DateCard@reddit
Oh man, multiple remotes is something I don't miss. One for the TV, one for the cable box, and one for the VCR, lol
Traditional_Entry183@reddit
Why? Where do you put your electronics and media otherwise?
SvenoftheWoods@reddit
I think the inference is that most people nowadays have a "smart TV" and...that's it. Maybe a sound bar?
Then there's me over here with the full surround sound and gaming systems in the living room. My "entertainment center" never went away. The furniture just evolved.
AcadianTraverse@reddit
Yeah, I don't have a true Home Theater in sense of perfectly rectangular room painted dark with acoustic paneling on every surface and a row of recliners. But I do have a Media Room with Surround and ceiling speakers and two subwoofers.
I also have a wall mounted tv and soundbar in the living room, but it is not the focus of that room.
Traditional_Entry183@reddit
Ah well, we all do our own things. In my basement, I have my PS5, all the games from this generation, lots of my PS4 and PS3 games, and my five racks of Dvds and Blu-rays.
Then on the main level we have the TV with the PS4, Switch, Wii and a bunch of games related to those, plus a selection of DVDs that are for those.
And in my upstairs, we have the PS3, which these days mostly works as a bonus DVD player for the kids when they want to watch different things.
Arderis1@reddit
Same. Smart TV sure, but you need somewhere to put the Xbox, Switch dock, fiber modem, router, and all the other stuff!
Nonsenseinabag@reddit
Yeah, same here. The TV has its own stand but am still rocking a glass door cabinet for the sound system, game systems, and record player. One of these days I'll go full Atmos.
TestifyMediopoly@reddit
2008
P-a-n-a-m-a-m-a@reddit
We took an old one like this, opened it up a bit to make a pass-through, cladded it with wood to look more rustic and turned it into a lemonade stand/puppet theatre for the kids.
Years later and it still gets used.
SlavaSobov@reddit
2012 when we moved out of state. Finally got rid of the big CRT and the entertainment center.
ezhammer@reddit
So much easier to hide the cables back then.
gnrlgumby@reddit
Rich people didn’t have their music stuff and TV right next to each other.
s-multicellular@reddit
WTF stalker....How did you get a picture of my house?
beebsaleebs@reddit
I guess everything is relative. Maybe OP lived in a van by the river
Worth-Weather-5437@reddit
I probably 2005 when getting a bigger flatscreen and moving on.
80cartoonyall@reddit
Rick people had those large project TVs.
idleat1100@reddit
That is not a rich people entertainment center. That’s poor or college level. People went all OUT for built ins and huge racks of stereo gear.
E23R0@reddit
I hated how much space the turntable needs above it for the lid to flip open.
lucky_hooligan@reddit
We didn't have one growing up. The only person I knew who had one was the first generation child of a surgeon.
Our TV was on top of my mom's college footlocker. Her TV is still on top of that footlocker.
Mwiziman@reddit
This was standard. I still have and use my Aiwa system
NoContextCarl@reddit
Probably around 2009.
Still lives on in spirit, but less clutter is the key now.
Solid-Hedgehog9623@reddit
We had the tv that sat on the floor built into its fancy wood housing. The stereo was its own thing. Diamond tipped needle. Wood cabinet with the glass door held in place with the magnet. Great big speakers. My dad’s pride and joy. That thing got a lot of use. Dad would spin stuff like supertramp, clapton, or the cars. Mom would spin stuff like Taylor dayne and George Michael. If I hear anything from the dirty dancing soundtrack, I always feel like I’m about to hear a vacuum or smell French toast. lol what was the question?
OMGeno1@reddit
That TV weighs 350 lbs.
Suns_In_420@reddit
Rice people had a nook built into the wall for the projection TV, with a closet next to it full of all the unsightly box’s and movies.
slash_networkboy@reddit
Still have mine... But it's built into the wall as closable cabinets even. So when closed up it's just some full height cabinets next to the wood burning stove, when open you get to see the TV and DVD/VCR players. Above and below are for storing the media and the video game consoles that still are set up for it. Nothing quite like NES or Arari2600 on a 32" CRT.
BadAtExisting@reddit
This was normal shit. Rich people in the 90’s tv would be the size of this entertainment cabinet
Scrapla@reddit
We always had a small stand with the tv on top and the VCR on the shelf below. In my room it was the same thing and the stereo was on a shelf near my headboard.
Space-Ape-777@reddit
I got rid of my 32" Trinitron in like 2022. I was saving it for retro gaming.
waterontheknee@reddit
Oh man, I remember watching TV on my grandma's TV.....all 22 inches of it.
Those were the days.
Abattoir_Noir@reddit
My poor ass had this in the 90s
Makelovenotrobots@reddit
Hello rich people. Troy calling, yes I'll hold.
drainbamage1011@reddit
I didn't know I was supposed to ditch it...
We have one very close to that in the basement.
DG04511@reddit
I replaced all of those things with my phone.
jtho78@reddit
We still have one but its all crammed and hidden in an IKEA Besta unit.
phishmademedoit@reddit
Getting anxiety thinking about ALL THE WIRES behind that thing.
sidurisadvice@reddit
I still have it 25 years later. The TV is just a bit flatter, and the stereo equipment is now just framed pictures and knickknacks. I still have a DVDR/VHS combo hooked up to it too.
bitwarrior80@reddit
I just finished rebuilding mine. I now have about 200 movies on tape with the VCR, CRT, and all my video game consoles hooked up. All back lit with purple LED. I'm never going to give it up again!
AmericanWanderlust@reddit
Hrmm I actually recently bought one that is more modern with cabinetry and bookshelves to hide the TV/blue-ray/wifi/etc because I *hate* televisions being exposed. So gauche.
Robby-Pants@reddit
Mid 2010s.
TheConsoleGeek@reddit
When my wife and I bought our house in 2008 and moved out of our apartment. Bought an LCD TV at that time so entertainment center didn't work for us anymore.
SuperCareer5230@reddit
82ndGameHead@reddit
Ironically, I never had one growing up, but I have one similar right now.
And i love it.
kkkan2020@reddit
Rich folks entertainment centers are always a sight to beholden. Now the got tvs so big ...it would be a monument
andrewclarkson@reddit
I prefer wall-mounting TVs except for our main living room area because I have stereo, game console, and blu-ray player that we occasionally use. It makes more sense to have a small TV stand with shelves for all that stuff.
TheJokersWild53@reddit
2005, I had one that I left in an apartment when I moved back. Since then, the tv sits on top of a cabinet that houses the PS
bnjmnzs@reddit
I have this exact set up in my game room
bcentsale@reddit
Never. Even built my own when we redid the living room.
Agitated_Actuary_223@reddit
NEVER!!!!!!!!!
_Zeruiah_@reddit
2003 i ditched mine.
Went with a simple coffee table to set that 200 pound crt