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| Adieu to the true audiophile?; High-end audio dying because of MP3s | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 23 2008, 01:28 PM (792 Views) | |
| George K | May 23 2008, 01:28 PM Post #1 |
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Finally
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Adieu to the true audiophile? I'd bet the average person under 30 hasn't purchased a serious home stereo system in the last five years. And it's not because they don't like music. Quite the opposite, actually. The popularity of online streaming music sites, rise of music blogs, and skyrocketing digital music sales from places like iTunes, Wal-Mart.com, and Amazon.com show that young people are voracious music consumers. But are they true audiophiles? No, at least not in the way people who came of age trying to find the perfect sound on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon were. They'd buy high-fidelity speakers and systems that play back music in a quality as close to the original performance as possible. And why not? If you think about it, the equipment that has traditionally defined the audiophile is antithetical to the way we experience music today. Speakers are clunky and immobile, and expensive shelf systems don't play easily swappable digital files. Instead, stereo shopping nowadays often means picking up an iPod and a speaker dock. The combination is cheaper, mobile, convenient, and, for better or worse, cool. The effect is that it's slowly killing an industry. Home audio sales have been in decline for the past half decade, and have drooped even lower in recent years. Home CD player sales totaled $36.2 million last year, but that's 35 percent below 2005 sales figures. Home speaker sales are down 2 percent, but home shelf systems sales are down 40 percent in the same time period, according to data gathered by the NPD Group. "Before, people would listen to music through their stereo system, or 10, 15 years ago over their home theater system; that doesn't happen anymore," said Steve Guttenberg, who writes The Audiophiliac for the CNET Blog Network. "People have sort of moved away from that sort of mindset. It doesn't happen except for audiophiles." While it's unclear if it was the cause or simply a response to a new generation's needs, the runaway success of the iPod played an important role in this change. The iPod either tapped into our desire to listen to music on the go--and bring the entirety of our music library with us--or told us that's what we should want. In the face of slowing sales and brand awareness, the industry has responded by consolidating many of the original home audio brands and manufacturers. Electronics companies like JVC and Kenwood, known for their audio equipment, said last week they had officially set up shop together after what seemed like a yearlong dance. They will fold the brands into one company, JVC Kenwood Holdings, in hopes of reducing costs and scaling their distribution in the already crowded Japanese consumer electronics market. But those two are not alone in their plight. Last month it was revealed that D&M Holdings, known for audio brands like Denon, Marantz, McIntosh, Snell Acoustics, and Boston Acoustics is up for sale, and that Harman International, which already operates dozens of brands, is interested, along with JVC Kenwood, in snapping it up. Little brand awareness The problem is that the awareness of audio equipment beyond the iPod and its ilk is disappearing, according to Guttenberg. "If I stopped people on the street and asked them to name (an audio) company other than Bose, 80 or 90 percent wouldn't have a clue," he said. Companies like McIntosh, the original high-end audio company, catered specifically to audiophiles. Begun in 1949 in Binghamton, N.Y., it still builds its speakers by hand, just as it always has. If any of its products were ever in need of repair, the company would take it back and fix it, not just replace it. The products were made to last for decades, not just the length of a one-year warranty. The brand is now on the block, its personalized service, handcrafted products, and attention to detail no longer as relevant to the majority of music consumers. Music today is a commodity--ripped for free track by track, or bought for 99 cents and eventually added to a vast digital library, either destined to become a favorite, or more likely forgotten for good after a couple of listens. Today's music players are regarded the same way--mostly as disposable. Either the player will work for two or three years before sputtering and dying, or a newer, faster, smaller, better player that has far more cachet will be released in six months. "I often wonder about the 30-year-old iPod," Guttenberg mused. "Will someone still use an iPod in 30 years," like audiophiles do high-end speakers? The answer is, of course, not a chance. |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| OperaTenor | May 23 2008, 02:05 PM Post #2 |
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Pisa-Carp
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I recently upgraded my system to a Carver C-2 preamp, with a Carver M500t amp(250W/channel). I use them to drive my 1982-vintage AR-94 speakers, the likes of which I've yet to hear. I was thinking about this very issue, and it does seem to me we are no longer striving for excellence in sound reproduction, as a rule. Too bad, IMO. Quality means so much.... |
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| kenny | May 23 2008, 02:18 PM Post #3 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Tragic! |
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| plays88keys | May 23 2008, 02:51 PM Post #4 |
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Pisa-Carp
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I used to have a nice system years ago. I sold my MacIntosh amp to a neighbor, but still have a Dual turntable and a Sony reel to reel in the attic somewhere - still perfectly good, but who uses either of those things today? The speakers dry rotted years ago and I just never replaced them. It's a shame the kids of today won't ever experience the aural wonders of high quality sound systems. It was entertainment all by itself - just sit inbetween two JBL speakers and ride the musical waves they sent out for hours...sometimes things enhanced the sound a bit...
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| You can never get enough of what you don't need to make you happy. | |
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| OperaTenor | May 23 2008, 02:58 PM Post #5 |
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Pisa-Carp
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Re turntables, I do! I have a JVC LE-5 I bought new in 1982, and a Dual 1625(IIRC) I haven't put to use yet. I have a pretty fair collection of LP's and I'm not afraid to play 'em. |
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| PhJ | May 23 2008, 02:58 PM Post #6 |
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Senior Carp
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yet another thing to remind me I'm getting old
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| jon-nyc | May 23 2008, 03:07 PM Post #7 |
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Cheers
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It seems to me that the high-end audiophile equipment market is safe. Its the mass consumer stereo market thats doomed. The guys that spent a fortune on the high-end gear are not switching to mp3, except perhaps when mobile. Its folks like me who will never buy a stereo again. |
| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
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| George K | May 23 2008, 03:12 PM Post #8 |
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Finally
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I am so waiting for Kluurs to see this.... |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| PhJ | May 23 2008, 03:13 PM Post #9 |
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Senior Carp
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the thing is, how can you listen to symphonic music, or even to a string quartet on crappy speakers ? |
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| jon-nyc | May 23 2008, 03:17 PM Post #10 |
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Cheers
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Guys like Fingers, Grotriman, and (I can only imagine) Kluurs are the ones who will still spend tens of thousands on audio equipment... |
| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
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| John D'Oh | May 23 2008, 03:20 PM Post #11 |
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MAMIL
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This probably sounds like sacrilege, but I never really understood the whole audiophile bit. I've met people who spend a lot of time marveling over the quality of the reproduction, but don't seem to really love music for its own sake. I pretty much stop noticing after about 10 minutes - most of the music's inside my head. I guess that sounds rather pretentious, but it's how I feel. |
| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| DivaDeb | May 23 2008, 03:21 PM Post #12 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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we do too, OT...hundreds of Musical Heritage Society LPs and other classical recordings that will likely never be re-released in another format. We are slowly transferring them to the computer, we bought a turntable that is doing a decent job of it. We still play the vinyl though. |
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| jon-nyc | May 23 2008, 03:24 PM Post #13 |
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Cheers
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John - I hear you. Its one |
| In my defense, I was left unsupervised. | |
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| DivaDeb | May 23 2008, 03:31 PM Post #14 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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this is me...I grew up recording casette tapes of the Texaco Met broadcasts on my Radio Shack tape deck. I learned many an opera that way. I still have those tapes and it still doesn't bother me that they're noisy and hard to hear...I just try harder. It's worth it to hear the people who were singing in my younger years. |
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| Aqua Letifer | May 23 2008, 03:38 PM Post #15 |
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ZOOOOOM!
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YES!! I made my own tapes back in the day too, but truth be told I had pretty decent recording equipment to use (not my own, mind you). Still have my tapes as well and there's no way I'd ever get rid of 'em. |
| I cite irreconcilable differences. | |
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| PhJ | May 23 2008, 03:46 PM Post #16 |
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Senior Carp
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well, it does helps that your a soprano, and not a 2d bassoonist
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| George K | May 23 2008, 03:47 PM Post #17 |
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Finally
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In my college years, I loved going to high-end stores, comparing systems, pushing the a/b buttons to compare one set of speakers with another, and checking out rumble, wow and flutter on a turntable. But, as I've aged, not only do those differences seem less important, they are, to my aged ears, non-existent. So, as much as I hate to admit it, an MP3 that I rip from my CD sounds damn good. I can't hear above 14KHz anyway. |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| OperaTenor | May 23 2008, 04:52 PM Post #18 |
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Pisa-Carp
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Deb, I have a USB turntable just for that purpose, but I have yet to hunker down and start ripping. To me, it is a singularly pleasurable experience to simply sit and be enveloped by good music, and nothing does that like a kickass sound system. |
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| Axtremus | May 23 2008, 05:27 PM Post #19 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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The truly dedicated could listen to symphonies and string quartets just by reading the scores, you know.
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| PhJ | May 23 2008, 07:01 PM Post #20 |
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Senior Carp
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well, sure, but that's because they memorized the timbres from concert halls & high fidelity, not crappy speakers
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| Daniel | May 24 2008, 12:33 AM Post #21 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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I don't know. Go to www.audioasylum.com. There's still plenty of people putting together solid state and tube systems, with digital sources and turntables, with direct radiating, electrostatic, and horn speakers, all of this from specialist companies- most of them American. Audiophiles aren't going away anytime soon. |
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| DivaDeb | May 24 2008, 07:03 AM Post #22 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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My husband likes that kind of stuff, so we have good speakers now, and a nice system to play our vintage recordings as well as our newer higher fidelity stuff. It's one of my great wifely acting jobs to feign glorious heights of ecstacy over the good speakers. I guess I could lie about it and say it makes any difference to me at all, but it doesn't. When all I had was crappy speakers I was happy to have them. It didn't stunt my musical growth any, so I never felt like I needed something better. Until I was 20, my "system" was one of these: |
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| OperaTenor | May 24 2008, 07:29 AM Post #23 |
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Pisa-Carp
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Dang, Deb. My wife could've written that post. She humors me in much the same way. |
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| Mark | May 24 2008, 01:16 PM Post #24 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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As does mine when it comes to Astronomy equipment. |
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___.___ (_]===* o 0 When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells | |
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| kluurs | May 24 2008, 01:50 PM Post #25 |
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Fulla-Carp
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Hey, those people on the high end audio forums are talking about what a shame it is that no one is buying high end pianos... I think high end will be with us for a while. We're actually about to enter a better age - when there will be more recordings available than ever before - and cheaper and likely, of better quality. The Ipod crew doesn't care - but high end audio enthusiasts are typically classical music and/or jazz lovers. Right now CDs and SACDs are still doing reasonably well with that crowd. It's the pop music people who have been fickle...the Idol masses. The next step in the evolution will be higher quality downloads - and they're already here - with higher fidelity than is found on SACDs - a format that still thrives among the classical audience but is non-existent among the ipod group. The high-end audio group is pretty goofy. I must admit that I probably have ore invested in cabling for my system than many people have invested in their car. At the same time, I can hear Brendel in my living room - like Brendel was in my living room. It is also fun to record live recitals - and be able to re-experience them for a lifetime. What's amazing to me is how many high-end companies there are out there - compared to the 70's or 80's - many, many more. If some die out, that's OK. McIntosh is one I hope stays around. They've survived some downturns in the past - hope they continue to do so. The Ipod group was neglected by the recording industry - and much like the cassette group of a few years ago - look to convenience more than quality. But when CDs came out, they supplanted the casettes - because they gave convenience and quality. As download technology improves, I would not be surprised if even some of the ipod group gets a bit fussier...and wants higher fidelity. |
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