The Death of Audiophilia

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by misterdecibel, Sep 14, 2009.

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  1. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    The audio industry definitely is not in the best of shape. Many companies have disappeared over the past twenty years. The high-end audio companies try to survive by constantly jacking up prices since the volumes are gone.
     
  2. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

    Location:
    ---------------
    We live in an era of internet retail. Brick and Mortar numbers just don't represent a vitality of any given market.
     
    SandAndGlass, jh901 and LeeS like this.
  3. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

    Location:
    ---------------
    There are more high end audio makers now than ever before.
     
    BrokenByAudio, jh901 and LeeS like this.
  4. Sax-son

    Sax-son Forum Resident

    Location:
    Three Rivers, CA
    Audiophilia is not a hobby. It's a non nonsensical obsession.
     
    timind likes this.
  5. Scott Wheeler

    Scott Wheeler Forum Resident

    Location:
    ---------------
    Semantic arguments are a boring waste of time. "hi fidelity." "audiophilia." If you use these words and phrases as implied derogatory terms it becomes a tautological argument sans substance.
     
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  6. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    You could say that about any number of passions.

    If you are explicitly referring to the passion for reproduced sound and the related equipment, then I'd suggest that these folks help out the rest of us who are in it for the music. I don't care to listen to much of anything simply for the sake of the fidelity, but the music I like keeps sounding better as the gear improves.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  7. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    It was already there, bud!
     
  8. slovell

    slovell Retired Mudshark

    Location:
    Chesnee, SC, USA
    They're doing the same thing with the SciFi section.
     
  9. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I do know what kind of music millennials listen to. And, a lot of older people listen to mp3 and streaming with earbuds connected to their smartphones.


    Hey guys, the age of high-end audio and the rock era was a good run, and I am glad I lived though it. We now firmly live in the age of video games.
     
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  10. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    :agree::agree::agree:
     
  11. russk

    russk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse NY
    Peter W Belt lol. Is he even still around? Thought he disappeared in the 90s and I, never once no matter how expensive or "sensitive" the system could here the difference he's odd tweaks made lol

    Crazy stuff like that (not just his, cable trellises anyone) opened up this hobby to ridicule on epic levels, hurt its credibility and cost it new enthusiasts.
     
  12. russk

    russk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse NY
    I like this post for its lexical sophistication alone :laugh:
     
    timind likes this.
  13. rene smalldridge

    rene smalldridge Senior Member

    Location:
    manhattan,kansas
    Twerking and tweeting are today's pleasures NOT tweaking.
     
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  14. russk

    russk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse NY
    Did this thread get locked then unlocked or am I imagining that?
     
  15. darkmass

    darkmass Forum Resident

    Yes.
     
  16. SandAndGlass

    SandAndGlass Twilight Forum Resident

    There may be a logical reason why the average "hack" musician was better way back when. Back, when I was in high school, almost everyone I knew played an instrument, live music was very much a part of everyone's life, a larger gene pool so to speak. There were music stores everywhere, just like record and hi-fi stores. Beginning musicians had many mentors available to them. If you were brand new to music and just bought a guitar, everywhere you went, there was someone eager to teach you a few chords.

    Some years back, a bass player named Jaco, was being interviewed about the abundance of musicians in our local area and commented that bands would get together, rent a warehouse, practice for 6-months, get a gig and a week later they would argue and the band would break up.

    Lots of musical talent around, just no business sense.

    When you have a lot of people playing music, talent emerges. I think the bar for an average "hack" was set a bit higher than it would be today.

    BTW, only about 10% of the music I listen to today, is "classic rock" from my era, I really enjoy listening to new music from very talented young people playing music, and old jazz standards from before my time.
     
  17. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    All of us in 'traditional media' are hurting and terrified. Pick up any physical publication these days and you can feel the sadness (which apparently is lighter than air).

    dan c
     
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  18. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    Such utter nonsense. I run into plenty of kids who are as into music as any of us ever were. They consume it in a completely different way and have waaaaaay more genres and bands to choose from, but the music fan isn't going away.

    Finally, all this bellyaching about the 'death of the audiophile'. I firmly believe that it's far, far easier and cheaper to get great sound than it ever was. I often think part of the allure of the Absolute Sound and Stereophile crowd was the exclusivity, the fact that you needed gobs of money for 'bargain' or entry level audiophile-approved gear just to get started. And who wants to be in a club where the HiRez cultists ridicule and mock anyone who won't claim to easily hear the difference between CD-quality and HiRez while driving their car at 80mph. It's downright delusional to think that any twentysomething would be interested in such a stodgy, antisocial and arrogant hobby.

    Ranting aside, I'll put money down that the idea of the audiophile isn't going anywhere. There will always be a group that is interested in better sound. Just like the music scene, however, it's going to be a lot more fragmented.

    dan c
     
  19. Rolltide

    Rolltide Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vallejo, CA
    Sure, you have to remember these threads are always more about My Generation > Today's Generation then anything else.
     
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  20. misterdecibel

    misterdecibel Bulbous Also Tapered Thread Starter

    Not if you want to hear it before you buy. The days of competing bricks 'n mortar audio stores in every city are gone.
     
    BrokenByAudio likes this.
  21. nm_west

    nm_west Forum Resident

    Location:
    Abq. NM. USA
    I've felt that way since the 60's. I don't get the any more part of your post.
     
  22. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    Kids nowadays.
     
  23. head_unit

    head_unit Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA USA
    Well, I was feeling in the 70s and part of the 80s that young people-OK, mostly guys-were still "into" stereos. That first transplanted into the car, then with the rise of file sharing has disappeared.

    Then again, perhaps a new paradigm will come. I haven't heard the new Devialet speaker, and the price is very high, but maybe we will come to an era with some surprisingly good performance out of cool compact speakers. You just need peak power, which is getting cheaper as time goes on (or is it?)
     
  24. coopmv

    coopmv Newton 1/30/2001 - 8/31/2011

    Location:
    CT, USA
    But Class D amp is still not ready for prime time according to many ...
     
  25. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    Up until recently I would have agreed but a short time ago I heard an Audio Research class D amp and was pleasantly surprised.
     
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