Has the vinyl resurgence led to increased sales in the HiFi industry?

I can't account for the way you characterize what you hear, only what I hear.

I will say that to me headphones don't image at all -- yeah, you can hear lots of detail which is why they're essential tools for audio editing, which is principally how I use phones. But they don't image (very brief explanation of the psycho acoustic reasons for it here). Maybe with binaural recordings or some kind of cross feed electronic processing to the phones you can trick the brain. But otherwise, no headphones don't image. Not the way evolution developed our ears to work. We're obviously using the word "imaging" to mean completely different things.

I'd also say if its true as you wrote that you "haven't listened to an album and not done anything else for decades," then you must be a legacy listener with at least 20 years of regular listening behind you which means you must be at least 30 or 35 and so not what I'd call a young listener (either that or the claim of "decades" of behavior is hyperbole) or the future of anything. And further, I'd say, if you haven't given a single piece of music your undivided attention for more than 20 years, you ought to try it. You'll probably hear things in both the music and the audio that you never realized were there while you weren't paying attention.

 

In bold - excuse me ......did ya'll read that!!!!

 

Oh yeah, I'm sincerely in the camp that thinks headphones are a poor choice for serious music listening and most importantly, very detrimental to your hearing. The only times I've found headphones a good choice is on flights. For short periods of time they are tolerable. Headphones are (unfortunately) a studio necessity and still pretty good for submarine sonar work (what they originally were developed for) but a huge compromise for everyday "listening pleasure".

I try to limit my exposure to headphone audio because I want those little hair cells in my cochlea to stay healthy so I can listen to music when I'm old and decrepit.

 

Playtime over there is it?

 

From a health perspective, I agree in as much as uses need to be careful.

From a " serious " listening perspective though, couldn't disagree more. A very high quality experience.

 

Okay, so if you want to be respectful, be it, then ditch comments about posting with grownups.

The other thing to bear in mind is that I'm not out to complete with your system, at all.

I don't care about your system, in any way, shape or form. I don't need to meet, or even give a care about what criteria you have around audio, or how it should sound. A complete irrelevance beyond that I'm glad you like it.

How do I think a pair of headphones competes with your speakers? The phrase you're looking for here is apples and oranges. The fact that it is (an apples and oranges comparison) doesn't negate the capabilities of either to deliver great audio.

The statements I made are sound; there was no challenge to fragile egos. Go to any good headphone forum and see how you get on if you want to find out more.

 

Well, alrighty then Anyhoo, I feel that ya' got what ya' gave. Don't expect respect if you are not willing to give it. You post(ed) as if you almost had a chip on your shoulder. Anyway, rock on!

 

No chip in my shoulder (why on earth would there be?) and I don't recall insulting anyone or throwing out playground cheap shots, but it seems that it's a problem for some to acknowledge that you can get great audio quality from a decent low cost pair of earphones. That wasn't of my creation.

 

I'll be fifty in December, and been listening to music since I was five with my parents records. Grew up with it so by my reckoning that qualifies as decades now.

How I listen to music is neither here not there.

Even while I'm doing something else I can focus nicely on the music I'm listening to. Just how my brain works and no special ability.

Sitting down and doing nothing else BUT listen to an album is something I have no need to do. Busy life. Works for me and I get immense pleasure accordingly. My system makes me sit up and take notice when I hear something that stands out.

Probably didn't need the lecture on "what I'm missing". Particularly as I'm not missing anything at all, only gaining. Please don't use your barometer to set my life for me and I'll afford you the same courtesy.

 

And you guys wonder why hi-fi isn't cool amongst the kids?

 

You got that right.

 

Funny, my 8 year old (granted, a bit younger than your teens) literally jumped at the oppurtinity to have our "old" mini system in her room (which got moved up to the attic when my vinyl craze began again 2 or 3 years ago). She has quite a mini CD collection already, nicely displayed on her desk. I also refrain from giving her 'free' (ie. downloaded) music but let her buy and choose her own music to play.

Not all is lost .

 

they are clueless about a lot of things. I've seen all of the RMAF videos and despite the fact that they are audiophiles most of the lectures are plagued by dead mics and endless feedback!I guess none of them get the irony.

 

I agree, I have had many of my friends sons and nephews over to hear my stereo(teens and young 20 something) they love the music but just cant see the stereo, it just doesnt register with them. I have said before if I had invited a bunch of neighborhood cats in they would be more interested ,at least they would have the decency to rub up againt the speaker!!!!

 

It's not just young kids. My buddy is staying in my listening room. He's 37 and loves music. He's in there 5+ hours per day job hunting. I've offered to show him how everything works. He said naw. I don't get it.

 

I say this about the 20 year old me all the time and im 47. I think we should be able to go back and slap ourselves every 10 years.
We would be better for it.

 

I completely agree with this statement. A good reproduction platform should follow good content. And quite frankly, I believe that high definition digital audio, coupled with a large penetration of high speed internet access at home, might, in a few years, drive a resurgence in HiFi. In fact, I am not sure about US statistics, but in some Latin American countries, there is a ratio of 5 to 1 between video (TV+ Digital reproduction+ Game Consoles) and audio expenditures. The main reason is that people have seen more and more high quality video content, which has driven the need to buy better platforms. I am hopeful that more widespread HD audio content will help in this matter. How long? I think it might take 3-4 years.

 

I am less optimistic because of the differing requirements for portability that the public sets for audio vs video. Yes people like to be able to watch a movie on the fly but that is a 90 minute commitment. Songs are 2-4 minutes and can be terminated at need without requiring to bookmark. It doesn't require any hands to listen to music either. People listening to vinyl actually present a better avenue to audiophilism since you have to play the 15 minute side at least and sit down with the stereo. There was the hope 20 years ago that good quality home theater systems would provoke people to either listen to higher rez content or buy a dedicated music system as well. Never happened.

 

I set my son up with some hand me down equipment in his bedroom, A pair of polk speakers, a yamaha receiver and an old sony turntable.. he regularly buys albums now. he still uses his ipod through his rig too, i think its all about educating them,just like anything else

 

If there actually was a HiFi resurgence amongst the young this thread would quickly be replaced by one similar to the cassette resurgence thread. Beware the hipsters, they want your vintage HiFi...

 

I have a new teacher in our Math Dept who just bought their first house and she raved about the great sound bar they have on their big TVs and how nicely it sits on their fireplace mantle. You would have been proud as I just wished her hours of enjoyment.

 

I've found that most people want an unobtrusive system in their homes. Those of us who are audiophiles are in the minority and it will always remain that way. Additionally, most people won't spend the money even for entry-level hi-fi gear, even if they can hear or appreciate the difference. Since she has the sound bar on the mantle, that tells me she has a flat screen mounted above the fireplace; and awful place for a TV. I'm very proud of you for not trying to make her see the error of her ways; it's sort of like beating your head against the wall, isn't it?

I think that the vinyl resurgence is helping sales of turntables and it is a gateway to higher fidelity, but most of the folks buying them will never go much beyond where they are. I've always tried to buy the best I can get that meets my needs within my budget. While not a High-End system, it is light years better than anything any of my friends have. They like listening at my house, but not one would ever spend what I have. Most don't want the "clutter" of all the gear in their rooms.

 

I have a friend on my recommendation bought a Denon receiver (397) off Accessories4less with a Denon Cd carousel and a pair of new JBL ES30 speakers ((bookshelf 3-way) with a 6.5 woofer...all under $600 and the receiver has a phono stage for when he buys a TT if he wants. He is very happy and does his video in 2 channel and can add a sub if he wants and JBL has many off their website that are affordable. There is no financial reason to listen to bad audio in 2014 if you know what and where to buy. That is not much more than a WavRadio.

 

You know, the one thing we never got in this thread was any data. Do we even know for sure that the HiFi market IS still shrinking or if it ever did?

It very well might be that the overall equipment market is growing, but that the proliferation of manufacturers means that most aren't seeing the profits they perhaps once enjoyed. Dealers might also be seeing less business, but perhaps a lot of that market is buying online or other avenues. One would certainly think that HiFi would be growing worldwide in emerging markets like China, India, Brazil, etc. Perhaps this growth is growing the HiFi pie worldwide, even if it's still shrinking in the States.

 

THANK YOU. This sort of thing drives me NUTS. Why would ANYONE want to watch TV with their head angled up?