Or is there such a thing. I’m talking about the everyday non audiophile music listener that probably buys pre configured lower priced systems if they buy systems at all. Many probably just use some type of portable device. Why this might mean anything to us here is that most music and equipment manufacturing would be developed and aimed at the mass money market not us audiophiles. Unfortunately the smaller the market usually the higher the prices and that can easily be demonstrated by the almost unobtainable prices of higher quality higher end equipment today. Thing is do the vast majority of music listeners/lovers even care. Hope I’m wrong.
In all honesty I think you are over thinking this. The music I'm buying which is mostly hi-res (SACDs, DVD-As and Blu-ray Audio) sounds just fine on my system. I'm certainly not looking to remortgage my house to get "higher end" gear where the point of diminishing returns is in play. With that I don't think one has to have a "megabuck" system to enjoy audiophile quality music.
I’m talking about the everyday music listener not the people here. I would think most here are already an order of magnitude above what is the overall average.
Bluetooth speakers, smart speakers, sound bars and earbuds. That’s what the average person is using to playback music these days. If anything, this means that traditional “hifi” equipment is increasingly ONLY targeted at people like us, so perhaps that’s actually promising?
OK... but if it doesn't involve those of us on SH why would it really matter? In all honesty I'm not really concerned in the least about the listening habits of the everyday music listener. Chances are they're listening to music on their phones using ear buds. Why the concern? They certainly don't seem concerned about SQ so why should we?
Amongst my peer group (40-55) there are no more dedicated 2 channel systems. In fact, I very rarely see surround sound AVR systems as well. For television, most are content with using the TV speakers and/or a soundbar. For music listening, it's most often a simple bluetooth speaker. There are a few exceptions where I've seen a Sonos speaker/soundbar combination. If I go to a house party, I'm always noticing this stuff. Minimalism is the goal for anything aside from giant televisions. In my social group, I'm known as the "music guy" where I have a dedicated 2 channel system for listening. My friends really do enjoy how it sounds in my listening room and enjoy the novelty of playing vinyl now and then, but none have really shown any interest in that sort of thing for their own homes. My closest group of friends all enjoy music but only as background soundtracks or in their cars. I don't see any real focused or critical listening, although it would be something they would have done in their youth.
Longer answer: My wife and my sister often use Amazon Echo’s respectively while in the kitchen either cleaning or cooking, or separately while driving. Most non-audiophile people like music as background noise rather than a primary focus of attention. That’s just the way it is and I don’t see it changing any time soon.
I would say the same applies from my group of friends and family members. Even those old friends that had nice systems back in the day do not have decent systems anymore. Have a few friends with nice systems but that's the minority by far. I've tried to talk one of my oldest friends to setup a dedicated two channel system in a spare room in his house. But he seems content to listen to music with headphones.
So is there no “trickle down effect” whereas better quality would spark interest in some to explore more advanced sound? How does the average person ever get exposed to better quality sound in an atmosphere where it could be appreciated? People tend to be more isolated today in my experience anyway.
I'm not sure that many people "listen to music" as a discrete activity. Listening to music has to compete with video games, streaming video and general phone-based distractions such as social media - hence no need for hifi of a quality greater than bluetooth speakers. Speaking personally, it's only since I started getting back into to vinyl that I've become (once again) a conscious listener. The last few years I've mostly listened to music whilst driving, working or cooking on an Apple HomePod, thru a car stereo or via earbuds. However, now that I have a dedicated two channel system (Technics SL1500c, Krell KAV 400xi and KEF LS50s) in a room which is not really used for anything else I find that I make time to sit down and listen, undistracted, to an album. No phones, tablets, books etc - just me and the music - and it's wonderful. But I don't think that this is a common practice any more - and it goes against the cultural grain somewhat. It requires a conscious effort and decision to *just* listen to the music.
Seems as you have found your way back to musical enjoyment and that’s really great. Hope more people move in the same direction.
Agreed. And the likelihood of just listening isn't going to increase over time if the young people with whom I've spent any time are anything to go by. A number of years ago, a cousin's 19 year-old daughter came to stay with us. We agreed to watch a film (nothing heavy or long) and she couldn't go more than 5 minutes before she was on her phone looking at Zuckerbook. I have a 16 year old nephew that would probably struggle to go 20 minutes without pissing about with his phone.... If you can't concentrate on a film/tv show, you have ZERO chance of being able to listen to an album without any messing about...
I bought a $90 Sony CD player recently at Best Buy. It's crazy how much better it sounds than my computer speakers.
The trickle down has resulted in Advanced Convenience, which is a good thing for that segment of the market. In the last ten years the state of the art has gone from the Bose Wave to Sonos.
It’s amazing to a degree to see the reaction when people walk past the sound system as they walk into my house. You get a sort of “What the hell is that all about” look”. Concentrated dedicated listening is a foreign concept to most nowadays.
Most people think my audio cabinet looks like a 'shop' with all the gear in it, albeit a nicely displayed shop Mostly they notice how far my speakers are out into the room....'now why would anyone want to do that?!'
You know. I have the larger HomePod and its shocking good for what it is. Its great for TV and asking Siri stupid questions. The smaller pod is a toy in comparison and neither are low-Fi, Mid-Fi or Hi-Fi. Hell, they aren't even Fi... consumer appliances low-fi mid-fi hi-fi Audiophile
I think it's a complex phenomenon. Like others have mentioned there are factors like attention span, other leisure time options, cost, living space and yes, the fact that a lot of people will never be exposed to a really good sounding system. There is also the value of the actual music. In the heyday of 2 channel, much disposable income was spent on physical media, so it only made sense to try to get the best out of it. Now, 75 million songs for $9.99 a month means the music has limited per unit value to people who have only experienced streaming services. People still love music but they no longer have to invest to love it.
