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In Reply to: RE: Can the industry return to the glory years? First off, posted by tinear on April 23, 2014 at 08:51:31
Asked and answered.
"Forget it, it's Chinatown."
The "glory days" of audio were a one-shot deal, never to be repeated.
The position of audio in society was the result of a combination of technological, social, political, economic, and social-values (especially about dating and mating) that will never come back.
While you are at it, Packards were great cars--it would be so nice to see Packards on the road again.
And what about live-in servants for people who are not goofy rich? Whatever happened to that?
Change is changeless.
Let go gracefully.
JM
Follow Ups:
holds the nations wealth.
Check the chart which shows that 80% of America have only 7% of the wealth of the country. How many of the top 5% are interested in audio. Extremely few and those who have "high end" audio are probably more concerned with cosmetics rather than true sound quality.
At one time these were the primary sponsors of American orchestras. These days sponsorships are dwindling and many, if not most, of America's orchestras are in financial trouble.
For a manufacturer, well, they simply have to go where the money is. If you're one of the 80%, well, then you command too little of the assets the manufacturers are going for (sorry, that's capitalism)
.
Never trust an Atom, they Make Up everything!
In 1964, when Tech Hifi was founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (coincidentally, it foundered/went bust circa 1985, and so that neatly bookmarks the history of the full flowering of component audio), if you wanted to hear your choice of music, you could phone a radio station and ask the DJ to play a certain song, or, you played a 45 rpm or LP vinyl phonograph record on anything from a suitcase compact to a Thorens/Marantz/Acoustic Research system.
Today, in sharp contrast, your stereo plays CDs and your TV system plays CDs and your CAR plays CDs and your PHONE plays digital files and your iPod if you have one plays digital files and your COMPUTER does too, and also can access Pandora and thousands of Internet radio stations.
So, when someone is trying to sell a consumer a "fine audio system," you MUST look at it no other way than, "that guy is trying to sell someone something that he already has four or five of--things in his life that play music on demand."
That is the huge difference between 1964 and 2014. The 1% don't have anything at all to do with it.
I am told that it is a very rare person who has a Ferrari as his only car, a daily driver. I can believe that, because I know the guy who is the exception to the rule. But the point remains that if someone already owns a car to commute to work to, a car to take trips in, and a car for the summer home, to get him to buy yet another car means that you have to be selling something that offers an experience that is outstandingly better than all the other things in his life that perform the same function, and that is why Porsche makes money. And also I guess why the job title of "Mistress" will never go out of style, but I digress.
A stereo salesman today has to offer a potential customer something that offers a substantially superior ownership experience than the musical sound provided by the prospect's:
Phone
iPod/iPod dock
Computer
Car stereo
Home television/dvd player
Bose Wave Radio or Sonos
That's very hard to do for under $5000--the big Sonos thing is quite impressive and MORE THAN ADEQUATE FOR PARTIES AND CASUAL LISTENING. What is that, $800 all in?
So, from 1964 on, component audio has increasingly--up to the Tsunami point--become a victim of its own success.
98% of the people have taken a look, and decided to stand pat on what they've already got.
There is a direct analogy to fine video. I don't own a TV of any kind. It's hard to get a person who doesn't give a rat's ass about the finer points of cinema to pay more than $1000 for a TV--a $1000 flat panel does TV football games fine.
No turning back the hands of time.
It's "Chinatown time" for component audio.
JM
A pair of GoldenEar Triton 3s ($999 ea.) coupled with an Emotiva UPA-200 amp ($349, 125 watts/ch.) and an Oppo BDP-103 ($499) would seem to offer a truly outstanding digital audio/video playback system for about $2850 - *well* under your $5,000 benchmark. And careful shopping for the same components used could easily shave $500 off that price.
We are currently living in the Golden Age of Audio and at price points that make it attainable by all but those working a minimum wage gig. We no longer have to spend uber bucks to get truly great quality audio...
-CD-
A product that does it all, that can access the digital domain through wi-fi w/out having multiple linking products might be the next big thing.
But I think the excitement, as you point out, has to be more than mere convenience. It has to have a WOW! sound factor: I'm not sure the high-def is it, especially considering the lack of catalogue and the diminishing returns of "remastering."
I'm happy where I'm at, mostly in Redbook. Those live feeds from the Met and other venues also sound very good, to me, on my vintage system. So do the replayed "live" concerts; I wonder if they're recorded digitally?
Anyhow, I'm grateful that equipment I couldn't afford now goes for the proverbial song.
As far as mistresses, now that I could afford one, I don't care...
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