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In Reply to: RE: Are audiophiles an endangered "species?" posted by scruffy_ on October 28, 2016 at 08:44:30
...not so much, things are just changing.
The Baby Boomers are getting older and B & M stores are diminishing.
But with streaming, downloading, smartphones, etc. people, especially younger people, are listening to more music than ever before.
Many are moving to better headphones for their audiophile experience.
Passionate hobbyists in any hobby are a rare breed compared to the population as a whole.
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The very top is quite an interesting group. Yes, many of them who contribute to the What's Best Forum appear to have a lot of money. Many of them are quite knowledgeable and some are quite relaxed.
Below the water lies the generation gap. We don't like their music as a rule and the idea of listening to music on a cell phone drives me crazy.
The head-fi group may be a different iceberg. They are a mixed bag, like us, from top to bottom. The one thing i do find especially curious is that a large portion of the group seem to be more concerned about headphones and Dacs than amplifiers.
I think that this situation has it's roots in the modern headphile's love (or need) for things portable. Haven't you noticed this gravitation towards efficient and sensitive or "easy-to-drive" headphones over the past two decades?I'd say that many, if not most, of today's best selling "audiophile quality" headphones are marketed toward those who use portable and semi-portable digital source components.
Back in the old days, headphones like the Stax electrostatics, AKG K-1000 and K-701, Beyerdynamic 600 ohm, and Sennheiser HD-600 were kings of the hilltops and they all benefited from high-quality and often expensive amplification. Grado stood practically alone as the king of efficient listening amongst audiophiles, for a long time.
While it is still true that many modern top-tier headphones do not make it as portables precisely because they ARE extremely difficult to drive, it is perhaps even more true that the array of great-sounding/efficient headphones has been growing by leaps and bounds in comparison.
Edits: 10/29/16 10/29/16
They'll never take me alive.
No disrespect intended, but if there's little or no bounty on your head they'd probably prefer to bring you home in a pine box.
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