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The Industry as a whole is HOSTILE to Computer Audio

Posted by AbeCollins (A) on April 14, 2016 at 08:29:04

In Reply to: MQA is Hostile to Computer Audio posted by Tony Lauck on April 10, 2016 at 08:49:58:

You'll notice that many reviews in the usual mags are hostile to computer audio. Hostile may be too strong but lets say unfavorable.

Why? Probably not because EVERY branded turnkey product sounds better than a DIY PC based system, but because there is no MONEY to be made by anyone who pushes DIY PC based audio solutions. Not the high-end hardware manufacturers, not the magazines that rely on ad revenue, not the reviewers who rely on new products for review, which in turn get advertised in the magazines.

You're not going to see reviews for mother boards, SSDs, DRAM, operating systems, protocols, etc. or even complete PC's with numerous tweaks because no one in the industry makes money here. Shove a PC (or some other "computer") into a "high-end" case, tweak it, brand it, and wrap it in marketing hype on how only the manufacturer can create magic with it and you now have a viable product for review and advertising dollars.

The other problem is the fact that most of these DIY computer based audio systems are "one offs" with too many variables for a meaningful review. Sure there might an isolator here, a reclocker there, a new piece of software, a dedicated USB card, etc. But the real money and ad revenue won't be found here. It will be found in turnkey music servers, network players, and complete systems made by manufacturers targeting the high dollar high-end market. These are complete products that can be reviewed, photographed, advertised, and sold direct or by dealers.

- A PC or Mac with a variety of tweaks, no matter how awesome it may sound, will never "win" in a magazine review.

- Reviewing and selling readers on Mac, Dell, HP, or Generic White Box PCs for high-end audio offers no monetary benefit for the tight knit high-end audio ecosystem.

- If you can't brand it you can't advertise it, so no one makes money from it, ....so why review it favorably? Pretty simple stuff really.

Edits: 04/14/16 04/14/16 04/14/16 04/14/16

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