Newsflash. CNet Says "Audiophilia a Dying Sector"

[Ajani]

Hi Feanor

Personally, I think it was CD that ended the era and thats not meant as a pop at CD, let me explain:

Cheap record players of the 50s 60s and 70s were crap, absolute crap and they offended the ears. Not only that, many of them destroyed records. They were so bad that they inspired a multitude of people to try and get something better. Back in those days there werent really any mini systems, the choice was between a crap record player and a Hi Fi set of varying degrees of quality. Also in those days, people had less money so would have to ponder the Hi Fi magazines to find out what to buy. Very few impulse buys back in the 60s.

People would go out and buy their first system typically in the UK with a Garrard SP25 turntable etc and it would be so much better than their old record player that many of them would then become hooked and and a few years later go out and buy a Thorend TD150 - wow! so much better again then back for a Shure V15. It used to be a logical path from total crap gradually through better and better.

However, nowadays with CD and a mini system things start out very well, in fact, so well that few people want anything better.

End of story as far as I can see!

Cheers

Chas

Good point.... a $200 mini-system won't sound remotely good by audiophile standards (trust me, I know)... but it sure as hell won't destroy your CDs and for most people it provides suitable musical quality, especially if you don't sit down and listen critically... another option is to get an Ipod and a decent pair of headphones, as you'd have to spend a LOT more on a 2 channel system to better it sonically... (the only reason I don't recommend the ipod setup is because headphones are potentially bad for your hearing)...

Now if you want to have a real fun activity, try to convice someone with a $10K setup that they can get decent sound out of a $300 Ipod + Headphones combo... not, that I am in anyway implying that an ipod combo sounds nearly as good as a proper $10K stereo, just that what is available for very little money is far far better than many 'audiophiles' imagine...

If we really want to get younger generations interested in this hobby, then we need to end the snobbery and simply show realistic upgrade paths... Most consumers will never feel the need to upgrade (as Chas mentioned) but those who do, will be able to move up in reasonable increments...

The other strategy is to do as Naim (Bentley), B&W (Jaguar) and Mark Levinson (Lexus) are doing.... which is to align themselves with luxury cars... If you want to aim at the $10K plus market, then getting people who can afford those kind of setups used to your brand, is a good way to do it... Heck it's worked for BOSE (Mercedes) for sometime now (though Bose isn't really $10K, more around $5K but the principle is the same)...

[Chas Underhay]

The other strategy is to do as Naim (Bentley), B&W (Jaguar) and Mark Levinson (Lexus) are doing.... which is to align themselves with luxury cars... If you want to aim at the $10K plus market, then getting people who can afford those kind of setups used to your brand, is a good way to do it... Heck it's worked for BOSE (Mercedes) for sometime now (though Bose isn't really $10K, more around $5K but the principle is the same)...

Hi Ajani

I guess you could also relate it to cars in another way; 1950s 60s and 70s cars were also generally crap and because they were quite simple many people used to tinker with them and probably did often make them better but consider modern cars; even basic models are now so good that you don't need to tinker with them and they're reliable.

In the 60s the difference between a basic Ford and say a Bentley was vast. Nowadays that basic Ford will actually be quite close to a Bentley inasmuch as it will be totally reliable, will be able to (legally) complete long journeys in similar times it will be comfortable, quiet and will have all the toys like air-con, CD player, sat nav etc. A 1960s Bentley had a basic heater and wind up windows. Oh yeah, and it really wasn't that quick, handled like a sack of dung, wasn't very reliable and rusted badly. The Ford was ten times worse.

What I'm saying is that nowadays, the basic models are often so good (Ford or mini system) that many people don't feel any necessity to progress to more exotic products.

A $200 (£100) mini system may be a bit too far down the line to use as a comparison but something for around $400 to 500 (£200 to 250) would probably be quite good and considering inflation; that would roughly equate to spending about £10 to 12 on a record player in the 1960s. I think a Garrard 401 was about £30 in those days and Quad electrostatics about £30 each. A Bentley would have been about £5000 and an E type about £2000 by the way.

Cheers

Chas

[filecat13]

It's important not to overlook marketing and distribution to see where some of the change is coming from. People's buying habits have changed dramatically in the last ten years, as well as their research habits, communication habits, and social networking habits.

I'll bet a large number of the members here go to the Internet first when researching potential purchases. This is far more convenient than the old method of looking in the yellow pages, calling stores, and driving around trying to find stores that had something you wanted to see/hear.

I'll bet a large number of the members here will buy over the Internet even if they went to a store (if they could find one) first to listen to something. It's generally cheaper, and easy to do. It's far more convenient that the old method of comparison shopping store-to-store and stopping in to try to make a deal based on competitor's prices.

I'll bet a large number of members here do much of their preliminary and final social networking here and on other forums when it comes to deciding what to buy. How many times have people come seeking advice, they get it, they buy, and they don't stay long? This is far more convenient than the old method of getting opinions from neighbors, relatives, and idiot acquaintances who can get you a great deal from a guy who has a van load of audiophile gear that he'll sell WAY below cost.

The iPod is available on the Internet, at BB, at CC, at the mall kiosk, at Target, at Macy's, I mean where is it NOT available? We have at least six of them in the house, and there's two of us. As a contrast, when I wanted to buy a Sony Walkman way back when, I had to trudge from store to store after making several calls from the yellow pages to find out who carried them, then had to show up in person to see if any were in stock when I got there, had to pay the darned MAP on it, and walked out of the store wondering what the real cost was in my time, gas, and energy.

Those who adapt to the new marketing and distribution paradigm will profit, and those who don't will need to keep margins high by moving upscale and generating lots of repeat business. The problem with audiophiles is they get old and die, so at some point the business does not repeat and the old model becomes more vulnerable.

Yes, I think in a very literal sense, audiophilia is dying.

[Ajani]

It's important not to overlook marketing and distribution to see where some of the change is coming from. People's buying habits have changed dramatically in the last ten years, as well as their research habits, communication habits, and social networking habits.

I'll bet a large number of the members here go to the Internet first when researching potential purchases. This is far more convenient than the old method of looking in the yellow pages, calling stores, and driving around trying to find stores that had something you wanted to see/hear.

I'll bet a large number of the members here will buy over the Internet even if they went to a store (if they could find one) first to listen to something. It's generally cheaper, and easy to do. It's far more convenient that the old method of comparison shopping store-to-store and stopping in to try to make a deal based on competitor's prices.

I'll bet a large number of members here do much of their preliminary and final social networking here and on other forums when it comes to deciding what to buy. How many times have people come seeking advice, they get it, they buy, and they don't stay long? This is far more convenient than the old method of getting opinions from neighbors, relatives, and idiot acquaintances who can get you a great deal from a guy who has a van load of audiophile gear that he'll sell WAY below cost.

The iPod is available on the Internet, at BB, at CC, at the mall kiosk, at Target, at Macy's, I mean where is it NOT available? We have at least six of them in the house, and there's two of us. As a contrast, when I wanted to buy a Sony Walkman way back when, I had to trudge from store to store after making several calls from the yellow pages to find out who carried them, then had to show up in person to see if any were in stock when I got there, had to pay the darned MAP on it, and walked out of the store wondering what the real cost was in my time, gas, and energy.

Those who adapt to the new marketing and distribution paradigm will profit, and those who don't will need to keep margins high by moving upscale and generating lots of repeat business. The problem with audiophiles is they get old and die, so at some point the business does not repeat and the old model becomes more vulnerable.

Yes, I think in a very literal sense, audiophilia is dying.

I especially agree with your last point... Trying to hold on to audiophiles from the 70s or earlier, means a constantly declining customer base.... I think more brands and stores need to start trying to attract the younger generations if they have any serious plans of growing their business...

Interestingly, several major brands are now creating products that are in touch with modern times... Amps with USB inputs/DACS and media servers.. the only problem is that too many of these products are at the top end of their product lines... How many younger consumers can afford media servers in excess of $4K from Arcam or NAIM? Or Integrated amps (with built in DACs) for over $5K from Musical Fidelity or NAIM? Even Integrated Amps with just a USB input (very basic DAC) are $2K or more - Musical Fidelity and Bel Canto...

[pixelthis]

I especially agree with your last point... Trying to hold on to audiophiles from the 70s or earlier, means a constantly declining customer base.... I think more brands and stores need to start trying to attract the younger generations if they have any serious plans of growing their business...

Interestingly, several major brands are now creating products that are in touch with modern times... Amps with USB inputs/DACS and media servers.. the only problem is that too many of these products are at the top end of their product lines... How many younger consumers can afford media servers in excess of $4K from Arcam or NAIM? Or Integrated amps (with built in DACs) for over $5K from Musical Fidelity or NAIM? Even Integrated Amps with just a USB input (very basic DAC) are $2K or more - Musical Fidelity and Bel Canto...

Theres a word for that...RIPOFF.\Why anybody pays several grand for a "music server" is beyond me when a 300$ pc can do the same job.
CIRCUIT CITY HAD A "MEDIA SERVER" for 500$, basicall a TOWER PC.
And dont tell me you have to be "computer literate" to use your PC for a music server, Itunes, etc betray that falsehood.
Maybe the "audiophille " isnt dying but just moved maybe he's listening to itunes piped through his stereo.
I keep hearing about people ditching their CD collections, burning their music to HD, maybe this is the future.
If so then we need a version of teh future that is as "audiophile" quality as possible.

[Ajani]

Theres a word for that...RIPOFF.\Why anybody pays several grand for a "music server" is beyond me when a 300$ pc can do the same job.
CIRCUIT CITY HAD A "MEDIA SERVER" for 500$, basicall a TOWER PC.
And dont tell me you have to be "computer literate" to use your PC for a music server, Itunes, etc betray that falsehood.
Maybe the "audiophille " isnt dying but just moved maybe he's listening to itunes piped through his stereo.
I keep hearing about people ditching their CD collections, burning their music to HD, maybe this is the future.
If so then we need a version of teh future that is as "audiophile" quality as possible.

lol... I have to agree.... In the past I've used a mac-mini connected directly to my preamp as a music server... Now I run itunes on my laptop and stream all my music (apple lossless format) via a Squeezebox Classic...

Rather than spend big money on an overpriced music server... just set up a cheap computer/squeezebox combo and buy a good DAC (if you must)....