The future of "high end" audio
On Monday, November 25, 2013 2:45:06 PM UTC-5, ScottW wrote:
On Monday, November 25, 2013 9:41:29 AM UTC-8, wrote:
The problem for the high end is that equipment costing many thousands doesn't sound any better than a Sansa clip and ear buds. Few are going to clutter their rooms and spend thousands for gear that arguably sounds no better (and probably sounds much worse, especially considering the difficulty in creating clean deep bass in a typical home room) just to create an in front of you sound stage.
It's especially of little value to those who have grown up used to a sound stage in their heads.
ScottW
I agree with ScottW's comments with respect to the sound of extremely high priced gear compared to that of far less expensive equipment. Additionally people who purchased expensive vintage gear when new and compare to the new high-end stuff realize quickly that if you ignore the "bling" of the new, the old stuff sounds as good or better. So unless their equipment goes belly up, they stay out of the market, content to smugly audition then go home and happily listen to their own. The many audiophiles that one individual might know who would not be satisfied with the sound of the personal hifi do not extrapolate into a large enough market segment to keep high-end alive IMO.
Finally, "Ipod and Ipod like devices" connect so easily to higher priced equipment and the resulting sound is so good that I would not be surprised if they found their way into systems of all but the most snobbish. I routinely borrow my son's Ipod and plug it into my Quad ESL63/Gradient based system..
ESTG/
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