[Audio_Empire[_2_]]

On Monday, November 25, 2013 11:45:06 AM UTC-8, ScottW wrote:
On Monday, November 25, 2013 9:41:29 AM UTC-8, wrote:
In this week's online stereophile the editor bemoans the plight of "hi=
gh =20
end",ie. price tag, audio. The boomers are no longer the buyers and =
=20
younger generations take their audio straight up, so to speak, as but o=
ne =20
part of several ongoing activities. The fear that audio gear will beco=
me a =20
commodity was raised, and it is a reality that fancy boxes as living ro=
om =20
set pieces have lost their appeal. Why the high cost spread when the e=
ver =20
present smartphone brings in the tunes thank you.
=20
The only people who "fear" audio gear as a commodity are those invested =
in the "high end" business.=20
IMO, the performance gap is long gone between commodity gear and high en=
d in all categories=20
except speakers...and even that continues to close.=20
For those who accept personal listening systems, it's reversed. =20
The problem for the high end is that equipment costing many thousands doe=
sn't sound any better=20
than a Sansa clip and ear buds. Few are going to clutter their rooms an=
d spend thousands for gear=20
that arguably sounds no better (and probably sounds much worse, especial=
ly considering the=20
difficulty in creating clean deep bass in a typical home room) just to cr=
eate an in front of you sound=20
stage.
It's especially of little value to those who have grown up used to a soun=
d stage in their heads.

ScottW

I agree with you that the era has long passed where (with electronics, anyw=
ay) State-of-the-art performance =3D megabuck pricing. Most high-end audio =
is a result of price gouging, circuit design decisions that are unnecessari=
ly complex and result in high-priced components with no more performance th=
an could be attained with much simpler and cheaper circuit topologies. or s=
imply "bling". I can think of several manufacturers that have casework and =
fascia panels that must cost well over US$1000 to fabricate (and using the =
standard retail markup number that says that selling price =3D 6X manufactu=
ring cost means that the casework alone would cost six to twelve THOUSAND d=
ollars!).

But we part company when you start comparing iPod and iPod-like devices and=
ear-buds favorably with a good stereo system. Maybe such a playback is sat=
isfying to you, but I know many audiophiles including myself, that would no=
t find these portable devices anything more than a convenient way to carry =
their music with them when they need to do so.=20