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#1
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
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The death of audio
J. g. holt the founder of stereophile at the end of his life was of the
mind that audio is near death for having neglected this: Interview in stereophile, of which the entire thing is worth the timed to read. http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/1107awsi/ Audio as a hobby is dying, largely by its own hand. As far as the real world is concerned, high-end audio lost its credibility during the 1980s, when it flatly refused to submit to the kind of basic honesty controls (double-blind testing, for example) that had legitimized every other serious scientific endeavor since Pascal. [This refusal] is a source of endless derisive amusement among rational people and of perpetual embarrassment for me, because I am associated by so many people with the mess my disciples made of spreading my gospel. It is ironic the very mag he founded was in the forefront of this neglect and of promoting voodoo audio., as it and fellow travelers continue. |
#2
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
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The death of audio
On Thursday, June 27, 2013 12:43:57 PM UTC-7, wrote:
J. g. holt the founder of stereophile at the end of his life was of the mind that audio is near death for having neglected this: Interview in stereophile, of which the entire thing is worth the timed to read. http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/1107awsi/ Audio as a hobby is dying, largely by its own hand. As far as the real world is concerned, high-end audio lost its credibility during the 1980s, when it flatly refused to submit to the kind of basic honesty controls (double-blind testing, for example) that had legitimized every other serious scientific endeavor since Pascal. [This refusal] is a source of endless derisive amusement among rational people and of perpetual embarrassment for me, because I am associated by so many people with the mess my disciples made of spreading my gospel. It is ironic the very mag he founded was in the forefront of this neglect and of promoting voodoo audio., as it and fellow travelers continue. Gordon was frustrated by the path that most equipment manufacturers were taking - chasing millionaires. Youngsters were demonstrating that they would rather listen to portable devices on headphones than on stereo gear, and with few of them becoming audiophiles, Gordon saw most manufacturers heading that growing part of the market, the millionaire. These guys want to show-off their wealth so, when they build a new house, they set aside a "music room" where a (never played) grand piano shares the space with a half-million dollar stereo (also never played). He was disgusted that the mid market was being abandoned, and that the magazines were following this up-market migration with their reviews of this cost-is-no-object bling. But he was wrong in his conclusions (thankfully). The record crowds at audio shows world-wide indicate that the interest in high-end audio is not waning and the hobby isn't dying |
#4
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
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The death of audio
Gary Eickmeier wrote:
Perhaps a good analogy would be photography or video. I certainly was fascinated by both growing up, and have tried endlessly to get more realistic reproduction of still pictures and movies. We went through the digital revolution as well, to our great joy. But now EVERYONE has a camera or several cameras, and they go around shooting movies vertically composed without tripods and watch it on cel phones or Youtube. They couldn't care less about projecting movies onto a big screen or even surround sound systems. Well, all this is saying in effect is that people other thanm nerds are enjoying themselves with the hobby. They really couldn't care less; this is not a bad thing. Andrew. |
#5
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
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The death of audio
In article ,
"Gary Eickmeier" wrote: wrote: J. g. holt the founder of stereophile at the end of his life was of the mind that audio is near death for having neglected this: Interview in stereophile, of which the entire thing is worth the timed to read. http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/1107awsi/ Audio as a hobby is dying, largely by its own hand. As far as the real world is concerned, high-end audio lost its credibility during the 1980s, when it flatly refused to submit to the kind of basic honesty controls (double-blind testing, for example) that had legitimized every other serious scientific endeavor since Pascal. [This refusal] is a source of endless derisive amusement among rational people and of perpetual embarrassment for me, because I am associated by so many people with the mess my disciples made of spreading my gospel. It is ironic the very mag he founded was in the forefront of this neglect and of promoting voodoo audio., as it and fellow travelers continue. All true enough, but I am afraid the death of audio is more of a generational thing. We were fascinated by the technology of sound reproduction because we grew up first in the "hi fi" era and then when stereo came out we were convinced that the goal of "being there" could be achieved, so we kept on at it with the dedication of an alchemist. The paths we took were many and the opportunity for profit sometimes shameful. Nowadays, audio is still with us in the many forms you have mentioned, plus motion pictures, car stereo, and the web. Having grown up with these fully mature systems they think nothing of it, tehy just use it like appliances to listen to pop tunes. Perhaps a good analogy would be photography or video. I certainly was fascinated by both growing up, and have tried endlessly to get more realistic reproduction of still pictures and movies. We went through the digital revolution as well, to our great joy. But now EVERYONE has a camera or several cameras, and they go around shooting movies vertically composed without tripods and watch it on cel phones or Youtube. They couldn't care less about projecting movies onto a big screen or even surround sound systems. Not due to the industry committing suicide, just familiarity with the toys we have created and unimpressed with them because they grew up with all of them. Gary Eickmeier Good point. In my day, using, again your photography analogy, the only people who used "good cameras" were photography buffs. Lots of people bought them (GIs in PX's around the world) but few actually used them. Most people used simple box cameras, and in my day, a box camera was simply that * a box camera. You shot on roll film, by "clicking" the shutter and "winding the camera 'till the next number showed up in the little red window. Then you dropped the film off at the drug store and waited for your pictures to come back to you as you wondered which ones will "come out". The process depended on the fact that the film had rather wide latitude and would produce acceptable images even though everything was fixed: shutter speed, aperture, focus. Only photo buffs dealt with light-meters, and adjustments. But photo buffs loved it. I remember learning all of the processes involved. Developing B&W, color negative film, as well as color slide film. I made prints from my enlarger for all of them. Audio was similar. I built kits for the electronics, my dad and I built speaker cabinets together, and having a fine stereo as a teen was a point of pride with me. Like the photography hobby, I enjoyed learning about the equipment and the processes involved on both ends of the recording chain. Today, like photography, the equipment is just there. One really need not think about it. You want sound, you buy the box that does that. Everybody has a receiver and a pair of speakers and they don't give a hoot or a hollar about the stuff. Likewise, everybody has a decent digital camera (I have a 10 megapixel, 5X zoom digital camera that I keep in the car. I paid $50 for it!). While technology has made all the fiddling redundant, to the average joe, all he needs do is point and shoot just like his dad did with the family Brownie, only today, all of his pictures come out. I have noted many times that if you talk to another audiophile, chances are good that you'll find that his "other" hobby is photography. --- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: --- |
#6
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
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The death of audio
I'm more concerned about the death of phono/RCA connectors on the backs of receivers and TVs!
I would like to sprint for a 40-50" LED by 2014, but there's nowhere to plug in all of my perfectly functional older playback gear(DVD/VHS combo, etc). HDMIs are replacing analog connecters so fast there isn't even a mini 1/8" audio in port on audio gear any more. |
#7
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
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The death of audio
In article ,
wrote: I'm more concerned about the death of phono/RCA connectors on the backs of receivers and TVs! I would like to sprint for a 40-50" LED by 2014, but there's nowhere to plug in all of my perfectly functional older playback gear(DVD/VHS combo, etc). HDMIs are replacing analog connecters so fast there isn't even a mini 1/8" audio in port on audio gear any more. I have just the opposite problem. My big Pioneer Elite rear-projector HD TV is too old to have any HDMI inputs. As a result, I have a Blu-Ray player, but it won't output anything other 480i from Blu-Ray discs over the analog PbPyR output jacks. Regular DVD's it will at least output at 480p, but NOT Blu-Ray discs! What a waste! --- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: --- |
#8
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
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The death of audio
Audio_Empi
I have just the opposite problem. My big Pioneer Elite rear-projector HD TV is too old to have any HDMI inputs. As a result, I have a Blu-Ray.." I think it was only the last two model years that TV mfgs decided to scale wayyyy back on rcas and really bone up on hidmees. |
#9
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
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The death of audio
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#10
Posted to rec.audio.high-end
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The death of audio
Somewhere on teh intarwebs wrote:
J. g. holt the founder of stereophile at the end of his life was of the mind that audio is near death for having neglected this: Interview in stereophile, of which the entire thing is worth the timed to read. http://www.stereophile.com/asweseeit/1107awsi/ Audio as a hobby is dying, largely by its own hand. As far as the real world is concerned, high-end audio lost its credibility during the 1980s, when it flatly refused to submit to the kind of basic honesty controls (double-blind testing, for example) that had legitimized every other serious scientific endeavor since Pascal. [This refusal] is a source of endless derisive amusement among rational people and of perpetual embarrassment for me, because I am associated by so many people with the mess my disciples made of spreading my gospel. It is ironic the very mag he founded was in the forefront of this neglect and of promoting voodoo audio., as it and fellow travelers continue. Here's a short piece I just read that is sort of relevant: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/27/te...em/index.html? # # # # # !!Warning - Reminiscing follows!! # # # # # There are some truths in it. I remember when I went (from my home in New Zealand) to live and work on Norfolk Island for a year or three at the end of the 70s - I guess similar to the author's move to college. I had a component system and five 'beer crates' of LPs (about 25 to the wooden crate, leaving 'flipping room' - they were a real boon to the young carefree budding audiophile as they were *very* strong and LPs fitted into them perfectly). I didn't take my system and LPs with me and rather foolishly let myself be talked into letting a friend 'look after' the records rather than put them into storage. On my return in 1980 we had a party at said friends house as I was gagging to hear some of my music again... Two hours later, after having listened to scratches, skips, pops and 'loops' I gave him the whole collection! So much for looking after it - he'd turned into a real party animal who let just anyone change the records - usually not worrying about putting the last one away. :-( I was so stressed out by the experience I embraced the small part of me that was still hippy and divested myself of material wories. I started buying CDs a while later and didn't look back. -- /Shaun. "Humans will have advanced a long, long, way when religious belief has a cozy little classification in the DSM." David Melville (in r.a.s.f1) [Sent from my OrbitalT ocular implant interface.] |
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