[[email protected]]

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.

[Audio_Empire[_2_]]

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

[Gary Eickmeier]

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

[Andrew Haley]

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.

[Audio_Empire]

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.

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[[email protected]]

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.

[Audio_Empire]

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!

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[[email protected]]

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.

[Audio_Empire]

In article ,
wrote:

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.

My Sony Blu-Ray player DOES have PbPrY outputs, and it outputs HD from
NetFlix, Amazon, etc. Internet streaming video sites, but it won't
output HD from a Blu-Ray disc and in fact, it plays Blu-Ray HD discs
ONLY as 480i, It won't even output 480p over component except from
standard Definition DVD videos! What a load of paranoid bullpuckey. As
if any pirate is going to to make analog copies of Blu-Ray HD content.
It's simply a ploy by the manufacturers to get people to buy new
equipment. Anti-Piracy my arse!


[ Please turn the topic back to audio matters. -- dsr ]

[~misfit~[_3_]]

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.]