[Audio_Empire]

On Monday, December 30, 2013 8:15:30 AM UTC-8, =
wrote:
This week 's online stereophile continues in its series of articles=20
=20
bemoaning the poor state of hifi.

'The new audio geek'=20

"It's no secret that the high-end audio industry has done a=20
poor job o
reestablishing the mainstream respect it enjoyed through the=20
latter
half of the 20th century, but its lack of reach has never been =20
as
painfully obvious as it is today. Teens are inextricably tied=20
to
smartphones, moms and dads are infatuated with Bluetooth=20
streaming, and
most people would rather pay too much for an MP3 than anything=20
at all
for a DSD download. In a world dominated by fancy gadgets and
intriguing technologies, the pursuit of true high-fidelity=20
sound
remains an obscure pastime for a relatively small group of =20
aging males."

And the answer to why the hifi industry is in its death rattle comes a =
bit =20
down in a "review" of wire. Expensive wire pushed for every reason =
not=20
related to hifi explains it all. Hifi gear is now a commodity item =
except=20
for speakers.

Digital tech toys have also replaced hifi just as hifi in part =
displaced=20
radio as the "guy" thing to do.

Stereophile is deluded as they are part of the problem. Audio is =
supposed to=20
be a hobby. But two things have taken it out of that realm. First is the =
prices
that many companies charge for their gear. There is simply no excuse for =
any
piece of audio equipment to cost what some of this stuff costs these =
days. A=20
pair of speakers that cost as much as decent-sized house in some =
markets?=20
Gimme a break! By chasing the nouveau riche market, they have left the =
traditional
audio hobbyist out of the picture entirely, and magazines like =
Stereophile,
whether on purpose or not, send the message: "This stuff is so =
expensive, that
it's only for the very rich. Youngsters and average working Joes need =
not apply."=20
How are you going to get new blood into any hobby when, on the surface =
of it,
it looks as if a decent stereo system will cost more than a new Ferrari?=20=

The second thing that has taken audio out of the "interesting hobby " =
category
of leisure activities, is that there really isn't any "hobby" left. You =
buy an=20
outrageously expensive piece of gear, set it on a shelf, connect it to =
other
outrageously priced pieces of gear and then listen to it. That makes =
modern=20
audio not only ghastly costly, but no more of a hobby than a big-screen =
TV!

It used to be that excellent equipment could be had cheaply. And to get =
even more
hobby-like (and cheaper still) there were kits. People could get =
involved with their
equipment and add to their pride of ownership, the added pride of =
accomplishment.
Today, buying new cables and other dubious tweaks such as wood blocks =
and cable
elevators are really all the involvement that the modern "hobbyist" can =
have over=20
his audio system.=20

When I was a teenager, I had a very good system. It was built completely =
from kits
which either I bought from money earned by doing odd jobs or were given =
to me=20
for Christmas or birthdays (the equipment was that reasonable. My dad, a =
talented=20
amateur cabinet maker, built my speaker cabinets for me, and in those =
days, one=20
generally made one's own interconnect cables by soldering tin-plated RCA =
plugs
onto lengths of coaxial cable. You were really involved with your =
system. This=20
attracts teenage kids and certainly started me on a lifelong search for =
good sound.
But I have to admit it was more fun back then, and my Knight-kits, Eico =
Kits, and=20
Heath-kits sounded as good my young ears then as the best equipment =
sounds to=20
me today. It really didn't, of course, but I didn't know that.=