Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.
03-20-01
Wow and for the same price as a gnu beemer ? where do you sh ... Detlof
03-20-01
I shop at autogon, where else? ;~) the buell is my one con ... Sedond
03-21-01
Thanks doug, you make me feel all nostalgic. the last time i ... Detlof
03-23-01
The question should be why do we love audio? it's clear tha ... Limabean683
04-05-01
We share the "perfectionist" mindset and aren't ev ... Wehamilton
04-05-01
A splendid analysis, wehamilton. how come you know me so wel ... Detlof
04-05-01
Limabean, my hat's off to you and your shipmates. installin ... Wehamilton
04-06-01
Wehamilton, i was (self)diagnosed, but that did not help eit ... Detlof
04-07-01
Wehamilton, thanks for the miles davis dedication. his &quo ... Limabean683
04-11-01
For @ least the following reasons: 1. very few people know h ... Tciborow
04-16-01: Docwarnock
Much of the above thread emphasizes a people are lazy-stupid-inbred-indifferent line of reasoning. While convenient to make, this argument is really a cop-out and probably misses the underlying causes for the growing lack of interest in high-end audio.
Consider that the number of consumers purchasing high-end gear has consistently declined, and by marked amounts, since the mid-90's. Are we to believe that there has been a dramatic acceleration in laziness, stupidity, indifference, and inbreeding in so short a span of time? If not, then something else must account for the rejection of the high-end by so many people. I can only give my experience and would not be so bold as to proffer that it is typical of everyone or even most.
My first brush with the high-end came in 1979 when I heard a reference rig consisting of KEF 105's, Crown reference amplification, and a Linn analog front end. The experience was magical, but the $8K-$10K price tag was well beyond my means at the time. I settled a few years later for Hafler amplification, an ADCOM pre, Maggies, and an early generation CD player.
Recently, I decided to completely replace the entire system and was delighted that I now had sufficient means to purchase a high-end setup. After extensive research and many trips to area audio salons, I am disappointed to say the least. First, the sound of the modern reference rigs is not fundamentally better than what I heard in 1979, period! But the price tag is now in the $100K+ range. Moreover, if anything has changed, it is not a marked improvement in the quality of the high-end, but rather the narrowing of the gap between the mid-fi/near-high-end and the "true high-end."
So you tell me, when I can buy a very respectable 2-channel rig for $6K or so, buy an Audi S8, spend two weeks cruising the Greek isles, and purchase $20K worth of art --- OR buy a $100K stereo system, which should I do? This is really a no-brainer.
Simply put, the high-end audio industry has failed miserably in innovating and developing new products that are substantially better in any significant sense. The value per dollar quotient has never looked poorer, and people are not so stupid that they are unaware of this.
Count me as another defector.
P.S. Would the last one out please remember to turn out the lights?
Docwarnock (Threads | Answers | This Thread)
04-17-01
Although basically i would agree with you, that since the be ... Detlof
04-17-01
I don't think the emphasis is so much on people being lazy o ... Kthomas
04-17-01
Kthomas, following on yr thread, audio is not (yet) a lifest ... Gregm
04-18-01
Home theatre better matches the "zeitgeist" of the ... Wehamilton
04-18-01
Wow wehamilton, excellent! i wished, i would have been able ... Detlof
04-18-01
Wehamilton, your reference to people not wanting reality and ... Gregm
04-18-01
Wehamilton, interesting post and your analysis of our popula ... Docwarnock
04-18-01
I suspect that there is more innovation in a/v gear because ... Tubegroover
04-18-01
Isn't the basic question how the hi-end defines itself, at l ... Kthomas
04-18-01
There's no question the electronics industry is always looki ... Wehamilton
04-18-01
Uh-oh, i see a chicken versus the egg argument starting. no ... Docwarnock
04-18-01
There's no question the electronics industry is always looki ... Wehamilton
04-19-01
Docwarnock, i agree - ht as a phenomena exists because of th ... Kthomas
04-19-01
Those of us interested in high-end do say "whoa!!!! coo ... Metaphysics
04-19-01
I was going to say 1 in a 1000 but thought it might sound ov ... Kthomas
04-19-01
I have to disagree on your last statement. almost nobody th ... Metaphysics
04-19-01
Kthomas sez: "ht as a phenomena exists because of the ... Sedond
04-19-01
Meta, the reason that people don't ask where they can get on ... Docwarnock
04-19-01
People used to being hyper-stimulated don't like to sit in f ... Wehamilton
04-20-01
There is one notable exception to the rule that audio gear i ... Neubilder
04-20-01
I agree that most music out there is pure pap with no worthw ... Neubilder
04-22-01
I think that most people are not experienced listeners.whate ... Johnny7
04-23-01
I feel that there are a lot of people who can afford excelle ... Audio_unlimited
04-23-01
Hi audio-unlimited. ah, if only what ewe are saying were tr ... Sedond
07-05-01
Because too many audiophiles listen to their equipment not t ... Nrchy
07-07-01
They do; they just can't afford it. Mdorsam
07-23-01
There is the category of a rich guys that come to audio deal ... Marakanetz
07-23-01
Clearly there must be many in this category - during a recen ... Kthomas
07-31-01
I think the ultra high end does market itself pretty well an ... Don_t
09-02-01
Because they just don't realize just how good it is!!! lack ... Zane
09-05-01
Because you don't need anything better than a ghetto blaster ... tidemah@
09-15-01
I'm a recent convert to the high end. i think my conversion ... Ponzio
09-18-01
We're guilty of projection. most of us are into gear as a m ... Whknopp0713
10-03-01
Because most people don't have the time to listen. from tho ... Pbb
01-23-02
I have a couple of friends who make absolute nuisances of th ... Bishopwill
01-23-02
My personal feeling is.....there are not to many people love ... Twinaudiovideo
01-24-02
Because the more revealing the hardware the less enjoyable t ... Joekras
01-24-02
Joekras, got to love'ya. short, to the point. the undoing ... Pbb
01-24-02
Will, you hit the nail on the head. audiophiles should do l ... Lngbruno
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