What’s really hurting the audio hobby?


Maybe it’s the audio dealer experience? Where else can newbies go to get started in this hobby. Isn't that where most of you got hooked?  Let me describe my latest visit to an audio store nearby. I won’t use the store name here, as that’s not the point.  Where I live there is really only one audio store left. That’s strange because I live in a very wealthy community. The Friday after Independence day, me and a friend went to this local audio store.  First time back there in years. We are both looking to upgrade. They have 3 audio rooms and two home theater rooms. The hi-end audio room (the store’s term) was an impressive room with extensive acoustic treatments. Mostly McIntosh gear. Sitting in the listening chair, you are looking at 600 watt Mac monoblocks running some nice tower speakers. A massive JL Audio Gotham subwoofer unit sat front and center facing the only listening chair. The McIntosh turntable was spun first. Sloooowww. It took my friend less than five seconds to point out the TT was running slow. The salesman had started to play Pink Floyd-Wish You Were Here, and it was noticeably slow. So the salesman flipped the switch to 45 rpm. Yes, that happened. He figured out it was too fast all on his own. Fiddle and poke at the TT for a bit and then the salesman said- "I’ll let them know it’s broke". Then he said he would just stream some music from a server. Bass! All you could hear was bass, and NOT good bass. He turned the subs down a little when asked, but all you could hear was tubby, muddy bass. The big tower speakers were overpowered by the sub.  I really wanted to hear what the main speakers alone sounded like, but could not get the salesman to shut off the subs.  On to the mid-fi room (the store’s term). The salesman tried to play us two different turntables. Neither turntable worked. One would not power up, and one was not hooked up to a system at all. Let me point out we didn’t care what source they used. I did say we both run analog and digital sources. Nothing interesting in the mid-fi room the first time through. Next room (no name) was a wall of bookshelf and small towers run by a wide selection of integrated amps. Not bad sound from some. Again, we were told this is “streaming quality audio”. This was the third time he mentioned we were listening to streaming quality audio. I took a guess at what that meant and asked if we could hear higher quality audio. So he took us back to the mid-fi room. He popped in a CD.I could not tell what CD equipment was being used. I think a Rotel integrated was selected. Everything in the cabinet was black faced behind dark glass. Not sure what CD it was either, but since he only had one, I let it go.

Big change! The Paradigm towers were now making good sounds. A big difference from his “streaming quality” demo. Next we switched to a pair of GE Triton 1s. I seriously might get a pair! They make nice sounds. By far the best thing we heard. There was more that happened that contributed to a poor experience, but I will move on.

Here is my point- What would anyone new to the hobby think of that experience? It took two seasoned audio guys pushing the salesman for over an hour before he played anything worth listening to. Would you buy anything from this place. Would you send a newbie in there? Let me know if I'm off base in thinking these audio stores are killing themselves off by the way they do business. Or is it just my misfortune that I have not been in a good dealer showroom in years?

vinylfan62
@mwatsme
good point (s).

@Eric
Ditto.
it is a brave new world and those under 40 as was said, seem to care less about audio fidelity despite streaming services that are offering more and more HD content.

unless of course this demographics upper tier ecconomically speaking.

its a buyer's market out there and the overwhelming bulk of dollars being traded into music see nothing much more beyond the devices they can hold in their hands or back packs for playback and personal 'micro' audio seems the ticket today more than ever before.

I hear folks talking more about headphones and or desktop streaming devices than anything else.... well, big flat screens aside., of course.

I feel going forward that dealerships catering to the high end market are going to have to be more competitive, and personable. in fact, I feel these few and far between upper end sellers are going to be forced to add something to the buying equation one can not find online or with immediately adjacent competition.

in a word, 'service'.

the days of those showrooms which are attended by snobish, arrogant, elitists should be seeing the writing on the wall... like dinosaurs they are doomed... if they refuse to change towards a more customer friendly service first and foremost business plan.

as well, B&M shops are going to find their inventories getting more scarce and their profit margins slimmer from sheer online competition which they can no longer afford to ignore as viable opposition.

as tedious as it is, the Audiogon shuffle remains a viable means for an immense number of devoted audio enthusiasts...

buy... try.... sell... repeat until the outcome is the one desired. or you tap out.

the dark web has had a severe damaging influence on local audio shops for sure.

moreover, the last two generations have been mesmerized with instant gratification via the web, and the consequent mobile devices allowing access, and this trend is no longer a tred but it has become the standard, and its growing.

as American society has become a see and be seen, maintain high visibility Facebook oriented culture, audio outlets will have to work all the harder to attract this 'new blood's' interests and their finances.

it may be too dedicated audio showrooms may have to branch out from dedicated two ch and or HT only shops to something like acoustic room optimization, or screen optimization services, via ISP or other accredited   educational suppliers.

maybe even whole house automation or perhaps even installation and servicing of car audio systems on higher or more professional levels that end users can not achieve on their own.

Audiophiles are the ones hurting the audio hobby.  Listening to music is supposed to be fun.  Audiophiles have turned this fun activity into a life long struggle, a journey, with hard won knowledge and years of frustration evidenced by endless equipment changes.  Audiophiles don't just listen to music, instead they have listening sessions which in some cases involve critically listening.  Does an audiophile ever get up (or get down) and dance when critically listening?
Hi, I'm Onhwy61 and I'm an audiophile...
I think we should not underestimate how much younger people, and by that I’m saying 35 and under, hate shopping in stores.  If it is not online it doesn’t exist.  This aversion makes it less likely that they will be introduced and then become interested to this hobby. 

Three other things also come into play...lots of student debt, fewer good middle class jobs and very busy lifestyles.  

As for audio stores... almost no stores in any arena have managed to stay relevant. 

I agree with the comments here about the interest in better sound being driven by the love of music. I think it has to be. For me, it started when I was a musician in a band. I noticed when we piped music through the PA system between sets, it sounded better than my home system. Not just louder, but better in many ways. I'm a drummer and the PA system made instruments and vocals sound more real than my receiver and speakers from Pacific Stereo. So instead of heading back to Pacific (or the CMC Stereo that was across the street from it) I went into a real audio shop. The salesman there took the time to explain some audio basics and demonstrate the differences. Knowing I was a drummer he played a few tracks on different systems. He said, “notice how the cymbals don’t sound like sandpaper blocks rubbing together”. That was the lightbulb moment! That salesman was my first audio mentor and I spent a lot of time and money in that shop. I don’t think my experience is unique. How many of you got started in a similar way? My post was kind of a lament that new people trying to get into this hobby are less likely to have this kind of an experience.

The positive news is, I think there is a good chance that all the interest in vinyl from the younger crowd could entice some of them to want better sound. I recently went to a tent sale for used CDs and records. The place was packed. I saw people in their 20s and 30s buying huge stacks of records. The interest in music is certainly there. To me, that’s more important than the interest in high-end audio. However, one young lady in our group asked me where to go to get a better turntable and possibly better speakers. The disease is contagious! The bug to have better sound will bite some of these folks. How they learn about better sound, and the opportunity to experience it, is not as easy as it once was. I'm happy to help. Sharing my knowledge and my passion for music and sound helps me enjoy the hobby. I just wish there were more people interested these days. Does this describe many of you as well?