Is Audiophilia a Dying Hobby or Just in Need of a Tune-Up?

Audiophilia is facing a crisis. With most enthusiasts over 55 and younger generations uninterested in high-end audio, the hobby risks fading into obscurity. Blame it on space, budget constraints, or the elitist image of the community—something needs to change.

40% of Audiophiles May Be Gone Soon, and No One Is Replacing Them

Can we make audiophilia relevant and inviting for the next generation, or is this truly the end of an era?

 

being outdoors is conducive to listening to live music too. Some of my fondest memories are from listening to music under the stars at Tanglewood (Massachusetts), Caramoor (New York) and the Monterey Jazz Festival (California).

 

being outdoors is conducive to listening to live music too. Some of my fondest memories are from listening to music under the stars at Tanglewood (Massachusetts), Caramoor (New York) and the Monterey Jazz Festival (California).

Tanglewood is a national treasure! Love that venue.

 

Tanglewood is a national treasure! Love that venue.

And the nearby Clark Museum extension designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando is another treasure. Both are well worth a visit over a long weekend.

 

And the nearby Clark Museum extension designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando is another treasure. Both are well worth a visit over a long weekend.

Our daughter, a landscape architect, worked on the Clark Museum renovation and the Tadao Ando building grounds a decade plus ago. She was working for Reed Hildebrand in Cambridge at that time. The Clark was started by one of the heirs of the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Larry

 

Our daughter, a landscape architect, worked on the Clark Museum renovation and the Tadao Ando building grounds a decade plus ago. She was working for Reed Hildebrand in Cambridge at that time. The Clark was started by one of the heirs of the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Larry

That is great. Ando was my teacher for one semester in architecture school and we had a gathering at my apartment where I served him a cocktail. I was fortunate to be able to visit some of his buildings in Japan. He is a real genius.

 

Many years ago, George Cardas explained that he had two systems. One was a simple system that he never touched. The other he tweaked incessantly. IIRC, he said audiophiles should have a simple system at home (in addition to their main system). The kind you never touch and just enjoy. It was an interesting comment and I believe it is true.

I honestly never even thought about this, or gave it much thought, but this is exactly what I have.

Tom

 

That is great. Ando was my teacher for one semester in architecture school and we had a gathering at my apartment where I served him a cocktail. I was fortunate to be able to visit some of his buildings in Japan. He is a real genius.

Peter, Our daughter also became the primarily landscape architect for another big project designed by another Japanese architecture firm, SANAA. It is Grace Farms, in Darien, CT. Both Ando and SANAA have been awarded the Pritzker Prize. She had moved to Philadelphia at the time and was working for Olin. No major musical venue near Darien, however. Larry

 

Le temps passe vite avec levitra ou viagra.

 

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on some level it does not provide the same enjoyment as my puny Sonus Move 2 that I listen to out by the hot tub regularly.​

How can this be?

In the hot tub surely you cannot close your eyes and achieve a significant suspension of disbelief that an orchestra is performing in front of you?

 

How can this be?

In the hot tub surely you cannot close your eyes and achieve a significant suspension of disbelief that an orchestra is performing in front of you?

yes but in a hot tub you can get a "happy ending"
If your system isnt better than a portable stereo than your system can't be very natural sounding. Many build these antiseptic, sterile, detail over blown, large than life results. This is seen at every show yet many actually think this is the goal UNTIL they have that and like a crappy meal they find its just not satisfying.
in my opinion if you cant sit in front of your system for hours and get lost in it your system isnt _______________

 

How can this be?

In the hot tub surely you cannot close your eyes and achieve a significant suspension of disbelief that an orchestra is performing in front of you?

IMO suspension of disbelief is not forcefully needed to enjoy music.

But there is more in suspension of disbelief than just imagining an orchestra in front of us. Otherwise we would all be listening in AV systems...

Going back to the origins, it was said that some degree of truth or consistency are needed to achieve suspension of disbelief. Sometimes additional aspects, such as the hot tub, bring the needed erasing action to achieve consistency - no absolute truth is needed.

 

How can this be?

In the hot tub surely you cannot close your eyes and achieve a significant suspension of disbelief that an orchestra is performing in front of you?

The issue is that you don't expect anything from lowly reproduction/sound, but you do expect a lot from an advanced system.

I can enjoy the car radio without thinking about the sound, and because I just listen to the music without so much noticing the sound it rarely disappoints. However, the car radio really doesn't sound that good at all once you actually pay attention, but that is not what I usually do -- I basically filter out the sound aspect.

Yet with my system at home I am at a level where, exactly because it has much greater believability, I tend to notice more or less small distortions and flaws that cut into that believability.

It's simply a psychological expectation game. I expect no believability from my car stereo, yet I expect as much as possible believability from my high-end system because due to its much better sound it provokes me to do so.

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Having said that, the distractions in my system at home are getting less and less, a very good sign, and I am enjoying the music actually much, much more consciously and intensely than on my car radio.

 

It's simply a psychological expectation game.

Agree that this is a huge factor. The shortest path to satisfaction with any system (for me), is to suspend the expectation and discover music as you would if you happened upon it when you were not expecting it.

And, satisfaction includes all our senses, not just our ears. I assume the hot tub is outdoors. Our senses become activated in nature. The music is then one part of that experience.

Recently, I was listening to a favorite album. It was like a perfect moment. Nothing could improve upon it. Yet, during the human musician's expressions, a song bird started a complicated rendition in our backyard. I felt compelled to use the Merlin Bird ID app to identify this talented avian musician. Standing in a doorway, listening to the human and avian musicians was even a more satisfying experience.