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

[Bobvin]

What is missing is the embedding of hi-fi into the culture. There are spots of this in the film and television world, like the Netflix series “Bosch” or the series “Suits” where the characters had vinyl rigs, but you don’t really see anything in modern advertising commercials as background props, etc.

I’ve mentioned before, long back, I thought Camille Paglia’s take on Hugh Heffner was an enlightened one. She postulated one of Heffner’s goals with Playboy magazine was to bring some culture and refinement to American men — and back in the day having a nice stereo in your pad was part and parcel to the art of seduction. Clearly times have changed — wooing and seduction hardly necessary in the modern hookup culture. Just swipe and bang! The point being having a “stereo” isn’t part of the symbolism of being suave and debonair like it was in the 60’s and 70’s when many of us were growing up. Do we even consider a bachelor pad a thing anymore? (Can young people afford such things?)

I wasn’t raised in an affluent environment, my high school wasn’t on the wealthy side of the tracks. Still, my foster brother had an amp and speakers in the basement, high school buddies had fledgling rigs even including reel-to-reels. My first real rig included Audio Research, GAS (Great American Sound), a Nackamichi cassette deck, a turntable, and a tuner. Before that I had a Kenwood integrated can’t remember the speakers. I’m not embarrassed to say some of my motivation was to own something “cool” to play my records and tapes.

On some level we have to Make (Having a) Stereo Great Again.

 

[facten]

The proposal at UVA is specifically not an affordable system but one to show what is possible which I would argue is more valuable. Ideally we want to build out a room with excellent acoustics

Well this is what you previously posted so what can I say but you're contradicting yourself

"You create a destination classroom, fill it with good but fairly affordable gear, set it up perfectly, advertise it on campus, get teachers talking about it, and start playing music. I have been talking to UVA’s music department about this and they love the idea

 

[Rexp]

It's a bit like the emperor's new clothes, no one in the real world can hear much difference between an audiophile rig and their car stereo. Unless there is a huge improvement in the sound quality on offer, the industry will be dead in 20 years.

 

[Lee]

Well this is what you previously posted so what can I say but you're contradicting yourself

"You create a destination classroom, fill it with good but fairly affordable gear, set it up perfectly, advertise it on campus, get teachers talking about it, and start playing music. I have been talking to UVA’s music department about this and they love the idea

Yeah, I did confuse things here. I was thinking the affordable gear goes on the road in a van and hits large schools for maximum impact. The UVA plan has always been a variation on the more expensive gear used in the University of South’s Ralston Room. I have been working on it for eight years now.

Thanks for pointing this out.

 

[Lee]

It's a bit like the emperor's new clothes, no one in the real world can hear much difference between an audiophile rig and their car stereo. Unless there is a huge improvement in the sound quality on offer, the industry will be dead in 20 years.

If you can’t hear the difference between the two then it seems critical listening skills or setup is lacking.

 

[Lee]

What is missing is the embedding of hi-fi into the culture. There are spots of this in the film and television world, like the Netflix series “Bosch” or the series “Suits” where the characters had vinyl rigs, but you don’t really see anything in modern advertising commercials as background props, etc.

I’ve mentioned before, long back, I thought Camille Paglia’s take on Hugh Heffner was an enlightened one. She postulated one of Heffner’s goals with Playboy magazine was to bring some culture and refinement to American men — and back in the day having a nice stereo in your pad was part and parcel to the art of seduction. Clearly times have changed — wooing and seduction hardly necessary in the modern hookup culture. Just swipe and bang! The point being having a “stereo” isn’t part of the symbolism of being suave and debonair like it was in the 60’s and 70’s when many of us were growing up. Do we even consider a bachelor pad a thing anymore? (Can young people afford such things?)

I wasn’t raised in an affluent environment, my high school wasn’t on the wealthy side of the tracks. Still, my foster brother had an amp and speakers in the basement, high school buddies had fledgling rigs even including reel-to-reels. My first real rig included Audio Research, GAS (Great American Sound), a Nackamichi cassette deck, a turntable, and a tuner. Before that I had a Kenwood integrated can’t remember the speakers. I’m not embarrassed to say some of my motivation was to own something “cool” to play my records and tapes.

On some level we have to Make (Having a) Stereo Great Again.

I think it partially involves raising awareness. It feels like playing records is already cool and maybe we just need to amplify that.

There is a great record store near me and I see all types of ages come in to buy records and I am really happy to see it evenly split between men and women, old and young.

 

[Rexp]

If you can’t hear the difference between the two then it seems critical listening skills or setup is lacking.

Yeah and how is denying there is a problem working out?

 

[hopkins]

If you can’t hear the difference between the two then it seems critical listening skills or setup is lacking.

If Rexp's statement - "no one in the real world can hear much difference between an audiophile rig and their car stereo" - refers to "non audiophiles" then it is probably true.

You can get pretty impressive sound now in a car. I don't own one myself, but recently took a taxi that had 8 speakers, and it was very pleasant.

 

[DDgtt]

What is missing is the embedding of hi-fi into the culture. There are spots of this in the film and television world, like the Netflix series “Bosch” or the series “Suits” where the characters had vinyl rigs, but you don’t really see anything in modern advertising commercials as background props, etc.

I’ve mentioned before, long back, I thought Camille Paglia’s take on Hugh Heffner was an enlightened one. She postulated one of Heffner’s goals with Playboy magazine was to bring some culture and refinement to American men — and back in the day having a nice stereo in your pad was part and parcel to the art of seduction. Clearly times have changed — wooing and seduction hardly necessary in the modern hookup culture. Just swipe and bang! The point being having a “stereo” isn’t part of the symbolism of being suave and debonair like it was in the 60’s and 70’s when many of us were growing up. Do we even consider a bachelor pad a thing anymore? (Can young people afford such things?)

I wasn’t raised in an affluent environment, my high school wasn’t on the wealthy side of the tracks. Still, my foster brother had an amp and speakers in the basement, high school buddies had fledgling rigs even including reel-to-reels. My first real rig included Audio Research, GAS (Great American Sound), a Nackamichi cassette deck, a turntable, and a tuner. Before that I had a Kenwood integrated can’t remember the speakers. I’m not embarrassed to say some of my motivation was to own something “cool” to play my records and tapes.

On some level we have to Make (Having a) Stereo Great Again.

You've hit the nail on the head. Embedding hi-fi into our culture is the key. TV ads for cars and men's cologne are embedding their products into current culture as being sophisticated. How do we do that with audio? Audio companies can't afford national TV campaigns. It needs to be "cool" (the modern day version of suave and debonair) to own a hi-fi system. How do we make it cool again with our limited resources?

 

[facten]

You've hit the nail on the head. Embedding hi-fi into our culture is the key. TV ads for cars and men's cologne are embedding their products into current culture as being sophisticated. How do we do that with audio? Audio companies can't afford national TV campaigns. It needs to be "cool" (the modern day version of suave and debonair) to own a hi-fi system. How do we make it cool again with our limited resources?

I don't use social media websites so i don't know which ones the target audience uses nor their viability for such an effort and cost of delivering the messaging via them. But, maybe it's worth exploring if you haven't

 

[Elliot G.]

What is missing is the embedding of hi-fi into the culture. There are spots of this in the film and television world, like the Netflix series “Bosch” or the series “Suits” where the characters had vinyl rigs, but you don’t really see anything in modern advertising commercials as background props, etc.

I’ve mentioned before, long back, I thought Camille Paglia’s take on Hugh Heffner was an enlightened one. She postulated one of Heffner’s goals with Playboy magazine was to bring some culture and refinement to American men — and back in the day having a nice stereo in your pad was part and parcel to the art of seduction. Clearly times have changed — wooing and seduction hardly necessary in the modern hookup culture. Just swipe and bang! The point being having a “stereo” isn’t part of the symbolism of being suave and debonair like it was in the 60’s and 70’s when many of us were growing up. Do we even consider a bachelor pad a thing anymore? (Can young people afford such things?)

I wasn’t raised in an affluent environment, my high school wasn’t on the wealthy side of the tracks. Still, my foster brother had an amp and speakers in the basement, high school buddies had fledgling rigs even including reel-to-reels. My first real rig included Audio Research, GAS (Great American Sound), a Nackamichi cassette deck, a turntable, and a tuner. Before that I had a Kenwood integrated can’t remember the speakers. I’m not embarrassed to say some of my motivation was to own something “cool” to play my records and tapes.

On some level we have to Make (Having a) Stereo Great Again.

The world has changed. Kids have many entertainment options. Music is a fashion statement and sadly mostly back ground while they perform other tasks. Music is dispensed differently as we were radio listeners they aren't. Audio was cool, its not cool today. Audio was affordable and mostly American made, its not today. I believer the music was far more important than it is today. I dont want to be an old fogey but Hip-Hop and rap doesnt translate IMO to high end audio.
Other issues- there is no real money in the audio industry.
Audio companies are terrible at marketing and advertising.
Handed their futures to the one group that doesnt buy anything- the press
Way too much product, way to often replaced

 

[Joel27]

I want to chime in and say that I went to a local record store in Salt Lake City today. Although our hobby is a niche market no matter how we look at it, The store opened at noon and was absolutely packed shoulder to shoulder by 12:30. If nothing else this was a promising thing to see being that it was tons of people looking for music for themselves and as gifts for the holidays.

 

[DDgtt]

The world has changed. Kids have many entertainment options. Music is a fashion statement and sadly mostly back ground while they perform other tasks. Music is dispensed differently as we were radio listeners they aren't. Audio was cool, its not cool today. Audio was affordable and mostly American made, its not today. I believer the music was far more important than it is today. I dont want to be an old fogey but Hip-Hop and rap doesnt translate IMO to high end audio.
Other issues- there is no real money in the audio industry.
Audio companies are terrible at marketing and advertising.
Handed their futures to the one group that doesnt buy anything- the press
Way too much product, way to often replaced

You make some really good points. Music is almost too easy to come by today. And you're right, working in the audio business is a labor of love and not a way to get rich quick (I do still love it). I think you're right, we have to some extent, relied on the press for our future business success, and they're not the ones buying the gear (and if so, there's no profit attached). The press does help to drive sales but not anywhere near like it did 20 or so years ago. Hopefully, the better products rise to the top in this world of too many brands and too many models.

 

[DDgtt]

I want to chime in and say that I went to a local record store in Salt Lake City today. Although our hobby is a niche market no matter how we look at it, The store opened at noon and was absolutely packed shoulder to shoulder by 12:30. If nothing else this was a promising thing to see being that it was tons of people looking for music for themselves and as gifts for the holidays.

What a wonderfully encouraging observation. I live in Salt Lake City myself. Which store was it? Randy's records?

 

[hopkins]

The world has changed. Kids have many entertainment options. Music is a fashion statement and sadly mostly back ground while they perform other tasks. Music is dispensed differently as we were radio listeners they aren't. Audio was cool, its not cool today. Audio was affordable and mostly American made, its not today. I believer the music was far more important than it is today. I dont want to be an old fogey but Hip-Hop and rap doesnt translate IMO to high end audio.
Other issues- there is no real money in the audio industry.
Audio companies are terrible at marketing and advertising.
Handed their futures to the one group that doesnt buy anything- the press
Way too much product, way to often replaced

Well, you are being an old fogey!

 

[Joel27]

What a wonderfully encouraging observation. I live in Salt Lake City myself. Which store was it? Randy's records?

Yes it was Randy's. After picking up a couple albums there I stopped at Gray Whale in Ogden and picked up a couple more. It was definitely an encouraging site.

 

[facten]

I believer the music was far more important than it is today.

Can you expand upon or give more context as to why you think it is less important today.

I dont want to be an old fogey but Hip-Hop and rap doesnt translate IMO to high end audio

Other than less than a handful of songs I have no interest or liking of these genres of music, however that doesn't mean that because you or I don't like it that those who do shouldn't enjoy them via high end audio should they chose to. And, maybe the signaling that those genres aren't "good enough" for high end is something that those selling high end should reconsider if they feel that way.

 

[facten]

I want to chime in and say that I went to a local record store in Salt Lake City today. Although our hobby is a niche market no matter how we look at it, The store opened at noon and was absolutely packed shoulder to shoulder by 12:30. If nothing else this was a promising thing to see being that it was tons of people looking for music for themselves and as gifts for the holidays.

There is a record store down here in Memphis, Shangri La Records, that has been in business more than 30 years. It operates out of a small home turned into the store . It is open 7 days a week . They sell new/used vinyl, used CDs and tapes. Pretty active whenever I go down there , with a clientele that spans age groups. There are a couple of other record stores as well - Goner records and River City Records - I haven't been to them so I can't offer any comments on them

 

[Republicoftexas69]

What is missing is the embedding of hi-fi into the culture. There are spots of this in the film and television world, like the Netflix series “Bosch” or the series “Suits” where the characters had vinyl rigs, but you don’t really see anything in modern advertising commercials as background props, etc.

I’ve mentioned before, long back, I thought Camille Paglia’s take on Hugh Heffner was an enlightened one. She postulated one of Heffner’s goals with Playboy magazine was to bring some culture and refinement to American men — and back in the day having a nice stereo in your pad was part and parcel to the art of seduction. Clearly times have changed — wooing and seduction hardly necessary in the modern hookup culture. Just swipe and bang! The point being having a “stereo” isn’t part of the symbolism of being suave and debonair like it was in the 60’s and 70’s when many of us were growing up. Do we even consider a bachelor pad a thing anymore? (Can young people afford such things?)

I wasn’t raised in an affluent environment, my high school wasn’t on the wealthy side of the tracks. Still, my foster brother had an amp and speakers in the basement, high school buddies had fledgling rigs even including reel-to-reels. My first real rig included Audio Research, GAS (Great American Sound), a Nackamichi cassette deck, a turntable, and a tuner. Before that I had a Kenwood integrated can’t remember the speakers. I’m not embarrassed to say some of my motivation was to own something “cool” to play my records and tapes.

On some level we have to Make (Having a) Stereo Great Again.

Amazon series.

 

[tima]

Sorbothane, one of the most common viscoelastic materials, was invented 50 years ago in the UK and for the last 40 years has been widely used as the insole in sports shoes by most of the major global brands.

I bought a Loricraft record cleaner 12 years ago. It was launched in 1990, almost 35 years ago. It's just as good as an ultrasonic machine, if not better.

I'm talking about visco-elastic compounds for use in audio applications, not in shoes. Sorbothane is not a good choice for audio.

I own a Loricraft PRC-3 and a sota ultrasonic system. The Loricraft does not yield a better result. It is just a vacuum; the work is done by the surfactant. You can get records clean with both methods although the Loricraft may take a while as it does each side individually and is a lot messier.