State of the industry - Roy Gregory Editorial

[Rhapsody]

Well, I am just not impressed, sorry.

Oh that's fine, I march to my own drum as you do Al Different strokes for different folks.

If you told me that I could have those speakers purchased and delivered, I would buy them with no further investigation.

 

[Al M.]

Indeed, different strokes for different folks.

Since Bonzo mentioned painting, here's an (imperfect) analogy:

The light tonal palette sounds to me as if someone would have taken a painting with full, saturated colors and put a patina over it that filters it such that the colors seem from a pastel palette.

"Openness", yes, but at a price.

 

[Rhapsody]

Indeed, different strokes for different folks.

Since Bonzo mentioned painting, here's an (imperfect) analogy:

The light tonal palette sounds to me as if someone would have taken a painting with full, saturated colors and put a patina over it that filters it such that the colors seem from a pastel palette.

"Openness", yes, but at a price.

I'm not comparing the sound to any other sound or perfect sound etc.

I just LOVE the overall vintage Tannoy look and LOVE the vintage sound. Just like I LOVE 50's cars.

I don't judge them or love them vs. newer/better??? items, they just strike a chord with me, that's when I know I love something/anything. It has nothing to do with what anyone else prefers or dislikes etc. It just resonates with my spirt vs my brain and that's what I go by.

Edit: I only have 15 sets of speakers. I wish that I could have FIFTY sets of speakers. And then there are guitars. I love pre-war Martins and Gibsons, but my favorite guitars are my "harp guitars' (three of them) from the 1890's. LOVE what came before.

 

[perart1]

I don't know if I entirely agree, but thanks for the audacity !

People got bored after I proved Roy was wrong.

Ahh now I get it. Because you disagree with Roy he is wrong. Life is so simple

 

[Al M.]

I'm not comparing the sound to any other sound or perfect sound etc.

I just LOVE the overall vintage Tannoy look and LOVE the vintage sound. Just like I LOVE 50's cars.

I don't judge them or love them vs. newer/better??? items, they just strike a chord with me, that's when I know I love something/anything. It has nothing to do with what anyone else prefers or dislikes etc. It just resonates with my spirt vs my brain and that's what I go by.

Edit: I only have 15 sets of speakers. I wish that I could have FIFTY sets of speakers. And then there are guitars. I love pre-war Martins and Gibsons, but my favorite guitars are my "harp guitars' (three of them) from the 1890's. LOVE what came before.

I couldn't care less about vintage or modern. As long as it sounds real, that resonates with my spirit.

As for the analogy with guitars, those are musical instruments. They all should have their different sound, the more varied, the merrier. But we're talking about reproduction of music here. Of course different systems present differently, but there should be a common thread of realness.

 

[Rhapsody]

Ok. I will bow out of the thread. It was a fun Saturday morning excursion for me. Thx to Bonzo and ZG for posting. Made my day! Enjoy!!!

I couldn't care less about vintage or modern. As long as it sounds real, that resonates with my spirit.

As for the analogy with guitars, those are musical instruments. They all should have their different sound, the more, the merrier. But we're talking about reproduction of music here.

 

[Al M.]

Ok. I will bow out of the thread. It was a fun Saturday morning excursion for me. Thx to Bonzo and ZG for posting. Made my day! Enjoy!!!

Yeah, was fun!

 

[microstrip]

I don't know if I entirely agree, but thanks for the audacity !

Tim,

Can you tell us in what exact fundamental points you agree with Roy?

 

[Lee]

Ahh now I get it. Because you disagree with Roy he is wrong. Life is so simple

Read the whole thread for context.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i think there is something right about a forum where ultimately members of the hifi press, dealers, distributors, and manufacturers can't win. they probably know they can't win. yet they keep coming back for more.

 

[PeterA]

i think there is something right about a forum where ultimately members of the hifi press, dealers, distributors, and manufacturers can't win. they probably know they can't win. yet they keep coming back for more.

Karen Sumner has a nice sub forum. She keeps coming back and contributing new essays as well as being involved in the discussions. I don’t think it’s a matter of winning and losing but rather taking part in the conversation. We learn from exposure to different perspectives.

Members of the industry are here because they are learning from the hobbyists also. The advantage of WBF is the quality of the content and variety of approaches. Members of the industry benefit from being involved here. Some have even found customers.

 

[marty]

Mr. Fuller on fire. Black drivers the king of the Tannoy vintage line.

I'm confused. I enjoy your selections but why are you posting all of your chosen performances on this thread about Roy Gregory's article? There's off topic, and then there's repeatedly waaaaay off topic. Not meant as a crticism about the videos but rather I'm just asking why post these here as opposed to "what's spinning tonight" or other more relevant threads?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Karen Sumner has a nice sub forum. She keeps coming back and contributing new essays as well as being involved in the discussions. I don’t think it’s a matter of winning and losing but rather taking part in the conversation. We learn from exposure to different perspectives.

as long as her subject matter is at arm's length from her business interests. don't get me wrong, i enjoy her posting and have zero quibble with her. i have mostly positive views toward all in the industry.

Members of the industry are here because they are learning from the hobbyists also. The advantage of WBF is the quality of the content and variety of approaches. Members of the industry benefit from being involved here. Some have even found customers.

we are a healthy place where stuff happens.

 

[PeterA]

Mr. Gregory’s essay is about the state of the industry. Perhaps it could’ve been called the state of the hobby, depending on where you sit.

Bonzo enjoys posting system videos and system videos are an increasingly popular means of sharing information between audiophiles. I think this video is interesting because it illustrates how a music lover is enjoying the hobby. It serves as a reminder of where the hobby was and still is for many. We have a very enthusiastic response from @Rhapsody who seems to really like the sound of the video. What is fascinating is that Bob has a very interesting distribution model for the products he imports. He says he would love to have a pair of these vintage speakers. The enthusiasm is obvious.

That’s a pretty interesting comment from arguably one of the best dealers of current products in the country. And it makes one wonder about how much the hobby has progressed. Look at that music collection covering the wall.

The state of the industry now seems to be that members of the industry are on forums like this discussing topics with hobbyists. I think it’s pretty cool that Bob east from Rhapsody is commenting about a system video of a vintage system and digging the sound. It’s also pretty cool seeing the words people used to describe the sound from the video. Recent discussions here about language used in reviews is also a reflection of the current state of the industry.

Things are changing, and that is what Mr. Gregory seems to be writing about.

 

[ddk]

i think there is something right about a forum where ultimately members of the hifi press, dealers, distributors, and manufacturers can't win. they probably know they can't win. yet they keep coming back for more.

Ultimately this is an audiophile forum not a trade one, industry members like myself understand that and it’s only fair to be treated the same when we engage in a thread. To it’s owners and members’ credit WBF is one of the few places where we all can engage openly freely and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Many of us with some mileage got into the hobby and industry when it was still fun!

david

 

[PeterA]

as long as her subject matter is at arm's length from her business interests. don't get me wrong, i enjoy her posting and have zero quibble with her. i have mostly positive views toward all in the industry.

we are a healthy place where stuff happens.

Hello Mike,

Why does it matter what distance her essays are from her business interests? She has written that she prefers not to discuss her products or gear, but that seems only a request and not a rule for participation here.

We have manufacturers and dealers openly discussing their businesses on this form and trying to sell their products. There don’t seem to be any rules preventing this. The only request is that one writes his or her industry affiliation in the signature.

I would not presume that WBF is a big part of the industry, but it does seem to me that it reflects one aspect of what is happening in the Industry today which is a global meeting place for the exchange of information and opinions, mostly about high end audio.

 

[Rhapsody]

I'm confused. I enjoy your selections but why are you posting all of your chosen performances on this thread about Roy Gregory's article? There's off topic, and then there's repeatedly waaaaay off topic. Not meant as a crticism about the videos but rather I just asking why post these here as opposed to "what's spinning tonight" or other more relevant threads?

I apologize for my interruption in the thread, I didn't even realize what thread the video was posted in, I just saw the video and jumped in. I will be more careful in the future.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Hello Mike,

Why does it matter what distance her essays are from her business interests?

it does not matter at all. if she adds business, then that get's to be part of the reaction. i'm sure that's part of her approach. just my own observation about it.

She has written that she prefers not to discuss her products or gear, but that seems only a request and not a rule for participation here.

i have no problem one way of the other. and my post was not judgmental in any way. posts by industry people have the content they bring, and are generally reacted to accordingly. my comment was just an aside, and not anything more than that.

when an industry person let's their hair down, then they have to live with how it plays out. or don't if they don't.

We have manufacturers and dealers openly discussing their businesses on this form and trying to sell their products. There don’t seem to be any rules preventing this. The only request is that one writes his or her industry affiliation in the signature.

all the time. seems to work about how it should or could.

I would not presume that WBF is a big part of the industry, but it does seem to me that it reflects one aspect of what is happening in the Industry today which is a global meeting place for the exchange of information and opinions, mostly about high end audio.

 

[rmcadam]

I've just cancelled my TAS online subscription but keeping Stereophile. Both are doing little for digital except with music reviews. Both are over the top with Vinyl equipment reviews. Interesting that manufacturers are going direct more and more. Where I live there are no Hi End retailers in fact no dedicated HiFi retailers anymore. I've bought all my gear online from online reviews in the last 10 years. What is interesting from Roy is there has not been any breakthrough sound products but particularly the Chinese are releasing products with Hi End sound for much lower cost which measure well out of the box. Topping to name one brand which has made it entirely from online reviews largely from headphone listeners.

 

[bonzo75]

I've just cancelled my TAS online subscription but keeping Stereophile.

I subscribe to stereophile because I respect Fremer's opinions and his leads are worth investigating. When he stops writing I will cancel my subscription