The Ken Kessler theory
- Thread starter DaveyF
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Or maybe it's not that the marketing is too passive, the recordings are bad, the gear is too expensive, the youth have no taste or have just not heard good sound. It's certainly not that they listen to less music or even worse music. There is a whole world of great alternative country, folk, Americana, etc. out there with a strong youth audience, and a lot of it, while a bit loud, is very well recorded.
Maybe they just don't hear it; maybe they think Mumford & Sons and The Civil Wars and The Decemberists sound great out of their iPods into a good pair of IEMs. Would they like it better through a $100k system? Maybe. But a killer, ungodly good, TOTL, SOTA pair of IEMS is, like, a grand. And yes, it is a very different listening experience, but they sound damn good. Even $10k worth of "high end" is a really tough sell to an audience with that listening experience.
Tim
Maybe they just don't hear it; maybe they think Mumford & Sons and The Civil Wars and The Decemberists sound great out of their iPods into a good pair of IEMs. Would they like it better through a $100k system? Maybe. But a killer, ungodly good, TOTL, SOTA pair of IEMS is, like, a grand. And yes, it is a very different listening experience, but they sound damn good. Even $10k worth of "high end" is a really tough sell to an audience with that listening experience.
Tim
I've had a few young 'uns come through and get mind fu*****. I think anybody will recognize and appreciate good sound when they hear it. We're biologically prewired for it.
What I haven't seen is the young 'uns actually sit down and just listen for more than a few minites until the phones come out. Tweet, I'm at Uncle Jacks and Wow! Put that thing down boy!
I swear, it's like they have to text, tweet or do whatever with their devices 24/7. Techno A-D-D, I call it. I've seen good looking couples on dates not talking but rather using their smartphones. Probably reporting on their date real time. How would one market to this new culture? If I knew I bet I could make a bundle. Maybe even afford 200k speakers with zero guilt. LOL.
What I haven't seen is the young 'uns actually sit down and just listen for more than a few minites until the phones come out. Tweet, I'm at Uncle Jacks and Wow! Put that thing down boy!
I swear, it's like they have to text, tweet or do whatever with their devices 24/7. Techno A-D-D, I call it. I've seen good looking couples on dates not talking but rather using their smartphones. Probably reporting on their date real time. How would one market to this new culture? If I knew I bet I could make a bundle. Maybe even afford 200k speakers with zero guilt. LOL.
Interesting you mention Mumford and Civil Wars. I like them both a lot.
Unfortunately, I feel the new Mumford album, Babel, is a step down recording wise (I am not talking about the quality of the music).
I listened to it a few times and I think it is a bit more brittle sounding than the first album. In my opinion, there is no doubt it was
mastered with iPods in mind. Damn shame.
Although I will say the first album pushed the envelope compression wise...but it was not too bad..right at the edge.
The Civil Wars album sounds very good to me.
10 instances where having Video or Multi-media might not be a good idea
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I think Jack made a good point. The kids nowadays have no attention span. Why would they ever want a high-end system?
I think your comments capture something important, and it isn't about elitism or 'pass the Grey Poupon.' Assume money isn't the issue for a moment (though it is often the most critical issue on a number of fronts, for the buyer, the dealer, and the manufacturer). The system you put together reflects somebody's judgment about what components to choose to make good music. Just writing out a check for 'the best,' or 'the most expensive,' or the most highly touted by reviewers misses the point and it has nothing to do with money, but everything to do with the personal selection of components, set-up and getting it 'right.'
I'd much rather listen to a thoughtfully put-together system of modestly priced components that make music than an assembly of the highest priced gear that simply reflects marque status.
So much effort goes into getting it right in my estimation, in terms of gear selection, set up, and tweaking to get the most out of the components to work together as a system, and in the process (because I think we've all been there to some degree through trial and error, or learning and experience), finding the right balance of attributes that make a system deliver the music in a compelling way. (I'm allowing for all shades of what is 'right' here, whether it's subjective or objective).
Very few companies offer a 'complete' solution, from source through speakers and associated components, wires, etc. So, short of going that route, e.g. Shindo (over which I'm expressing absolutely no opinion here, other than to note that they are one of the few companies that does offer every piece in the chain), the home user (or his dealer or audio buddies) have to select some combination of source, amplication, speakers and ancillaries. When price isn't a factor, the extravagant case work, materials composition and technological claims are an attractive lure- just buy 'the best' and you're done. But it doesn't work that way in terms of sonics, and certainly not in terms of system building. Trophies, maybe; music-making, however, much more difficult to get right.
I was at a show recently, where the talent i went to hear was old school- Terry Reid- but his backup band was a local band with a young following that I never would have gone to hear otherwise. The audience was largely made up of the band's fans, and they were all glued to their handheld devices throughout the live show. Seemed pretty clueless to me, but it's probably just a generational culture thing. Same reason I don't drive and talk on a handheld phone. When I'm driving, I focus on the drive. But try to tell that to everyone else on the road doing otherwise.
I have the attention span of a kid. I NEED a decent system - its the only kind which will draw me in and hold my attention for a whole track
I have talked to young people about high-end sound reproduction. It's not that they don't like it, but they rather spend their money on the latest designer gym shoes or 22 inch rims for their car. Today's young people are all about bling. If they could design a high-end system they could wear around there neck it would blow up. (When I say blow up I mean it in a good way)
I actually thought the whole bloom on the HT thing wore off a while ago, after the market got saturated with cheap flat screens and plug and play surround systems. Even at a more serious level, I think you can only do so much with processed sound from a soundtrack. I thought that 'purist' two channel audio got its legs again in the last 5 or 10 years, although an awful lot of dealers survived the 90's by transitioning to home theatre.
For me, I just got bored with it. I still have a big home theatre system, projection, big supporting sound system, full control over ambient light, comfy, inviting and has a nice screening room vibe. I almost never use it. I'm totally ok with watching a movie or TV show on a modest HT system in the 'den' rather than in the big 'home theatre' room/rig. Maybe it's just a phase for me, but most big Hollywood type movies with special effects, etc. bore me and watching a drama doesn't require the 'home theatre' experience for enjoyment. Maybe I'm an outlier on this one, Greg, I got into the HT thing back in the early 90's and had a ball with it for a long while. But, then again, I'm not a 20 something which is the new generation that the industry needs to attract.
That's actually what I like to do best. Doors closed, telephone ringers off, answering machines on.
Maybe when the 20 somethings get to experience the real stress that comes with the real bucks, they'll appreciate the need to slow down and decompress. Especially when they get to the point where a trip to the bar or club becomes harder on the body. With visual entertainment (movies, tv and gaming) I feel dumbed down unlike music which both relaxes and reinvigorates at the same time.
Maybe the target market should be people in the late twenties and early thirties.
There's the earning curve too. Unless they are banksters, or have family wealth, they aren't going to have money for expensive gear until they are at that point, or, given the economy here in the NE US, until even later in life. I know law school grads that are living at home with parents, sans real jobs. Not an auspicious start.
That's a good point, Jack. Only question is will high-end still be around when that time comes? Without the likelihood of being exposed to what a high-end system can do in their late twenties or thirties, I don't see this as probable.
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I guess that would be up to the new generation of designers. There are quite a few notable ones in their forties and many yet to be discovered. One thing for sure is we won't be going back to the days where a handful of brands dominated. The net has really changed the paradigm. High End is looking to be what the Indie Underground is to the music industry today.
I've never had a HT system and probably never will. Car chases and gun shots are a waste of fidelity, IMO.
Tim
Tim
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