«40% Of Audiophiles Are Dying And No One Is Doing Anything About It!»

Noromance-no wonder you don’t like digital, ou have the worst digital sources you can get

My kids (22 and 24) both have systems that I put together for them, and they both use them regularly. My son spins vinyl more often than my daughter, but every time I visit either they have music playing pretty much the whole time. Neither one is into sports (viewing) of any kind. My daughter plays piano and my son plays the guitar and bass. None of their friends have any kind of audio gear to speak of, other than apple earbuds, with one exception. I remember coming home from work about ten years ago and my son was holding court with three of his friends, listening to Death Grips on my system. They were playing at a volume level about 60-65db. I walked over to the preamp and turned it up to room-shaking levels. The grins on their faces made me so happy I still get choked up about it. Two weeks later one of the friends was at the house and let me know he bought a pair of speakers at a garage sale (A pair of big old JBL something or others) and was using his dad's old receiver to power them. He was saving up at the time to get a turntable and we talked for a while about how to acquire records without spending all of his hard earned haying money (we live in farm country).

But oy vey the constant D v A argument. I've said it before, black licorice is the best candy, and ketchup on hotdogs is delicious. If you like something, just enjoy it, there's no reason to try to convince someone else that your favorite HAS TO BE their favorite, or even something they like, just as there's no reason to denigrate someone else's preference.

When I say Rolls Royce, Rolex, Jaguar, Bose most if not all people will recognize these brands. If I say Patek Philippe, Cirrus, Spectral not many will know these brands. 
 

The point is advertising. Let’s be male centric for a moment. Has anyone ever seen an advertisement for Krell, Bryston, Kef, VPI, Transparent, MBL, Focal, insert your favorite manufacturer in Sports Illustrated, GQ, Esquire, Muscle & Fitness, insert your favorite men’s magazine.

Let’s move into generic, away from men’s magazines: has anyone ever seen an advertisement for any high end audio gear in:

1. People: 93.9 million

2. Allrecipes: 62 million

3. AARP The Magazine: 55.4 million

4. Sports Illustrated: 43.4 million

5. Good Housekeeping: 40.4 million

These magazines are 5 of the top sellers. The numbers following the magazine are print and digital readerships.

Until the general public is made aware of our unique and niche hobby, the chances are we will continue to decline.

Bose, a household name advertised in many places. I’ve seen their ads in airline magazines aboard US carriers for Bose, but never for Grado. Nor, never have I seen an advertisement for Magico, Wilson Audio, Air Tight, Weiss, Canton etc. in any magazine other than audio magazines.

To raise interest in this or any hobby, the general public needs to be made aware of its existence. When something in my house needs service that I am unable to do, the person that comes over is blown away by my systems. Common comments are “I’ve never heard music so clear” and my favorite, “I didn’t know there was equipment like this”.

What are your thoughts?

@smodking1 +1

Bose is a marketing firm that makes electronics, and they have done a stellar job of making themselves a household name. They also make a competent, while mid-fi product (I have one of their bluetooth speakers in my golf bag and it has worked flawlessly for over five years, unlike my iron shots). 

I remember seeing a Sonos superbowl commercial years ago and I turned to my wife and said "these guys are going to be huge". Never saw a commercial for an audio manufacturer before nor since, but Sonos is not only a household name now, it has become genericized, like Kleenex. 

Well, I agree that the stereotypical act of sitting still and listening to music while doing nothing else, and not even talking much without being perceived as rude, that can be boring for most folks. It’s not boring for me as long as the music is good or the gear is blowing my mind.

But I agree with Jay in the video about the lack of visual stimulation. I have tried to overcome that - many times at my place we watch high quality concert videos on the big screen, DJing through tracks just like an audio session. I run the audio through my Oppo BDP-105 so the sound is quite good. I also mix in a few comedy bits and such.

I also have a lot of bouncing meters, audio sensitive lighting, album cover displays, artist photos, etc., being beamed into the listening area. Some find it distracting but it does scratch the visual itch. Also use a bit of projection at times.

In addition to videos, I can switch to 5.1 format and I have about 600 multichannel (quad to DTS or DVDA/SACD/BD) music titles and that adds some spice. People dig the Steven Wilson remixes of the prog stuff.

I always insist that a guest choose a substantial portion of the music. We always have it now that there are streaming services. Them hearing their music on my system is what really shows them the difference. We also talk about the music a bit while listening. Yeah, I know.

But this is more of an experience people can relate to. If you want other people to be interested, you have to prepare something for them, not just expect them to step into your little niche.