We can’t lay blame on those darn kids today who’ve grown up listening to music on their phones/tablets/Bluetooth speakers/Alexa because their reference points for “good equipment” are limited by those very things. My reference point was my family’s console tube driven Magnavox record player which - *gasp* - could hold and drop 5 lp’s in succession. I had nowhere to go but up in the 70’s when all that lustful receiver gear came out and there were more than enough retail stores to check stuff out.
As mentioned below, getting into hi-fi then was a dream objective. Currently, there are so many venues for music via the internet that the ease of obtaining music doesn’t at all correlate with “quality” equipment. Stores have virtually disappeared simply due the economics of inventorying expensive gear, having to make appointments to check stuff out, etc. I love cars but I loathe buying them. Same goes for audio. Love it, but most of my purchases via retail have been, where and when possible, walk-ins.
The immediate appeal of music accessibility, everywhere anytime, exceeds the perception of possessing quality playback. It’s simply not in most folks wheelhouses right now. Why would I should I spend $1000 on a good amp when I got Bluetooth streaming in my house, the den, the patio, the yard, the beach for like...a LOT less? Jeepers, I can walk into big-box retailer and buy a groovy pair of earbuds for less than $100?
I might be able to explain a reason or two why but...
They might hear me but they aren’t listening. It just doesn’t matter.
Alas, HEA will never completely go the way of the dodo bird because their’s still enough of us - me, a boomer - to bequeath my stuff to my survivors when I kick. Perhaps then they’ll get IT!
As mentioned below, getting into hi-fi then was a dream objective. Currently, there are so many venues for music via the internet that the ease of obtaining music doesn’t at all correlate with “quality” equipment. Stores have virtually disappeared simply due the economics of inventorying expensive gear, having to make appointments to check stuff out, etc. I love cars but I loathe buying them. Same goes for audio. Love it, but most of my purchases via retail have been, where and when possible, walk-ins.
The immediate appeal of music accessibility, everywhere anytime, exceeds the perception of possessing quality playback. It’s simply not in most folks wheelhouses right now. Why would I should I spend $1000 on a good amp when I got Bluetooth streaming in my house, the den, the patio, the yard, the beach for like...a LOT less? Jeepers, I can walk into big-box retailer and buy a groovy pair of earbuds for less than $100?
I might be able to explain a reason or two why but...
They might hear me but they aren’t listening. It just doesn’t matter.
Alas, HEA will never completely go the way of the dodo bird because their’s still enough of us - me, a boomer - to bequeath my stuff to my survivors when I kick. Perhaps then they’ll get IT!