"I'm sure it is but I don't see the economy being at fault for the decline of hi-fi even if you believe the politically weaponized economic stats."
Could you explain that sentence in great detail; I can't seem to figure it out?
Thank you n80
I wonder how many audiophiles there are these days
There’s a lot of speculation about how this is a dying hobby. I’ve been at this for 40 years, and it certainly isn’t what it used to be. In the old days there were cars and stereos as “toys” and that was about it. Now there’s a long list of competition, together with a general lack of interest in high end sound quality (Pono didn’t make it, which was no surprise).
My kids friends come over (millennials) and I often get a “wow”, and that’s about it. I keep an old vacuum tube in a drawer to hand them, for the inevitable question “what are those?”. Then I tell them about how I’d go to the drugstore with my dad and do the TV tube test as a regular activity, which usually leads to a strange look and a sudden desire to know what’s for dinner.
Anyway, there are still many high end equipment companies, probably more than ever, but it’s likely most only sell a handful of units. Serious audio stores are pretty rare, witness the road trips some of us take to just hear a set of speakers.
If if you define “audiophile” as someone that is seriously interested in this as a hobby, does serious research on components, and is willing to spend a significant sum (which is totally relative), how many of us are there? I suspect at least 10,000, but not more than 50. Total guess, I’m hoping it’s higher because it’s a great hobby and I’d hate to see it get any more rare.
Probably more important, is whether interest has stabilized. I think it has. There seem to be a lot of younger guys in these forums as well.
What do you think?
JL
My kids friends come over (millennials) and I often get a “wow”, and that’s about it. I keep an old vacuum tube in a drawer to hand them, for the inevitable question “what are those?”. Then I tell them about how I’d go to the drugstore with my dad and do the TV tube test as a regular activity, which usually leads to a strange look and a sudden desire to know what’s for dinner.
Anyway, there are still many high end equipment companies, probably more than ever, but it’s likely most only sell a handful of units. Serious audio stores are pretty rare, witness the road trips some of us take to just hear a set of speakers.
If if you define “audiophile” as someone that is seriously interested in this as a hobby, does serious research on components, and is willing to spend a significant sum (which is totally relative), how many of us are there? I suspect at least 10,000, but not more than 50. Total guess, I’m hoping it’s higher because it’s a great hobby and I’d hate to see it get any more rare.
Probably more important, is whether interest has stabilized. I think it has. There seem to be a lot of younger guys in these forums as well.
What do you think?
JL
Showing 5 responses by orpheus10
I spent so much time in high end stores, that my wife swore I was seeing another women. The stores I went to had incredible salespeople and setups. When business was slow, we would swap stuff in and out like crazy; especially when new top of the line ARC or CJ came in. Naturally I brought my best CD's; this equipment created such an audio reality that you could visualize the performers. When you're having so much fun rapping and listing to the best music on the best equipment, it's easy to forget the time; plus the store was a considerable drive away; maybe I should have brought ice cream and flowers home. "Honey, I just been with some dudes listening to high end equipment!" |
This is the definition of "Audiophile", and it ain't cheap; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiophile Fortunately, I accumulated my equipment when there were "Brick and Mortar" high end stores, and it was expensive, but I could better afford it then; that began in 1990. Relative wages have gone down, not up; that means out of the total population, fewer people can afford to be Audiophiles as it's defined "Wiki". |
"Judging from what’s going on in the U.S., capitalism creates a huge downwardly mobile lower middle class, and a thriving 0.0001%. Not exactly a recipe for breeding people who seek the finer things." That plus the fact there is no place to audition high end gear like there used to be. High end audio is not a necessity, and as each year passes, the middle class is restricted more to "necessities". Not a good recipe for the high end. People who are not aware of this must be living in an upper middle class environmental bubble; which is a good place to be. "Somehow, I cannot visualize a "poor audiophile"? |