Audiophile listening isn't dying. The music worth listening to is old, just like the audiophiles who listen to it. We are a dying breed of connoisseurs, soon to be extinct. Equipment designers see that and are exploiting their dwindling market before it's completely gone.
Showing 5 responses by rcm1203
Reading through this very interesting post, the theme seems to be that audiophiles are not a dying breed. The dynamics of listening and the equipment used to facilitate it have changed dramatically from our (boomers) days. I recently read an article concerning the trend that the current generation of workers seldom take vacations, and apparently don't even use their vacation time to just get away from work. During my working years, I knew quite a few people who hardly ever vacationed, but always used their annual allotted days off and just chilled out at home. Apparently, the kids today just don't have that kind of free, 'do nothing' time because of all their social responsibilities. With a growing selection of exceptional wireless ear buds and speakers, and smart phones with excellent processors, they can take their audiophile systems with them. They probably look at our home based systems and just consider them a monumental waste of time and money! One of my guilty pleasures is using my Sony NW-A105 Hi Res Walkman and Pulse Explore wireless earbuds while I putter around the house. If they are happy with their version of audiophilia, who are we to pass judgement on it? Still, it is sad to see our version pass. My enjoyment of the hobby has always been just as much about the reproduction of the music I love as it has been about the visual feast of the gear used to do it. |
moto_man To parody my own statement, my grandparents hated my rock music! In their minds, the only music worth listening to came from 'real' musicians like Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller. Truth be told, I can actually listen to and enjoy music from their era now, but I hated it when I was younger, just like I can't stand the current generation's music. My point is that every generation has it's 'golden era' of music, and there's nothing wrong with that. We humans call it progress, even when it doesn't sound like it!simao, Don't be too hard on us old geezers, we're just keeping tradition alive and well! bipod72 I think you've hit on another aspect of the OP's query. I'm a Boomer, and at this point in my retired life, I have more discretionary cash flow and more free time to enjoy it then ever before. I've been channeling a lot of both into my system just playing around and trying new equipment. I try to temper the urges by reminding myself that our worldly treasures eventually wind up being somebody else's junk that they have to get rid of. If I pass before my wife, she'll just have her son pick everything up and get rid of it, which he'll do because he isn't any more interested in it than his mother. If I out live her, the end will be the same because I have no heirs of my own. BTW, I'll go to my grave never regretting that fact. We now have virtual reality headsets with 3D sound that mimics true reality very convincingly, and I think that trend is going to merge right into the music world as well. Many of us two channel folks have strived to reproduce the 'live' experience in our home systems. I firmly believe that experience will be realized in the very near future with systems that fit on the head and deliver an experience we could only dream about.
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stuartk A very astute observation. Is it live or is it Memorex? Before long, partaking of music could be like the sex in the Stallone movie 'Demolition Man! simao No offense meant and certainly none taken. We're just having what has turned out to be an interesting discussion concerning aging audiophiles, with a 'well done' nod to tubelvr11. |