Well, in anticipation of losing discretionary funds to supporting the coffers of the universities of my kid’s choice, I built up 3 systems. One in my main listening room, one in my bedroom and one in my youngest son’s room (19 years old).
I think my son would qualify as a next gen "audiophile." When not listening to the main system, he listens to one of the 100 albums he personally owns and plays them on an RP6 with Clearaudio Maestro V2 cart run through a Parasound HINT in his bedroom.
It’s cyclic. They’ll get it back. but probably not until most of us are gone.
In the meantime, Digital and it’s problems are misrepresenting music, and that is part of the problem. Subtle to the conscious mind but the lack of some important aspects of what pulls us in, for almost 20 years, wiped out an entire generation of aficionados before they had a chance to exist. The same effect can be found in class D amps, in my experience.
It’s not just the changing landscape it’s a problem of going sonically backward - all for that modern convenience.
Show me a ’real’ audio manufacturer these days, who wants to build with delta-sigma type dacs. Most are moving out of it as fast as they can, for discrete R-2-R dac types. More expensive... but far more correct in what we hear. Back to what digital had before the delta-sigma dac types came along.
I quit this child thingie long time ago. The number of vintage receivers, amps and players that I have allows me to swap them from time to time for different sound without investing any extra penny.
I understand what you all are saying but I protest. Personally, I am not going to stop, not only to improve the sound but also to maintain the audiophile tradition and connection to the roots. As for the availability of funds, well, it is always a factor but rarely the most significant one unless you accept nothing but the very best and new. Yeah, source material is what it is, even more motivation to get the most out of it. However, younger generation doesn’t appear to be interested in all this. We have no-one to pass it on to - that’s bad. Better exploding universe than shrinking.
Two kids in college has me off the upgrade cycle for now. It will be interesting to see what the market looks like when I get to come back up for air in a couple of years.
I agree with @Jim204 that aging, in combination with the digitizing of physical media, has drawn me into a downsizing mentality. In cosmological terms, it's analogous to the eventual transition of an expanding universe into a contracting universe. Also the desire for a greener and lighter footprint. As the younger generation of audio consumers is also embracing downsizing, large-scale systems building is likely in irreversible decline.
I have just retired and now have no time for the upgrade cycle anymore.In a nutshell I am quite happy now with what I posess and to that end I will only want to service things now so that is why I puchased the best things I could to last me untill I croak. I have two pairs of highest spec. headphones from Sennheiser and Stax to cover all eventuallities and a super hi spec headphone amp. I have sold my Gryphon Mikado and replaced it with a Direct Sream DAC from PS Audio, because all I listen to now consists of Radio broadcasts from BBC Radio Three and I also stream from Quobuz. I get most of my enjoyment now from that setup and if I feel nostalgic for a pianist or violinist that I have on CD then I put it through db Poweramp on to my workstation and then listen to it through Roon and I am happy. Now I don't endlessly clean Vinyl or getup to change CDs and every thing that I like can be accessed by a remote or a wireless mouse but with a visit to the drinks cabinet now and again for a drop fo Cardu Single Malt and an enening just flies in.Couldn't be happier. Jim.
I’ve thought a lot about this in the past couple of years (turning 60 was sobering to say the least). I’m now 61 and am indeed interested in the end game. I think @rar1 nailed it with this:
There are folks, like myself, who are in their 60's and looking at retirement in a few years, most likely reduced incomes, potentially much smaller living spaces, and unfortunately, either less acute hearing or more serious medical conditions to contend with or both.
I’ve tried more than my share of component/speaker combinations over the years and my current system, which I began to acquire 2 years ago, came about from a long-standing curiosity finally realized. I’m incredibly happy with this system, thankfully, as I’m tired of the seeming endless search and upgrades. Over the years, instead of selling all of the gear I moved on from I stored much of it and have enough in storage for 3 systems (and then some). It’s nice to have back-ups if/when something breaks or boredom strikes.
As for all these stunning $5K+ components, that time has passed for me at least. They just don't make sense anymore. It is a hobby after all.
There are folks, like myself, who are in their 60's and looking at retirement in a few years, most likely reduced incomes, potentially much smaller living spaces, and unfortunately, either less acute hearing or more serious medical conditions to contend with or both.
Not to be a downer, but individual components that cost more than say $2K become very unnecessary after awhile.
I like my current systems a lot, but I recognize that the components I like best are going on 15 years old and may be nearing the end of their useful lives. So when I replace them, I am thinking this will be the last time I make the purchase.
My focus now is making sure I have back-up in case something breaks down or can not be repaired. I have a veritable boatload of CDs and zero desire to stream or convert to files. So, I have 2 CD players, new in the box, on the shelf, so I am covered for the next 20 years.
As for all these stunning $5K+ components, that time has passed for me at least. They just don't make sense anymore. It is a hobby after all.
Both! Time to focus on the music more than the sound. The limiting factor is the source material, and it is what it is. There comes a point where good enough is good enough.
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