I've been in this hobby since I was 15 years old-- back in the 1970's-- so what's changed? Money, in the form of disposable income. Wages and salaries for the middle class have been stagnant or in decline since then. Economic mobility in the US has collapsed. Not my opinion-- this is simply a straight read of decades worth of economic trend data. Kids aren't getting married or starting families nearly as much today either-- no money, little job stability, and diminishing prospects for this to turn around anytime soon.
It sucks that young people today grow up listening to music (crap sounding MP3's in most cases) through cheap bean-sized earbuds. It's another reason for the loudness wars-- no one listening to loud music via earbuds wants wide dynamic range-- they want it compressed and LOUD-- and this is all most of them will ever be able to afford.
Hi end mfg's have been jacking prices to create a "patina of prestige" around their products-- it's got nothing to do with cost for many of them. So the hi-value brands like Oppo are appealing to a vanishing class of people-- and I use that word intentionally. The US and for that matter, the EU middle class-- are an endangered species and there aren't going to be enough rich audiophiles to keep most of the remaining companies healthy for very much longer. The US middle class was the driver of economic growth and prosperity for our economy-- now they're just targets for rent-seeking monopolies-- and that has left consumer spending, compared to what it was decades ago-- anemic at best.
The average American can't even come up with $400 cash to pay for an emergency expense-- like a car repair. So what are the odds they'll be able to put together a few thousand dollars spare to buy an entry level system? Diminishing at best.
So this isn't about changing times and preferences-- a preference to only listen to low quality music on cheap earbuds-- it is about the change in the economic circumstances of most Americans. This is not politics-- though that has played a LARGE role in this state of affairs-- it's basic economics. Downwardly mobile populations of people do not make a great market for high quality goods and services, they make a good market for Wal-Mart and The Dollar Store.
It sucks that young people today grow up listening to music (crap sounding MP3's in most cases) through cheap bean-sized earbuds. It's another reason for the loudness wars-- no one listening to loud music via earbuds wants wide dynamic range-- they want it compressed and LOUD-- and this is all most of them will ever be able to afford.
Hi end mfg's have been jacking prices to create a "patina of prestige" around their products-- it's got nothing to do with cost for many of them. So the hi-value brands like Oppo are appealing to a vanishing class of people-- and I use that word intentionally. The US and for that matter, the EU middle class-- are an endangered species and there aren't going to be enough rich audiophiles to keep most of the remaining companies healthy for very much longer. The US middle class was the driver of economic growth and prosperity for our economy-- now they're just targets for rent-seeking monopolies-- and that has left consumer spending, compared to what it was decades ago-- anemic at best.
The average American can't even come up with $400 cash to pay for an emergency expense-- like a car repair. So what are the odds they'll be able to put together a few thousand dollars spare to buy an entry level system? Diminishing at best.
So this isn't about changing times and preferences-- a preference to only listen to low quality music on cheap earbuds-- it is about the change in the economic circumstances of most Americans. This is not politics-- though that has played a LARGE role in this state of affairs-- it's basic economics. Downwardly mobile populations of people do not make a great market for high quality goods and services, they make a good market for Wal-Mart and The Dollar Store.