Why Don't More People Love Audio?

Okay guys, I'm still feeling Christmasy so I won't let you rattle me for the moment ... :-) I'll have another go at explaining my (to me, perfectly valid) examples, down the track ...

So, cheers and Merry Xmas from me,
Frank

Couple of quick comments:

As has already been mentioned once (and probably more, I didn't check) better systems don't come as a straightforward plug and play; instead there are myriads of if's and but's that (the salesman claims) are necessary to make it work just right. The luxury car market, for example, got this sort of thing sorted out a long time ago.

And, if a system works really, really well, it will take over the house in an auditory sense; I mean, if you really had the Stones live cranking it up in the end room would you really be able to push it into the background, and get on with the mundane things of life. At least, that's what the better half says (and I mean that in a positive, not negative sense) ... :-)

Frank

Sorry, Onhwy61, what you talk of is NOT plug and play. Yes, manufacturers make all the main bits, which harmonise visually and hopefully sound wise, but they do NOT come as a complete package.

I am talking here of the Ikea experience: you walk in, say, "I want one of those please", have one, two, three, etc cartons to take home or be delivered. Open the boxes, everything is there, and I mean EVERYTHING, all the appropriate quality cables, stands, the funny bits that get it to work WELL, with simple, exceedingly clear instructions on how to hook it together, and especially all the little tips and techniques for getting the best out of it. If the dealer has to do it, then people will say, "how much of the price of my system is the paying of this fellow to do this?"

Buy a luxury car, you go to the showroom, dealer points out a few things, hands you the keys and you drive off. Buy a top notch HDTV, you put it on a stand or table, plug in power cord and aerial, kick off a totally automated setup and it shows pretty pictures. Both items just WORK with no fuss at all and that's what counts.

Remember, the question is "Why Don't MORE(!!) People Love Audio?". Why, because it is all too complicated! People have mental breakdowns getting a cheap and nasty home theatre box working, after all ... :-)

Frank

And to continue the guitar analogy: if he changes his mind, goes back and orders the custom made instrument it will sound very impressive only when he plays a certain style of music, and only selected pieces within the repetoire of that. The sort of music he enjoyed picking out on his first, cheap guitar will sound very ordinary, even mediocre ...

Frank