Why Don't More People Love Audio?

As a long-time audiophile, music lover, and teacher of a class in jazz appreciation, I despair of the musical taste of much of today's younger generation of listeners. At the risk of offending some of you, too many younger adults (read: under 35) have been raised on a steady diet of music that is often mediocre at best. To make matters worse, the quality of the reproduced sound is sometimes execrable, and the popularity of MP3 suggests it is not going to get any better. Top all of this off with the decline in liberal arts education -- specifically music -- in the schools, and you are left with what Steve Allen calls a "dumbed down" American society. When you get used to crap, it shouldn't surprise anyone that high end audio is shrinking as a hobby.

I find that rather than being a status symbol as in exotic cars...Ferrari's and Lambos which touch in the heart of men as rich sportsmen, i.e. as the machinery we've all dreamed of driving fast, high end audio equipment is scorned by many who can't imagine how we'd drive those amps and speakers fast! I've listened to countless people declare that they can't tell the difference in wines. When I put great wine in their glasses and ask them to taste, everyone can. What I believe they mean is that they are unwilling to pay for what they believe is an outrageous extravagance.

Presumably, music is music is music. Why care how it is produced or how near perfectly it represents the musicians actual work? Once having learned to listen to a true reproduction of sound and having given up the taint of flavor which most audio equipment overlays, I don't find that it is difficult to want more, more, more of it. I just believe that like other non-status opulently expensive devices in life, most people don't have the ability to pay therefore they don't allow themselves the willingness to be touched by the sensuality of the experience. Basically, I believe people recoil from what clearly scares them... the obviousness that if we loved the music, we might not be able to afford the equipment.

I collect vintage watches, fine cigars, wine, Italian cars, houses, sailboats and WW II airplanes. Each of these hobbies gives me great pleasure and is a conversation starter for people I meet in business and socially. Someone once tried to sell me a very expensive Krell system, but I couldn't really understand how to justify the price and my wife hated it. In the end, I have Denon home theatre equipment built into a custom closet, B&W speakers and Bose cubes in every room for background music and entertaining. You guys seem to think this is garbage but it sounds great to me.

Mr Whitehead: You seem to have more money than sense. Let me guess -- Investment banking? Rolex Presidential? With diamonds, perhaps? If you weren't so smug and self satisfied, perhaps your education would be broader than rereading financial statements in between back issues of The Robb Report.

mark,

denon is fine for home-theatre; bose is fine for background music & entertaining. seriously.

however, sitting down & listening to music, not doing anything else, but actually *listening*, as if yude gone to a concert or club to hear live music, well, this is something totally different. while denon *does* make some hi-end audio equipment (hoover, on a-gon's classifieds, could surely set ewe up!), i'd hazard a guess that this is *not* what makes up yer home-theatre system. and, while i am not normally so blunt, to put it in your words, ya, h-t denon & bose *are* garbage for serious listening. don't take it personal, serious listening is obviously not what yure into - it's ok, not many people are... the equipment ya got prolly *is* great - for how it's being used.

regards, doug

ps - i hope ewe get enyoyment outta yer other hobbies, it's a shame to let nice stuff sit & not use it. cars, for example - i don't *collect* italian cars, italian cars are the only ones i own. they *all* get driven - as my commute is 45 miles each way, they get driven a *lot*... :>)