[WEEZ]

.....which brings us full circle. And the original poster has left the building.

WEEZ

[Double Ugly]

.....which brings us full circle. And the original poster has left the building.

WEEZ

If he did, he's missing a heck of a discussion/debate on several topics related to his question! 

Seriously, it's all good, WEEZ.  The topic didn't stray too far for too long, and it all had/has to do with high fidelity.

If nothing else, it serves notice that those of us still here are passionate about keeping our version of "High Fidelity" alive. 

[macrojack]

Can't deny that. The core that survives is indeed hard core. But when we are gone, it's over.
Consider what it costs to immerse yourself in this hobby from scratch. Us older audiophiles have years of accumulated system equity and were able to achieve build up in an innocent and fertile marketplace. Now the entry fee is daunting and the pool is populated primarily by sharks.

With student loans and the costs of housing, wardrobe, cars and communication access, young people do not, as a rule, have the sort of disposable income this sport demands. It's much tougher getting started today than it was when we were coming up.

I would like to share Doug's rosy outlook but fail to see the new blood in numbers sufficient to keep the standard held high twenty years anon.

[doug s.]

...I would like to share Doug's rosy outlook but fail to see the new blood in numbers sufficient to keep the standard held high twenty years anon...

i read similar quotes from audiophiles twenty years ago...     hi-end audio always was a lunatic fringe pastime.  you will never (imo) see "new blood in sufficient numbers..."  it is yust a trickle of blood today.  as it was yesterday, & as it will be tomorrow...  if anything, due to the marketing/manufacturing paradigm brought about by the internet, hi-end audio is as strong as it has ever been!     still yust a trickle, tho... 

ok, i think i have said enough about this...     

doug s.

[Double Ugly]

I would like to share Doug's rosy outlook but fail to see the new blood in numbers sufficient to keep the standard held high twenty years anon.

You may be right, but as with most things, the truth probably lies somewhere between your positions. 

Today's 20somethings will be 40something before they know it, and maybe then their disposable income will finally allow the purchase of that amp, speaker, or vinyl rig they've had their eye on the past few years.  You know, like the one they heard at _________'s place, back when they were still in college.  Man, that sounded good! 

Yesteryear's cheap amps/speakers/receivers/etc. with surprisingly pleasing performance are all combined in today's iPod, and I think your position presupposes virtually no one who's taken with an iPod's sound will ever want more, or even know there is more.  Like I said, the answer probably lies between the two extremes, but by the time the dust settles, I'll be too old to care anyway. 

[Daygloworange]

If you think HiFi is dead, perhaps you're looking at what you've traditionally known as audiophiles.

They said hot rodding died after the 70's muscle cars too.

Then a new generation of hot rodders started tweaking on imports and are making more horsepower with little turbocharged inline 1.8 liter engines than they ever had back in the day. It's a multi billion dollar industry.

And this new generation doesn't consider a car completed till it has a mondo sound system to boot.

The new generation of audiophiles will take this new server based stuff and computer stuff to higher levels of audio performance the same way.

It's just a changing of the guard.

Cheers

[TONEPUB]

Maybe there are fewer and fewer "audiophiles" per se, but I see a lot more people interested
in music these days.

They just dont want to deal with cables, upgrades, etc....

[Steve Eddy]

And this new generation doesn't consider a car completed till it has a mondo sound system to boot.

Yeah, but sadly to many of them, a "mondo" sound system is little more than something to vibrate their little cojones while they drive their thunder tubs through the neighborhood at 3:00 in the morning.

se

[Steve Eddy]

Maybe there are fewer and fewer "audiophiles" per se, but I see a lot more people interested
in music these days.

They just dont want to deal with cables, upgrades, etc....

Bingo!

se

[Daygloworange]

The correlation between hot rodders of ol' vs todays breed being my main point of comparing newer audiophiles to the dying breed of us geezers.     

Those guys buzzin' 'round your neighbourhood and wakin' you up at night Steve? 

Cheers   

[Steve Eddy]

Those guys buzzin' 'round your neighbourhood and wakin' you up at night Steve? 

Noting like they used to.

There was a time when the boulevard that I live literally a stone's throw from was the cruise spot for low riders throughout the central valley. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights it was bumper-to-bumper both ways for a three mile stretch. A real mess.

They finally outlawed cruising in part because several people died who lived in streets which could only be accessed off the boulevard and emergency vehicles were unable to get through the traffic.

se

[Plink]

It's weird to me how die-hard vinyl fans never seem too concerned about the fact that basically nothing recorded in the last 20-25 years is available on vinyl.  There've been a lot of good records since vinyl died.  Not least in the classical music world.

classical and most jazz, yes.  alternative and indie or less mainstream music, no.  most of the better music in this area is released on vinyl.  granted, the concept of "indie" is in no way what it was in the early 90s.

regarding classical, I'm surprised anything new is released.  talk about a dying genre.  (no, it's not dead yet but it ain't what it used to be)

[Daryl]

Which is worse?

A kid downloading MP3 and playing it back through his home theater in a box.

Or, a grown man spending thousands of dollars to play vinyl through SET's connected a single driver full range speaker system (with expensive power cords, IC's and speaker wire of course).

The audio capabilities of either system will be miserable.

The kid of course hasn't wasted near as much money.

The adult should know better but for some reason doesn't.

Not much has changed.

Their have always been a few intersted in high fidelity (maybe 0.1% of those involved).

The rest is nothing but B.S.

[Scott F.]

Which is worse?.....

Or, a grown man spending thousands of dollars to play vinyl through SET's connected a single driver full range speaker system (with expensive power cords, IC's and speaker wire of course).

The audio capabilities of either system will be miserable.

The adult should know better but for some reason doesn't.

Statements like this show exactly how inexperienced and closed minded you truly are.

[SET Man]

Which is worse?

A kid downloading MP3 and playing it back through his home theater in a box.

Or, a grown man spending thousands of dollars to play vinyl through SET's connected a single driver full range speaker system (with expensive power cords, IC's and speaker wire of course).

The audio capabilities of either system will be miserable.

The kid of course hasn't wasted near as much money.

The adult should know better but for some reason doesn't.

Not much has changed.

Their have always been a few intersted in high fidelity (maybe 0.1% of those involved).

The rest is nothing but B.S.

Hey!

    Geez... I don't know why but I've been enjoying my "miserable" turntable +  SET + Single Driver system for years now.

     But I'm pretty sure that my system sound like shit to you already even before you ever heard it.

Which is worse?.....

Or, a grown man spending thousands of dollars to play vinyl through SET's connected a single driver full range speaker system (with expensive power cords, IC's and speaker wire of course).

The audio capabilities of either system will be miserable.

The adult should know better but for some reason doesn't.

Statements like this show exactly how inexperienced and closed minded you truly are.

   Yup, couldn't have said it better Scott.

   Anyway, sorry for being off topic but can't help it. Now let's get back the the topic shall we?

Take care,
Buddy

[Steve Eddy]

The kid of course hasn't wasted near as much money.

Um, by what measure has any money been wasted?

se

[Double Ugly]

Now let's get back the the topic shall we?

Great idea! 

Daryl - PM forthcoming.

[macrojack]

That's another reason why I think Hi-Fi is in trouble. Too many people like Daryl are involved.

[doug s.]

"same as it ever was", macro!   

doug s.

That's another reason why I think Hi-Fi is in trouble. Too many people like Daryl are involved.

[linkweewee]

Which is worse?

A kid downloading MP3 and playing it back through his home theater in a box.

Or, a grown man spending thousands of dollars to play vinyl through SET's connected a single driver full range speaker system (with expensive power cords, IC's and speaker wire of course).

The audio capabilities of either system will be miserable.

The kid of course hasn't wasted near as much money.

The adult should know better but for some reason doesn't.

Not much has changed.

Their have always been a few intersted in high fidelity (maybe 0.1% of those involved).

The rest is nothing but B.S.

God forgive a grown man should spend his hard-earned dough where he wants to in a hobby he enjoys in his free time...