[HiFiSoundGuy]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1952609/posts

[*Scotty*]

Been there, discussed that.
See link to this 29 page thread, Is 'High Fidelity' dead- or does it just smell funny?  (Read 5604 times)
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=44920.0
Scotty

[JLM]

Scotty, thanks for the reminder and the link.

Lots of reasons for the relative loss of interest in audio...

50 years ago (plus or minus) hi-fi was about the only high tech game in town (TV being too crude to be said to have fidelity).  So we've lost that crowd but picked up the vintage crowd.  I suppose there's a vintage TV crowd, but hopefully not to watch 12 channels of fuzzy B & W.

We also lose many in their formative years to video games.  It has been said that the those under 25 or 30 in 1st world countries consider virtual reality as more "real" (relevent/important to them) than the physical universe (the "Matrix" dread is here).

As a culture we've become addicted to stimulation.  More the better, anyway you can get it.  Even nursing homes have TV and separate music both on at once in the same room.  We can't seem to drive, read, shower, toilet, cook, be put on hold, entertain, or eat without music or TV. 

We lost many in the rush to convenience at any cost (oven versus microwave cooking; sit-down restaraunts versus drive/walk through; hand written letters with a dash of the author's smell/perfume versus e-mail, text messaging, talking in person versus voicemail; going to a live performance versus listening to a recording).  That's where car radio/Sirius, cassette, and MP3 come in.  Some would argue that CD and computer music servers don't provide the fidelity of vinyl.

Certainly CD or computer music servers take from the physical interaction and "hobbiest" aspects of vinyl or open reel formats.

OTOH we listen to more music than ever before, its just nearly all recorded.

The points I would consider debatable is what a minimum level of high-fidelity is and if the level of fidelity has increased on the whole or not over the years.  Development of a reasonably affluent middle class has allowed for a wide population to have access to what I'd call hi-fidelity.  Advancements in technology has also aided in this access.  Keep in mind that it was just announced that gas prices have reached inflationary parity from 1980.  So the modern equivalent to my $500 Hafler pre/power amp kits that I bought in 1980 should cost $2500 today (and that pre-amp was "lightly" built).

[Rob Babcock]

Certainly CD or computer music servers take from the physical interaction and "hobbiest" aspects of vinyl or open reel formats.

Apropos of nothing, I suppose, I think the loss of interaction with the "hobbiest" aspect of helps us interact with the musical aspect.  Right now I don't have any type of music server in my main rig, and I occasionally find myself listening at the computer simply because I weary of getting up and changing the CD, listening to 3 songs then having to get up again, etc.  Now I've got a pretty decent system at my PC, so it's not a hardship (Stereo-Link USB DAC> NAD C320-BEE> Monitor Audio Gold Ref 10's).

Work and school haven't left me with as much time or money as I'm used to having, but this summer I should have a bit more of both.  Then I intend to finally get a Squeezebox and begin ripping all my stuff w/FLAC.  As much as I love the geek aspect of the technology, at the end of a long day I wanna just settle in with the music, not futz around with the gear.

[Daygloworange]

As much as I love the geek aspect of the technology, at the end of a long day I wanna just settle in with the music, not futz around with the gear.

Same here.

Cheers

[mcgsxr]

I guess I am a rare breed - my computer currently has no speakers, and I love it that way.

All music is listened to via that PC, via the modded SB3 in the main system in the basement (now partner to my pool table) for primary relaxation.

As a bonus, my kids love to go the unfinished basement, where the rules are naturally relaxed, and as a cherry on the top, my wife loves when we all disappear down there, as she gets a break from them all.

At this point in their young development, I doubt that either of my kids are into High Fidelity, nor the Death of it - they just love music, and love to dance to it.  I am confident that they will soon enough discover portable music devices, and will begin to find their own path, but with their passionate old man footing at least a portion of the bill for the forseeable future, they will be stuck with my influence over their kit!

[Les Lammers]

It has been rumored to be dying for years. As long as you enjoy what you are listening to the gear does not matter. 

[nathanm]

Is it safe to say that 8-track is dead?

[Les Lammers]

Is it safe to say that 8-track is dead?

No, but i ain't betting on 4 track. 

[Rob Babcock]

I guess I am a rare breed - my computer currently has no speakers, and I love it that way.

I spend too much time at the computer to survive without sound!   I watch tons of education DVD material at the PC and obviously I have to be able to hear them.  Plus, I do occasionally check out peoples links to youtube and stuff.

A lot of the time I'll listen to music from my HD while I type a paper for class, too.

[TheChairGuy]

Between computer and Crackberry smartphone, my face is in a screen of some sort all day long.  The last thing I want is to have my music stored there, too. 

Also, I've not heard substantial enough differences in (Redbook) music servers, computer based audio and good standalone CDP's and DAC's to merit the time to move to anything else.  A remote control is wonderfully handy and convenient to use...every bit as convenient and doodling in my laptop or PC for my music.  A CD is often a full hour of filler music in the background...hit replay and you're good for two hours.

Slip in 4 or 5 new ones during the course of the day and get rid of that pot-belly in a decade 

Play records, changing sides every 20 minutes (made better by semi-auto liftoffs, where you don't freak out that your precious needle is being burned up on the inner grooves) and you get a real good workout.  It's painfully futzy, but very enjoyable 

John

[mcullinan]

Or move your finger 2 inches to the right and play 462 days of music that doesnt repeat once. Do this without food and water and without moving from the couch and you will be a pearly white skeleton in no time.
Yeah im a skeleton! Yeah!
Mike 

[Freo-1]

Between computer and Crackberry smartphone, my face is in a screen of some sort all day long.  The last thing I want is to have my music stored there, too. 

Also, I've not heard substantial enough differences in (Redbook) music servers, computer based audio and good standalone CDP's and DAC's to merit the time to move to anything else.  A remote control is wonderfully handy and convenient to use...every bit as convenient and doodling in my laptop or PC for my music.  A CD is often a full hour of filler music in the background...hit replay and you're good for two hours.

Slip in 4 or 5 new ones during the course of the day and get rid of that pot-belly in a decade 

Play records, changing sides every 20 minutes (made better by semi-auto liftoffs, where you don't freak out that your precious needle is being burned up on the inner grooves) and you get a real good workout.  It's painfully futzy, but very enjoyable 

John

Good food for thought. Let's not forget that Red Book CD playback itself is compromised from the start. Assuming the same source, the SACD/DVD audio format is clearly a sonic improvement over Red Book CD (even with the inherent math error in SACD). 

For those of us old enough to remember, the analog (master tape) reel to reel source was (and still is) one of the best source inputs for music available.