• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Are soundbars and Bluetooth speakers killing hifi ?

K

KingAzazel

New Member
I don’t understand the fad of these modern smart devices and speakers ...what’s your opinion??
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/gallery/best-bluetooth-speakers/amp
The sound quality hurts my ears !!
Most big box stores don’t even sell home audio speakers anymore .
My sister has a few of these Alexa Speakers and they are tiny , and not connectable to a tv...
is this a slow death for full sized speakers ?I’ve Noticed avrs are more and more expensive every year , and less brands to choose from .
not all soundbars suck some are quite good but they definitely are selling far more in quantity then speakers do anymore ..
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.re.../why_you_shouldnt_buy_a_soundbar_with_actual/
Slow death of audio hifi ???
Low quality being the norm
Best gear only sold online
Audio stores almost non existent in USA
High amount of top brands are now defunct
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
Technology has changed the world, including the way people consume music. The (probably) $40-50 Alexa speakers your sister owns is not representative of the sound quality available through many Bluetooth speakers. Smart devices are not a fad, they have changed the way many people work and live and will continue to do so as the generations that are now growing up with the technology learn to integrate them more thoroughly into every aspect of their lives. (I am not here to argue that this integration is good or bad, just inevitable)

I feel it I is helpful to remember that 10 years ago the Bluetooth speaker as we know it today was a novelty and the smartphone was barely out of diapers. The technology will continue to advance and as it does, sound quality should continue to improve.

As for connecting the Alexa speaker to a TV, you definitely can, if you have the right TV. At least you can for the purposes of controlling the TV. As for playing sound from the TV through the Alexa speaker, I do not know why you would. While the speakers on the TV are not great, they are probably still superior to the Alexa speaker.

With regards to the lack of traditional speakers, the world is different. Smartphones and services like Spotify and YouTube have changed the when, how and where people listen to music. I want to listen to my music in my kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, backyard, office, at the park, at the beach, and Bluetooth makes that happen. Not to mention that if you spend $250 you can get two quality speakers that will produce stereo sound at a quality you might rather surprised to experience and you can take it basically anywhere in your wife’s purse.

Last, let’s not forget changing socioeconomic factors. The middle class is shrinking and cities are growing. You take off the top 10% and bottom 10% and the average income of that middle 80% is not keeping pace with increases in cost of living, which leaves less money for discretionary expenditures. As for cities, the world is urbanizing and there is no reason to think that will change. Increased city size leads to densification which means less space for each person which lead to people living in smaller homes either because that is all that is available or all they can afford. Ultimately, less money and less space means traditional stereo setups make less sense.

All that said, I am sure I missed many impactful factors. The reasons for the changes in music consumption are numerous and nuanced and while the technology may improve and evolve, I do not think they are going away.
 
KingAzazel said:
Slow death of audio hifi ???
Low quality being the norm
Best gear only sold online
Audio stores almost non existent in USA
High amount of top brands are now defunct
Click to expand...

Generally, I agree with @Tom Brennan. Brands and companies go bankrupt all the time and there are plenty of new companies that are popping up too. Plenty of Hi-Fi companies went defunct in the 80’s and 90’s. Nearly everything is purchased more and more online, that is the way of the modern business. Therefore, the lack of something in the stores is not necessarily an indicator that item is less popular.

I suspect low quality has always been the norm. I grew up pretty middle/upper middle class (I’m 38) and I can’t think of a single friend or family member who had a ‘decent’ stereo in their home. Also, I would argue that the smartphone and services like Spotify and YouTube have made music even more accessible and widespread. Everywhere you go people are listening to music, which I think is a big positive. Additionally, you have stuff like Sonos systems that appear to be increasing in popularity.

While the world of music may be changing, I do not think the consumption of quality music is changing. It is merely how quality music is being delivered and consumed that is changing.
 
rhodus said:
You mean like this?View attachment 2110259
Click to expand...
Music is more popular today then some past decades .. artist quality is opinionated.

Epic Klipch speakers , I wish there was a way we could see if online speaker sales are comparable to the 80s-90s or the end of common bigger speakers .

so small compact speakers and headphones are taking the lions share of the market ?

Id say soundbars are better then tv speakers but inferior to bigger speaker models . I’ve yet to own one ....
Most mass produced brands of headphones and Bluetooth speakers are low quality sold for high prices .. however they must be doing something correct to sell in big volumes ?
Mini Shelf systems are extinct also not that they were that good . Some still are made but are trashy ...

Audio might not be dead but real true speakers and subs are gone from modern stores.
Those Bose cubes killed off many people’s tastes for large speakers , along with tons of other satellites speaker brands .8C9C899F-9BFC-419C-92BE-682B2DBE85D2.jpeg
There are still a tons of brands just prices have shot way above average wages ...
And drivers are higher quality then ever .

I’ve not audition and don’t have the money to try out these tiny Bluetooth things but I’m willing to bet traditional speakers wipe the floor with there sound quality , But portability they win .

High quality small drivers are pretty rare when profits only matter to these large corporations like Bose . NFL is sponsored by them also .
I’ve always disliked bloated bass , and no mids .
 
Last edited:
KingAzazel said:
Music is more popular today then some past decades .. artist quality is opinionated.

Epic Klipch speakers , I wish there was a way we could see if online speaker sales are comparable to the 80s-90s or the end of common bigger speakers .

so small compact speakers and headphones are taking the lions share of the market ?

Id say soundbars are better then tv speakers but inferior to bigger speaker models . I’ve yet to own one ....
Most mass produced brands of headphones and Bluetooth speakers are low quality sold for high prices .. however they must be doing something correct to sell in big volumes ?
Mini Shelf systems are extinct also not that they were that good . Some still are made but are trashy ...

Audio might not be dead but real true speakers and subs are gone from modern stores.
Those Bose cubes killed off many people’s tastes for large speakers , along with tons of other satellites speaker brands .View attachment 2110265
There are still a tons of brands just prices have shot way above average wages ...
And drivers are higher quality then ever .

I’ve not audition and don’t have the money to try out these tiny Bluetooth things but I’m willing to bet traditional speakers wipe the floor with there sound quality , But portability they win .

High quality small drivers are pretty rare when profits only matter to these large corporations like Bose . NFL is sponsored by them also .
I’ve always disliked bloated bass , and no mids .
Click to expand...
Today, all you need for portable audio is a smartphone ($700-1000) and some earplugs ($25). But it just ain't the same as a pair of 100+ pound speakers. I was about 19 years old when the first Sony Walkman was introduced. We were amazed by it's sound quality in such a small package. But it was made for the masses, not serious listeners. Today's mass market junk is the same, just even more portable....
 
Last edited:
It's evolution, like a lot of other hobbies / interests / obsessions these days. It's why some car enthusiasts drive Teslas and some drive 60s muscle cars, same as why some folks buy electric powered RC vehicles and some run old nitro buggies. There's always the 'old guard' who like the tinkering and to a certain extent the nostalgia. That's not to say those same people don't embrace modern technology, it's just that they appreciate the years of development that has taken place to get that technology to where it is today.

Personally I like vintage gear because I'm an engineer and a tinkerer - does it sound good? Yeah it does, mostly, but could it be bettered by modern gear - well for the vintage and modern gear I can afford the answer would be yes. I can pop my Sony noise-cancelling headphones into my Ipod Classic (the one with the Wolfsson DAC - I put flash storage in it) and I can have a sublime listening experience, much more satisfying than my vintage amp and speakers that I picked up from Facebook marketplace for maybe a couple of hundred bucks.

Taking the RC cars I mentioned earlier. I bought a 1/8 scale RC 4x4 'truggy' the other day - $100 NZD all up with everything I need to run it. I took it to the local hobby store for a service but guess what? They don't service nitro any more, because 'everyone went electric years ago'. That's great for clean, green, convenient fun but where's the noise, the smell, the tuning and tinkering gone? A bit like vinyl isn't it - the tactile aspect of enjoying a hobby rather than the pure convenience.

All we need to do is embrace the hobby in all its forms - bluetooth speakers have their place at the beach, at a barbeque, at a drinks party because no end of enthusiastic jumping around is going to make them skip! Sound bars have their place wedged under the TV, hooked up to a subwoofer, bringing life to your favourite big screen heroes :-)
 
If you're expecting a sudden resurgence of big heavy boxes like the 1970s featured, I'm pretty comfortable saying its not going to happen. The convenience of BT stuff that involves no wires and minimal space is very appealing. People who want better will buy it, folks who just want to listen to music and don't care all that much about having the lowest distortion specs with DC to light frequency response will not.


I bought my mom a soundbar with a sub for the TV. The internal speakers were horrific and it was actually difficult to understand people talking. It also has BT functionality and pairs with the Alexa thing so that also got a sound upgrade. It sounds OK, she enjoys it, and it requires no fiddling on her part to make the whole thing go. Since it causes her no grief, that means it causes ME no grief so I'm very satisfied with the results.
 
KingAzazel said:
but real true speakers and subs are gone from modern stores.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't even consider going to a "modern store" to look for speakers unless its a Specialty Audio Store. Other than the initial touchy feely, online is the way to go!!! You can addition in your space and return if you do not like them. Most places offer free trail periods with free returns (I am currently looking at Tekton and Zu). How could it be better than that?

And as mentioned... "hi-fi" is alive and doing well
 
There have always been "junk" speakers. There likely always will be, at least in the medium turn.

KEF, as one example, make a very good Bluetooth speaker as pat of their LS50 range. Martin Logan, Master and Dynamic and Bang & Olufsen are no slouches either.
 
Most people are not audiophiles - what sells in the mass market is not relevant to us in AK.
Honestly - we are discerning buyers and listeners.

And the "top brands" you speak of have generally been gone quite a while -

Don't worry about what "some folks" buy - enjoy what you got!



KingAzazel said:
I don’t understand the fad of these modern smart devices and speakers ...what’s your opinion??
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/gallery/best-bluetooth-speakers/amp
The sound quality hurts my ears !!
Most big box stores don’t even sell home audio speakers anymore .
My sister has a few of these Alexa Speakers and they are tiny , and not connectable to a tv...
is this a slow death for full sized speakers ?I’ve Noticed avrs are more and more expensive every year , and less brands to choose from .
not all soundbars suck some are quite good but they definitely are selling far more in quantity then speakers do anymore ..
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.re.../why_you_shouldnt_buy_a_soundbar_with_actual/
Slow death of audio hifi ???
Low quality being the norm
Best gear only sold online
Audio stores almost non existent in USA
High amount of top brands are now defunct
Click to expand...
 
I live in a motorhome and listen to this Klipsch bluetooth speaker. The sound is mono but high fidelity---low distortion at my listening levels, a good tonal balance and clarity that allows me to hear deep into the music.

Next month I'm moving into an apartment up in downtown Kent Washington and will be able to go with a conventional hi-fi again, what I'll do is much on my mind.
6EEAF641-D0E1-4598-91B5-7C2096BB0F6C.jpeg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom