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New York Times: "The New Audio Geeks"

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New York Times, Home section, Thursday, July 24, 2013:
"The Internet and digital technology have upended the music industry over the last decade or so, but high-end audio has arguably suffered an even greater blow. The industry’s very raison d’être — the nitpicky pursuit of superb sound reproduction, no matter the cost or complexity — is irrelevant to many music listeners today... it’s an audiophile’s hell. But convenience and mobility rule the day.

Still, there is a sense that after years of near extinction, a new generation of home audiophiles is emerging. 'The kids are not idiots,” Mr. Hall said. “A nice little hi-fi system with a good turntable sounds amazing — way beyond an iPod.'"​

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/25/garden/the-new-audio-geeks.html?ref=garden&_r=0

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Great article, thanks for posting that. But "Beats" by Dr. Dre are considered high end headphones? Oy!
 
nice article.

My favorite quote;

For years, the typical high-end audio customer has been a white-haired classical music aficionado or an aging rock fan for whom listening to “Aja” in 1977 on a pair of Altec Lansings was a spiritual experience.
 
Seems to be a lot of vinyl resurgence articles lately. Did a Google news search yesterday for "vinyl record" and was shocked by the amount of press.
 
This seems to have fewer groaners than I'm used to from an audio trend article in the mainstream press.

Overall, I enjoyed the piece and saw it as positive. The author didn't mention vintage, though, so we're still flying under the radar. :D
 
"McIntosh, for years the holy grail for preamps and other components, has been adding USB ports to its entire product line in a long overdue acknowledgment of the popularity of music streaming."
Click to expand...

The horror!
 
DougMac said:
The horror!
Click to expand...

Not really. If you're associating a USB with the prospect connecting a portable device that plays 128kbs MP3's or WMA (for the few who let Windows use the default setting to rip their CD's to their computer), then that's just silly.

USB is just an input. So is an RCA. I'm sure you could have an McIntosh Pre/amp and connect a horrible 8-track player or BSA turntable that has RCA outputs (probably sounds just as bad, or worse than an MP3). McIntosh is offering another input jack since nearly every portable music device (phone/player/thumbdrive) has some form of USB connection.

Think of it this way: Uncle Gustaf has a McIntosh system. Little nephew Vladislav and little niece Ilsa have a Galaxy phone and an iPhone, respectively. Vladislav and Ilsa sure love playing their devices on their iHome and Bose docking stations at home. They visit Uncle Gustaf and Aunt Agnetha during the holidays. The kids wonder why uncle has a "dedicated" system just for music. He adores these kids and allow them to hook up their devices to the USB input on his treasured (but not more treasured than his family) McIntosh pre/amp.

He then explains to them what to listen for when comparing the McTosh to their docking stations. Since they too respect their uncle, they start to realize that they get more involved with their music (even if it's something the uncle Gustaf would never listen to), and is their first step towards getting a decent (maybe even cheaper vintage) quality gear. Aunt Agnetha bakes them all Rhubarb pie and enjoy sitting around the living room, along with their dog Dagbjørg and cat Fransiska.

That USB connection could be the start of an enlightenment for guests or family that come over.
 
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I'm happy that people are into this stuff but I'm tired of reading things with the tone of "we have to save them" coming from people in the articles. I find audio to be along the lines of "you like it if you do, and if you don't, no worries". Honestly, a decent pair of headphones being driven by a computer with decent bit rate files, or something like MOG, running....is at least the sound quality of a lot of budget, small speaker systems, and even some bigger setups if done ineptly. Even the new Apple earpods are a decent small pair of headphones, much better than those earbuds they used to have.

I'm happy to see it, but the tone just makes my eyes roll back in my head. Nobody's inferior because they don't have a big stereo.
 
I still see a good percentage of the "new audio enthusiast" getting involved in the hobby as a fashion statement as much as a seeker of high fidelity. That's fine....if it makes 'em happy and isn't hurting anyone then who am I to judge? It's interesting to watch it all unfold. For instance, I found the comments on Thiel's design/marketing strategy interesting.
 
Where's the Irony Emoticon?

HeezDeadJim said:
Not really.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I was being tongue-in-cheek, gently poking fun at stuffy audiophiles. I regard McIntosh as the flagship of the hidebound. If they are embracing elements of the 21st Century (hey, we're more than a decade in), their world must be reeling.

BTW, I'm listening to Spotify on my laptop as I type.
 
Went straight from reading the NYT piece to here, where I knew the critiques and analysis would have commenced. Not disappointed!
 
Yeah the author of this article is clueless about what he is writing about.

He seems to present laptops as being a terrible device for music playback, period, and then goes on to glorify the turn table... ignorance.
How does one "rip songs from Napster" ? did they release physical media?
Beats are not high end, even the price suggests, "mid-fi".
McIntosh is THE holy grail...
I hope he's wrong about the Apple store being the new audio showroom, but I don't think so, and it makes me very sad.
 
The way I see it, is that anything that mentions "audiophiles" without sounding condescending or making us look silly is a good thing.
 
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