Kathy Gornick is no longer w/Thiel. She was forced out by the new administration.
New York Times: "The New Audio Geeks"
- Thread starter Almost There
- Start date
Funny... I am listening to my new copy of Journey's Greatest hits on vinyl while reading this thread.BTW it sounds great. Its a well produced set of disks.
Depending on what part of the country, I'm sure some young kids are looking for Journey records, regardless of my snide commentary. Whenever I go home to Ohio, its all Journey, all the time on the radio...just like it was in 1992 when I graduated High School. Well, Journey and Boston. I had several Journey records that I bought in 11th grade when I started collecting...and have no idea what happened to them, now that I think about it. But I don't know if any of the hipsters in Chicago are into them...doesn't seem like it. Though one of my friends DJs at a bowling alley on Saturday Nights, and its a playlist that's filled with late '70s, early '80s FM staples. And I'm not sure that she's being ironic. And yes, that was "she" not "he". Lots of girls collecting and playing vinyl in this city. Some even getting paid to do so as DJs.
ambient
Super Member
I'm curious, what you think the gender split is for folks buying new high end audio equipment.
Centropolis
Member
For me, I honestly don't get why people want to use their laptops as their main source of their main audio system, especially when you're connecting it directly wired to your amp/receiver/DAC.
Laptops are meant to be used as a PC. I know many of us (including me), have a music system with the laptop but not as a main living room system. I have a simple laptop->DAC->powered speakers setup for listening music when I am on my computer. But when it comes to sitting on my sofa, the main system I like is separate from everything else. Wireless Airplay is a different issue but plugging laptop into the main system is not for me.
Laptops are meant to be used as a PC. I know many of us (including me), have a music system with the laptop but not as a main living room system. I have a simple laptop->DAC->powered speakers setup for listening music when I am on my computer. But when it comes to sitting on my sofa, the main system I like is separate from everything else. Wireless Airplay is a different issue but plugging laptop into the main system is not for me.
Maybe because most of their music is stored on their computer?
Or because they want to stream internet radio through their main system?
Or because they want to use Spotify, or Bandcamp, or MOG, or something like that?
There are a multitude of reasons why.
Oh it's undeniably mostly men. But there are some women who are interested (my wife being one of them) and that market is largely ignored IME.
HeezDeadJim
Entrope Weasel
Treshold makes a valid point. Just because you know a few women that would get the Thiel speakers over the shopping spree is far and few in between. Just the same reason why you don't see too many female car mechanics at Jiffy Lube, Pep Boys, or other car repair shops (we don't have any female mechanics, just front desk, go figure).
It doesn't mean they don't exist, just not that many in those categories. I'm sure there's a guy that goes to quilting meetings to show off his new quilt he spent weeks on. They (both men and women) need to accept that it's just not the norm (read percentage), right now.
It's like listening to these new "gamer girls": "whaaaah.....just because we're girls, we don't get respect...wah wah wah."
There's more gamer girls today because there are more people playing games, period. Obviously, the percentage of girls playing games is going to go up, too. I think I knew 2 girls in HS that played Super Nintendo RPGs and could hold their own in Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat. Of course, back then, only "losers" played video games because they were socially inept and had to resort to "playing with themselves".
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tomlinmgt
Lunatic Member
For me...because I can access more cd quality music than I'll ever be able to listen to in my lifetime.
And that's just one reason.
Marketing something isn't as easy as saying "There's more of this person than that person buying product X".
Consider that there are 100 different products in X category, and 99 of them are being marketed to people of type "A", because type "A" makes up 85% of the market.
Now consider that the 1 other product in X category is being marketed to people of type "B", who make up 15% of the market.
So one product is going after 15% of a market, while 99 products fight it out for 85% of the market, which could result in less than 1% market share for any of them if it sort of just averaged out (which it doesn't but this is a simplification for explanation). There is a good possibility that the product targeting a more niche market, will actually do better, even though that market is smaller.
I hope that made sense. I've never actually had to explain that in words, though I target things at work like that all the time.
Consider that there are 100 different products in X category, and 99 of them are being marketed to people of type "A", because type "A" makes up 85% of the market.
Now consider that the 1 other product in X category is being marketed to people of type "B", who make up 15% of the market.
So one product is going after 15% of a market, while 99 products fight it out for 85% of the market, which could result in less than 1% market share for any of them if it sort of just averaged out (which it doesn't but this is a simplification for explanation). There is a good possibility that the product targeting a more niche market, will actually do better, even though that market is smaller.
I hope that made sense. I've never actually had to explain that in words, though I target things at work like that all the time.
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And its also not like Thiel would only be going after females. Companies are capable of making different products who's attributes appeal to different demographics. But its often a very successful endeavor to go after a much smaller, but mostly ignored, demographic. The problem is that this usually only works until somebody else sees it working, then everybody floods in.
Reminds me of this "me, too" product, in an unrelated niche category (at least as far as the high end is concerned) after successful forays into lifestyle products by other high-end brands, like B&W:
http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Products/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=lifestyle&ProductId=McAire
WMA Lossless, on the other hand, is a good way to rip CDs if you don't want to mess with FLAC / OGG plugins on a Windows system (or, god forbid, iTunes).
-D
HeezDeadJim
Entrope Weasel
Koss headphones used to be plentiful for cassette/CD players. They were cheap and could be replaced again since they were.....cheap (fold-able and collapse-able). I remember looking in J&R catalogs and seeing Koss had a $600 headset. I didn't know anything about electrostatic tech back then. I just thought it was ridiculous to spend that much on a pair of headphones when I could buy some $50 ones and use the rest of that money for a Diamond back bicycle with chrome pegs (those things you put on the tires to stand on and do tricks), or a get a Sega Genesis with lots of games.
I'm guessing those electrostat Koss HP's are probably still worth something, since they made them for a niche market. They probably sold a lot of cheap headphones, but offered some electrostats that were worlds "cheaper" than a pair of STAX II's.
I'm guessing those electrostat Koss HP's are probably still worth something, since they made them for a niche market. They probably sold a lot of cheap headphones, but offered some electrostats that were worlds "cheaper" than a pair of STAX II's.
Kreshna
...but I have to know.
Well I do store my music on my laptop. They're not MP3s, though. They're Nero CD images, mounted using Daemon Tools and Nero Image Drive. So it exactly like listening to CD audio, but it's virtual instead of physical.
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just dave
vintage rules!
On the eve of the album's completion, the band was still grappling with the choice of a name. Brandywine Track and Hootch had been considered and rejected. Finally, Foghat was selected. Peverett had made up this nonsense word in a childhood game with his brother, and once tried to convince Savoy Brown bandmate Chris Youlden to change his name to Luther Foghat. (Youlden failed to see the wisdom in such a move.)
There ya go. And btw Fool for the City,one of my fav all time rock tunes.
There ya go. And btw Fool for the City,one of my fav all time rock tunes.
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nailer
audionerd
So much equipment - so little time.
I enjoy books even more than music. I maintain running lists of the books and music I want to experience. As I cross items off more are added and when I die there will be many books unread and songs unheard. I'm going back to bed and pull the covers over my head.
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HeezDeadJim
Entrope Weasel
You could wait for N. Korea to blast your city. That way you will be the only person left and you have the rest of your life to read books.
.......then your eye glasses break........
(isn't that a Twilight Zone episode?)
ambient
Super Member
Women will buy high end apple compatible products. IMO, that is only model that has any chance of working in that demo. As you mentioned, B&W and others have taken the lead.