You never knew anyone with a hi-fi? Really? No friends with the hobby?
The death of the Music Industry
- Thread starter hifi_nut
- Start date
You never knew anyone with a hi-fi? Really? No friends with the hobby?
That I don't get, but I see it quite often. And I'm not talking hard core audiophile, good old mid-fi like a Marantz receiver and set of Advents isn't even on the bill. Some folks do buy the pianos just for show though; maybe in case Horowitz happens to come by for a cup of sugar... :scratch2:
You would think that someone who played would have a decent rig, but I hear that many musicians have mundane sound systems too. Something about being in the business if IIRC..
Go figure???
js1138
Super Member
Not a one since college, and that goes back to the late 60s. Not a friend, not a relative. Nothing even in the Pioneer/Kenwood range.
I have a nephew who has a decent receiver, but it died a year ago and he never got it fixed.
My adult daughter has some large Advents I refoamed and gave her.
I guess the oddest thing about my circle of acquaintances is that I had a high school friend who had a son that became one of my son's best friends -- completely random event, since I had long ago lost track of my friend.
This guy is an engineer at Dolby Labs. But my son has never had a stereo system or shown any interest in any of my stuff.
RobRoy
It's just stuff - but fun
Try drawing a straight line from that peak in 1984 to the current level of digital + CD. From what I am seeing in that picture, if you ignore the crazy 90's, the total sales are pretty respectable, looking forward from 1984.
Yeah, that seems common. None of my four kids has any interest in hi-fi though three of them listen to music a great deal. I couldn't even give them stuff--I offered them Altec 19s and 605s and Fisher tube amps and receivers among other things. Thanks but no thanks.
js1138
Super Member
I would argue that the crazy 90s includes a period of maturity in the audio industry, in which mid-level sound quality became cheap and widespread.
May not mid-level by audiophile standards, but pretty good by the standards of people who grew up listening to transistor radios.
Since then people have spent their money on LCD TVs and cheap home theater systems that sound horrible on music, but OK on movies.
My garage sale research indicates that people would rather have a cheap HT system than big speakers and stuff that takes up too much room.
May not mid-level by audiophile standards, but pretty good by the standards of people who grew up listening to transistor radios.
Since then people have spent their money on LCD TVs and cheap home theater systems that sound horrible on music, but OK on movies.
My garage sale research indicates that people would rather have a cheap HT system than big speakers and stuff that takes up too much room.
Sounds like there's a couple ironies at work here...
Some of us love, music but many of our families don't, or at least to the extent we do, and they don't buy music. The last music I heard playing at a non-audio friend's was at my cousin's for Thanksgiving and they had an iPod playing from a dock. It took me a minute to find it it was so discreet. He does have a cabinet full of CDs though...:yes:
Second, even though many of us love music, we may not buy much new. I mentioned earlier I've only bought 4 new records in the last 3 years, and probably as many CDS, although I did spend $22 last weekend at a Borders 20% off sale. Most of my stuff comes from used record shops, record shows, thrifts and garage sales, with an occasional eBay purchase tossed in. None of that hits the RIAA figures.
Third, I can't really recall the last time anyone besides an audio buddy told me they bought some music? I have given iTunes cards as gifts, and my daughter recently bought some Sufjan Stevens LPs that came here in the mail, but it's been a LONG time since someone at work or a neighbor ( audio buddies excluded :yes: ) said, "Hey Andy, I just got the new so and so album/CD/8 track/download"
A very long time...:yes:
Some of us love, music but many of our families don't, or at least to the extent we do, and they don't buy music. The last music I heard playing at a non-audio friend's was at my cousin's for Thanksgiving and they had an iPod playing from a dock. It took me a minute to find it it was so discreet. He does have a cabinet full of CDs though...:yes:
Second, even though many of us love music, we may not buy much new. I mentioned earlier I've only bought 4 new records in the last 3 years, and probably as many CDS, although I did spend $22 last weekend at a Borders 20% off sale. Most of my stuff comes from used record shops, record shows, thrifts and garage sales, with an occasional eBay purchase tossed in. None of that hits the RIAA figures.
Third, I can't really recall the last time anyone besides an audio buddy told me they bought some music? I have given iTunes cards as gifts, and my daughter recently bought some Sufjan Stevens LPs that came here in the mail, but it's been a LONG time since someone at work or a neighbor ( audio buddies excluded :yes: ) said, "Hey Andy, I just got the new so and so album/CD/8 track/download"
A very long time...:yes:
RobRoy
It's just stuff - but fun
This whole thing reminds me a bit of the airliner industry. Back in the 60's when it was expensive and special to fly, people wore their sunday best, paid a lot, and the little things really mattered (Meals, etc.)
Now, the honeymoon is over. They are busses with wings. You pay for your meals. People show up in jeans and pajamas, many airlines treat you like cattle. It is perceived as a "commodity" and not something special.
Hi Fi was going through some major breakthrough changes in the 70's. And when the CD came out it went through it again. The rock stars of the 60's were like Gods, just as movie stars of the 1930's were. But the honeymoon is over. Music is a commodity. Quality is easily attained when you need it, so nobody cares about it much - kinda like the recording of a tv show that you made yet you never seem to get to, and finally erase it for something else. And being in a live band today is almost the equivalent of being on a softball team in the late 20th century. This also has an impact of how we perceive music and the value of hi-fi reproduction.
I think that is the reason so many of us like tape and vinyl. It forces us back into the appreciation phase everytime we change a reel, flip a cassette or run a record cleaner over an album before dropping the needle.
Also, I think that within the next 18 months at the most, most americans are going to be more worried about how to acquire the days food supply than the quality of their music system. I think it is actually making a bit of an impact right now, actually.
