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The Mainstreaming of Audiophilia

So I found this just goofy enough to be fun: I picked up the May issue of GQ today and found in it a feature which takes a survey of cost-no-object material goods and provides a verdict for each on whether they're worth it. Among the few worth-it winners: Wilson Audio's Alexandra X-2, at $148,000 a pair (hence the speakers forum). The losers include Kobe beef, white truffles, pricey golf clubs, and a night in the Ty Warner suite at Four Seasons (all of which go for a lot less).

It seems to me I've lately seen a decent amount of mainstream press coverage of audiophile goods and issues, from news coverage of the evils of dynamic compression to general-readership features on great headphones, high-end speakers, and the wonders of vinyl. I was wondering if anyone else had noticed incidences of this trend and if we might compile a list--it seems positive to me, and a possible outgrowth of, or reaction against, iPod mania.
ablang
chadnliz's avatar
chadnliz
3,737 posts
 
Well if this was an attempt at adding cred to Audiophiles listing the Wilson speakers will probably breed contempt, how can they justify this example?
kmulkey
173 posts
 
Much of this has to do with the demographics of those who buy this stuff. Namely, baby boomers. Most of us (yours truly included) are making as much as we ever have and have the expendable income to spend thousands on turntables, speakers, amps, and cartridges. Not to mention $30 a pop for the latest re-issue of whomever on vinyl. We remember what a fun ritual spinning vinyl was and we still like it. There's just something "sterile" about putting a CD in a drawer, it disappears and suddenly sound comes out of your kit. It was much more "real" to see a disc spinning.
And we can tell, barring hearing loss, just how horrendous 128, 192 and even 256k mp3's sound. I stop at 256k because I must admit, music I've burned at 320k isn't all that atrocious, though definitely not audiophile quality.
ablang OP
165 posts
 
I'm not so sure about the boomer demographic alone being the target, as part of what I'm interested in here is the depiction of great audio equipment not only as a pleasure but as a component of--in this example--the (for many aspirational) good life. I agree, Chadnliz, that some people might look at six-figure speakers and scoff, but many might scoff at the $1.5 million Bugatti the article I mention features, too. Both look pretty cool, are well crafted, and exemplify what's possible at the top of the scale. Even if the examples are out of reach, they get people's interest--and I've seen lower priced gear like Pro-Ject's USB TT featured elsewhere.

I live in a college town and in the past year have started to see Grado SR60s and SR80s and some decent Sennheiser cans replacing earbuds and Bose. Media exposure can't hurt--and I think the message is getting in through people's ears.
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