Rant against the industry with hopes for discussion on positive change


As a 20 year hobbyist who has worked around the industry and made tons of contacts I really worry about the future of this hobby. 
 

For the last 30 years the industry has catered to an aging  clientele which I can tell you as a used gear guy a large percentage of my inventory comes from audiophiles who have passed away and at 38 i rarely meet people my age or near who are hobbyists. 
 

The industry is about the shadiest mainstream industry that has fought standards tooth and nail which is why amp and speaker ratings are all over the place confusing and discouraging the casual consumer. 
 

Millenials and Gen Z have spoken loudly that they won’t support shady business practices however market trends show that like audiophiles they bought a cheap Bluetooth speaker, than eventually a better and eventually a nice one. They want a option that is currently really only available from Devialet and a couple other manufactures. 
 

Also sales people use the technique that “you don’t know how to listen to music, you need to sit motionless in one spot” music reproduction needs to adapt to modern life where people are living smaller spaces with far more media options than ever before. 
 

As a guy on the border of Gen X and millennial I’ve built 4 rigs for friends over the years because I always get the response of “I can’t give up a whole wall, that’s insane” 

 

I would really like to see a company make a 12” and 15” Tannoy gold tv stand with volume control, bass, treble and loudness knobs as well as USB charging with an outlet strip on the back and a shelf for a PS5 or Xbox… that way they get big clean sound for example

 

What are y’all’s thoughts on ways the industry can still thrive and meet the new demands of consumers while getting good music to more people? Without a new influx I don’t see how the majority of brands and brick and mortars and stay on business due to a decline in clientele

128x128systembuilder

Sometimes I wish Apple would buy out Roon, Benchmark, and KEF (or some such trio of software,  electronics, and speaker developers.) Then come up with a HiFi ecosystem that integrates everything at  several reasonable price points for the whole shebang.  It would sound as good as systems costing double those prices today, but with fewer boxes, fewer connections, and a great user interface.

If you hook up a pair of high-end active speakers, a streamer/DAC, and a decent smart television with AppleTV and Apple Music built in, you're just about there already.  But it still would not satisfy most folks on a forum like this one, while  being way too expensive for the vast majority of everyone else.  So there's still a  market for hobbyists with disposable income who are willing to spend years cobbling together complex, expensive systems.  

 

 

APPLE???

Then come up with a HiFi ecosystem that integrates everything at  several reasonable price points for the whole shebang.  It would sound as good as systems costing double those prices today, but with fewer boxes, fewer connections, and a great user interface.

I just did a spit take.  

Jeez…..these young ones only care about playing games and all wear head sets. Real music is not even remotely interesting to them.

i am 37. i didn’t start buying better/newer equipment til about 4 years ago. before that it was the pawn and thrift store life, $200 active monitors, etc. my parents’ stereo (where i started) wasn’t special either - i wanted a walkman, cd discman, boombox etc. point being, spending thousands on a home stereo is simply out of reach for most people until they get to a certain point in their careers and their lives more generally. i lived in party houses with musicians for most of my 20’s; as long as we could get loud it didn’t matter much. now i’m a dad and my priorities are different when it comes to playback, and i finally have an income that allows me to buy some pretty nice stuff if i plan carefully.

from my perspective things are improving. there’s a ton of streaming oriented gear coming out all the time, the entry level turntable market is going crazy, cheap bookshelf speakers keep improving, cheap-but-decent quality headphones and dacs sell out the wazoo. people are getting into it. just my .02c on the op. cheers

My peeve, whatever happened to taking a component, speakers, even cables, for a home demonstration/test drive? Also, products you want to hear are not carried in store any longer, or as they now call it..."a special order item".....