Reviewing the Reviewers - and the decline of HiFi

Psag, I think you are correct in what you say about the magazines. This may seem a daft comment, but does it matter that they are in thrall to the manufacturers? It only matters if you do'nt know this is the case. I suspect every seasoned "Audiophile" does, or should know that.

Who is at risk then? Well I suppose the newcomers. Those who have heard a great system and think they would like some of that. Well where do you start? For me in 1977, I started buying the magazines, in good faith. To be honest, I did'nt go wrong following their advice.

Now I use magazines as a, hopefully, interesting read, making me aware of new products I might want to research or audition

I think some of these last few posts kind of hit the nail on the head. I was not saying the decline is due to the magazines alone, but if in '77 mags gave useful info, why is that not so much the case now. Bloggers really do lack a bit of integrity, but they don't have what I think is an industrial responsibility so to speak. When Hi-fi was more central to our home entertainment (ie we now have playstations, computers etc) there was more of the average persons budget dedicated to buying good and decent hifi. For instance the top end of turntables, although expensive as at the time Technics SP10 mk3 springs to mind, it is not vis a vis as expensive say as an SME 30. So where products are financially in the middle ground, there is a real competition to make the best product within that cost parameter. So we have more products competing within a sector and a need for reviewers to be more critical. Have read of a good car magazine - Autocar/Car/Top Gear - they are not scared to give a genuine opinion positive or negative - and the motor industry continues to thrive (yes I know it is a different industry dealing with 'essential items'). Currently we do have all out cost no object products - with a price to reflect this too. The problem with this is that whilst I love statement products, they do not occupy the real world, and worship within magazines of such products is seen as over-indulgent to the normal consumer. In car programmes, and I use top gear once again, they aren't scared t criticise such products. The average consumer need not have to read between the lines and get to know the writer first - I work with the spoken word all day as a lawyer, and I like precision (honest -lol). In the uk, apparently HiFi World have the highest ownership (of equipment) to reader ratio - it tends to contain a lot more realistic priced products - I must say I think the writing in that magazine has really gone south since it gives out 4-5 globes to just about everything. HiFi News are, unfortunately, just going backwards from the days of Colloms - hardly anything gets less than 75% score in sound tests. Same can be said of HiFi Choice which, if you pick up an edition 25 years ago, against something in the last 5 years, you will see that the old editions weren't scared to criticise a product. I went to the High End Show in Windsor and couldn't help but feel that it felt a bit like the last throes of a dying animal - there were some astonishingly tasty bits of kit that bore no relation to most of the buying public that were in attendance. When I went to my first show in 2002 (I think) I came away and set up auditions for several products, many of which I then purchased - I don't have an ultra high end rig but most peoples eyes water when I tell them the price of it. Even then the magazines were less critical than 10 years before, but are positively harsh to those out now.

HIFI is not in decline. There exists a plethora of gear, more than any other age for our hobby. Possibly, purchasing this gear is in decline, this is directly related to the over-priced aspect of our hobby as well.

Every year, the "retail" prices incrase at least 10%, as manufacturers are covering their losses from the previous year. Everyone knows this...

Happy Listening.

It is over-priced because the income disparities have become so so great the top few percent consider 50 K candy-bar money.

I don't know why it is so expensive now. I suspect there are many reasons, reduced market share, marketing, prestige factor, etc. Some of it may be less true competition. Way back in the '70s there were many big separate companies making good products. That number has dwindled. Now there are many boutique companies making products without the engineering resources of the big boys. Once those boutique companies prove their product they are gobbled up, like ARC or Wadia. It is a completely different market now.

The other thing of interest is that HiFi news is giving out more good reviews now. Why? Is it possible the products are just better now than ever before? Take mid-fi products for example, a mid-fi reciever in the late '70s compares to a mid-fi receiver today are world's apart in performance and quality.

A sansui G8000 in 1979 retailed for $920. It was a 2 channel amp with 120W / channel, tuner included. That is about $3000 today. That would buy you the top of the line Pioneer Elite receiver. 140W/ch into 9 channels. 9.2 pre out, dolby atmos, streaming audio, video switching, etc... I would say that the new Pioneer probably sounds better too.

So how do you adjust the scales? Is there a set comparison point, or is it all relative, and relative to what? This hobby of ours has come a long way in the last 40-50 years, and it continues to improve. I expect it to continue. What was hi-fi 20 years ago is probably mid-fi performance now.