Are we (audiophiles) a dying breed?

[robnplunder]

(Bay Area, CA, USA)

 

There were times when I can visit several audiophile stores within a 30 minute driving distance where I can "borrow" gears to tryout at my home.  Those stores are long gone.  And around me (relatives, friends, acquaintances), I am the only audiophile I know.   I feel it in my bones that the audiophiles are dying out (like classical music lovers, league bowlers, ...) at where I am at.   What about where you are at?    I feel like I am all by myself in this hobby unless I am in a forum like this.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by robnplunder

[Al.M]

I see you are in California so don’t know what circles you hang about with, and generally speaking audiophiles (2 channel Stereo people) definitely are less about than in previous decades.

 

Home theatre people have taken over a lot and that is where sales have shifted significantly to as you can see in the HT forum numbers. 

 

When I buy and sell used gear I do meet quite a few audiophiles lurking out there behind the scenes and get to together meetings through this forum.

[Demondes]

5 hours ago, robnplunder said:

(Bay Area, CA, USA)

 

There were times when I can visit several audiophile stores within a 30 minute driving distance where I can "borrow" gears to tryout at my home.  Those stores are long gone.  And around me (relatives, friends, acquaintances), I am the only audiophile I know.   I feel it in my bones that the audiophiles are dying out (like classical music lovers, league bowlers, ...) at where I am at.   What about where you are at?    I feel like I am all by myself in this hobby unless I am in a forum like this.

 

 

 

 

 

I will call your Eric Carmen bluff, and reverse the logic, you still have hungry eyes for audio gear

 

 

in all seriousness, I am in Melbourne Australia and feel lucky that I probably have 10 stores I can drive to and feel welcome in.  Whilst they won’t all allow home testing, Currently I have 2 amps on home trial from one of these local stores.

 

also there is a strong Stereonet community here that depending how deep you want to go could be all consuming.

 

Maybe the US Market has been carved up between manaufacturers who distribute directly,  bigger online stores, and Amazon?  Or everyone has already decamped to the metaverse?

 

[GregWormald]

Audiophiles (people who are enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction) have always been a tiny minority, but whether we are declining or not is something I don't know.

 

Music has changed though. It used to be something focussed on dance or listening, now it's just many people's soundtrack as they go through life with earphones playing.

Edited February 8, 2022 by GregWormald

[Alistair_1972]

17 hours ago, Demondes said:

I will call your Eric Carmen bluff, and reverse the logic, you still have hungry eyes for audio gear

 

 

in all seriousness, I am in Melbourne Australia and feel lucky that I probably have 10 stores I can drive to and feel welcome in.  Whilst they won’t all allow home testing, Currently I have 2 amps on home trial from one of these local stores.

 

 

I agree. I'm in Thornbury and have a plethora of new and vintage options within spitting distance. (I can spit great distances, apparently). As for places to buy vinyl, you can throw a stone and break a disc.

 

My view is that it's been steady here and shows no sign of abating.

[Kristian Kristiansen]

I'm no an audiophile but my love of music and vinyl has made me appreciate and acquire some decent gear so I can enjoy the music more. I don't see myself dropping thousands on unobtanium infused speaker cables or a platter made from meteorite dust.

[wasabijim]

there's so much screaming for our attention, time and money these days (squirrel!)

 

And then societal dynamics in the house have changed, its not so much the man of the house's prerogative to spend big $$ on whatever they fancy. 

 

the consumption of music has proliferated but this is driven by cost leadership in convenience and quantity verse product differentiation via quality - free Pandora/Spotify on a pocket ready phone you'd have bough anyway verse the cost of a finite amount of physically owned material played through a complex system that needs a fixed location of certain attributes.

 

The stuff the kids listen to is even produced now to favour these 2nd rate playback systems.

Edited February 8, 2022 by wasabijim

[robnplunder]

17 hours ago, Demondes said:

in all seriousness, I am in Melbourne Australia and feel lucky that I probably have 10 stores I can drive to and feel welcome in.  Whilst they won’t all allow home testing, Currently I have 2 amps on home trial from one of these local stores.

 

 

10 stores?   I envy you.   No such luck here.   The small audiophile stores have mostly disappeared.  Once I went to a store advertised as "audiophile" store and it turned out to be a car stereo shop.   

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

1 hour ago, robnplunder said:

Once I went to a store advertised as "audiophile" store and it turned out to be a car stereo shop.   

Exactly....advertised as "audiophile" store and it turned out to be a car stereo shop. 

Funny because the term audiophiles came up just now in another thread.

 

So Yes I think it all depends on what you mean by audiophile. A dictionary definition will say one thing but popular usage can mean all manner of things.

My least fav is the new and improved self declared non-audio-phooled variety. If you have spent more money than they did, you can't be a member lol ...or perhaps if it didn't come out of a car stereo shop you're wasting your money because they sell audiophile gear

 

My definition as a card carrying unashamed phoolish audiophile - Beautiful sound in the service of beautiful music !

[Ray H]

Yes…

 

I believe audiophiles (used in the traditional pursuit of excellence in audio reproduction sense) as a percentile of society are declining.

 

As mentioned above, I think people have more access to music than ever before and integrate music into their lives in a more homogenous way, rather than spend large amounts of money on hi fi equipment.

 

I also believe a larger percentage of high end equipment is being purchased by non-audiophiles, ie rich people filling their homes with status items.

 

Traditional audiophiles are anachronism imo.

 

 

[AussieMick]

Perhaps the two-channel speaker audiophile isn't as prevalent, but my circles of acquaintances includes a dozen or more people in their 20's and 30's who are serious about their head-fi. They're newer to work and have lower incomes and the headphone market for them is much more attractive financially. A great example is a 22 year old friend (I'm 48) who uses a Violectric Chronos and a secondhand pair of AudioQuest NightOwl headphones. Total cost to him was $350 + $300 and it sounds really good! Good enough that I now use the same combo from my phone and iPad. It's for around the house and in bed and makes me very happy. The other end of the spectrum is a guy my age who, upon hearing my speaker system a few times decided he needed to get into audio. But he has neither the space nor the older children to make it work. He now has Focal Utopia headphones and a Chord Hugo2/2Go combination. That is a CRACKING good listen. Total retail of around $10k and is more involving than any speaker system I've heard at that price. Of course, I've not heard lots of them!

My point being that these are true audiophiles, just in a modern, headphone based way. Many of them aspire to speaker systems when they buy a house, or when their children are a little older. Many of them started their journey after hearing my system, or the lovely headphone setups of other friends.

As for dealers, I'm a 90 minute drive from any dealers, so I rely on rare trips or paying for products on a sale or return basis. It works just fine, but takes a little longer.

Cheers

Mick.

PS - the Chronos is a corker. I love my Mojo, but use the Chronos way more.

[robnplunder]

2 hours ago, Nine T. said:

As mentioned above, I think people have more access to music than ever before and integrate music into their lives in a more homogenous way, rather than spend large amounts of money on hi fi equipment.

 

 

 

True.  But we should know that it does not take expensive equipment to be an audiophile.   There are affordable ways to set up a nice system for ones ears.   I think there are less of us who are willing to take time to immerse oneself into good music. 

[wasabijim]

On 08/02/2022 at 8:16 PM, robnplunder said:

 

True.  But we should know that it does not take expensive equipment to be an audiophile.   There are affordable ways to set up a nice system for ones ears.   I think there are less of us who are willing to take time to immerse oneself into good music. 

 

I agree. less people are taking the time to do nothing else but engage in listening to music. no scrolling feeds, surfing the web, reading a book, cooking, cleaning, getting ready for work etc.  

but it is good that music is becoming more ingrained in the every day

 

 

[Ittaku]

No

[eLicky]

Over the last 10-20 years the word audiophile has evolved into a new meaning. Gone are the days you had to own an expensive turntable and listen to vinyl, now with portable audio exploding you can walk into Harvey Norman purchase a $200 Sennheiser headphone BAM, you're an audiophile, someone passionate about music, nothing more needed to place you in the category. So while older generations feel its fading out its just shifting to a more mainstream consumer phrase. If you want to take a look at newer generation audiophiles (and possibly cringe a little) check Reddits headphone and audiophile forums.

Headphones: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/

Audiophile: https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/

And bonus content, 'budget audiophile' : https://www.reddit.com/r/BudgetAudiophile/

Edited February 12, 2022 by eLicky

[muon*]

  Definition of audiophile

 

: a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction

 

 

First Known Use of audiophile

1951, in the meaning defined above

 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/audiophile

[bob_m_54]

5 hours ago, eLicky said:

Over the last 10-20 years the word audiophile has evolved into a new meaning. Gone are the days you had to own an expensive turntable and listen to vinyl, now with portable audio exploding you can walk into Harvey Norman purchase a $200 Sennheiser headphone BAM, you're an audiophile, someone passionate about music, nothing more needed to place you in the category. So while older generations feel its fading out its just shifting to a more mainstream consumer phrase. If you want to take a look at newer generation audiophiles (and possibly cringe a little) check Reddits headphone and audiophile forums.

Headphones: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/

Audiophile: https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/

And bonus content, 'budget audiophile' : https://www.reddit.com/r/BudgetAudiophile/

Yes, it's becoming an advertising gimmick..

[robnplunder]

I have good headphone amp & headphone but they can't replace the sound coming out of my SS or R8 setup.   I only use headphone as the last resort.  

Edited February 12, 2022 by robnplunder

[MattyW]

I don’t like the feel of headphones on my head despite how good they can sound. For example I got good results with a Darkvoice 336SE and Monoprice 1060M cans. Much prefer the freedom of speakers is all.

Edited February 13, 2022 by MattyW

[bob_m_54]

18 minutes ago, MattyW said:

I don’t like the feel of headphones on my head despite how good they can sound. For extreme good results with a Darkvoice 336SE and Monoprice 1060M cans. Much prefer the freedom of speakers is all.

I don't like sweaty ear syndrome....

[Grant Slack]

On 7/2/2022 at 9:08 PM, Al.M said:

audiophiles (2 channel Stereo people)

Ouch!

 

Hi Al,

 

that is such a restrictive definition. Sort of like defining photography enthusiasts as people with 35mm film SLR cameras and 2 prime lenses and a darkroom. I fully expect such restrictive definitions to result in either dying out or dying down to a niche over time.

 

The definition quoted a few posts above, "enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction", has, I think, stood the test of time, but needs a little expansion in today's dispersed and overlapping sonic world.

 

I think "sound reproduction" includes any situation where sound has been packaged and distributed for remote playback, and is a major feature of the overall product.

 

And, "enthusiastic about high fidelity" does not mean passionate about music (or other sonic content). Most people who are passionate about music are not particularly concerned about high fidelity. And that is what distinguishes the audiophile. Anywhere that an audio production team went to a lot of trouble to get the sonic dimension of something just right, just so, and said, "wrap it up, guys, this is great", then we want to indulge that experience that made them so happy. 

 

cheers

Grant

[paulbysea]

I am not sure how you become an audiophile let alone whether I am one or not. 

Is it about owning more than one system and having a few bits of extra kit lying around to plug into the system as and when the mood takes you?
Or maybe it is having a system costing above a certain value? 
Is it about spending hours tweaking your system when you add a new bit of kit, getting it to sound as good as possible to your ears?
Are you an audiophile when you prefer to listen alone or with just a couple of you?

I have my hi-fi primarily to listen to music that I like and listening to it on my Linn, Naim and ATC based system gives me a lot of enjoyment. Once a new addition to the system is set up and functioning well,  it gets left as is, no more tweaking until up graditis strikes again and speakers positioning is what gets most tweaking for a while then ignored, with the focus being on the music. Does this make me an audiophile or a music lover with an expensive system?

Returning to the OP comment about fewer specialist stores we do have slightly fewer where I live in the UK I think. However I am fortunate to have two higher end hi-fi stores, plus a Richer sound and I believe a B and O type store all within walking distance and several more if you are prepared to drive 30 or so miles, so we are well provisioned with places to buy hi-fi and the more expensive audiophile level gear. It seems to me that the hi-fi scene here, seems to be thriving.

[robnplunder]

5 hours ago, paulbysea said:

Returning to the OP comment about fewer specialist stores we do have slightly fewer where I live in the UK I think. However I am fortunate to have two higher end hi-fi stores, plus a Richer sound and I believe a B and O type store all within walking distance and several more if you are prepared to drive 30 or so miles, so we are well provisioned with places to buy hi-fi and the more expensive audiophile level gear. It seems to me that the hi-fi scene here, seems to be thriving.

 

Based on what I know, I think audiophile business may be doing well or holding its own in other parts of the world.  Unfortunately where I live, they are mostly gone. 

[Kristian Kristiansen]

On 08/02/2022 at 8:46 PM, robnplunder said:

 

True.  But we should know that it does not take expensive equipment to be an audiophile.   There are affordable ways to set up a nice system for ones ears.   I think there are less of us who are willing to take time to immerse oneself into good music. 

this is a really good point - i'd be interested to know the ratios - folks with a 10k record player who own 30-50 records as opposed to someone with a $1k record player who has thousands of records

Edited February 13, 2022 by Kristian Kristiansen

[April Snow]

I think "no".

 

I am only a newbie myself in the "Audiophile World" of a great 2 channel system (just starting my 3rd year of Wax) 

but seeing the racks of Vinyl now taking over CDs in places like JB HiFi I think people are getting more and more invested in the music and as their dedication grows, and their funds allow they will likely upgrade equipment as their collection also grows.

 

But of course we will still be in the minority overall as most do just use music for background, at the gym, in the car or headphones  etc.

but the racks of vinyl that seem to be growing and the popularity of RSD is making me think it is actually on the increase (and the fact record plants cannot keep up with the demand).

 

I think the record sales are telling a different story........................

 

Will people be willing to throw thousands on equipment - who knows - but that is not what makes one an Audiophile in my book anyway - but I have noticed more and more people are getting into Vinyl & how often it is even being depicted in TV shows & Movies now - people pulling an LP off the shelf and playing it - so wonderful.

 

 

Edited February 14, 2022 by April Snow