Information is not Knowledge; Knowledge is not Wisdom
Too many audiophiles listen with their eyes instead of their ears
I Thought CDs Were Supposed To Be Dying, But Maybe I Got It All Wrong
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbyow...Y#5919a2777dca
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
"All major labels have divested their CD manufacturing and the companies that bought those factories have moved them to Mexico." No surprise there, but disappointing none the less.Originally Posted by SEAWOLF97
Information is not Knowledge; Knowledge is not Wisdom
Too many audiophiles listen with their eyes instead of their ears
BUT ... I keep reading about how the vinyl record pressing plants are running 24/7 and about the worldwide searches for old presses to import (no matter what the condition)
Got to admit tho that when too lazy to cue up a licorice pizza, streaming is handy ..
(especially now when all I have to do is say "computer, start Pandora" within voice range of the PC.)
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
BUT ... I keep reading about how the vinyl record pressing plants are running 24/7 and about the worldwide searches for old presses to import (no matter what the condition)
Got to admit tho that when too lazy to cue up a licorice pizza, streaming is handy ..
(especially now when all I have to do is say "computer, start Pandora" within voice range of the PC.)
Most of the vinyl pressing plants in Europe were displaced in the 80ies to east European countries, especially to Czechia and Slowakia.They are running hot these days. Because of the lack of spare parts and the fuss, the pressing process is mostly not yet on the same high level as it was usual in the 60ies and 70ies. Mostly, the new pressed vinyl needs to be cleaned before first playing. But the haptic of these vinyl discs and the elaborate sleeves are difficult to be streamed...
-= { Creek Destiny | Reson Rota + MM-Ortofon| Epos Encore Speakers | Nessie Washing Machine }=-
There is a huge difference between how music is physically played and a niche market share trending up. The initial feature I reported showcased how listeners are now acquiring a play. It is overwhelmingly tracks rather than records/albums/collections by artists, physical or not. Listeners like us are living in a bubble; most sub baby boomer people don't buy stereos anymore, multitask their music listening, and don't care about physical media. CDs are declining but vinyl has never risen above a blip on the market share radar since its resurgence. Industries love to talk about growth but larger tiny share is still tiny. As vinyl gained against CDs, multiple song physical media presence was plunging to the floor as a reflection of how music is played.
When I go to audio shows I am always struck about how few people are participating in our hobby. Many thousands for sure, but that's against hundreds of millions who do listen to music but don't participate in our gear and media types. We are tiny, not mighty. To most music listeners we are like the Stones' 19th Nervous Breakdown lyric. "...And your father's still perfecting ways of making sealing wax..." Tubes, tape, and vinyl getting a second wind didn't do the popularity of our hobby any favors. Now that digital recording and playback combined with great sounding newer Class D amplification could make this much more available and affordable, the larger listening World has already moved on.
Information is not Knowledge; Knowledge is not Wisdom
Too many audiophiles listen with their eyes instead of their ears
Never mind!
Big business major labels were not fair to new talents or individualists. (At least during the last 30 years). Therefore let's go to the concerts at small venues with unknown music groups. Backen wir doch wieder kleine Brötchen! Diese munden besser und machen keine Verdauungsbeschwerden!
Machen wir uns keine Illusionen. Musik in allen ihren Facetten ist und bleibt ein Konsumgut. Jedem das Seine! Sie ist den üblichen Marktprinzipien unterworfen, wie Uhren, Autos und Spaghetti...
sure, my son has his L-100's , SL-1200 and Sennheisers and fine appreciation for music, BUT all that is mainly because of his exposure to Dad. (me)
He sells records on Discogs and of course is album oriented. BUT in my humble experience, he is an exception within todays music consumers. Think of all the process and maintenance involved in LP playback. Most post 1990 receivers dont even have phono inputs. CD's are now even too cumbersome . It's the "rent music, not buy" scheme. This facilitates the consumer to be "track pickers" , not full album/disk listeners. Most of us have our favorite concept album (SPLHCB, Realization, Eldorado, LVB's symphony's , The Wall, Tommy,DoFP, etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concept_albums) and track cherry picking those just rather ruins the concept.
He is, tho, among his group as being always hurried and mobile. With kids, his only real listening time on the JBL's is when the munchkins are asleep or away.
His friends bring over their latest acquired disks to "see what they REALLY sound like" . Sure , there is still an appreciation for "HiFi" , but it comes with too much cost & bother for today's masses. A pod and buds suffice. IMHO.
and YES, I suspect many LHFer's live in a music bubble.I do.
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
That had been true. I don't know if it is marketing driven or market driven, but every AVR I have sold in recent years do once again include a mediocre phono preamp. And while the majority of the music systems we install are designed with Sonos as the sole input source, a growing number are also including a turntable.
For me they are. I see no benefit to handling the silver disc when I can rip it to a drive and not fuss with the jewel box ever again.
For me, it is all about quality. If I can have convenience with no sacrifice in quality I'm all for it, if on the other hand that convenience comes at a quality cost, then I'll forgo the convenience. Circling back around to the topic of this thread it appears most music users/lovers are happy to give up a little (or in some cases a lot) of quality for convenience. Cost too I suppose. Most consumers seem willing to have poorer audio quality at a lower cost.
Widget
I do lots of small venue shows and most of these artists are younger musicians with a following in their 20's. My point is many of them, close to half, have short run limited edition vinyl pressings available and at their shows at merch tables. It's the "kids" purchasing them.
RobI go to a couple of "record shows" a year. The clientele is roughly divided into 2 age groups. UNDER 35's & OVER 55's. virtually nothing in the middle.
Portland has more "record stores per capita" than any major city in the US.
Why ? Is it sound quality ? Ease of use ? Or is it cool ?
I have a friend who sells TT's on craigs list. Ran across him in a thrift store where he was buying a cheap black plastic Wards Airline TT. I asked "you appreciate good gear, why are you buying this junk" ??
His answer floored me. "this junk sells fast. the 20 somethings do NOT care about sound quality , the kids just want to tell their friends that they are "spinning' vinyl"
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
Widget and Wolf, excellent observations and intel. Good to know.
Around here, younger listeners are buying or wanting turntables because they have been convinced by advocates that vinyl is superior to digital in every way. The audiophile take on analog has made it out of the print outlets and shows to the street. And probably into folklore. I am also getting the "It is way cool" vibe here too.
Information is not Knowledge; Knowledge is not Wisdom
Too many audiophiles listen with their eyes instead of their ears
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