Art is dead.
I cant even listen to my favorite band's new release.
It's so compressed, it just sounds like noise.
I think we are just in a bad time in the technical evolution.
It's all loud junk right now, with not much thought for the art of content.
This is just natural evolution....
Just like with industry.
But like industry, people will ignore the crap and look for quality after some time.
Look at the Japanese, they are starting to make a turn.
That is one noisy gadget ridden island but, they are leading the charge in the interest
For audio quality with vinyl and big horn speakers..... (not that these are the best in my opinion) but it's still a rebellion against the noise over there.
So, don't worry.....
Things have to get really bad before they get better.
I just hope I'm around long enough to see the change.
"The core" is a loudspeaker only as a secondary concern. Primarily it is an illusion of sophistication, made to excite this feeling in the customer, while being easy to use and unobtrusive. People dont know better and if they knew, they would not care. They just want to feel like they are someone with good taste and buying this will give them the feeling.
Yes.
I can't even explain how furious I get when I talk to younger folks about music.
I have this young bartender at my restaurant that just loves nicki manaj.
I argue with her constantly about how her music is complete nonsense.
She is just so uninterested in the message or art of music composition.
She just calls me (old) and (out of touch) with the music of today.
Now, as a music lover.... This infuriates me.
If this is the type of music people listen to, why would they care about audio quality?
Do you think they would have a sit down listen on audiophile speakers of nicki talking about her fat booty? Lol!
They just want to sing along with these (artists) very loudly.... That type of music makes people feel powerful (better than others)
Now this is not their fault, this is a necessary relief that people must feel in this chaotic world. People just want to feel important or better than, and i get it.
The point is, the MUSIC has to change before people care about the quality of it.
It will happen. Every so often a shift in music happens. Remember the grunge movement? The music was not about anything important just before that, then the 90's was pretty darn good musically.
I am curious what you think the sentence you have quoted means? Like you I looked at the web page and saw claims that were grossly misleading if not false. This puts me off the product (pushes the wrong buttons) whereas those in the target audience see the claims and it makes the product more attractive (pushes the right buttons).
I have just looked at your site describing your new NS15 speaker and I found only a modest amount of data. If you want to make improvements I would suggest something like this for the new Neumann KH 420 speaker which allows prospective customers to make a fairly complete objective assessment. Looks a good speaker and better than a Wilson but would a lawyer or banker buy it?
Think back to the days when the whole family sat around the High Fidelity unit and listened to the radio programs. Be it orchestral, swing or maybe the original soap operas and radio adventures. Back then you were lucky if your Father could afford a unit, and you certainly weren't able to touch it without him around. That was a special event.
Change? You bet.
I agree that many look at a big garish Wilson speaker and roll their eyes and laugh but I think you will find a fair number look at a Ferrari and do the same thing. Admittedly the Ferrari is a better executed luxury product because it has a high technical performance in the way a Wilson does not but this is possibly lost on the rolling eyes brigade.
I cannot see why a very high price is a problem. If a manufacturer can successfully charge a very high price for a luxury product then that would seem to be ideal to me.
The very expensive end of the audio industry is healthy at the moment which is why there are so many products in it. It is when you step down to the enthusiasts price level that things are unhealthy with relatively few people buying. There are a number of reasons for this but I cannot see how the existence of very expensive products like Wilson speakers is going to be a significant factor.
I'm still glad mom let me play with her old Toshiba SA 20Y when I was a toddler, I'm pretty sure that's what kicked off my interest in audio equipment.
The only thing I got chastised for was using her LPs as hardwood floor toboggans when I was 2.
In their demo video at around the 1:27 mark they show a prototype. It has what looks like two 2" drivers on the front, one on each side, and then a larger maybe 4" driver on the bottom.
I read your comment to me that I push your buttons the wrong way. If I misinterpreted your intent then I apologize.
I am a one man shop, I cannot compete with a large loudspeaker company for marketing literature. The Neumann data was refreshingly complete and impressive, although I would still think that my products are competitive. Ten years ago when I first did this design they were unique. It goes without saying that people would catch up.
gedlee
I sympathize strongly with you here.
A lot of the responders seem happy to make excuses for what is happening in the marketplace, but 'not illegal' does not mean that an act of bad faith has not taken place. How happy would you be if these guys were roofing contractors? It's cowboy business, but it's only audio, so people have to watch their own backs, is that the attitude?
Nobody likes to put too fine a point on it, Earl, considering that you're in the business, but audio has been dead for decades.
I sympathize strongly with you here.
A lot of the responders seem happy to make excuses for what is happening in the marketplace, but 'not illegal' does not mean that an act of bad faith has not taken place. How happy would you be if these guys were roofing contractors? It's cowboy business, but it's only audio, so people have to watch their own backs, is that the attitude?
Nobody likes to put too fine a point on it, Earl, considering that you're in the business, but audio has been dead for decades.
Audio has become a very niche market of those for whom sound quality really is the priority.
My son is 16, loves music. I actually like a lot of what he listens to and he likes a lot of mine. But when it comes to sound quality we are not on the same page. He listens to IPhone and car audio 90% of the time. When I sit down with him in my pristine sound room, he can hear the difference, but it just doesn't matter to him. He will tell me flat out that what I do is irrelevant (some of that is just spite of course).
There are people who care, but not a lot. I have come to conclude that we all acclimate to what we listen to and it becomes the standard by which all else is judged. The idea that one will instantly recognize great sound quality simply isn't true. It takes a great deal of time to re-acclimate to higher quality if your standard has been low quality. Few will bother. They are content and acclimated to what they have so that's where they will stay. The quest for truth in audio is all but gone.
The masses of money spent on electronics when this has been shown to be a non-issue is clearly a matter of not really caring about true sound quality, which we all know lies in the speakers and room, not in the electronics.
My son is 16, loves music. I actually like a lot of what he listens to and he likes a lot of mine. But when it comes to sound quality we are not on the same page. He listens to IPhone and car audio 90% of the time. When I sit down with him in my pristine sound room, he can hear the difference, but it just doesn't matter to him. He will tell me flat out that what I do is irrelevant (some of that is just spite of course).
There are people who care, but not a lot. I have come to conclude that we all acclimate to what we listen to and it becomes the standard by which all else is judged. The idea that one will instantly recognize great sound quality simply isn't true. It takes a great deal of time to re-acclimate to higher quality if your standard has been low quality. Few will bother. They are content and acclimated to what they have so that's where they will stay. The quest for truth in audio is all but gone.
The masses of money spent on electronics when this has been shown to be a non-issue is clearly a matter of not really caring about true sound quality, which we all know lies in the speakers and room, not in the electronics.
An interesting use of the term.
Oh, if only we could get that point to finally hit home. People are too emotionally invested in it I think...mentioning a receiver in the same breath as a pre/pro is often met with the same reaction you'd expect from questioning a deity or calling someone's mommy a nasty name.
Most audiophiles are just smart enough to be the dumbest people you'll meet, and I mean that with all the kindness and compassion that I can muster.
Perceived high performance is a significant part of the package that is purchased with the device. It doesn't matter if the actual technical performance is modest so long as this is not the perception by the user and their peers. Bose is an excellent example of how this works. So long as the customer is happy and remains happy with their purchase then comparisons with cowboys does not really hold up. People who employ cowboys do not usually remain happy with their purchase.
Earl's mention of his son struck a chord with me.
Last weekend I sat at a table playing poker with my son and two of his friends (all age twenty). They were listening to really good, quality music, and enjoying it, discussing it. Unfortunately it was through a smart phone set on the table. It was striking to me. I commented that when I was in a similar position we would at least muster a modest system through which to listen.
Last weekend I sat at a table playing poker with my son and two of his friends (all age twenty). They were listening to really good, quality music, and enjoying it, discussing it. Unfortunately it was through a smart phone set on the table. It was striking to me. I commented that when I was in a similar position we would at least muster a modest system through which to listen.
Sure agree with that. I see a lot of college age kids listening to music on the speaker of a smart phone. It sounds worse than the little transistor radios that the baby boomers carried around in their teens.
Mostly, people don't really care, as long as it's music they like.
But those same people will be wowed by something better. "Awesome Speakers Dude!" And then go right back to the tiny phone sound.
Mostly, people don't really care, as long as it's music they like.
But those same people will be wowed by something better. "Awesome Speakers Dude!" And then go right back to the tiny phone sound.
Quite correct. To me, it is when a company seeks to deceive the purchaser with claims and slogans that mislead that I loose respect, i.e. "Better sound through research". Of course, having my respect does not affect their sales, of that I am sure. But you can be sure that when I am asked "Is Bose really the best loudspeaker?" that I do tell them the truth - high sales does not mean high performance; saying you are great does not make you great; and in audio price is not well correlated with performance.
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