Industry Insiders And Their Nonsense
I'm not entirely sure when it was that I bought my first Hi-fi magazine but I think it must have been about 1989
I already had a system bought from Richer Sounds and was looking to upgrade so I got a copy of What Hi-Fi (AKA 'WTF?') in the hope of getting some guidance.
(I didn't and in the end I randomly bought some giant speakers from the 8 page 'Hyper-Fi' advert in the middle of the magazine, but that's a different story).
I carried on buying magazines, mostly Hi-Fi Review, Choice, Hi-Fi World up until about 2014 when I realised it was an expensive way to just read one speaker review and skip past all the cable reviews and adverts.
Now in 1989 I was a youth of twenty and knew nothing about pretty much everything. I'm not sure when I had the realisation that the magazines were not intended to serve the potential customer with useful consumer advice, but to serve the hi-fi industry by ensuring a constant supply of punters, but I suspect to my chagrin that I was in my late thirties when the penny dropped.
Now of course it is all on-line but the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Take, for example, this fairly brief article from Enjoy The Music (dot com) - https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazi...The_Future.htm
It's a great example of just why these sites are not a good source of impartial advice
The topic is essentially the age-old editorial about how 'The Industry Is Dying.' Well they used to do articles about this back in the 1980s. Like Hyman Roth in 'Godfather II' the hi-fi industry has been dying from the same heart-attack for the last forty years.
The writer is concerned that the rise in interest rates will mean young people won't have the money to move out of their parents house and into their own house, and so will never graduate from using smartphones and headphones as their source for listening to music. No more customers for the 'High-end'.
Oh dear, how sad. So what?
Well he tackles that question and it's quite revealing:
''Simple: Audiophiles and members of the industry that serves us (count me on both sides here) have long been concerned about the fate of our hobby.''
Okay so back up a minute. The hi-fi 'industry' exists to serve us? That's funny, I thought that, like any company, a hi-fi company's purpose is to make money for their shareholders. Of course he knows that, he just doesn't want us to think that.
We (or at least a good many of us) therefore thought "Aha! Every kid has a cellphone; every kid loves music; every kid will get "get into" good sound through his cell phone; and at least a majority of those kids will go on to wanting good sound at home. Voila! A new "us" and an ongoing market for our industry.
Again 'Our industry'. Whose industry now? I make a living in the motor trade, mate, hi-fi isn't 'my' industry nor is it likely to be the industry of 99.999 percent of the people reading your article, given it's an industry that employs comparatively few people. You've got problems finding punters for expensive tat, talk to your marketing department, it's nothing to do with us.
So yes, he's worried that in 10 years or whatever there'll be no-one interested in spending big money on hi-fi. The usual story we've been hearing for half a century. Why is it this time?
''not only do younger people tend to have less money than older ones, but they also tend to live in different places: Depending on their age, they may still be living "at home", with their parents. Or they may be in school, grad school, or working at whatever kind of job. Whatever their circumstances, though, it's likely that they're not going to be living in their own house, but in a room or an apartment, not only limited in space to set up a system or a listening room, but also subject to restrictions on how loud and when they can play their music.''
But wait a minute! I had the box room at my parents house, tiny room, still had a hi-fi system in there. Then went to University and lived in a little breeze-block cell for three years - still had a hifi system in there. Then to a box room in a shared house - still had a hi-fi system there too, with big speakers. Err.. the trick is just not to play it so loud.
And as for money - I was as poor as a church mouse but you could always get discounted bin-end kit and second hand kit if you wanted a change or an upgrade on a tight budget. And I still managed to get a mortgage somehow anyway.
Really I'm fed up with reading about things being difficult financially for young people. It was always that way unless your parents were loaded.
What he's really worried about is that these youngsters are never going to be in a position to buy expensive hi-fi. Because that's where the big margins are.
Well you can't blame them for trying I suppose. But how about making some good affordable products and writing about them. Or writing about second-hand bargains instead of reviews of ten grand streamers, cables and other expensive, magic-powered nonsense that surely has the effect of putting off impecunious youngsters looking at getting into the hobby?
Industry Insiders Bollocks. Self-serving and - ultimately - counter-productive.
Industry Insiders And Their Nonsense
Quote:
Originally Posted by
hifi_dave
That's all very well and I do read the vintage equipment write-ups but there are limited quantities of this kit, not all of it working properly after many years and not everybody looking for a Hi-Fi system wants to buy vintage with all that implies. Does the turntable you refer to have spares readily available, is it easy to repair/service and are there 50 or 100 on sale to cater for the new enthusiasts ?
IMO, the new enthusiast, in general, will want a system based on new equipment and it needs to be affordable, say £3 - 10K but read Hi-Fi News et-al and they wouldn't find any inspiration or help there unless they'd just won the European Lottery and can spend telephone numbers. I'm hoping that they are not scared off and have the inspiration and sense to look out the reasonably priced gear.
I take your point, but to be fair, Hi-Fi News and Hi-Fi Choice are sister magazines. If your budget is £3-10k then Hi-Fi Choice is the better one to read.
Equally, when your lottery numbers come up and you’re looking for a £50k amplifier and £100k speakers, Hi-Fi News is probably a better bet!
That said, I’ve recently reviewed three cartridges for the magazine - one £8000, one £1250 and one £750, so we do try to cover a fairly decent price spread.
Industry Insiders And Their Nonsense
Quote:
Originally Posted by
narabdela
I can understand some of your postings here Adam. It is your livelihood after all, but I think you're in denial about the state of the audio magazine sector. I used to read Hi-Fi News avidly since my Dad started buying it in the late 1960s. I gave up on it after about 40 years when it started getting really silly. I don't even give it a second glance now on the rare occasions that I see it on a magzine rack these days. I know that there's nothing in there of the slightest interest to me.
And, believe me, i completely understand the point of view that is being made here - for many, an expensive piece of hi-fi equipment is a complete non-starter.
The trouble is, from meeting people at hi-fi shows and some of the letters we get into the magazine, there are more than enough buyers out there to keep the high end going, especially when you look outside the UK. Much as it might come as a disappointment to people, a few hundred people on a couple of UK hi-fi forums do not represent the average high end hi-fi buyer. Equally, the point has been made about the financial state of the world. Unfortunately, those who can afford the really expensive stuff will nearly always be able to afford it. When crunches come, it's actually the middle ground that suffers , as budget items will always be popular and those who can afford to drop £8000 on a Koetsu cartridge or £50,000 on a SME Model 60 are likely to be largely immune to financial market perturbations.
Finally, Jimbo mentioned entertainment - well, why not treat a magazine as such? Most here know I'm a committed petrol-head but i have absolutely zero interest in buying a car magazine to read a review of the latest electric Corsa or the new budget-busting model from Dacia. The new Aston Martin DB12, though? Hell, yes - I want to read all about that, even though the chances of me ever owning one are also absolutely zero! A little dreaming never hurt anyone.