And so the next major audiophile engineering challenge is, err, well what?

[Neil McCauley]

What do the forum feel is the most significant technological / engineering challenge facing audiophile designers currently?

I'm not thinking here of the makers reducing the production cost or similarly ‘mundane’ economic aspects like that. Rather, for example, achieving say bigger performance from smaller boxes, or perhaps generating ribbon clarity for cone drivers. Issues like that really.

I have, based on feedback from visitors here who didn’t buy from me (yes, it does happen), a strong idea of what the most common frustration is – and it isn’t price or value!

However because of the atypical way I run my business and the eccentric way I promote myself, the typical visitor here is not, I feel, a truly representative cross section of the remaining (dwindling?) audio buying public. Hence my request to try and broaden the perspective via the forum members.

What, you may ask, might be the outcome of responding to my request here today?

Well, I'm not entirely sure. However I have a smidgen of influence with some makers, some of whom are suppliers to Stereonow and others for whom I act as a consultant even though I don’t represent them. Thus it might, just might be possible – if there is a consensus view on this forum – for me to act as a conduit of your views to my suppliers. Not, I hasten to add, as a fee generating exercise by me but as an altruistic attempt to improve matters through improved communication between maker and end-user.

My guess is that most of you will agree that in the main, makers are not interested in observations from end-users unless it is unqualified praise, admiration, gratitude and brown-nosing. Maybe with your help I can change that a bit. With your support, I'll give it my best shot. Promise!

Thank you.

Sincerely

Howard.

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[bhasi]

Well, we're living in an increasingly wireless world (who'd've thought THAT word would make a comeback?!), so for me it's wireless speakers. Like video telephones, they seem to exist somewhere already, but just not in a usable, mass market-friendly form yet. Oh yes, and wireless electricity transmission while they're at it, so that there need be no cables at all in the home!

On a strictly audiophile theme, listening to great reproduction using technology some of which dates back decades, I'm a bit sceptical of the need for progress in actual fidelity. Seems more industry-driven than anything else, like hem-lines and lapel-widths elsewhere. I think it's mainly convenience and domestic acceptability that will have any significant impact on sales in the long term.

[Neil McCauley]

Well, we're living in an increasingly wireless world (who'd've thought THAT word would make a comeback?!), so for me it's wireless speakers. Like video telephones, they seem to exist somewhere already, but just not in a usable, mass market-friendly form yet. Oh yes, and wireless electricity transmission while they're at it, so that there need be no cables at all in the home!

Very interesting. Thank you. I'd not considered this at all, but I will now.

[Peter Stockwell]

Not exactly radical, but I think there's a huge market for the dac/preamp with remote control.

[tfarney]

I think cracking the code on wireless would be pretty simple, actually. It would require active speakers with digital amps or an integrated DAC, but once you get there, it's all zeros and ones in the chain before the transducers. Everything could be wireless, and very simple. The problem is not the technology, but the psychology. Audiophiles would be hard-pressed to give up their tubes and gadgets. The rest of the world doesn't care, period, because they're not seeking the resolution. Give them wireless earbuds and they're good.

Tim

[Neil McCauley]

Thank you to those who have responded.

The challenge that visitors to Stereonow would like to see solved above all others is a method whereby automatically, as the volume is altered, the bass, mid and treble stays precisely in line. In fact the sort of thing that loudness controls tried to solve and rarely came close to doing.

In my experience, and in line with the experiences of so many others, loudness controls if ever they were ‘right’ were only right at one specific SPL (sound pressure level) and made the sound balance incomparably worse at SPLs either side of that pivotal point.

For me though, it’s something different. I'm hoping for a level of articulation and layer separation from an amp/speaker combination that despite all the equipment over the years I’ve owned and currently own, only STAX headphones have been able to accomplish. Once that’s achieved, I’ll be content.

Meanwhile as I type this, I'm listening to “Cowgirl’s Prayer” (not as I previously thought, Cowgirl Sprayer) and it’s magnificent – through very old STAX SRX Mk3 with SRD-6 energiser. £25 from eBay many years back. Progress has been made over the years? Err no, not really.

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[tfarney]

For me though, it’s something different. I'm hoping for a level of articulation and layer separation from an amp/speaker combination that despite all the equipment over the years I’ve owned and currently own, only STAX headphones have been able to accomplish. Once that’s achieved, I’ll be content.

Meanwhile as I type this, I'm listening to “Cowgirl’s Prayer” (not as I previously thought, Cowgirl Sprayer) and it’s magnificent – through very old STAX SRX Mk3 with SRD-6 energiser. £25 from eBay many years back. Progress has been made over the years? Err no, not really.

---//---

A great goal, Howard. But even if you could get it in an amp/speaker combination, I'm not sure you could get it in a room. A big part of what makes headphone listening so detailed is the proximity of the drivers to the listener's ears and the complete lack of environmental interference. To get close to that in a speaker system you'd need a near field configuration in a small, perfectly treated room, I suspect. Though I'd love to be wrong.

Tim

[Marco]

Good to see you back, Tim. I thought you'd deserted us!

Marco.

[tfarney]

I've been pretty busy.

Tim

[Marco]

Yep, I know what it's like!

Quite often our American members post prolifically when they first join and then disappear. There was a guy here called 'Bajagringo' who was just like that - really good contributor and then all of a sudden he was gone... I know it's the nature of the beast with forums but it's still disappointing when it happens.

Hey, at least you know you're wanted

Marco.