The interest in Hi-Fi

[Macca]

I go with Ricky Roma and the law of reverse opinion: 'If everyone is saying one thing then I say bet the other way'.

[Crackles]

I go with Ricky Roma and the law of reverse opinion: 'If everyone is saying one thing then I say bet the other way'.

There is a lot of sense in this! And even if there is no sense in it at all, it still gives you a sense of satisfaction that you are doing your own thing.

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[bobvfr]

I understand the OP's point and in some ways it is true that Hi-Fi is no longer as mainstream as it was through the 60 and 70's but as others have pointed out there is still a large demand for top end stuff.

So how do these contradictory points balance out:

Think back to the 50's, 60's and 70's (I can manage two of them), what else was there to spend your money on if you take out women, cars and the pub, realistically it was Hi-Fi or cameras, both probably peaked in the 70's as consumer goods, in London Holborn and Tottenham Ct Rd were wall the wall Hi-Fi or camera shops, all of my mates (Working class lads in Battersea) when we were teenagers in the 70's had "Hi-Fi", we would watch The Old Grey Whistle Test and then head off to Clapham Junction the next pay day and buy an album or two.

How many teenagers do this now, like my boy they spend their money on PC's (So do I), games consoles (Got one as well) and stream to headphones or maybe a Bluetooth speaker system at best. Yes there are the odd ones who get Hi-Fi but they are a tiny minority compared to teenagers in the 70's and the older Hi-Fi buffs of the 50's and 60's.

Spending power is really in the hands of older people now (Like me), they have grown up with Hi-Fi being a norm and will spend lots of money on gear and it is this that keeps the industry afloat.

Yes there will be exceptions to this, but I am sure that is pretty close to the reality of the situation.

[Floyddroid]

I understand the OP's point and in some ways it is true that Hi-Fi is no longer as mainstream as it was through the 60 and 70's but as others have pointed out there is still a large demand for top end stuff.

So how do these contradictory points balance out:

Think back to the 50's, 60's and 70's (I can manage two of them), what else was there to spend your money on if you take out women, cars and the pub, realistically it was Hi-Fi or cameras, both probably peaked in the 70's as consumer goods, in London Holborn and Tottenham Ct Rd were wall the wall Hi-Fi or camera shops, all of my mates (Working class lads in Battersea) when we were teenagers in the 70's had "Hi-Fi", we would watch The Old Grey Whistle Test and then head off to Clapham Junction the next pay day and buy an album or two.

How many teenagers do this now, like my boy they spend their money on PC's (So do I), games consoles (Got one as well) and stream to headphones or maybe a Bluetooth speaker system at best. Yes there are the odd ones who get Hi-Fi but they are a tiny minority compared to teenagers in the 70's and the older Hi-Fi buffs of the 50's and 60's.

Spending power is really in the hands of older people now (Like me), they have grown up with Hi-Fi being a norm and will spend lots of money on gear and it is this that keeps the industry afloat.

Yes there will be exceptions to this, but I am sure that is pretty close to the reality of the situation.

Excellent post.

[Barry]

+1

[mannypr551]

+1

If you love music , the better the system the more you can relate to that which you love . HiFi will die when music dies and music will never die because it is an integral part of what makes us humans . It might diminish in sales , the industry might shrink a bit but it won't entirely vanish . Remember " perfect sound forever " , a slogan used by Sony when they introduced the Compact Disc player . Everywhere people said that the turntable was dead . The industry tried to kill it by not selling Lps . Their were less and less Lps to buy .
But those who loved music and knew what a good turntable could do kept at it .A few turntables were still manufactured like Linn . The new generations who were born with cds as king , some who didn't even know what a turntable was , hearing the turntable for the first time were surprise at the quality of sound produced by even an inexpensive turntable . Nowadays there are more and more turntables on the market with their ancillary equipment as phono stages and so on . The turntable has come back from the dead . Why ? Because of our love of music . As long as there is love for the music there will be people willing to spend their hard earn money to get closer to the musical experience .

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[magiccarpetride]

I often wonder if the interest in Hi-Fi/audio is finally starting to wane? It is of course an pastime/interest/hobby of people from a bygone era. This is born out by the fact that there are sites popping up on social media and the net in general for those of us interested in vintage equipment. The Hi-Fi industry as a whole still seems strong though i wonder how long it can last?

In my experience, things are getting better. Not that long ago you needed multi-thousand dollar investment for any single quality audio component. But my recent purchases convinced me that the technology is advancing, and now we can get sub-thousand dollars components that give the fancier equipment run for its money.

Two cases in point -- Jelco 750E 10" tonearm (paid $625.00) really sounds like a multi-thousand dollars tonearm. The level of craftsmanship is stunning, even before you hear it in action. If you didn't know any better, when you receive that tonearm, and by looking at the care Japanese manufacturers put into packaging, you'd think it's a multi thousand dollars component.

Another recent purchase -- iFi Micro iPhono 2 stage. Paid only $575.00 and it delivers sound quality that matches much more expensive phono preamps.

The point is that with a relatively modest investment it is possible nowadays to cobble up a hi fi system that will sound almost as good as those ultra high end ultra expensive systems. So I think the future looks bright, and thanks to the growing community of passionate hobbyists, it is now easier than ever to receive proper guidance and quickly assemble solid systems that will give you years of aural pleasure.

[paulf-2007]

I understand the OP's point and in some ways it is true that Hi-Fi is no longer as mainstream as it was through the 60 and 70's but as others have pointed out there is still a large demand for top end stuff.

So how do these contradictory points balance out:

Think back to the 50's, 60's and 70's (I can manage two of them), what else was there to spend your money on if you take out women, cars and the pub, realistically it was Hi-Fi or cameras, both probably peaked in the 70's as consumer goods, in London Holborn and Tottenham Ct Rd were wall the wall Hi-Fi or camera shops, all of my mates (Working class lads in Battersea) when we were teenagers in the 70's had "Hi-Fi", we would watch The Old Grey Whistle Test and then head off to Clapham Junction the next pay day and buy an album or two.

How many teenagers do this now, like my boy they spend their money on PC's (So do I), games consoles (Got one as well) and stream to headphones or maybe a Bluetooth speaker system at best. Yes there are the odd ones who get Hi-Fi but they are a tiny minority compared to teenagers in the 70's and the older Hi-Fi buffs of the 50's and 60's.

Spending power is really in the hands of older people now (Like me), they have grown up with Hi-Fi being a norm and will spend lots of money on gear and it is this that keeps the industry afloat.

Yes there will be exceptions to this, but I am sure that is pretty close to the reality of the situation.

lets not forget the musical instrument shops in Charing Cross road, Tottenham Court Road and Denmark street. In fact I reckon there was more interest in playing or trying to play music than listening in the '60s and '70s, or at least as much.