ralphpnj wrote: > ... FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) by industry insiders, which > includes manufacturers and the high end audio press, to drum up new > business. What private individuals care to believe is of no interest > since, it has been stated over and over, everyone is entitled to their > own opinion. >
well we'd all be guessing about the future. but i believe when companies don't open-mindedly acknowledge disruption, they get obsolete and replaced by new companies that do. with that in mind, i think anyone that ignores the trend towards affordable, high quality audio is a fool. i think what's remained constant is the amount of $ most consumers pay to satisfy their audio needs. i'd say that is a few hundred bucks a year. and, even us long term audiophile aficionados must acknowledge that buys you great audio these days. my computer, an Aduioquest Dragonfly and Shure SE530 provide mindblowing sound. to beat that in my home audio shrine, and notice the difference, i must cough up 10X the cost. for diminishing returns that are, however, very rewarding. i think there is a sweet spot there in the middle that remains unexploited. the audio industry doesn't educate about the amazing quality that can be had these days with systems costing between 5k to 10k. with honest education, great products -which high end brands as of now refuse to produce in that price bracket- there could be a thriving market in the making. how can anyone explain Beats success? there is a need there. when teenagers are willing to spend $400 on crappy headphones... why did the established players allow that market to go to someone else? it amazes me. the unapproachable crap many high ends sprout opens the door for newcomers. in fact, i'd say SlimDevices was a classic example, even though the outcome was not it could have been. clearly the people buying Beats (and sorry to bash them) don't read the audiophile press, in fact they don't listen to a single review from someone with a somewhat trained ear... but they are willing to plonk down cash on the product, which ultimately means there is genuine passion for music and sound there, misguided as we think it is. i am pretty happy with my system and shall watch developments with amusement and without product religion. what i am sure about is someone will get it right, and consumers will vote with what matters in market economy - their money. if i was a hyper high end audio manufacturer that sniffs at the "luxury" consumer sweet spot, look at the true high end car brands - *none* of them survived independently. they are part of larger conglomerates - the BMW 1 and 3 series bankrolls the existence and viability of Rolls. or the watch industry. or watches... people buy Swatches and hence, Blancpains and Breguets and Glashuettes still make commercial sense. not by themselves, though. it has started to happen of course in audio, too. but *far* more and probably quite brutal consolidation is required. i wonder how many audio brands literally live of recruiting one or two customers a year. many of them -and i know this for a fact- barely recruit a few hundred new customers a year. that was my 2c. ...pablo Server: Virtual Machine running Ubuntu 12.04 + LMS 7.7.3 on VMware Player System: SB Touch --optical->- Benchmark DAC2HGC --AnalysisPlus Oval Copper XLR->- Creek Destiny Power Amp --AnalysisPlus Black Mesh Oval->- KEF LS50 Other Rooms: 2x SB Boom; 1x SB Radio; 1x SB Classic-> MusicalFidelity M1PWR -> Totem DreamCatcher Computer audio: workstation --USB->- audioengine D1 -> Grado PS500e ------------------------------------------------------------------------ pablolie's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3816 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=102330 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
