Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 23rd May 2008 13:02 UTC
Many of us grew up with the idea of the component audio system. A receiver (or a separate preamplifier and amplifier), tuner (radio), record player, tape deck, and later on a CD player. If you were into more fancy stuff, you had a DAT or MiniDisc deck as well. While some of us cling on to this mindset like there's no tomorrow, the real world seems to favour a different method of consuming music. According to Erica Ogg (what's in a name), the component audio system is on its way out - thanks to the iPod and the commoditisation of music.
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Member since:
2006-08-26
He's a serious audiophile. He's main system is a tube amplifier based system, connected to a pair of massive speakers he bought when some classical music concert venue upgraded its speakers. He spends a lot of time getting this just right, with the cleanest sound possible. My sister, his wife, tolerates his very space unfriendly hobby.
When I was a teenager boom-boxes sounded like crap. Headphones sounded very tinny. Cassettes really deteriorated in quality. Vinyl sounded great if you had/could afford a nice record player. I remember shopping for speakers 20 years ago and looking at paying $300 for each speaker. I think I paid something like $500 for the CD player. Now, those 20 year old speakers sound only marginally better than the (external, powered) speakers attached to my computer.
When my brother in law puts a CD in his setup I smile and pretend I can hear the difference, but I can't. Frankly, it sounds about the same as it does coming out of anything with a decent set of speakers. How do I know a record is playing as opposed to a CD? With a record you get odd "pops" as crap goes by under the needle. People say the sound is warmer from a vinyl record, but I really can't hear the difference.
Is audiophile dead? No. I still like to listen to music, sometimes doing nothing else but just listening. Sometimes I'll listen to the same piece, over and over again, trying to really pick it apart. However, a lot of equipment that's low end or built into other devices (such as PC's) has gotten 'good enough' that most people can't hear the difference. I know, intellectually, that the compression used by iTunes knocks out some of the quality of the music compared to a CD. I just can't tell the difference.
To put it another way. When I listen to Glen Gould playing the Goldberg Variations, my first real stereo was an ear opener. Compared to a boom-box or a walkman, I could really hear all sorts of other sounds (even breathing) and much richer tones. When I play the Goldberg Variations on my laptop with external speakers, it really is hard to tell the difference between that and my stereo.
Edited 2008-05-23 17:07 UTC