I'm inclined to agree with the accountant.
"It's the economy, stupid."
"It's the economy, stupid."
High End is Dead?
Browsing used audio sites such as Audiogon and the Marts, high end gear ads are dominated by several dealers. Non-dealer ads are usually people trying to push 15+ year old off-brand junk at 60-70% of MSRP (when they were new). They don't sell anything. You could slash Wilsons, Magicos, etc, 50% off retail and no one will buy them.
No one buys if it costs more than 1k. It's not that they're not interested -- the ads get plenty of views. It's that the asking prices are just way over the ability of buyers to pay. Fact is, if you see a high end piece for sale it's probably by a dealer, often times trying to push it at 15% off retail because its a trade in, but also often they are taking a good chunk off the price 30, 40 sometimes 50% off. They can be famous brands with a million positive reviews. No buyers.
Are we just poor, and that's all there is to it?
No one buys if it costs more than 1k. It's not that they're not interested -- the ads get plenty of views. It's that the asking prices are just way over the ability of buyers to pay. Fact is, if you see a high end piece for sale it's probably by a dealer, often times trying to push it at 15% off retail because its a trade in, but also often they are taking a good chunk off the price 30, 40 sometimes 50% off. They can be famous brands with a million positive reviews. No buyers.
Are we just poor, and that's all there is to it?
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Inasmuch as the high end is oft identified with audio nervosa and similar neurotic or quasi neurotic traits associated with the obsessive and compulsive pursuit of perfection and demand for nearly continuous improvements to sound quality, many folks have backed off the throttle just a tad. Coming back down to reality, if you’ll excuse the expression, sometimes involves downsizing, not only in terms of cost but actual size, paradigm shifting from speaker systems to headphones or streaming. Have you ever felt the system was, uh, taking over? Or maybe folks have developed other competing interests like Blu Ray movies or YouTube or whatever. |
I am not here to dispute your feelings or opinions but assuming you are describing the survival of orchestral music being dependent on age, concert attendance and/or generational-based population, I prefer to believe the opposite of your concert experience is more the reality.
The Banff International String Quartet Competition held annually is but one example that would absolutely change your mind set with regards to the numbers of younger classical based listeners, enthusiasts and musicians that are present in the music scene. I’m a fan of the Dover Quartet where their audiences consistently include people of all ages and nationalities. We would be happy to provide a few more symphonies and/or concerts you could attend to verify there are young as well as the young at heart audiences present and involved in classical settings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6j3lmyNjNU In addition, with age comes experience where some musical tastes change and widen over periods of time. At 17 years I was weaned on the Blues, dug Big Band Music and earned a good living working in Rock & Roll. As I grew older, along came the classically trained cellist who opened my soul to a sound I once thought to be boring. The point being classical music and live presentations will outlive us all. This music has survived generation after generation and on a global scale. I cannot fathom the music style or live symphony performances ever dying off or losing out to a single generation. Anyone can dispute the future of High End Audio. Some here prefer to use their clients and stories of the past as examples of industry direction in order to validate their opinions or more so promote their products and business; instead should take out a paid advertisement. Whether Industry growth depends on the old “Cool” Guys or the next gen gaming generation or whatever generation you so desire to focus on, there will always be high end audio offerings. Some say HEA will no longer be the main stream of audio. Will someone please tell me when HEA was ever considered in the mainstream? Remember when High End Car Audio died in the late 90’s? Out of curiosity I recently walked into a few car audio dealers in Wilmington and Newark DE to see how they are surviving and to my shock, business is utterly booming once again… point being audio never dies, just evolves. The Audio Industry will always provide high end equipment offerings. According to some people high end products are going away, too expensive and bulky, already classified as dead or are those same people just drumming up more negative support for their own aspirations. No matter how anyone storyboards it, the future of audio reproduction will remain steadfast. Today, the Audio Industry “as we know it” is healthy and strong so I prefer to reside in the here and now and let the future of the next generation be answered when that time arrives. Remember this: “A strong and successful audio company will always adapt their technology and products to meet the demands for whatever the future brings”. @nkoner Your Chicago Show post is a joke, right?. Obviously you missed or overlooked younger people in attendance and how about all those ‘much younger trade associates’ working for the vendors selling ‘you’ their products? Next show you attend, park yourself in the Cans portion of the venue where there you can easily add younger listeners to your list. More importantly, please tell your buddy that there were a lot more people there than just old middle class white guys. "Not only do we tend to see what we expect to see, we also tend to experience what we expect to experience." As Hitchcock proved, this can make all the difference. In closing: My reply concerning whether HEA is dying, dead or going by the wayside is exemplified in one word - “Rubbish”! Audio will forever evolve and before I write something concerning all the naysayers which will really lead to trouble... I’m putting some Stevie Ray in the car system, taking a trip up to Double Decker Records, where there is always a large group of the younger gen in house, and buy more music. On the return leg I’ll stop off in Philly and see a concert or recital or two while they last - or better yet, while I last ⌣ . As Always - Good Listening! Robert |
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