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Is this the end of HEA?

http://www.cepro.com/article/is_this_the_end_of_high_performance_audio_at_ces

This last year has made my ears perk up. Honestly I didn't even know the article above had been written until now. What I did know was listeners have been in touch with me about the future of HEA and their future as advanced listeners. It's been nice to see folks getting in touch with me and even nicer that they are doing so because they wish to settle into their final system sound. To say things in their words "it's been an expensive ride" and most of these folks aren't sure they've gotten a fair shake always from the hobby. Many feel they have bank rolled a part of a hobby that hasn't always delivered the goods. Basically instead of telling listeners that this is a variable hobby the "experts" pushed a very expensive game of component Plug & Play onto the discrete audio generation. I remember those days of guilt buying where a dollar amount was used as a representative for quality, when it meant no such thing. I knew first hand this was not the case as designers scrambled to make up-sell products that sounded less musical than the original products that put their name in audio fame. I also could see the HEA decline happening but still was giving the benefit of the doubt to those saying HEA was just fine and growing. Mom and pop stores for the most part have vanished in the US with the exception of a few creative thinkers. New expensive products are being adored but I don't see many actually buying them. Now I've got my eye on T.H.E. Show (Richard's show) and wondering if it's happening or not. Richard and I have talked many times about what will happen to HEA in the US if T.H.E. Show and CES cease doing their thing in Vegas. I wonder what Richard RIP is thinking now sitting in the clouds.

I am very excited to see the next few years come about even though I know some are still buying into the old paradigm that the HEA is the cutting edge with only a volume control to adjust and a fork lift included with every purchase. Going to the CES web, I have my answer for Vegas. Going to T.H.E. Show website I'm still in question. If these two are no more, in terms of HEA, who's next?

Michael Green

128x128michaelgreenaudio
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ghasley
382 posts
 
I'm sure there were a very serious group of individuals sitting around worrying that their Marconis were failing to gain traction. They were enjoying listening to Caruso live on a single speaker and were certain the apocalypse was upon them. Then, came the jazz age and '78's. That group couldn't understand why anyone would want to use tape...or '45's...or FM...or, gasp, stereo!

Humans will always consume music and they will do it in a way they choose, not the way the previous generation chose. It should be fun and enjoyable to listen to music...it shouldn't be so serious or complex as trying to solve the ticking time bomb at Chernobyl.

I see alot of young people discovering vinyl and the social aspects of spinning records...building speakers...serious headphone setups. The shrines many on Audiogon have built with 200 lb amplifiers and 500 lb speakers are dinosaurs.  I'm sure dinosaurs saw it coming and all the paw wringing they could muster didn't change the outcome.
glupson
1,794 posts
 
geoffkait,

I am sorry. I do try to keep you out of the holes you keep on digging under yourself. I succeed at times.

At some point, I will look up what your baby, rabbit, and fox references may mean.

When it comes to mid-fi, my Walkman can beat up your Walkman.
glupson
1,794 posts
 
"I see alot of young people discovering vinyl and the social aspects of spinning records...building speakers...serious headphone setups."
Observations like this, undoubtedly true to whatever extent "a lot" is, puzzle me. A lot of my communication, daily, is with 15ish to early 30s people. Basically, I am surrounded by them. I would think they are the "young people" we are talking about here. Over the last decade, maybe more, only one wanted to buy a turntable and that was an $80 amazon.com wish. She wanted it not to play music but because it would look cool in her room. She, in fact, did not even plan to play it at all. She said she would continue listening to her iPhone.

Where do you guys see all those young people doing these things? Who are they?
inna
5,245 posts
 
dramatictenor, I fully agree. Standards are mostly low, very few seem to be interested in excellence. But to sort of defend the majority who are not - they are not capable of excellence regardless of effort. So what would they do ? The answer is obvious - they will try to set new much lower standards and call them excellence or try to eliminate the concept altogether. Besides, being capable of giving an effort is an ability in itself as well.
Hopefully, it is temporary because if it is not we are going to become a race of robots and insects.
It's a little unfair to compare to Miles, no-one can play quite like him, this is a very rare talent.
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