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Topic: Audio in 2015 - a summary of trends (Read 1671 times) previous topic - next topic
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Audio in 2015 - a summary of trends

I have an agenda.
I want more people interested in good sound, I want to show people how sound from music or movies can be a thrilling experience.

And today it is possible to achieve a greater sound experience for less cost than ever before.
Still, I observe the interest for sound is on a decline.

Manufacturers promoting scam articles and media providers continuing to dig the hole to bury themselves in does not help.

I recently had an old friend visiting, after the demo he says "this makes me want to get in to audio again and build my own system".

Then I thought about all that has happened during the later years, with all the information available on the internet, all the massive builds popping up around everywhere, and how knowledge and new technology like measurement capability at a very reasonable cost has changed the audio world.


I created an article on this, here are the main points listed - and of interest here on hydrogenaudio is the last 2:

1.Dynamics and realism with high efficiency speakers
2.Acoustics
3.Measurement capability
4.Bass systems
5.Scams busted
6.Audibly transparent


There is very little interest for this among the traditional audiophile/hifi audience.
Not surprising, given the fact that what I tell here contradicts what they hear from manufacturers and reviewers.
And it does not match well with tradition in hifi as a hobby.

As stated in the article, all the information needed to learn the facts can be found.
But the casual may not have the interest and willingness to put in the effort required to see through all the nonsense.

The idea that DACs actually may not have a "sound", good amplifiers can actually sound transparent - hard to swallow, and if everything sounds the same, what's the point of hifi as a hobby, then.

But it doesn't all sound the same, there are many aspects of sound reproduction that matters, and have a huge impact on sound quality.
By changing focus to those important parts of the reproduction chain, huge gains in sound quality can be achieved.
This is an important message.
I think it will lead to increased interest for sound when more people can have a great sound experience.


Link to article:
http://kvalsvoll.blogspot.no/2015/07/audio...-of-trends.html

Audio in 2015 - a summary of trends

Reply #1 –
I think hi-fi has more hobby potential than ever.  An individually calibrated measurement microphone can be had for less than $100, and the software is free.  It is a real shame that the hi-fi magazines focus so heavily on electronics that make little or no difference.

Audio in 2015 - a summary of trends

Reply #2 –
Quote from: Kvalsvoll on
But the casual may not have the interest and willingness to put in the effort required to see through all the nonsense.


Ever wonder why traditional hi-fi is dying? That's one of the answers.

Audio in 2015 - a summary of trends

Reply #3 –
To the OP:

I guess we've all been there - some recently, most a long time ago, as in my own case (though my membership dates from 2009, I'd been lurking in the HA depths since 2002-ish):

I remember the thrill I felt with my first ever encoded MP3, back in 1998; then the ensuing false promises of VQF/MP3 Pro; 192kbps Radium encoded files; the epiphany that r3mix.net was, via LAME-encoded MP3s was; (then my concluding Roel was more of a cultist than a visionary  ); a brush with the wacky world of audiophilia (tubes and everything!); MPC -extreme, hydrogen audio, Musepack, FLAC... you name it!

So, good luck, mate!
Listen to the music, not the media it's on.
União e reconstrução
 

Audio in 2015 - a summary of trends

Reply #4 –
Quote from: theriverlethe on
I think hi-fi has more hobby potential than ever.  An individually calibrated measurement microphone can be had for less than $100, and the software is free.  It is a real shame that the hi-fi magazines focus so heavily on electronics that make little or no difference.


So true.

In the 80's I remember looking forward to getting the next issue of the danish High Fidelity.
They would have been all over these new trends and opportunities, providing articles describing how to do it yourself.
This magazine died when focus seemed to shift away from technical articles and state-of-the-art diy projects over to more general equipment reviews.

Hifi magazines are disappearing now, killed by the internet and the "high-end" derail.
Some of them will reappear as on-line magazines, where they can continue with reduced expenses and income from advertisements.

One of the problems with magazines and reviews is the writers lack the necessary expertise to understand the fundamental principles of sound reproduction.
They copy what the manufacturers feed them.
The knowledge they have is about which brands is currently in vogue, they know the product names of every single product released from the major brands.
Technical knowledge is limited mostly to myths and a common understanding of how the different brands "sound".