free advice everyone can check out for themself, i like it :) if people that have a couch next to the wall would try a small chair that dont have anything near the ears and set it in front of the couch and remove the table, a huge difference and easy to try.
here's an idea to make audio cool again: get people to experience hi-fi. People have gotten used to small bluetooth / sonos speakers with an attractive but shallow sound, that's all they know these days. I posit that when presented with a proper hi-fi sound, they often can't believe their ears. All we need is to get people to experience that.
Totally agree, I got a lot of my friends to listen to my basic hifi with Cambridge Audio CXA81 and Monitor Audio Bronze 2 running spotify/ Tidal connect through a Wiim Mini streamer. Its not an expensive setup but everyone is blown away by the sound. All of them have now bought integrated amplifiers and new speakers for their rooms, moving away from sound bars and bluetooth speakers or the cheap cinema packages that used to come with TVs. Trying to play my part and get people listening to music in a much better way and ultimately enjoy it more.
Getting women into hifi. I took the wife to audition some magnepans this weekend. She really didn't care for them & I wasn't happy with the dynamics. The dealer was really good, but something caught my wife's eye & she was cooing over them- Kef Blade 2's in white😆. The dealer asked if we wanted to listen & of course they sounded absolutely incredible. She was blown away, almost in tears. Just like me because I'm knew how they cost, & there was lord knows how much of T+A amps powering them. I was speechless by the response I got- that I was always messing about with gear, incrementally spending an extra thousand or 2, selling it & losing money a year later & trying something else, like we all do. She said we should buy them because she loved how they looked & than I could be happy for once! The dealer smelt blood & offered a huge discount as ex demo. I backed out saying it was too much (knowing how much the amps would cost too) so just be careful what you wish for.
Steve, I opened a vintage audio store at a swap meet mall and a year and a half later I am still open. My collectors and audio addicts keep my business alive. Audio is and always will be COOL 😎👍💯‼️
From other audio reviewers I've seen on YT, the 'younger' folks are into desk top speakers and headphones (along with headphone amps). They are not into giant 50+ pound amps, preamps and fancy tube gear.
I thought it would be cool to have a Hi-Fi longue of sorts that could be rented out like a hotel. Go in and listen to great gear in a great room with acoustic privacy. Put a brake on the volume control if you're worried about people blowing it up. Could be satisfying in its own right or it could inspire people to get their own system.
I think the downfall of hifi is not really due to cost (since the cost has come down) but because the quality of regular audio has gone up tremendously. Built in iPhone dacs or dongle dacs are at the levels where people would pay hundreds/thousands of dollars in decades past, as far as headphones are concerned. Good enough, in this case, is the enemy of great. It's similar to the camera industry where photos/videos coming from phones are more than good enough that buying a dSLR is no longer necessary. Heck, I've taking more photos and videos on my phone than my dSLR that I've had for years. However... I do let my family and friends listen to my system when they come over. Some who listen right away are instantly hooked and wants me to set up their own budget system. But the majority just listened, was amazed, but can live without it. That means my system is not impressive enough... I need to spend more money to upgrade my gear so I can impress them even more to get hooked. Kidding. I think the key to my cousin getting his own system is the price of entry. I have nice gear and budget gear and we did swap speakers and systems. He ended up with the Loxjie A30 + the Sony CSS speakers for under $300. He was blown away with the sound at home compared to TV speakers. His friends who also heard the system are also getting into it. I call that a win.
iphone's are not hifi nor are they dslr's. a high quality dslr or hifi cd player with a quality mastered cd would put a iphone to shame. you said the key word "good enough", its more about convenience. most people dont care about hifi or hi quality photo's of a dslr and this is true even more so with this younger spoiled generation. i think audio quality has gotten worse not better. the 80's and 90's was the height of audio. its more about profit margins not quality and is why most manufacturing is outsourced to other countries yet the prices are higher.
@@jhue73 You're definitely right about the convenience of it. I think in terms of budget gear, my guess is that today's $500 system would sound better than a ($500 - inflation amount) system from 20 years back. It could also be that expensive system in the past do sound better than systems in the same price category today. I don't have the experience to give any opinion on that. I do know that things built back then were made of higher quality, built to last. Many things these days are built to break within a few years (sadly). Even so, I think the audiophile community has grown larger than ever (though not a perfect community). I still have a pretty positive outlook on this hobby while I search for my end game system.
There’s a whole range of audio DACS, Amps, and other audio gear manufactured in China that sound very nice. In fact much of it (not all) represents great value for the money. I would love if more of it was manufactured right here in the USA.
The problem, in my opinion: people don’t have hobbies. Their hobby is watching ticktock, Facebook/ Instagram scrolling. I think I have 1 friend that actually has a hobby, guitars. Literally everyone else I know just exists, no personal interests
I remember the first time I heard a friend’s high-ish end system in the late 1980s. The modest-looking speakers were a model from KEF, powered by a NAD integrated amp. Upon first glance, I thought there was no way these things were as good as his dad had led me to believe. But when he played them, they were so clear, so loud, and they imaged perfectly. Experiencing that sound stage and the detail of Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s Love Missile F1-11 changed everything for me, and I began my own quest for great sound. The challenge is that most people never experience that. And when they hear a Sonos or a JBL Charge speaker that sounds way better than their TV or computer, they buy that and think they’re done.
A well padded cloth couch is not a problem. A leather couch is a different matter for reflections. One main reason audio is no longer a “thing” is people don’t have a clue as to how to listen. They sure know how to talk, and how to press the buttons on their phones. They can hear but listening seems to be off their radar screen.
The internet and especially smartphones have killed people's attention spans. I was around before that stuff, and I am not immune. I can't imagine what it's like for the kids born with a smartphone in their hand.
Speaking of first reflections, if you have a hard non-carpeted floor try putting a blanket in front of the speakers and see if it’s worth investing in a throw rug or two.
I removed my big square coffee table about 6 weeks ago. It was killing my base response. One night while listening to my albums I thought,, I wonder if the coffee table is affecting my sound? It was. Now I have a little table at the side of the couch for coffee and more leg room and better sound. The younger people are too used to just pushing a button. Like they are The Jetsons or something. LOL. A lot of kids don't even know what a record is. I know some of the best times I had was shopping for an album for finding an album I didn't know anything about except the artwork was interesting so I bought it. Take it home and clean it and shut down and listen to it. The suspense of if you will like it or not LOL. The first album I remember buying was an album by Mountain , Climbing . I didn't really know who they were but I liked the artwork LOL. Then when I got home and put it on my little turntable I heard Mississippi Queen , do you know what I mean, down the Louisiana way. Every time I hear anything off that album my mind goes right back to that time. It was fun and still is. I enjoy your program very much and always learn something, for free LOL
Steve, this really raises a good question. I’m in my mid 40’s now and recall getting my first component system after getting my first on the books job at 15. It was nothing like the systems that I’m sure some have started out with, but it was a wormhole that allowed my inner geek to shine. I say “geek” in the most respectful way as I’ve always gotten into the minutiae. I’ve always been fascinated with music, the songwriting process and the background of it. During Covid I decided to build my own Bottlehead amp and preamp and have enjoyed every minute of it. I think it’s a specific type of person who gets into this world and while there will always be people who obsess over the tiny details most people choose to go the simple route of streaming something through their AirPods (and there is nothing wrong with that). I think geeks are born geeks and trying to convert people into geeks can’t really happen. Sharing the passion and the joy that these “geeky” hobbies bring us allows others to appreciate it, but I think it will always be a niche much like those that find joy in stamp collecting, building precision machinery, fine woodworking and of course audiophilia. Keep up the good work!!
I believe that car audio was the primary death of in home hifi. Two things happend… cars became cheaper so they were purchased before apartments and hifi in them became ‘better’ sounding than in many homes (more bass, more treble) and you could play them as loud as you liked without anyone complaining!
Rhetorical question, this...? Having a 'thing' for listening to music is much like having a 'thing' for reading books... either you have it or you don't. Most folk probably grew into the habit starting from a young age. Many people think nothing of spending endless hours watching dreck on reality TV, but are dumbfounded by the suggestion of intent listening to music, for even an hour... so there you have it. I really enjoy your videos, appreciate your enthusiasm for all things music and look forward to more... Have a great summer - Chris
Each one of us that owns a credible audio system has the ability (responsibility?) to share it. There's no better way to give someone the audio bug than to let them listen to a high resolution system without the stress of a retail environment. Invite people over! As a teenager I had a friend whose dad was a well-heeled hardcore audiophile. A couple of times per year I got to hear equipment that I otherwise would only have fetished in an audio magazine. This exposure worked. Periodically I host a neighborhood gentleman's booze/music evening in my listening room. First timers get to sit dead center in the primo leather chair. Has any of these guys gone out and spent a couple grand after a visit? No. But maybe, just maybe, I have planted a seed or two. I always stress to visitors that the 80/20 rule applies vigorously in audio: "you can get 80% of what you're hearing here in my listening room for about 20% of the cost". Well, maybe.
I mostly agree with the sentiment behind the 80/20 rule, however I've come to realize that the final, sometimes subtle (expensive usually) last bit of performance is where the magic lies for me. It's ALL in the subtlety. And I don't think this is unique to hifi, it also exists in the instruments that we are listening to on the recording.
@@erics.4113 you can show someone who hasn’t listened to a good system speakers that cost a few hundred bucks and that can give them more subtlety than they’ve known. That’s the point.
@@billymurphy3 absolutely! I've got a bunch of pairs of those type of speakers I'll demo for people. JBL Studio 530, klipsch 600m and ELAC ub52, oh and JBL stage a130. All of them bought new around $250-$400 only and they can impress the Bluetooth speaker crowd no doubt!
@@billymurphy3 but if I'm being transparent and forthcoming, I'm running those $250 speakers to a stereo pair of rel subs, a parasound amp, creek pre, denafrips DAC, bluesound, and then go "look at what these $250 speakers can doooo!" (with another 10k of hardware plus cables backing them up lol) shhh don't tell anyone
I actually love coming to the channel everyday and I take notes on what's hot in audiophile Fashion shirts 👕. Sometimes we get multiple shirts in one video too and thats a real treat !!
@@JanMejerRasmussen Yes, Steve has featured his wife in a few of his videos, she helps make his channel work, and I believe she has even made some of his amazing shirts for him!
As soon as you started talking.. I knew where you were going... Years ago I asked a dealer... "Can we move this?" pointing at a coffee table with hifi magazines.. His reply "Yes, but you won't be wanting a coffee?" we moved the table to the adjoining room..... This was all before I'd even listened in there..thinking back, he probably thought this 18 Yr old kid so rude (or worse) but then part way through the first piece of music he suddenly turned it right down and said "This room does sound better without that table!" That eased the tension that things had caused.. I got coffee and he got my money for a Roksan Xerxes, Rega RB300 rewired with Van den hul and an Audio Technica At-F5.
Obvious solution is to get tall speaker stands, putting the tweeters at standing ear height, mark an "X" with tape in the middle of the room, (avoiding those nasty room boundaries), and stand perfectly still in your padded room while listening to your music. If you behave, the orderlies may even remove your straitjacket for added comfort.
HOLY CRAP! I have been sitting here thinking my Tektons sound great, and they do - but I moved the coffee table out and it's a whole other level of sound quality. Thank you.
Your take near the end is excellent and I think the main solution. Those who are complaining about there not being as large of an audio community as there was 30 years ago should be working to get those under 30 interested. I am 17 and have shown my budget system to many friends and blown them away. Now my friends have systems, neighbors, and I have a few more pair of speakers than I know what to do with. Great video as always Steve:)
i don't think it will ever be as cool as it was when it blossomed in the 70's, and when listening to albums was often times an event to explore new music. the internet seriously changed everything. with regards to cool factor on gear, i think there are two paths, one is having a classic vintage system that satisfies the nostalgic hipness, or fits in to ones mid century home decor (space permitting) of course you always need a way to wifi to the vintage as well.... that aside i think the future cool will be more minimalist components that emulate a sense of style, but produce great sound. KEF is one of many Mfgs that took Steve Jobs queue with Apple when he made his products cool to fit an image / lifestyle, and introduce cool but functional form factors and colors (LS 50 for example). Also think as streaming tech improves, and access to high res recordings becomes more affordable, cool / small wireless setups could be the way forward, products like Apple Airplay. Also think some of these products need a front man to promote and better market their products.... thinking Jobs with Apple, Dyson with vacuum cleaners, Federer with Rolex.... as others have said , the gear industry needs to promote listening to music as a lifestyle to be shared with others, vs a singular thing. what's the purpose of all the expensive gear in a room with a dang chair in the middle for one to listen to music, in that perfect sweet spot. if that's what you want, then get a high end pair of wireless headphones and call it a day. You can't share the sweet spot with perfect imaging simultaneously with multiple people soaking in an album.... don't get me wrong, i have that room with chair in center for me, but wonders why sometimes....apart from being proud.
Audio for me is cool again! My interest is shifting from tinkering with gear to anticipating new solutions for integrating components using DSP, streaming, and wireless. This new trend appeals to me practically for eliminating costly component matching, automating room correction and reducing clutter but more importantly it has spousal approval. I believe well designed systems will inevitably attract a new generation of audiophiles, new products for bored reviewers, and a new set of arguments for the forums.
It’s not that we need new bigger and better boxes in rooms that are appointed to emphasize audio quality ( and in some cases video) .. People ( younger people and women) are listening to more and different music today than in any point in history😋 Want a great musical experience without breaking the proverbial bank. Smartphone ( Apple or Amazon HD music, QBuzz, Title….ect) with a dongle or in my case the IFI GO BLUE and a nice small or large stable of IEM’s or full size headphones. Not a budget breaker in most cases and it’ll bring a decent step up in sound quality and allows for more exploration of new musical experiences. In the end , it’s about how you experience and enjoy music😊
Hi Steve, I try to live a HiFi lifestyle. That’s my way of keeping HiFi cool, at least for me. This lifestyle consists of having a dedicated listening room in the back room of the house. It’s my lair, a parlor if you will. A place that is completely of my doing, for me and me only. I try to spend a couple hours every evening after the sun goes down in my parlor listening to music surrounded by lamps with 15 watt bulbs in them. It’s my little world….and I think it’s cool.
I once gave a woods class at a local high school a pallet of birch ply and a stack of Fostex full ranges. The class built over a dozen pairs of BLH and the next year I brought in amplifier kits and all those who build horns built amps a few of those later got into the hobby in a big way. I even designed a horn speaker that I could take to local schools for music education since I felt bad about all the cuts to such programs. If you feel audio is not cool you can do something about it. But many audiophiles tend to hoard, resell items at high prices and not invite others into their solo listening spaces. Audio stores and manufacturers should look into working with schools to donate gear $ or time.
It goes hand in hand with the possession of a collection of music on records or CD and I don't think that's ever coming back in any meaningful numbers, if anything, collections are viewed in a negative light. There's no need for extensive audio systems when your music comes on the go and ethereally.
MAKE AUDIO GREAT AGAIN. Maybe if hollywood would start showing more and more hifi systems on screen. Korean shows are doing it most if the time and audio is quite big there.
Companies should place stereo systems in places with foot traffic- like Best Buy, Guitar Center, etc. Even B&H in NYC lacks a dedicated stereo listening space.
Hi Steve. Don't know about making audio "cool" again, but if all of the audio companies did mainstream advertising instead of only in hifi mags and websites, that would help out the audio industry a lot. Advertise in all different types of popular mags, maybe something on TV. Also, stereo equipment these days all look the same and have no character. Gear from the 60s, 80s, and 90's all looked different, looked good, was for the most part built solid (even the entry level gear), had various knobs and buttons, had various displays whether they were VU meters, etc, etc. They had moving parts! Most gear these days are either silver or black boxes with a couple of buttons, and that's it. They all look the same. They have no personality. Anywho... That's my look at it. A good reason why half of my system is vintage.
The audio world has become a niche market because of the death of the mainstream dealers that carried great sounding affordable gear. When I was a young man in the early 70s in the Bay Area we had Pacific Stereo and the Good Guys, two chains that had a plethora of great sounding and affordable gear from all the major Japanese companies and all the big well respected mainstream speaker companies too. The San Francisco Chronicle had what we called the Pink section (it was printed on pink paper) in the Sunday Chronicle every week, which had all the latest entertainment news, including Bill Graham's ads promoting all the upcoming shows at the Fillmore West, Winterland, and other Bay Area venues featuring our favorite British and American bands, and Pacific Stereo would have a big ad every week with the package systems and individual componenets they had on sale that week. The Good Guys also had similar, although smaller ads, as did other hi-fi dealers, and they all catered to us young Hippie music lovers, and didn't look down on us like the snooty high end dealers do to young and inexperienced music lovers do these days. And, they carried great gear at all price points. You could start out with an entry level Pioneer, Kenwood, Yamaha, or Marantz receiver, an inexpensive Garrard or similar TT, and some affordable bookshelf speakers, and then when you were ready to upgrade you'd return to them for a more powerful receiver or good integrated amp and tuner, better TT, and larger speakers. We desperatley need a new nationwide chain like Pacific Stereo and the Good Guys now, because Best Buy is now the only game in town, and they just aren't that great. Every large city nationwide had somewhere like Pacific Stereo back then, and they were the lifeblood of the mainstream hi-fi industry. These days, you have to buy online from Crutchfield, Amazon, or others, just to audition gear you're interested in (if there's no BB in your area or BB doesn't have what you're interested in), and then go to the expense and hassle of returning anything that you don't like enough to keep. And, if people use local dealers as free audition stations and then go buy online instead of from the local dealer just to save a few bucks, then those dealers will fail. That's why we have no independent dealers of mainstream affordable gear these days, and the same thing is running rampant in the guitar world, as local mom and pop stores are shuttering nationwide, as they're forced to close becuase of lack of sales, and because of strangling yearly buy in requirements from the big makers that these same mom and pop stores supported for decades and made them the big forces that they now are. Do we really want an economy where you even have to buy your clothes and shoes online and can't try them on before buying, just to save a couple bucks? I sure don't.
It’s difficult and nearly impossible to get rid of the coffee table or the couch… I use Persian carpets under them and the mini ones hung on the side and back walls. I think it works. Let’s not forget when you listen to a band say at Village Vanguard; you have all sorts of early and late reflections but you still enjoy the music.
I agree. I need my not-so-big couch and coffee table for laptop and small mixer. A few feet behind couch is open bookshelf as a poor man's diffuser with books, records and 5.1 surround speakers. A compromise with TV and weekday life. Headphones would solve some minor issues, but I prefer more lively soundstage, choosing either 2.0 6,5" active monitors or 5.1 with large main speakers.
Thank you for sharing my system. I've since upgraded the streamer to the new Bluesound Node and my cartridge to a Sumiko Moonstone. DAC now resides with my second system. Much appreciated, Steve!
Hi Steve. I've been following your posts for about three years now. Its nice to hear your stories and concerns. About the pleasure of been an audiophiliac, I remember my twenty's. Had a tight budget, read a lot, went to many stores asking for an amp or trying to listen to some pair of speakers. After some time I chosed Sansui components: B77 amp, C77 pre, T77 sinto and a pair of Koss CM 1010. Also got a Technics sl 23 turntable. That handfull of gear was a dream to my ears. Top end of my young audio desires. They gave me years of pleasure. 25 years later I move toward the home theatre promises of heaven. Big time with movies. Hours and hours of dvd's and later, Netflix. Somewhere the old plain stereo experience was lost. And when I realize that, mine original system was gone. Now I'm fighting to recover that smell of my youth. That kind of sound that can touch your soul. Still reading and watching a lot about audio. Still a tight budget but it seems to me than 40 years ago, was easier to dance with wolves than nowadays digisteryle sound.
hey steve.. i 've been audiophiliacing since about 1964.you are right! back in the day i believe most of my friends had some decent audio equipment. most of us going to the next levels of listening. i was blessed to have carston stereo and sounds incredible in danbury ct. within a 5 minute drive. Now i believe we are at less than 1%. all you need to do is go on zillow real estate listings ..pick some houses...there is never any pictures of a room with audio equipment..just dumb big screen tv's! my life would be so empty without all my music and audio gear. thanks for the video's. by the way i knew jeremy and igor..
What a great video and a great question? For me growing up as a only child I was passionate about music since I was a small boy and both my parents loved music. For me, a Stereo system was always something I had to have in my life. But now with the internet and all. It is a great question you brought up about having a audio/stereo system cool again. I wonder if Record stores nowadays sold Stereo Components and had them playing music in the store if that would encourage people to buy a stereo system for their homes. I Don't judge others, but I could never understand the people who listen to music on their phones or computers and that is how they listen to music in their life. It is fine if they want to listen to music that way. It is their life, but I shake my head and think. They are missing so much of the music by listening to music on their phone. There is no bass and hardly any treble or dynamic range to speak of. But, I love how passionate you are about music, and audio. I do agree with the other person who commented, Greg, who said I don't think audio will ever be as cool again as it was in the 70's. I absolutely loved how in the 70's all the Stereo receivers were as beautiful to look at as they were to listen too. Not anymore. Every new receiver I see brand new at Best Buy is the same, black Stay well and take care
When I was tuning a system for a big customer, working at an audio store in the early 80s, I suggested to move the coffee table. The effect was stunning. I remember his face, deep concentration, trying to figure out he was going to sell this to his SO.
I remember my introductions to audio equipment when I was an adolescent in 70's. It was the equipment as much as it was the music. Man we had everything playing on one AM station. Everything! Iron Butterfly, Elvis Presley. Beatles, Glen Campbell, Isley Brothers some of you know how vast the list was. If you wanted to have a musical experience you listened to music live. Neighborhood bands, VFW halls, outdoor band shells in the park, etc..Then came FM "No static at all". Music sounded better! Then it came in the car, 8 tracks cassettes, etc.. Each family, person had a "radio" of some sort and would show all the features that made it good. So you didn't always have to go see live music to have a great music experience in your home or car with others.. Concerts were big though and often the subject when listening to the radio, records etc. In my opinion stereo equipment was cool because music was changing the ways we lived our lives. As an adolescent it was very cool because we thought mood music would help us get laid. Just like that it wasn't the stereo equipment that really got us laid it was how the music developed us as a society. Open, free, fun and more. Not saying music isn't great today just saying the time was different and live music is reproduced very well on a plethora of devices. The demand for good music reproduction equipment still exists today. It just needs to be transparent, and easy to use. I still see way too many complicated systems and taking up way too much space in a room. Can't wait till we see great music reproduction equipment that you can't see and can read your mind. More importantly music that changes society again. Until then I'll just sit, listen and watch my beautiful knobs ,lights and cabinets and reminisce about the good ol days.
Getting older I used to have more hope for growing this hobby but folks these days are happy with their phones, Apple iPods, and their beats headphones. Their are so many things that take people's attention away from just sitting to listen to music. People would rather stream their favorite show, play on their phones for hours, listen through their phones and use these all in one systems (soundbars). Sadly, we will continue to be a minority tiny small percent like we always have. Those good old days are gone.
I think making hi-fi more accessible and forgivable is a start. And I’m not talking about the products itself but more so the attitudes of the people offering recommendations and criticisms. In this video, you touched on things like plastering walls with sound treatments, getting rid of coffee tables, getting rid of sofas, etc. I think 99.99% of us “audiophiles” aren’t striving for acoustic perfection so much as for harmony within our living style. If the 0.01% want that then good, but they aren’t the ones pushing the hi-fi movement. It’s middle class people like me who still need a sofa and want a coffee table and wouldn’t want to plaster the walls of the family room with acoustic treatment. The way to reinvigorate the hi-fi hobby is to make it accessible and to really push the idea that you don’t have to have a dedicated listening room completely acoustically isolated from the rest of the house and blah blah blah to achieve great sound. functionality and looks matter (of the gear as well as the room it’s in). Making the IDEA of achieving great sound accessible is what’s not happening in the hi-fi world. Just my 2 cents. Love the channel!
I have put bookshelves behind my listening position. They are quite full of books and make a world of difference and I found them to be the most intersting form of acoustic treatment.
I'm not lonely, Steve. I've got you! Great video. I never thought about removing the coffee table and couch. As far as what can we do to get more people interested? I think playing your system for your non-system-loving friends will speak for itself. Once they hear that it's a lot different than a sound bar or Bluetooth speaker, or whatever, I think that will generate questions from them and give us a chance to talk about it. Don't even preface it with come over to hear my system. Just have friends over for coffee or just to chat and then work in a song on the stereo. Something that you think they might enjoy.
Most people love music, it's one of the great pleasures in life, it moves us, motivates us, makes us feel good. This can come from a little radio on top of the fridge and even more so from a nice sound system. I'm saying, audio is always cool. Better equipment brings us closer to the music, envelops us, it's like driving a well made car or wearing tailored clothing, it's a pleasure thing. I think that those who love their music will seek out better ways to hear it. The amount and quality of audio stuff today is amazing, it's a matter of where and when to lay the money. When I was young, I drove a range of old bombs, I was happy and loved all of them . Now that I'm older, I drive a nice car and listen to a very nice audio system. It took a while but it was always fun and appreciation along the way.
Viewers should take note. If you look at the first videos of Steve, and many of his contemporaries, they have almost no room treatment. Now their listening places are starting to resemble studios. The room is the largest component in your system and I would argue, other than speakers, has the largest impact on the quality of what you hear. Great video Steve. Keep going.
I have a sheepskin pelt on my coffee table, noticeable difference. I also swear putting my feet up has a negative effect but I try not to think about it.
There's two ways to look at this question. From the standpoint of general population, there's always been a small segment of the population into the audio only experience. Today those people certainly exist and are buying vinyl in larger and lerger numbers. Historically only when there's a big technical advance such as the emergence of LPs in the fifties and CDs in the eighties do much larger numbers of people become sound conscious. On an individual level, I could recommend setting up a listening club and inviting friends to come over regularly to socialize, have a drink and then shut up and listen to a recording you've chosen for the occasion and then maybe discuss the music and the audio qualities of the recording-similar to a book club or a movie club.
Stave, I ponder the ~cool~ part of audio all the time. As a 26 year old, pretty pretty invested in this hobby, I cannot understand why it is not looked at as the amazing looking & sounding home installation that it is. It sort of makes me feel like my generation is,……… classless? But then I think “that’s cynical” & go listen to my system haha. Have only made MORE upgrades since you featured my setup :)
I think eliminating the couch and coffee table helps keep audio uncool. If it's only one lonely, middle-aged man listening, the rest of the family is going to flee.
When audio was cool, there were no home game consoles, big screen TVs, DVD players, smart phones, internet, streaming, wifi, virtual reality, wireless ear buds, UA-cam, TicTok, and whatever else the youth are into now, and cool was still a word we used. There were stores you could visit to see and hear this cool gear. Big cities had several of them. The entry level gear was iffy, and the high end gear was pretty darn good-- and expensive. Now, the entry level gear is pretty darn good and the high end gear is obscenely priced. The average person cannot aspire to own $100,000 speakers, so growing up with the hobby is no longer possible. Furthermore, listening requires sitting still and concentrating with no instant gratification. I tried to get my 18 year old son to watch "2001, A Space Odyssey" on a 12 hour flight to Tokyo. He couldn't get past the monkey part. For a generation raised on adrenaline and excitement, sitting and listening is boring. Listening to a whole album is untenable. I know my son has listened to at least one full album--I bought him a cassette (yes really) of Queen, Night at the Opera to play in his 1995 Volvo. High end audio is dying, and when all the old farts like me are gone, it will be gone too. I hope I am wrong. The fact that you can't come up with an idea to save it, says everything.
Dig this! Sorbothane iso'd AE-2s on lead shot stands, well out off the wall, ... driven by the gorgeous Yamaha, ... nice rig. Steve, Playboy Advisor, spot on!
Ultimately, an audiophile sits and LISTENS to music. Most people have music on, maybe a lot, maybe all the time, maybe more than an 'audiophile.' But they don't sit and listen. Until someone starts to do that they don't really get an idea of how even an inexpensive 'good' system can sound so much better than an Alexa bluetooth speaker streaming Spotify mp3s.
Love this question about coolness, and yeah… there’s no easy answers. One thing is for sure, with this much enthusiasm, I’m sure we can make a dent in the problem together.
Audio has and always will be cool to me. When I was a teenager I listened to music way more than I watched TV. That hasn't changed much over the years. Plus I think audio gear is way better today than it was then. Back in 1980 I had about $600 in my system as a teenager. A lot of money for kid at that time. The equivalent today is more like $1500. For $1500 t ou day I can put together a system that would embarrass what I had back then. I think younger people today have way too many options for their leisure time and listening to music on a nice hifi system may be further down on the list. In the 80's there was no internet, no smart phones, no video games in the house. Your indoor entertainment was TV or music pretty much. Different times today.
The major manufacturers of audio equipment should invest in a series of ads with celebrities showcasing their stereo setup. Imagine, Henry Cavil, Tom Cruise, Robert DeNiro, Jessica Chastain, Sandra Bullock, Scarlett Johansson or a variety of musicians, etc., in videos and print talking about music! Another thing they could invest in is freestanding showrooms, with a variety of setups, where consumers could gather to listen to music. Set up listening rooms in Barnes & Noble's, Best Buy, Costco, etc. Monthly contests or lottery's for audio equipment. Bring audio equipment to the fore in the public's awareness, remind people, young and old, how wonderful it is to hear music through a good system! Stereo equipment IS cool, it always has been, take people's attention away from the internet for a while by showing them what is great about spending time just listening to music!
I think the word "Audiophile" has negative connotations associated with it. Words like expensive, complicated, and elitist come to mind. It's also daunting to people new to the hifi world, even those who are interested in the tech. I think the Cheap Audio Man channel got so successful so quickly because he doesn't seem elitist and he reviews a lot of products that most people can afford. In the end the focus should be more about enjoying the music, any music, with whatever you have. Even if it's on Chinese designed equipment. Girls like music too, a lot in fact. Maybe the next step is to make the hobby more approachable and accessible. Some may think it's great hearing new details for the first time.
Sorry if this has been mentioned. I believe we audiophiles need to invite our friends, coworkers, neighbors, family, etc. to hear our systems. We should introduce Hi Fi and tell people what to expect. Most people don’t get the soundstage and imaging magic at first until it’s explained to them. That magic alone would hook a lot of new audiophiles. I really wish someone would have done that with me at a younger age. I am about 45 years late to the party. Thanks for the videos Steve. Cheers from NC.
Buying vynil, cds, etc, any type of physical experience, might bring the cool factor back. Streaming has made it all too easy and at the same time disposable and less valuable. Music has to come first.
I have a Klipsch 7.1 speaker system with a Yamaha 7.2 A/V receiver. I also got rid of my coffee table a few years ago. I have hardwood flooring and to compensate for the flooring I laid down a large shag rug in front of my main Klipsch tower speakers.
Yo mr Guttenberg (can I call you Steve?), Thanks for testing all this nice gear and sharing your thoughts about it with us. Say, you know any young people that collect stamps? Shouldn't we just accept that the world is allways changing? And that maybe the days that an expensive hifi set made you look cool are over? I started listening music when I was a young kid on an old transistor radio. Sounded terrible. So I saved pocketmoney for months, washed cars, did grocery shopping for old ladies etc, to be able to buy a decent radio-cassette player. And boy, was I happy when -a few years later- my dad bought a new integrated set for the living room, and I could have the old one. With seperate speakers! Real stereo! Then I bought my own first hifi set, with a seperate amplifier, record player and cassette deck. And kept improving it for decades. You grew into it. Nowadays you buy a Sonos box, and hey, for less money than my first radio-cassette player you have a better, almost decent sound. My neighbour, somewhere in his thirties, has never heard of Nakamichi, Dual or Quad speakers. And doesn't care. If we don't want hifi something to be for wealthy older men, we need younger role models. Like Taylor Swift or Beyoncé, showing proudly their newest KEF, B&W, McIntosh or Goldmund turntable. What, you think, are the Kardashions listening to? Keep up the good works!
I always enjoy your reviews and opinions - I have found lots of your recording favourites have found their way into my library. But you and I live in different worlds when we look at price, value and (most often) the practicality of living in harmony with a family. In my case - a family of just two. There is no way we can gut our shared spaces, or hang crazy baffles around. The best I can do is to pull down the window voiles and drop a soft cover on that coffee table. There is also some gentle sexism expressed here - why are women the obstacle to overcome? Could they not be family members of any sex who have the misfortune to share a living space with more demanding audiophiles like us. Keep the conversation going Steve - you always show good humour and humility.
Steve, For me, a rather recent tv show spiked my interest is both the stereo equipment and the music depicted in the show. A few years ago, I began watching the LA detective series called Bosch, really enjoyed it and the new Bosch Legacy. Viewers like me were asking what equipment Bosch had in his home, and every once in a while the character would mention the name of the album or artist he was playing. I've added those jazz artists to my Pandora station list. So, the hi-fi and audiophile industry could help grow interest by some placement within television and film. For me, Bosch made vintage jazz and hi-fi pretty cool.
There is a British Detective series ( 5 or 6 episodes) called " Rivers"( the name of the main 60 something detective).... In one scene, we get to see Rivers' apartment.....the walls are filled with albums.....his new tech savvy assistant off handedly mentions to Rivers, that he could put all his music onto his phone.Rivers looks at him in utter baffelment...." Why would I want to do that?" Rivers replies!!!!The age , and listening gap seem to identified in this one scene........personally I love listening to my system at home......and I love listening to my collection or streaming service through my phone too!!!#
Nowadays, smart phone + headphone is the cool audio system for many people, especially the younger ones. It lets them play their favorite music anywhere, anytime with much lower cost, but without wires, space restrictions or bothering others. BTW, currently the Most expensive Bluetooth noise cancellation headphone from Mark Levinson only costs
You're so right... I've mentioned being an audiophile and how I have a proper set up for listening to hi fi to random friends and it doesnt phase them one bit. Not ONE BIT of interest saying something like "oh wow? thats really cool, can you show me? can I hear it?" its mostly a "oh interesting" or "oh cool" with no follow up or interest about hearing it. Sad.
Shit like this is why audiophiles are seen as “strange”, forever tweaking, for what many don’t care to chase or more so don’t get what the chase is after. I am “strange” in this way also, but the reaction of non audiophiles when talking audiophile stuff is obvious. Want to sus them out quick, talk about room treatment, lol. The puzzled look is your clue to change the subject quickly.
I had a neighbor over, sat them down, spun a vinyl and started talking about sound stage and depth and they gave me a puzzled face, without words, the expression was wtf are you talking about. I continued to explain, can’t you “see” the music? Can’t you “see” where the drummer is, the guitarist? Same puzzled, look either still not understanding, not “seeing” it or not giving 2 shits, lol.
Precisely why listening with the chamfered angle of a martini glass in front of you sounds better than a tumbler, and why everything goes up a notch when you kick the mid-century coffee table over at an angle. I really enjoyed this episode, helpful, fun and kind spirited. Keep up the great work as always - best of the best. The Marian McPartland, Lynne Rossetto Kasper or Huell Howser equivalent in this hobby.
Another audiophile and a small hi-fi dealer In Eugene OR. brought me back into this arena….having made a “cool again” launchpad for future audio-tech exploration and opening new doors. I believe that good ambassadors to cool stuff make the difference and tit is all about creating relationships, sharing insight, passion and experience, being welcoming and meeting others where they are truly at without judgment.
The main sticking point with my wife is that she doesn't want anything in the living room that looks like a speaker. Speakers are not cool. 0% of interior designers recommend you add a speaker to a room to make it look better. Anything with exposed drivers is a no go. The only way manufacturers will make it cool again is if they make it invisible.
This. I wanted stands for my speakers in the living room (Dynaco A25s front, Polk Rti28 rears), and my wife was extremely skeptical. I told her I was making them myself. Then she became really skeptical. They key was to make something that looked good and looked like it was made with the rest of the furniture; i.e. same type of wood and color. Once I made the stands for the A25s with nice wood and a two tone stain finish that looked like the living room set, she was accepting; they looked like they belonged there. Same for the Polks, the furniture they were by were different color, so I designed a pair that matched. She's happy with the outcome, so, so am I.
Another great video Steve thanks for the name drop and yes I do think my system is cool and I don't give a flying f*** about what other people think it just sounds and looks good to me thanks
To make audio cool: What to do is get a decent enough hifi system. It doesn’t have to be over the top expensive or anything. One of Steve’s recommended systems that fits your budget will do. Get half way decent at dancing. Then invite your friends over for a party, inevitability it will turn into a dance party. Put on what makes your friends dance. For me it’s usually Talking heads, brothers Johnson, Chromeo, James brown, blues brothers, Bowie, what have you. Soon people will be gyrating extra funky and banging their booties off the floor. Turn it up. The guests are big fans of this music and have heard the songs many times, except this time it’s different. This time the music is leaping out at them. This time they are hearing parts of songs they never knew were even there. Their minds will be blown and they will leave your party muttering to themselves, “holy crap, my blue tooth speaker sucks. I need to step up my audio game!”
How to make audio cool again? We need to make listening to music an event. I think alot of the reason music isn't as cool as it once was is the fact that portable audio and music in general is everywhere. People listen to music all the time these days but as a background thing. Not as a primary focus of your time. Back in the 70s and 80's my friends and I would get together, smoke some good weed and listen to albums intently. It was an event. Something to look forward to. Music's personal value for people has been diluted by the constant access. Video may have killed the radio star but iPods killed the hifi. People should start having listening parties. Invite friends over. Listen to some music. Make the listening the focus of the event. Show people how much fun it can be to sit and listen to a nice system. Bury your iPods in the backyard.
I agree with a lot of the tenor of Jeffrey's point here about how consuming music has evolved into a "background thing" as one aspect of the social experiences of music listening. I also echo Jeffrey's point about the evolution of portable electronic devices overtaking the social allure of hifi. I don't think hifi will have as prominent a spot in consumer electronics as they did in what I can only know to be termed as the golden age (note: I am a millennial). As Jeffrey also rightly points out, attentive, focused listening gave way to high-definition TVs and portable audio. As anyone who made it through of all of Steve's video here (and elsewhere) would agree, the stock iPod is far, far from the final word in fidelity, but *why* it overtook hifi is important to note: The iPod was foremostly a lifestyle product that at the very least adapted to the aspirational lifestyles of its target audience (I could venture to argue that perhaps it even shaped that aspirational lifestyle, but that's for a venue different from a UA-cam comment. Thank you for reading if you've made it this far.) As Steve points out, the "coolness" factor is largely a socially motivated one, with different contexts shaping that social drive: Status (what kind of electronics you have), trends in how music is listened to, and the relationship between physical commodities and live music. The dimension Jeffrey gets at is that the iPod became ~the~ electronic component to have to exemplify one's connoisseurship of music amongst the population with the purchasing power that, before the iPod, was the market audience that became hifi experts: Those in their 20s-40s who started at the younger end and kept with it. I can speak, as a millennial, that even my friends thought I was weird when I wanted FLACs instead of MP3s in the days of P2P file-sharing: "But you can't put them on an iPod." Today's modest resurgence in hifi, of which I am just one example, I think has two dimensions. One dimension is exclusivity: Vintage audio looks cool in a house with a mid-century or postmodern theme. It's a totally different kind of aspiration from owning an iPod, as if to say, "I know what is historically the real deal and one-of-a-kind." Another dimension is that community-driven aspect: Kissa-style bars are becoming very popular in US cities (Public School and Eavesdrop in NYC; the recently shuttered In Sheep's Clothing (ISC) in LA). And makers, too: Devon Turnbull of OJAS is the pre-eminent example. And ISC, though it closed the hifi bar that started the brand's life, holds listening events regularly, recently in a Japanese garden here in LA. And OJAS has a NYC exhibition of a one-off system he designed (I believe he made the amp especially for the exhibition). But these are so, so niche. Make hifi cool again as they were in what I have only read about as the golden age, talked with the folks from whom I bought speakers about when these great 70s, 80s, and 90s components were made? I think it will only ever be a relatively niche thing as long as Apple keeps making iPhones and algorithms keep telling Spotify listeners what to listen to, rather than become a regular at a music store and have conversations about new releases and can do nothing but take a chance on an LP or tape someone had never, ever heard before. I see Jeffrey's point about "constant access" to be a point about a lack of mystery and desire and discovery in how music is experienced today. I spent my best days as a youth just browsing at punk records that I was scared to bring up to the counter (or couldn't afford). But being in those stores, and hearing the music played over their systems, helped create a chance for discovery, rather than having an algorithm label a pre-defined recommendation as one.
Steve, have ever experimented with 4 (identical) front speakers? I've been doing it for years. If you space them right, you literally feel like your front row center.
Stereo systems seemed to be “ cooler” when I was a young adult. Back then , it sparked an interest in my friends. NOW , they think I’m NUTS 😂. I have the money to buy nicer equipment and nobody cares except me ! That’s mostly because I don’t have any audiophile friends. I must say though, I have seen my girlfriend get rather emotional when listening to my main system. It does draw you in.
Hmmm. Making HiFi cool again is an uphill battle against options. Life was simpler and audio was one of the cool options. We had family camping, the mall, ABC, NBC, CBS, the local station and FM. Now?!? Most pop music is composed by two or three people and performed without a human on the property. Computer gaming is huge. Mindless internet browsing is huge. Countless movies without need to go to a theater is huge. (C)rap music promoting misogynistic gang violence is huge. Gambling is huge. Pornography is huge. Illegal Recreational drugs are huge! High end audio, cool again? Look at the count of subscribers of the audio UA-cam channels. If all those only subscribed to one single channel, we’d have maybe 750,000 people. But most are subscribing to multiple channels. So the grand total subscribing are closer to 200,000 tops and that includes those using only headphones and mostly for gaming. Sorry, but high end audio will only be “cool” among a small cluster of the loyal. Look at bowling, model trains, pigeon breeding. That’s the future of the coolness of high end audio.
We have raised two children and the hifi has always been the centre of our living room including a Linn LP12. The only thing that happened during those years was someone pressed a treble driver with their finger. One the children is now a young woman audiophile the other plays bass guitar. I say include your family and they will love music. Also remember that they and we have very cool audio in iphones and such. The stuff I could not have dreamt of as a teenager. Earphones give you soundstage. To impress a hifi must add that visceral element it can but not earhones.
Modern consumers and even entry-level audio enthusiasts are obsessed with features of convenience, like "fully wireless" audio technology. Active streaming speakers like the KEF LS50 and LS60 Wireless series are the cat's meow these days. I believe that a large number of loudspeaker manufacturers are going to go this route to appeal to modern consumers and "audiophiles" alike. It's convenient, it's advanced, it's...cool.
One thing that could make audio more popular is to forgive student loans. They're the most likely audience for upscale audio but they're buried in debt.
In 1983 I emptied my bank account of $2000 for a great Harman Kardon system receiver tape deck and T40 turn table. Acoustic Control Corp 636 speakers. The sound was impeccable and still is as I still own the refurbished speakers and turntable now driven with Emotiva. My daughters and their friends could care less about HiFi sound. Seems the only people that really listen and enjoy the big sound are people around my age. All the little Bluetooth and small bookshelves are what young people listen to. 15 inch woofers 70 pound speakers are really the same price as the were in 1983 money around 3 grand today but they are not pushed at all in todays market. Cheap little $300 speakers is what is in so the far better sound is lost to people but not me however I enjoy my dinosaurs everyday!
I think we have to fight for space in the living room. Share our system and make it part of our daily Life. Dedícate audio room are cool for us but not for everyone
Audio is always cool, never gone away for me. Quality Time is what’s lacking. Always something to do. Bring back old schools UV meters, large switches and dials, 70s and 80s
You have to create COOL: 1. Have an Idea: I'd like to see 5,000 independently owned FM Radio Station in 5,000 Communities who have club connections & create a NEW National CIRCUIT (and has lots of contest for Local Bands to become Bigger Bands. 2. You should study the current condition of Entertainment and think 1950s where tour bus had 20 locally know HIT Song players and writers doing tours. 3. With an ORGANIZED Media Owned COOP (to me every station should have an independent owner) Create a RECORD PLANT and STUDIO where the 5,000 can help NEW and OLDER Bands with solutions to make a Great Recording 4. I think we need to adopt the RIAA standard in broadcasting and in LP Mfg if it's not done. 1st Draft
@@RockCity1111 yes but that’s not what Steve was saying. He was saying the couch was a point of first reflection near his ears. Not sure I follow that logic
I once exposed a 20 something film producer to my JBL 4way pro studio monitor system. Absolutely blew his socks off. The look on his face-- jaw dropping total shock... He still listens to his ear buds.
Hi Steve, don’t worry, the cool is returning to hifi. Trends come and go, and come back again. ( like skinny jeans). Ps. Please don’t tell me to put all the seats in the other room. I’m to old to sit on the floor. All the best, Giles
I've taken several friends and sat them down to listen to what you can do with a $200 integrated amp with a couple of inexpensive bookshelves just to make the point that you can get better sound than that sonos in many cases for the same or less money. Does that make it cool? I'm not sure but if a couple of people get the itch its a step in the right direction.
Audiophile stereo systems are an impractical eyesore in most living spaces. Most people are happy with a noise that sounds like the tunes they love. Naim Muso, B&W Zepellin etc are as good as hifi ever needs to be for the majority. But they are also a potential first introduction to hifi for someone who wants to go further. Whilst guests who have heard my setup (Audio Note, Croft, Harbeth) are amazed by the quality, I know that none of them would accept the financial, practical and aesthetic cost of such a system.
answer is called DSP room correction. If its done well (not a guarantee) then it will elevate your sound to another level and not require huge compromises to your living room. However, the less the dsp has to do the better so some room basics are always the best bet.
free advice everyone can check out for themself, i like it :)
if people that have a couch next to the wall would try a small chair that dont have anything near the ears and set it in front of the couch and remove the table, a huge difference and easy to try.
here's an idea to make audio cool again: get people to experience hi-fi. People have gotten used to small bluetooth / sonos speakers with an attractive but shallow sound, that's all they know these days. I posit that when presented with a proper hi-fi sound, they often can't believe their ears. All we need is to get people to experience that.
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Recordings are too compressed these days
Yes! Exactly this
@@shroud1390 true, I guess we still have old recordings though (unless maybe if they’re remastered I suppose)
Totally agree, I got a lot of my friends to listen to my basic hifi with Cambridge Audio CXA81 and Monitor Audio Bronze 2 running spotify/ Tidal connect through a Wiim Mini streamer. Its not an expensive setup but everyone is blown away by the sound. All of them have now bought integrated amplifiers and new speakers for their rooms, moving away from sound bars and bluetooth speakers or the cheap cinema packages that used to come with TVs.
Trying to play my part and get people listening to music in a much better way and ultimately enjoy it more.
Getting women into hifi. I took the wife to audition some magnepans this weekend. She really didn't care for them & I wasn't happy with the dynamics. The dealer was really good, but something caught my wife's eye & she was cooing over them- Kef Blade 2's in white😆. The dealer asked if we wanted to listen & of course they sounded absolutely incredible. She was blown away, almost in tears. Just like me because I'm knew how they cost, & there was lord knows how much of T+A amps powering them. I was speechless by the response I got- that I was always messing about with gear, incrementally spending an extra thousand or 2, selling it & losing money a year later & trying something else, like we all do. She said we should buy them because she loved how they looked & than I could be happy for once! The dealer smelt blood & offered a huge discount as ex demo. I backed out saying it was too much (knowing how much the amps would cost too) so just be careful what you wish for.
Steve, I opened a vintage audio store at a swap meet mall and a year and a half later I am still open. My collectors and audio addicts keep my business alive.
Audio is and always will be COOL 😎👍💯‼️
From other audio reviewers I've seen on YT, the 'younger' folks are into desk top speakers and headphones (along with headphone amps). They are not into giant 50+ pound amps, preamps and fancy tube gear.
I thought it would be cool to have a Hi-Fi longue of sorts that could be rented out like a hotel. Go in and listen to great gear in a great room with acoustic privacy. Put a brake on the volume control if you're worried about people blowing it up. Could be satisfying in its own right or it could inspire people to get their own system.
I think the downfall of hifi is not really due to cost (since the cost has come down) but because the quality of regular audio has gone up tremendously. Built in iPhone dacs or dongle dacs are at the levels where people would pay hundreds/thousands of dollars in decades past, as far as headphones are concerned. Good enough, in this case, is the enemy of great.
It's similar to the camera industry where photos/videos coming from phones are more than good enough that buying a dSLR is no longer necessary. Heck, I've taking more photos and videos on my phone than my dSLR that I've had for years.
However... I do let my family and friends listen to my system when they come over. Some who listen right away are instantly hooked and wants me to set up their own budget system. But the majority just listened, was amazed, but can live without it. That means my system is not impressive enough... I need to spend more money to upgrade my gear so I can impress them even more to get hooked. Kidding.
I think the key to my cousin getting his own system is the price of entry. I have nice gear and budget gear and we did swap speakers and systems. He ended up with the Loxjie A30 + the Sony CSS speakers for under $300. He was blown away with the sound at home compared to TV speakers. His friends who also heard the system are also getting into it. I call that a win.
iphone's are not hifi nor are they dslr's. a high quality dslr or hifi cd player with a quality mastered cd would put a iphone to shame. you said the key word "good enough", its more about convenience. most people dont care about hifi or hi quality photo's of a dslr and this is true even more so with this younger spoiled generation. i think audio quality has gotten worse not better. the 80's and 90's was the height of audio. its more about profit margins not quality and is why most manufacturing is outsourced to other countries yet the prices are higher.
@@jhue73 You're definitely right about the convenience of it. I think in terms of budget gear, my guess is that today's $500 system would sound better than a ($500 - inflation amount) system from 20 years back. It could also be that expensive system in the past do sound better than systems in the same price category today. I don't have the experience to give any opinion on that.
I do know that things built back then were made of higher quality, built to last. Many things these days are built to break within a few years (sadly). Even so, I think the audiophile community has grown larger than ever (though not a perfect community). I still have a pretty positive outlook on this hobby while I search for my end game system.
There’s a whole range of audio DACS, Amps, and other audio gear manufactured in China that sound very nice. In fact much of it (not all) represents great value for the money. I would love if more of it was manufactured right here in the USA.
The problem, in my opinion: people don’t have hobbies. Their hobby is watching ticktock, Facebook/ Instagram scrolling. I think I have 1 friend that actually has a hobby, guitars. Literally everyone else I know just exists, no personal interests
I remember the first time I heard a friend’s high-ish end system in the late 1980s. The modest-looking speakers were a model from KEF, powered by a NAD integrated amp. Upon first glance, I thought there was no way these things were as good as his dad had led me to believe. But when he played them, they were so clear, so loud, and they imaged perfectly. Experiencing that sound stage and the detail of Sigue Sigue Sputnik’s Love Missile F1-11 changed everything for me, and I began my own quest for great sound.
The challenge is that most people never experience that. And when they hear a Sonos or a JBL Charge speaker that sounds way better than their TV or computer, they buy that and think they’re done.
A well padded cloth couch is not a problem. A leather couch is a different matter for reflections.
One main reason audio is no longer a “thing” is people don’t have a clue as to how to listen. They sure know how to talk, and how to press the buttons on their phones. They can hear but listening seems to be off their radar screen.
The internet and especially smartphones have killed people's attention spans. I was around before that stuff, and I am not immune. I can't imagine what it's like for the kids born with a smartphone in their hand.
Speaking of first reflections, if you have a hard non-carpeted floor try putting a blanket in front of the speakers and see if it’s worth investing in a throw rug or two.
Yes!!
Steve was reading Playboy for the articles, lol.
I removed my big square coffee table about 6 weeks ago. It was killing my base response. One night while listening to my albums I thought,, I wonder if the coffee table is affecting my sound? It was. Now I have a little table at the side of the couch for coffee and more leg room and better sound.
The younger people are too used to just pushing a button. Like they are The Jetsons or something. LOL. A lot of kids don't even know what a record is. I know some of the best times I had was shopping for an album for finding an album I didn't know anything about except the artwork was interesting so I bought it. Take it home and clean it and shut down and listen to it. The suspense of if you will like it or not LOL. The first album I remember buying was an album by Mountain , Climbing . I didn't really know who they were but I liked the artwork LOL. Then when I got home and put it on my little turntable I heard Mississippi Queen , do you know what I mean, down the Louisiana way. Every time I hear anything off that album my mind goes right back to that time. It was fun and still is.
I enjoy your program very much and always learn something, for free LOL
One idea to get others involved is to replace our chairs with couches so we don't look like we're *trying* to be alone.
Steve, this really raises a good question. I’m in my mid 40’s now and recall getting my first component system after getting my first on the books job at 15. It was nothing like the systems that I’m sure some have started out with, but it was a wormhole that allowed my inner geek to shine. I say “geek” in the most respectful way as I’ve always gotten into the minutiae. I’ve always been fascinated with music, the songwriting process and the background of it. During Covid I decided to build my own Bottlehead amp and preamp and have enjoyed every minute of it. I think it’s a specific type of person who gets into this world and while there will always be people who obsess over the tiny details most people choose to go the simple route of streaming something through their AirPods (and there is nothing wrong with that). I think geeks are born geeks and trying to convert people into geeks can’t really happen. Sharing the passion and the joy that these “geeky” hobbies bring us allows others to appreciate it, but I think it will always be a niche much like those that find joy in stamp collecting, building precision machinery, fine woodworking and of course audiophilia. Keep up the good work!!
I believe that car audio was the primary death of in home hifi. Two things happend… cars became cheaper so they were purchased before apartments and hifi in them became ‘better’ sounding than in many homes (more bass, more treble) and you could play them as loud as you liked without anyone complaining!
Audio to me has always been cool...and I can attest to that in my 84th year...love it all
Rhetorical question, this...? Having a 'thing' for listening to music is much like having a 'thing' for reading books... either you have it or you don't. Most folk probably grew into the habit starting from a young age. Many people think nothing of spending endless hours watching dreck on reality TV, but are dumbfounded by the suggestion of intent listening to music, for even an hour... so there you have it. I really enjoy your videos, appreciate your enthusiasm for all things music and look forward to more... Have a great summer - Chris
Each one of us that owns a credible audio system has the ability (responsibility?) to share it. There's no better way to give someone the audio bug than to let them listen to a high resolution system without the stress of a retail environment. Invite people over!
As a teenager I had a friend whose dad was a well-heeled hardcore audiophile. A couple of times per year I got to hear equipment that I otherwise would only have fetished in an audio magazine. This exposure worked.
Periodically I host a neighborhood gentleman's booze/music evening in my listening room. First timers get to sit dead center in the primo leather chair. Has any of these guys gone out and spent a couple grand after a visit? No. But maybe, just maybe, I have planted a seed or two. I always stress to visitors that the 80/20 rule applies vigorously in audio: "you can get 80% of what you're hearing here in my listening room for about 20% of the cost". Well, maybe.
I mostly agree with the sentiment behind the 80/20 rule, however I've come to realize that the final, sometimes subtle (expensive usually) last bit of performance is where the magic lies for me.
It's ALL in the subtlety. And I don't think this is unique to hifi, it also exists in the instruments that we are listening to on the recording.
@@erics.4113 you can show someone who hasn’t listened to a good system speakers that cost a few hundred bucks and that can give them more subtlety than they’ve known.
That’s the point.
@@billymurphy3 absolutely! I've got a bunch of pairs of those type of speakers I'll demo for people. JBL Studio 530, klipsch 600m and ELAC ub52, oh and JBL stage a130. All of them bought new around $250-$400 only and they can impress the Bluetooth speaker crowd no doubt!
@@erics.4113 zackly haha
@@billymurphy3 but if I'm being transparent and forthcoming, I'm running those $250 speakers to a stereo pair of rel subs, a parasound amp, creek pre, denafrips DAC, bluesound, and then go "look at what these $250 speakers can doooo!" (with another 10k of hardware plus cables backing them up lol) shhh don't tell anyone
I actually love coming to the channel everyday and I take notes on what's hot in audiophile Fashion shirts 👕. Sometimes we get multiple shirts in one video too and thats a real treat !!
is he married?
@@JanMejerRasmussen Yes, Steve has featured his wife in a few of his videos, she helps make his channel work, and I believe she has even made some of his amazing shirts for him!
As soon as you started talking.. I knew where you were going... Years ago I asked a dealer... "Can we move this?"
pointing at a coffee table with hifi magazines.. His reply "Yes, but you won't be wanting a coffee?" we moved the table to the adjoining room.....
This was all before I'd even listened in there..thinking back, he probably thought this 18 Yr old kid so rude (or worse) but then part way through the first piece of music he suddenly turned it right down and said "This room does sound better without that table!"
That eased the tension that things had caused..
I got coffee and he got my money for a Roksan Xerxes, Rega RB300 rewired with Van den hul and an Audio Technica At-F5.
Obvious solution is to get tall speaker stands, putting the tweeters at standing ear height, mark an "X" with tape in the middle of the room, (avoiding those nasty room boundaries), and stand perfectly still in your padded room while listening to your music. If you behave, the orderlies may even remove your straitjacket for added comfort.
HOLY CRAP! I have been sitting here thinking my Tektons sound great, and they do - but I moved the coffee table out and it's a whole other level of sound quality. Thank you.
Your take near the end is excellent and I think the main solution. Those who are complaining about there not being as large of an audio community as there was 30 years ago should be working to get those under 30 interested. I am 17 and have shown my budget system to many friends and blown them away. Now my friends have systems, neighbors, and I have a few more pair of speakers than I know what to do with. Great video as always Steve:)
i don't think it will ever be as cool as it was when it blossomed in the 70's, and when listening to albums was often times an event to explore new music. the internet seriously changed everything. with regards to cool factor on gear, i think there are two paths, one is having a classic vintage system that satisfies the nostalgic hipness, or fits in to ones mid century home decor (space permitting) of course you always need a way to wifi to the vintage as well.... that aside i think the future cool will be more minimalist components that emulate a sense of style, but produce great sound. KEF is one of many Mfgs that took Steve Jobs queue with Apple when he made his products cool to fit an image / lifestyle, and introduce cool but functional form factors and colors (LS 50 for example). Also think as streaming tech improves, and access to high res recordings becomes more affordable, cool / small wireless setups could be the way forward, products like Apple Airplay. Also think some of these products need a front man to promote and better market their products.... thinking Jobs with Apple, Dyson with vacuum cleaners, Federer with Rolex.... as others have said , the gear industry needs to promote listening to music as a lifestyle to be shared with others, vs a singular thing. what's the purpose of all the expensive gear in a room with a dang chair in the middle for one to listen to music, in that perfect sweet spot. if that's what you want, then get a high end pair of wireless headphones and call it a day. You can't share the sweet spot with perfect imaging simultaneously with multiple people soaking in an album.... don't get me wrong, i have that room with chair in center for me, but wonders why sometimes....apart from being proud.
Audio for me is cool again! My interest is shifting from tinkering with gear to anticipating new solutions for integrating components using DSP, streaming, and wireless. This new trend appeals to me practically for eliminating costly component matching, automating room correction and reducing clutter but more importantly it has spousal approval. I believe well designed systems will inevitably attract a new generation of audiophiles, new products for bored reviewers, and a new set of arguments for the forums.
It’s not that we need new bigger and better boxes in rooms that are appointed to emphasize audio quality ( and in some cases video) ..
People ( younger people and women) are listening to more and different music today than in any point in history😋
Want a great musical experience without breaking the proverbial bank.
Smartphone ( Apple or Amazon HD music, QBuzz, Title….ect) with a dongle or in my case the IFI GO BLUE and a nice small or large stable of IEM’s or full size headphones.
Not a budget breaker in most cases and it’ll bring a decent step up in sound quality and allows for more exploration of new musical experiences.
In the end , it’s about how you experience and enjoy music😊
Hi Steve,
I try to live a HiFi lifestyle. That’s my way of keeping HiFi cool, at least for me. This lifestyle consists of having a dedicated listening room in the back room of the house. It’s my lair, a parlor if you will. A place that is completely of my doing, for me and me only.
I try to spend a couple hours every evening after the sun goes down in my parlor listening to music surrounded by lamps with 15 watt bulbs in them. It’s my little world….and I think it’s cool.
I once gave a woods class at a local high school a pallet of birch ply and a stack of Fostex full ranges. The class built over a dozen pairs of BLH and the next year I brought in amplifier kits and all those who build horns built amps a few of those later got into the hobby in a big way. I even designed a horn speaker that I could take to local schools for music education since I felt bad about all the cuts to such programs. If you feel audio is not cool you can do something about it. But many audiophiles tend to hoard, resell items at high prices and not invite others into their solo listening spaces. Audio stores and manufacturers should look into working with schools to donate gear $ or time.
It goes hand in hand with the possession of a collection of music on records or CD and I don't think that's ever coming back in any meaningful numbers, if anything, collections are viewed in a negative light. There's no need for extensive audio systems when your music comes on the go and ethereally.
MAKE AUDIO GREAT AGAIN.
Maybe if hollywood would start showing more and more hifi systems on screen.
Korean shows are doing it most if the time and audio is quite big there.
Companies should place stereo systems in places with foot traffic- like Best Buy, Guitar Center, etc. Even B&H in NYC lacks a dedicated stereo listening space.
Hi Steve. Don't know about making audio "cool" again, but if all of the audio companies did mainstream advertising instead of only in hifi mags and websites, that would help out the audio industry a lot. Advertise in all different types of popular mags, maybe something on TV. Also, stereo equipment these days all look the same and have no character. Gear from the 60s, 80s, and 90's all looked different, looked good, was for the most part built solid (even the entry level gear), had various knobs and buttons, had various displays whether they were VU meters, etc, etc. They had moving parts! Most gear these days are either silver or black boxes with a couple of buttons, and that's it. They all look the same. They have no personality. Anywho... That's my look at it. A good reason why half of my system is vintage.
Very true!
Except McIntosh amps. I love the power meters!
The audio world has become a niche market because of the death of the mainstream dealers that carried great sounding affordable gear. When I was a young man in the early 70s in the Bay Area we had Pacific Stereo and the Good Guys, two chains that had a plethora of great sounding and affordable gear from all the major Japanese companies and all the big well respected mainstream speaker companies too. The San Francisco Chronicle had what we called the Pink section (it was printed on pink paper) in the Sunday Chronicle every week, which had all the latest entertainment news, including Bill Graham's ads promoting all the upcoming shows at the Fillmore West, Winterland, and other Bay Area venues featuring our favorite British and American bands, and Pacific Stereo would have a big ad every week with the package systems and individual componenets they had on sale that week. The Good Guys also had similar, although smaller ads, as did other hi-fi dealers, and they all catered to us young Hippie music lovers, and didn't look down on us like the snooty high end dealers do to young and inexperienced music lovers do these days. And, they carried great gear at all price points. You could start out with an entry level Pioneer, Kenwood, Yamaha, or Marantz receiver, an inexpensive Garrard or similar TT, and some affordable bookshelf speakers, and then when you were ready to upgrade you'd return to them for a more powerful receiver or good integrated amp and tuner, better TT, and larger speakers. We desperatley need a new nationwide chain like Pacific Stereo and the Good Guys now, because Best Buy is now the only game in town, and they just aren't that great. Every large city nationwide had somewhere like Pacific Stereo back then, and they were the lifeblood of the mainstream hi-fi industry. These days, you have to buy online from Crutchfield, Amazon, or others, just to audition gear you're interested in (if there's no BB in your area or BB doesn't have what you're interested in), and then go to the expense and hassle of returning anything that you don't like enough to keep. And, if people use local dealers as free audition stations and then go buy online instead of from the local dealer just to save a few bucks, then those dealers will fail. That's why we have no independent dealers of mainstream affordable gear these days, and the same thing is running rampant in the guitar world, as local mom and pop stores are shuttering nationwide, as they're forced to close becuase of lack of sales, and because of strangling yearly buy in requirements from the big makers that these same mom and pop stores supported for decades and made them the big forces that they now are. Do we really want an economy where you even have to buy your clothes and shoes online and can't try them on before buying, just to save a couple bucks? I sure don't.
It’s difficult and nearly impossible to get rid of the coffee table or the couch… I use Persian carpets under them and the mini ones hung on the side and back walls. I think it works. Let’s not forget when you listen to a band say at Village Vanguard; you have all sorts of early and late reflections but you still enjoy the music.
I agree. I need my not-so-big couch and coffee table for laptop and small mixer. A few feet behind couch is open bookshelf as a poor man's diffuser with books, records and 5.1 surround speakers. A compromise with TV and weekday life. Headphones would solve some minor issues, but I prefer more lively soundstage, choosing either 2.0 6,5" active monitors or 5.1 with large main speakers.
Thank you for sharing my system. I've since upgraded the streamer to the new Bluesound Node and my cartridge to a Sumiko Moonstone. DAC now resides with my second system. Much appreciated, Steve!
Hi Steve. I've been following your posts for about three years now. Its nice to hear your stories and concerns.
About the pleasure of been an audiophiliac, I remember my twenty's. Had a tight budget, read a lot, went to many stores asking for an amp or trying to listen to some pair of speakers.
After some time I chosed Sansui components: B77 amp, C77 pre, T77 sinto and a pair of Koss CM 1010.
Also got a Technics sl 23 turntable.
That handfull of gear was a dream to my ears. Top end of my young audio desires.
They gave me years of pleasure.
25 years later I move toward the home theatre promises of heaven.
Big time with movies. Hours and hours of dvd's and later, Netflix.
Somewhere the old plain stereo experience was lost. And when I realize that, mine original system was gone.
Now I'm fighting to recover that smell of my youth. That kind of sound that can touch your soul.
Still reading and watching a lot about audio.
Still a tight budget but it seems to me than 40 years ago, was easier to dance with wolves than nowadays digisteryle sound.
hey steve.. i 've been audiophiliacing since about 1964.you are right! back in the day i believe most of my friends had some decent audio equipment. most of us going to the next levels of listening. i was blessed to have carston stereo and sounds incredible in danbury ct. within a 5 minute drive. Now i believe we are at less than 1%. all you need to do is go on zillow real estate listings ..pick some houses...there is never any pictures of a room with audio equipment..just dumb big screen tv's! my life would be so empty without all my music and audio gear. thanks for the video's. by the way i knew jeremy and igor..
Make Audio Great Again! 🙌
What a great video and a great question? For me growing up as a only child I was passionate about music since I was a small boy and both my parents loved music. For me, a Stereo system was always something I had to have in my life. But now with the internet and all. It is a great question you brought up about having a audio/stereo system cool again. I wonder if Record stores nowadays sold Stereo Components and had them playing music in the store if that would encourage people to buy a stereo system for their homes. I Don't judge others, but I could never understand the people who listen to music on their phones or computers and that is how they listen to music in their life. It is fine if they want to listen to music that way. It is their life, but I shake my head and think. They are missing so much of the music by listening to music on their phone. There is no bass and hardly any treble or dynamic range to speak of. But, I love how passionate you are about music, and audio. I do agree with the other person who commented, Greg, who said I don't think audio will ever be as cool again as it was in the 70's. I absolutely loved how in the 70's all the Stereo receivers were as beautiful to look at as they were to listen too. Not anymore. Every new receiver I see brand new at Best Buy is the same, black Stay well and take care
When I was tuning a system for a big customer, working at an audio store in the early 80s, I suggested to move the coffee table. The effect was stunning. I remember his face, deep concentration, trying to figure out he was going to sell this to his SO.
tell them its Feng Shui
I remember my introductions to audio equipment when I was an adolescent in 70's. It was the equipment as much as it was the music. Man we had everything playing on one AM station. Everything! Iron Butterfly, Elvis Presley. Beatles, Glen Campbell, Isley Brothers some of you know how vast the list was. If you wanted to have a musical experience you listened to music live. Neighborhood bands, VFW halls, outdoor band shells in the park, etc..Then came FM "No static at all". Music sounded better! Then it came in the car, 8 tracks cassettes, etc.. Each family, person had a "radio" of some sort and would show all the features that made it good. So you didn't always have to go see live music to have a great music experience in your home or car with others.. Concerts were big though and often the subject when listening to the radio, records etc. In my opinion stereo equipment was cool because music was changing the ways we lived our lives. As an adolescent it was very cool because we thought mood music would help us get laid. Just like that it wasn't the stereo equipment that really got us laid it was how the music developed us as a society. Open, free, fun and more. Not saying music isn't great today just saying the time was different and live music is reproduced very well on a plethora of devices. The demand for good music reproduction equipment still exists today. It just needs to be transparent, and easy to use. I still see way too many complicated systems and taking up way too much space in a room. Can't wait till we see great music reproduction equipment that you can't see and can read your mind. More importantly music that changes society again. Until then I'll just sit, listen and watch my beautiful knobs ,lights and cabinets and reminisce about the good ol days.
Getting older I used to have more hope for growing this hobby but folks these days are happy with their phones, Apple iPods, and their beats headphones. Their are so many things that take people's attention away from just sitting to listen to music. People would rather stream their favorite show, play on their phones for hours, listen through their phones and use these all in one systems (soundbars). Sadly, we will continue to be a minority tiny small percent like we always have. Those good old days are gone.
I think making hi-fi more accessible and forgivable is a start. And I’m not talking about the products itself but more so the attitudes of the people offering recommendations and criticisms. In this video, you touched on things like plastering walls with sound treatments, getting rid of coffee tables, getting rid of sofas, etc. I think 99.99% of us “audiophiles” aren’t striving for acoustic perfection so much as for harmony within our living style. If the 0.01% want that then good, but they aren’t the ones pushing the hi-fi movement. It’s middle class people like me who still need a sofa and want a coffee table and wouldn’t want to plaster the walls of the family room with acoustic treatment. The way to reinvigorate the hi-fi hobby is to make it accessible and to really push the idea that you don’t have to have a dedicated listening room completely acoustically isolated from the rest of the house and blah blah blah to achieve great sound. functionality and looks matter (of the gear as well as the room it’s in). Making the IDEA of achieving great sound accessible is what’s not happening in the hi-fi world. Just my 2 cents. Love the channel!
I have put bookshelves behind my listening position. They are quite full of books and make a world of difference and I found them to be the most intersting form of acoustic treatment.
I'm not lonely, Steve. I've got you! Great video. I never thought about removing the coffee table and couch. As far as what can we do to get more people interested? I think playing your system for your non-system-loving friends will speak for itself. Once they hear that it's a lot different than a sound bar or Bluetooth speaker, or whatever, I think that will generate questions from them and give us a chance to talk about it. Don't even preface it with come over to hear my system. Just have friends over for coffee or just to chat and then work in a song on the stereo. Something that you think they might enjoy.
Most people love music, it's one of the great pleasures in life, it moves us, motivates us, makes us feel good. This can come from a little radio on top of the fridge and even more so from a nice sound system. I'm saying, audio is always cool. Better equipment brings us closer to the music, envelops us, it's like driving a well made car or wearing tailored clothing, it's a pleasure thing. I think that those who love their music will seek out better ways to hear it. The amount and quality of audio stuff today is amazing, it's a matter of where and when to lay the money.
When I was young, I drove a range of old bombs, I was happy and loved all of them .
Now that I'm older, I drive a nice car and listen to a very nice audio system. It took a while but it was always fun and appreciation along the way.
Viewers should take note. If you look at the first videos of Steve, and many of his contemporaries, they have almost no room treatment. Now their listening places are starting to resemble studios. The room is the largest component in your system and I would argue, other than speakers, has the largest impact on the quality of what you hear. Great video Steve. Keep going.
That viewer system is very good. I love the custom plinth and that classic Yamaha.
I have a sheepskin pelt on my coffee table, noticeable difference. I also swear putting my feet up has a negative effect but I try not to think about it.
There's two ways to look at this question. From the standpoint of general population, there's always been a small segment of the population into the audio only experience. Today those people certainly exist and are buying vinyl in larger and lerger numbers. Historically only when there's a big technical advance such as the emergence of LPs in the fifties and CDs in the eighties do much larger numbers of people become sound conscious. On an individual level, I could recommend setting up a listening club and inviting friends to come over regularly to socialize, have a drink and then shut up and listen to a recording you've chosen for the occasion and then maybe discuss the music and the audio qualities of the recording-similar to a book club or a movie club.
Like very much your listening club idea!
Stave, I ponder the ~cool~ part of audio all the time. As a 26 year old, pretty pretty invested in this hobby, I cannot understand why it is not looked at as the amazing looking & sounding home installation that it is. It sort of makes me feel like my generation is,……… classless? But then I think “that’s cynical” & go listen to my system haha. Have only made MORE upgrades since you featured my setup :)
I think eliminating the couch and coffee table helps keep audio uncool. If it's only one lonely, middle-aged man listening, the rest of the family is going to flee.
Exactly. What an ironic combination of topics!
When audio was cool, there were no home game consoles, big screen TVs, DVD players, smart phones, internet, streaming, wifi, virtual reality, wireless ear buds, UA-cam, TicTok, and whatever else the youth are into now, and cool was still a word we used. There were stores you could visit to see and hear this cool gear. Big cities had several of them. The entry level gear was iffy, and the high end gear was pretty darn good-- and expensive. Now, the entry level gear is pretty darn good and the high end gear is obscenely priced. The average person cannot aspire to own $100,000 speakers, so growing up with the hobby is no longer possible.
Furthermore, listening requires sitting still and concentrating with no instant gratification. I tried to get my 18 year old son to watch "2001, A Space Odyssey" on a 12 hour flight to Tokyo. He couldn't get past the monkey part. For a generation raised on adrenaline and excitement, sitting and listening is boring. Listening to a whole album is untenable. I know my son has listened to at least one full album--I bought him a cassette (yes really) of Queen, Night at the Opera to play in his 1995 Volvo.
High end audio is dying, and when all the old farts like me are gone, it will be gone too. I hope I am wrong. The fact that you can't come up with an idea to save it, says everything.
Dig this!
Sorbothane iso'd AE-2s on lead shot stands, well out off the wall, ... driven by the gorgeous Yamaha, ... nice rig.
Steve, Playboy Advisor, spot on!
Ultimately, an audiophile sits and LISTENS to music. Most people have music on, maybe a lot, maybe all the time, maybe more than an 'audiophile.' But they don't sit and listen. Until someone starts to do that they don't really get an idea of how even an inexpensive 'good' system can sound so much better than an Alexa bluetooth speaker streaming Spotify mp3s.
Love this question about coolness, and yeah… there’s no easy answers. One thing is for sure, with this much enthusiasm, I’m sure we can make a dent in the problem together.
Audio has and always will be cool to me. When I was a teenager I listened to music way more than I watched TV. That hasn't changed much over the years. Plus I think audio gear is way better today than it was then. Back in 1980 I had about $600 in my system as a teenager. A lot of money for kid at that time. The equivalent today is more like $1500. For $1500 t ou day I can put together a system that would embarrass what I had back then. I think younger people today have way too many options for their leisure time and listening to music on a nice hifi system may be further down on the list. In the 80's there was no internet, no smart phones, no video games in the house. Your indoor entertainment was TV or music pretty much. Different times today.
Great Advice as Always Thank You
The major manufacturers of audio equipment should invest in a series of ads with celebrities showcasing their stereo setup. Imagine, Henry Cavil, Tom Cruise, Robert DeNiro, Jessica Chastain, Sandra Bullock, Scarlett Johansson or a variety of musicians, etc., in videos and print talking about music!
Another thing they could invest in is freestanding showrooms, with a variety of setups, where consumers could gather to listen to music. Set up listening rooms in Barnes & Noble's, Best Buy, Costco, etc.
Monthly contests or lottery's for audio equipment.
Bring audio equipment to the fore in the public's awareness, remind people, young and old, how wonderful it is to hear music through a good system! Stereo equipment IS cool, it always has been, take people's attention away from the internet for a while by showing them what is great about spending time just listening to music!
I remember reading a ton of magazines before the internet. Mostly Hifi and automotive. I constantly had one in my hand. Stacks of them everywhere
I think the word "Audiophile" has negative connotations associated with it. Words like expensive, complicated, and elitist come to mind. It's also daunting to people new to the hifi world, even those who are interested in the tech.
I think the Cheap Audio Man channel got so successful so quickly because he doesn't seem elitist and he reviews a lot of products that most people can afford.
In the end the focus should be more about enjoying the music, any music, with whatever you have. Even if it's on Chinese designed equipment. Girls like music too, a lot in fact. Maybe the next step is to make the hobby more approachable and accessible. Some may think it's great hearing new details for the first time.
Sorry if this has been mentioned. I believe we audiophiles need to invite our friends, coworkers, neighbors, family, etc. to hear our systems. We should introduce Hi Fi and tell people what to expect. Most people don’t get the soundstage and imaging magic at first until it’s explained to them. That magic alone would hook a lot of new audiophiles. I really wish someone would have done that with me at a younger age. I am about 45 years late to the party. Thanks for the videos Steve. Cheers from NC.
Buying vynil, cds, etc, any type of physical experience, might bring the cool factor back. Streaming has made it all too easy and at the same time disposable and less valuable. Music has to come first.
Had friends stay over last weekend and they liked the stereo equipment. Reminded them that they liked that stuff.
I hang wrinkled bedsheets. Works pretty well. 🙂
In this day and age, exquisite mobile audio is the opportunity to grow the industry and attract new ears.
I have a Klipsch 7.1 speaker system with a Yamaha 7.2 A/V receiver. I also got rid of my coffee table a few years ago. I have hardwood flooring and to compensate for the flooring I laid down a large shag rug in front of my main Klipsch tower speakers.
Yo mr Guttenberg (can I call you Steve?),
Thanks for testing all this nice gear and sharing your thoughts about it with us.
Say, you know any young people that collect stamps? Shouldn't we just accept that the world is allways changing? And that maybe the days that an expensive hifi set made you look cool are over? I started listening music when I was a young kid on an old transistor radio. Sounded terrible. So I saved pocketmoney for months, washed cars, did grocery shopping for old ladies etc, to be able to buy a decent radio-cassette player. And boy, was I happy when -a few years later- my dad bought a new integrated set for the living room, and I could have the old one. With seperate speakers! Real stereo! Then I bought my own first hifi set, with a seperate amplifier, record player and cassette deck. And kept improving it for decades.
You grew into it.
Nowadays you buy a Sonos box, and hey, for less money than my first radio-cassette player you have a better, almost decent sound. My neighbour, somewhere in his thirties, has never heard of Nakamichi, Dual or Quad speakers. And doesn't care.
If we don't want hifi something to be for wealthy older men, we need younger role models. Like Taylor Swift or Beyoncé, showing proudly their newest KEF, B&W, McIntosh or Goldmund turntable. What, you think, are the Kardashions listening to?
Keep up the good works!
I always enjoy your reviews and opinions - I have found lots of your recording favourites have found their way into my library. But you and I live in different worlds when we look at price, value and (most often) the practicality of living in harmony with a family. In my case - a family of just two. There is no way we can gut our shared spaces, or hang crazy baffles around. The best I can do is to pull down the window voiles and drop a soft cover on that coffee table.
There is also some gentle sexism expressed here - why are women the obstacle to overcome? Could they not be family members of any sex who have the misfortune to share a living space with more demanding audiophiles like us.
Keep the conversation going Steve - you always show good humour and humility.
Steve, For me, a rather recent tv show spiked my interest is both the stereo equipment and the music depicted in the show. A few years ago, I began watching the LA detective series called Bosch, really enjoyed it and the new Bosch Legacy. Viewers like me were asking what equipment Bosch had in his home, and every once in a while the character would mention the name of the album or artist he was playing. I've added those jazz artists to my Pandora station list. So, the hi-fi and audiophile industry could help grow interest by some placement within television and film. For me, Bosch made vintage jazz and hi-fi pretty cool.
There is a British Detective series ( 5 or 6 episodes) called " Rivers"( the name of the main 60 something detective)....
In one scene, we get to see Rivers' apartment.....the walls are filled with albums.....his new tech savvy assistant off handedly mentions to Rivers, that he could put all his music onto his phone.Rivers looks at him in utter baffelment...." Why would I want to do that?" Rivers replies!!!!The age , and listening gap seem to identified in this one scene........personally I love listening to my system at home......and I love listening to my collection or streaming service through my phone too!!!#
Nowadays, smart phone + headphone is the cool audio system for many people, especially the younger ones. It lets them play their favorite music anywhere, anytime with much lower cost, but without wires, space restrictions or bothering others. BTW, currently the Most expensive Bluetooth noise cancellation headphone from Mark Levinson only costs
You're so right... I've mentioned being an audiophile and how I have a proper set up for listening to hi fi to random friends and it doesnt phase them one bit. Not ONE BIT of interest saying something like "oh wow? thats really cool, can you show me? can I hear it?" its mostly a "oh interesting" or "oh cool" with no follow up or interest about hearing it. Sad.
Shit like this is why audiophiles are seen as “strange”, forever tweaking, for what many don’t care to chase or more so don’t get what the chase is after. I am “strange” in this way also, but the reaction of non audiophiles when talking audiophile stuff is obvious. Want to sus them out quick, talk about room treatment, lol. The puzzled look is your clue to change the subject quickly.
I had a neighbor over, sat them down, spun a vinyl and started talking about sound stage and depth and they gave me a puzzled face, without words, the expression was wtf are you talking about. I continued to explain, can’t you “see” the music? Can’t you “see” where the drummer is, the guitarist? Same puzzled, look either still not understanding, not “seeing” it or not giving 2 shits, lol.
Nice to see a Audiophiliac Viewer System of the Day! that has cables - nice system.
Precisely why listening with the chamfered angle of a martini glass in front of you sounds better than a tumbler, and why everything goes up a notch when you kick the mid-century coffee table over at an angle.
I really enjoyed this episode, helpful, fun and kind spirited. Keep up the great work as always - best of the best. The Marian McPartland, Lynne Rossetto Kasper or Huell Howser equivalent in this hobby.
Another audiophile and a small hi-fi dealer In Eugene OR. brought me back into this arena….having made a “cool again” launchpad for future audio-tech exploration and opening new doors. I believe that good ambassadors to cool stuff make the difference and tit is all about creating relationships, sharing insight, passion and experience, being welcoming and meeting others where they are truly at without judgment.
The main sticking point with my wife is that she doesn't want anything in the living room that looks like a speaker. Speakers are not cool. 0% of interior designers recommend you add a speaker to a room to make it look better. Anything with exposed drivers is a no go. The only way manufacturers will make it cool again is if they make it invisible.
This. I wanted stands for my speakers in the living room (Dynaco A25s front, Polk Rti28 rears), and my wife was extremely skeptical. I told her I was making them myself. Then she became really skeptical. They key was to make something that looked good and looked like it was made with the rest of the furniture; i.e. same type of wood and color. Once I made the stands for the A25s with nice wood and a two tone stain finish that looked like the living room set, she was accepting; they looked like they belonged there. Same for the Polks, the furniture they were by were different color, so I designed a pair that matched. She's happy with the outcome, so, so am I.
Another great video Steve thanks for the name drop and yes I do think my system is cool and I don't give a flying f*** about what other people think it just sounds and looks good to me thanks
To make audio cool: What to do is get a decent enough hifi system. It doesn’t have to be over the top expensive or anything. One of Steve’s recommended systems that fits your budget will do. Get half way decent at dancing. Then invite your friends over for a party, inevitability it will turn into a dance party. Put on what makes your friends dance. For me it’s usually Talking heads, brothers Johnson, Chromeo, James brown, blues brothers, Bowie, what have you. Soon people will be gyrating extra funky and banging their booties off the floor. Turn it up. The guests are big fans of this music and have heard the songs many times, except this time it’s different. This time the music is leaping out at them. This time they are hearing parts of songs they never knew were even there. Their minds will be blown and they will leave your party muttering to themselves, “holy crap, my blue tooth speaker sucks. I need to step up my audio game!”
How to make audio cool again? We need to make listening to music an event. I think alot of the reason music isn't as cool as it once was is the fact that portable audio and music in general is everywhere. People listen to music all the time these days but as a background thing. Not as a primary focus of your time. Back in the 70s and 80's my friends and I would get together, smoke some good weed and listen to albums intently. It was an event. Something to look forward to. Music's personal value for people has been diluted by the constant access. Video may have killed the radio star but iPods killed the hifi. People should start having listening parties. Invite friends over. Listen to some music. Make the listening the focus of the event. Show people how much fun it can be to sit and listen to a nice system. Bury your iPods in the backyard.
I agree with a lot of the tenor of Jeffrey's point here about how consuming music has evolved into a "background thing" as one aspect of the social experiences of music listening. I also echo Jeffrey's point about the evolution of portable electronic devices overtaking the social allure of hifi. I don't think hifi will have as prominent a spot in consumer electronics as they did in what I can only know to be termed as the golden age (note: I am a millennial). As Jeffrey also rightly points out, attentive, focused listening gave way to high-definition TVs and portable audio. As anyone who made it through of all of Steve's video here (and elsewhere) would agree, the stock iPod is far, far from the final word in fidelity, but *why* it overtook hifi is important to note: The iPod was foremostly a lifestyle product that at the very least adapted to the aspirational lifestyles of its target audience (I could venture to argue that perhaps it even shaped that aspirational lifestyle, but that's for a venue different from a UA-cam comment. Thank you for reading if you've made it this far.) As Steve points out, the "coolness" factor is largely a socially motivated one, with different contexts shaping that social drive: Status (what kind of electronics you have), trends in how music is listened to, and the relationship between physical commodities and live music. The dimension Jeffrey gets at is that the iPod became ~the~ electronic component to have to exemplify one's connoisseurship of music amongst the population with the purchasing power that, before the iPod, was the market audience that became hifi experts: Those in their 20s-40s who started at the younger end and kept with it. I can speak, as a millennial, that even my friends thought I was weird when I wanted FLACs instead of MP3s in the days of P2P file-sharing: "But you can't put them on an iPod." Today's modest resurgence in hifi, of which I am just one example, I think has two dimensions. One dimension is exclusivity: Vintage audio looks cool in a house with a mid-century or postmodern theme. It's a totally different kind of aspiration from owning an iPod, as if to say, "I know what is historically the real deal and one-of-a-kind." Another dimension is that community-driven aspect: Kissa-style bars are becoming very popular in US cities (Public School and Eavesdrop in NYC; the recently shuttered In Sheep's Clothing (ISC) in LA). And makers, too: Devon Turnbull of OJAS is the pre-eminent example. And ISC, though it closed the hifi bar that started the brand's life, holds listening events regularly, recently in a Japanese garden here in LA. And OJAS has a NYC exhibition of a one-off system he designed (I believe he made the amp especially for the exhibition). But these are so, so niche. Make hifi cool again as they were in what I have only read about as the golden age, talked with the folks from whom I bought speakers about when these great 70s, 80s, and 90s components were made? I think it will only ever be a relatively niche thing as long as Apple keeps making iPhones and algorithms keep telling Spotify listeners what to listen to, rather than become a regular at a music store and have conversations about new releases and can do nothing but take a chance on an LP or tape someone had never, ever heard before. I see Jeffrey's point about "constant access" to be a point about a lack of mystery and desire and discovery in how music is experienced today. I spent my best days as a youth just browsing at punk records that I was scared to bring up to the counter (or couldn't afford). But being in those stores, and hearing the music played over their systems, helped create a chance for discovery, rather than having an algorithm label a pre-defined recommendation as one.
Steve, have ever experimented with 4 (identical) front speakers? I've been doing it for years. If you space them right, you literally feel like your front row center.
Stereo systems seemed to be “ cooler” when I was a young adult. Back then , it sparked an interest in my friends. NOW , they think I’m NUTS 😂. I have the money to buy nicer equipment and nobody cares except me ! That’s mostly because I don’t have any audiophile friends.
I must say though, I have seen my girlfriend get rather emotional when listening to my main system. It does draw you in.
Hmmm. Making HiFi cool again is an uphill battle against options. Life was simpler and audio was one of the cool options. We had family camping, the mall, ABC, NBC, CBS, the local station and FM. Now?!? Most pop music is composed by two or three people and performed without a human on the property. Computer gaming is huge. Mindless internet browsing is huge. Countless movies without need to go to a theater is huge. (C)rap music promoting misogynistic gang violence is huge. Gambling is huge. Pornography is huge. Illegal Recreational drugs are huge!
High end audio, cool again? Look at the count of subscribers of the audio UA-cam channels. If all those only subscribed to one single channel, we’d have maybe 750,000 people. But most are subscribing to multiple channels. So the grand total subscribing are closer to 200,000 tops and that includes those using only headphones and mostly for gaming. Sorry, but high end audio will only be “cool” among a small cluster of the loyal. Look at bowling, model trains, pigeon breeding. That’s the future of the coolness of high end audio.
We have raised two children and the hifi has always been the centre of our living room including a Linn LP12. The only thing that happened during those years was someone pressed a treble driver with their finger. One the children is now a young woman audiophile the other plays bass guitar. I say include your family and they will love music.
Also remember that they and we have very cool audio in iphones and such. The stuff I could not have dreamt of as a teenager. Earphones give you soundstage. To impress a hifi must add that visceral element it can but not earhones.
Modern consumers and even entry-level audio enthusiasts are obsessed with features of convenience, like "fully wireless" audio technology. Active streaming speakers like the KEF LS50 and LS60 Wireless series are the cat's meow these days. I believe that a large number of loudspeaker manufacturers are going to go this route to appeal to modern consumers and "audiophiles" alike. It's convenient, it's advanced, it's...cool.
One thing that could make audio more popular is to forgive student loans. They're the most likely audience for upscale audio but they're buried in debt.
Please please say this is a joke and that you are not serious.
They’re far more likely to spend it on sex change operations or donations to the Ukraine.
@@KristianSchwartz if they forgive my mortgage I promise to buy a new pair of speakers
Hell no.
In 1983 I emptied my bank account of $2000 for a great Harman Kardon system receiver tape deck and T40 turn table. Acoustic Control Corp 636 speakers. The sound was impeccable and still is as I still own the refurbished speakers and turntable now driven with Emotiva. My daughters and their friends could care less about HiFi sound. Seems the only people that really listen and enjoy the big sound are people around my age. All the little Bluetooth and small bookshelves are what young people listen to. 15 inch woofers 70 pound speakers are really the same price as the were in 1983 money around 3 grand today but they are not pushed at all in todays market. Cheap little $300 speakers is what is in so the far better sound is lost to people but not me however I enjoy my dinosaurs everyday!
If you have a flat surface in front of you, keep it cluttered with all sorts of stuff: breaks up the reflections just great.
If it wasn't for the internet I would not know who you are!!!
I think we have to fight for space in the living room. Share our system and make it part of our daily Life.
Dedícate audio room are cool for us but not for everyone
Audio is always cool, never gone away for me. Quality Time is what’s lacking. Always something to do.
Bring back old schools UV meters, large switches and dials, 70s and 80s
You have to create COOL: 1. Have an Idea: I'd like to see 5,000 independently owned FM Radio Station in 5,000 Communities who have club connections & create a NEW National CIRCUIT (and has lots of contest for Local Bands to become Bigger Bands. 2. You should study the current condition of Entertainment and think 1950s where tour bus had 20 locally know HIT Song players and writers doing tours. 3. With an ORGANIZED Media Owned COOP (to me every station should have an independent owner) Create a RECORD PLANT and STUDIO where the 5,000 can help NEW and OLDER Bands with solutions to make a Great Recording
4. I think we need to adopt the RIAA standard in broadcasting and in LP Mfg if it's not done.
1st Draft
Isn’t an upholstered couch sound absorbing material?
Of course. Anything fabric will absorb sound but wide flat furniture can block sound and the direction
@@RockCity1111 yes but that’s not what Steve was saying. He was saying the couch was a point of first reflection near his ears. Not sure I follow that logic
I once exposed a 20 something film producer to my JBL 4way pro studio monitor system. Absolutely blew his socks off. The look on his face-- jaw dropping total shock... He still listens to his ear buds.
Hi Steve, don’t worry, the cool is returning to hifi. Trends come and go, and come back again. ( like skinny jeans).
Ps. Please don’t tell me to put all the seats in the other room. I’m to old to sit on the floor.
All the best, Giles
Is it possible that audio is still cool but audiophiles aren't cool? As Mahatma Gandhi said: "I like your Christ, but not your Christianity."
I've taken several friends and sat them down to listen to what you can do with a $200 integrated amp with a couple of inexpensive bookshelves just to make the point that you can get better sound than that sonos in many cases for the same or less money. Does that make it cool? I'm not sure but if a couple of people get the itch its a step in the right direction.
That’s great, thanks for sharing.
Audiophile stereo systems are an impractical eyesore in most living spaces. Most people are happy with a noise that sounds like the tunes they love. Naim Muso, B&W Zepellin etc are as good as hifi ever needs to be for the majority. But they are also a potential first introduction to hifi for someone who wants to go further. Whilst guests who have heard my setup (Audio Note, Croft, Harbeth) are amazed by the quality, I know that none of them would accept the financial, practical and aesthetic cost of such a system.
answer is called DSP room correction. If its done well (not a guarantee) then it will elevate your sound to another level and not require huge compromises to your living room.
However, the less the dsp has to do the better so some room basics are always the best bet.