Somewhere Along The Timeline

[Cosmik]

A new article in HiFi Critic.
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0418/Audio_The_Sound_Of_Our_World.htm

The development of any technology involves various stages in the timeline, from early gestation through to periods of stability and then advancing senility, as the original concept appears to become lost among seemingly frivolous and pointless developments. Somewhere along that timeline is a peak, where everything seems to come together and the results are as good as they will ever be.

 

[svart-hvitt]

Nice read. And it’s an opinion. An opinion which cannot be supported by facts. Maybe dynamic range is an indicator of falling quality, yet you have access to so much more music today than ever.

Equipment is objectively better today than ever. Recordings vary, and those looking for high-quality recordings of the digital era should should take a look at 2L for demonstration of what’s possible.

 

[Blumlein 88]

This opinion piece reminds me of:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/052138673X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Collapse of Complex societies.

In essence conditions improve, the way things are happening are improving life more than the cost of doing it. Eventually a mature stage is reached. Various things are tried to attempt to maintain or return to the growth during the improvement phase. As time goes along by necessity things are more and more complex. In time complexity rises until the return from all activity is negative and a collapse phase is entered. Collapse is more of a long slow steady decline than a quick result. In time the burden of complexity causes a society to break apart into some simpler pieces. People move on elsewhere where life is once again improving instead of being more and more complex for less and less benefit. The breakdown is always into something simpler at least at the time.

Maybe this applies to communities of technical activities like stereo music from production, supply and all the way thru the chain. I think AVR's are an excellent window into this. Look at how stupidly, I mean stupendously stupidly complex they are. The crazy various formats all of which with great complexity and high cost of buy in to get the benefit promised some little something. But each new format benefits less and less while being more and more complex. Atmos, maybe it gives us a bigger benefit than we have seen from anything in a long, long time. But you need 11 channels minimum to get that? Jeezus, and this is whether or not you can set it up to work well enough. And to combat the complexity are competing complex auto setup systems. It is a case where the disease of improved performance has complexified the device to be almost of no use and the remedy is no remedy at all. The last AVR I purchased second hand for a friend was nearly new and cheap. When I asked about how some of it worked the seller told us, "we're selling because we could never figure out how to get it to do anything". Would these people be better served by a two channel receiver and two speakers that did nothing else? YEAH!!!! Why do you think Sound bars are popular. You need know nothing other than plugging it in and maybe make one connection.

So many factors figure into this, but it isn't surprising in this context that mass music is deployed by some earphones plugged into your cell phone. And it works, and we like it because we like music. Anything else has become too complex and expensive to be embraced.

 

[Sal1950]

A new article in HiFi Critic.

I got a kick out of the comment that the portable market has split in two, and they kind of insinuated the devision was 50/50 between those interested in low and high quality gear.. I guess the numbers are hugely shifted to the low SQ side with the high q side a very small niche market.
It's sad to see the "hobby" of High Fidelity reproduction in such decline. I've been at this since the late 50s and hate what's become of it.