Spending big bucks on HiFi Audio

[RayDunzl]

Other hobbies have their price ranges, too...

$245,000 (only slightly used)

Jonker Sailplanes JS3-18

wingsandwheels.com

Or maybe something a little less intimidating...

$10,000 (definitely not new nor latest greatest, but there are two privateky owned at my club)

Eiri Avion PIK-20A

wingsandwheels.com

There is a measurable performance difference, though...

 

[RayDunzl]

If you enjoy your BDSM gear packed in a Rolls Royce equipped with custom Genelec speakers and can afford it, on my side you'll only get a go for it and have fun!

Somebody showed up at my Glider Club last week in a new(ish) Rolls Royce.

Don't know who it belonged to, though there were some visitors taking the $125 Test Drive in one of our antique utilitarian sailplanes.

 

[gwing]

Almost all of my hifi expenditure was in a brief three year period a long time ago when the bug really bit. After a while though I thought I had already exceeded the point of diminishing returns by an order of magnitude or so and that I had better switch to making time (i.e. DIY) the limiting factor rather than money.

Since then my annual budget has been pretty close to zero, except for this year. On the other hand we've spent more on a piano than a lifetime's hifi equipment but that was OK because my wife is by far the better pianist therefore it doesn't count as a discretionary and frivolous audio purchase

 

[CleanSound]

75K on a car is probably only 3 or 4 times entry level (assuming new)


So if we say entry level hifi is about $500 (wiim mini + fosi amp + $250 speakers), then the equivalent in hifi terms is about $2K


When you are spending 75K on audio you are well into multiple Ferrari/Rolls Royce/Bugatti Veyron equivalent territory.

Agreed, except that I don't think speakers apply to the same concept. Better speakers goes up in price rather fast, especially for floor standing.

 

[Ron Texas]

I don't care what other people think about how I spend or do not spend my money or anything else I do. The same goes for beliefs, values and politics. As for wives not liking it, they have different priorities.

 

[Svet Angelov]

I'll be the first to admit I get a little jealous when I see a pair of SOTA speakers (never electronics since SOTA amps and dacs can be bought for less than a new fridge).

But then I usually remind myself that >90% of people don't own any HiFi equipment at all - due to lack of funds, lack of knowledge about HiFi or just lack of interest-

and then the jealousness fades.

 

[SSS]

I am not convinced whether society does not accept hifi gear. It is just an assumption. Myself I invested in used hifi equipment where I got fair value at a reasonable price. New euipment so called hi-end is totally overpriced for what you get in sound quality. Well, it is a hobby and if somebody likes new fance gear, that is OK.

 

[aschen]

Who cares what others think, and I think it is a bit of a leap to think they care much anyways. Stereo listening has brought me a ton of joy and still does currently. I am sure I have spent way more than I need to have an acceptable system but the smiles/$ have been a bargain for me.

One anecdote I find interesting is I have 6ft tall 125lb mains in glossy rosewood out well into the middle of my living room. Live in a normalish neighborhood, mostly working professionals, not Beverly hills but no bars on windows either. Anyways, people hardly say anything when they see my giant stereo front and center in our house. I get the occasional "I see you like to rock out" or cool stereo but nobody really cares or thinks much of this sort of thing.

Just like if I see a garage full of 5 figure mountain bikes: "he likes to bike, cool" thats about it.

 

[D2013]

High-end audio stores are closing down and the industry is facing challenges. Factors contributing to the decline include the rise of more convenient audio solutions like soundbars and streaming. The industry has struggled to adapt and attract new consumers. While pockets of enthusiasm remain, the overall trend points to waning interest in high-end audio compared to previous decades. The high-end audio industry has struggled to attract new consumers from Gen X and Millennials, focusing too much on the aging Baby Boomer demographic. After Baby Boomers are dead and buried the audio market will be very different if it exists at all.

Audio was for sure a much bigger thing when I was a kid (80's). I think the primary is is that the audio industry as a whole is still intentionally vague about many aspects of their products, or in some cases strait up lies.

If the industry, community, or governments imposed/required standards, the industry might have a much broader customer base than it currently does. With that being said it would probably drive some companies into bankruptcy, because they couldn't get away with charging outlandish prices like they do now for some stuff.

 

[kemmler3D]

Most people lack interest in Hifi. They are totally happy with a pair of ear buds on their phone and the speakers that come with the TV.

I think this is half true. Most people have no interest in "hifi" as we know it because they don't think they could discern a difference that would feel like it was worth the extra money. However, if you give people a choice between two headphones, they'll spend a little time deciding which one they like better, they won't just take one and walk away without listening. Most people prefer better sound if it doesn't cost them much/anything.

The difference between an audiophile and a regular person is mostly just that the audiophile cares enough to pay extra.

There's also the fact that headphones and speakers under $100 are generally "good enough" for most people. And the low end of audio has gotten a lot better in the past 10 years or so. It used to be that Shure or Bose IEMs were sought-after, cost $100s, and were almost the only game in town for mainstream people. Now we have Truthear Zero Reds that get you 95% of the way there for less than the cost of a large pizza delivered.

So I think the mainstream is more interested than we think, they're just not ready to wrap their heads around spending 3-5x what they normally spend to get "better directivity", whatever that means.

 

[CleanSound]

The high-end audio industry has struggled to attract new consumers from Gen X and Millennials, focusing too much on the aging Baby Boomer demographic.

So I will try to comment on this without it getting too much on the social/political aspects.

Gen X are in the hobby, I am the tail end of Gen X'er. The issue is the millennials and gen Z'ers. I reckon the reason why they are not into HiFi is because for the following things:
1) The trend that Apple set with MP3 on iPod then Beats headphones (which Apple brought). Once these millennials and gen Z'ers got into it, they are locked in this low fidelity way.

2) Millennials and Gen Z'ers are struggling. Low wages, raising housing cost, where they can't afford a space large enough for a pair of tower speakers (this is not a pity for them btw, I know plenty of millennials and gen z'ers who majored in STEM and are doing very well).

3) More millennials and Gen Z'ers just prefer experiences than tangible things. Going to a concert, rather than listening to a recording, traveling, etc.

 

[kemmler3D]

So I will try to comment on this without it getting too much on the social/political aspects.

Gen X are in the hobby, I am the tail end of Gen X'er. The issue is the millennials and gen Z'ers. I reckon the reason why they are not into HiFi is because for the following things:
1) The trend that Apple set with MP3 on iPod then Beats headphones (which Apple brought). Once these millennials and gen Z'ers got into it, they are locked in this low fidelity way.

2) Millennials and Gen Z'ers are struggling. Low wages, raising housing cost, where they can't afford a space large enough for a pair of tower speakers (this is not a pity for them btw, I know plenty of millennials and gen z'ers who majored in STEM and are doing very well).

3) More millennials and Gen Z'ers just prefer experiences than tangible things. Going to a concert, rather than listening to a recording, traveling, etc.

Can speak to this a bit as a millennial. The housing aspect is real. More younger people live in apartments (small or otherwise) than older generations did at our age or do currently - as we all know this puts limits on what you can do with your stereo if only because of neighbors.

It's also a good point that portable audio has always been ubiquitous for us. By the time we were old enough to have our own taste in music, discmans / walkmans were everywhere. iPods followed and intensified the trend. Headphone / earphone listening is the default for millennials, and has been way before Beats came along. As such, you see a lot of activity among younger audiophiles in the IEM world.

Speakers are not just less practical for many younger listeners, for many they never really enter the equation no matter how much they enjoy listening to music.

I know about 4 people my age who are interested in speakers at all, 3 of them got into it via being a musician and touching the pro audio / studio world.

Everybody I know has speakers in their house one way or another, but it's usually Sonos or a soundbar or something. Sound from speakers is valued as a utility, something that is needed for entertaining at home, but not a status symbol or hobby, so Hi Fi is a diversion, not a destination, for millennials.

 

[darrellc]

I gave my 15 year old a Fosi v3, WiiM Mini and some old Epos bookshelf speakers. He didn't really use it. Now he has a Sonos Era 300 which he occasionally uses. Most of the time he's just playing music from his phone or Win laptop - sometimes he'll connect via B/T to the Sonos.

 

[darrellc]

I don't care what other people think about how I spend or do not spend my money or anything else I do. The same goes for beliefs, values and politics.

I've got to jump on that one, Ron... I'll bet you do somewhere, sometime! If you have kids, ask them. They'll let you know where & when!

 

[Anton D]

I think the real reason "civilians" don't get into good Hi Fi is that it's harder to talk over vs. a countertop device.

How many non-audiophiles do you know who can manage to shut the heck up for the length of just one song?

Listening is a verb.



Old curmudgeon rant concluded.

 

[D2013]

So I think the mainstream is more interested than we think, they're just not ready to wrap their heads around spending 3-5x what they normally spend to get "better directivity", whatever that means.

I agree. I also think this is related to my comments about the industry. They don't have standards, and they are wishy washy when it comes to explain why one speaker is better than another.

 

[Robin L]

I really don't think most people think about this at all. To begin with, there are few people who are as "spendy" with audio as they are with automobiles or other luxury items. Us at ASR are more likely to be conscious of overpriced audio because we are aware of where money should be spent in order to get good sound, and we are also conscious of how and why Stereophile, Audio Planet, Absolute Sound and other publications push overpriced audio gear. That gives the illusion that there are lots of people buying Wilson Audio floor standing speakers. There aren't. But your average Joe doesn't think about these issues nearly as much as we do. I know I spent too much on LPs and CDs over the years considering my income, but these days the recordings I want are cheap and anyway, I'm running out of room to store them. I'm glad I no longer collect LPs. That game has become too pricey and considering the sonic advantages of CDs, at least as regards Classical music, there's no advantage to collecting LPs. I've got a good sounding audio system in a small room and don't blast the levels, so I'm good for the foreseeable future. Somebody who spends too much money on audio is probably deaf anyway.

 

[Ron Texas]

I've got to jump on that one, Ron... I'll bet you do somewhere, sometime! If you have kids, ask them. They'll let you know where & when!

Nope. My kids have been out of the house for a long time.

 

[Alexanderc]

A couple of people have mentioned unfamiliarity as the reason people balk at the high price of audio equipment, and I have an anecdote to share. Apologies if this seems self-indulgent--I only intend for it to be educational.

I got into this hobby by accident. When I was working on my doctorate (in music of all things) I had a $150 HTIB. One speaker stopped working and I wanted to replace it. I didn't know if I could use any speaker, or if I needed one with some specific attributes, or if I needed an identical speaker. I couldn't find an answer anywhere and nobody I asked could tell me. And I was asking people who I thought ought to know (the guy who ran the performing arts center for example). The average person really has no idea.

Eventually I stumbled onto some equipment review website (I don't remember which one) and discovered that speakers could cost over a thousand dollars! I was shocked. I saw a review of the top of the line Mordaunt-short floorstanders with the tweeter that stuck out the back for something like $9,000 and thought that must be about the most expensive a speaker could get (HA!).

Edit: it was the Mordaunt-Short Performance 6 and it was more like $7000 a pair.

 

[aschen]

Tangentially related: Its a shame younger folks arnt into decent music reproduction, because there has never been a better time.

Can get pretty great sound for a few hundred 2024 bux. In college in the 90s it seems like a decent stereo was at least 5-700 1995 dollars, and most of the cheaper stuff was severly compromised.