popular opinion : There ’s a question that ’s been onmy mind for some clock time – is the hi - fi diligence doing enough to appeal to young generations ?
This is something I ’ve been chew over on and off , and the recurrence of the Munich High End Show brought this feeling into great clarity . Now , you may or may not know that the High End Show is n’t really about ‘ affordable ’ products – the hint is in the name after all . More low-cost products are likely to be snapped in two over the organiser ’s knee than permitted on the show floor .
These are flashy , expensive hi - fi products that ’ll retail for a few thousand of whatever your local currency is at the very least . There are even speakers that will sell for up to a hundred thousand pounds or dollar . For most of us , this is not in the realms of affordability .
To a degree , nothing about that should be too surprising . High End appeal a specific market place and a specific type of Hawaii - fi lover , but then that ’s also rather howdy - fi in general . I suppose more can be done to attract a untested audience however .
For many hi - fi producer , there does n’t seem to be that progressive stance of introducing a younger audience to hi - fi . It ’s not like from the fifty to the 70s – the metre when a heap of these audio trade name sprouted up – where the idea of a adolescent first popped up ( teenyboppers ! ) , and music and terpsichore became genuinely primal to culture . People needed sound recording organisation to take heed to that medicine on that was n’t a dust-covered former gramophone or what have you .
Right now , most brands are piggybacking the ‘ digital rotation ’ ; ascendancy apps , music streaming , multi - way , etc . ; but this is n’t of necessity drive the solicitation of a young generation into euphony , more skip that one will finally lead to interest group in another . It ’s not like when the iPod first arrive on the prospect with its colourful marketing and youthful prayer .
If there ’s a vibration to hi - fi , it ’s that it feel rather stately and fledged , something masses grow into at an old age . If you ’re younger it ’s all about smartphones , headphones and portable verbalizer – there does n’t feel like a crossover point into Hawai’i - fi unless there ’s someone else ( in all likelihood older ) in the family unit that pass on that interest down .
I look through the sight of crush sacking of manufacturers that launched products in Munich and wonder whether it ’s a concern . I ’m not suppose there should be some ‘ youthful equivalent ’ to hullo - fi show ( though you could arguably say music festivals do a similar matter ) , but if you ’ve been to one then you ’ll recognise the audience as mostly middle - aged and male .
The declaration of theCambridge Audio Evo CDtransport feel like a merchandise intend to shore up the present and get people who have a CD assembling back into listening to them while also offering up cyclosis support , but what about the future ?
The solution?
For someone just getting set off , look closer and the cost is £ 999 for a ware designed to ferment with Cambridge ’s Evo 75 and 150 , which means a minimum spend of over £ 2000 . And the Cambridge is one of a few new hi - fi product like theDenon DNP-2000NElooking to combine physical mass medium support and digital cyclosis in one box , but that ’s even more expensive with price starting at £ 1599 .
So the question is , how does a unseasoned audience transition from the likes of , shall I say ‘ soft ’ hi - fi likewireless headphones , rightful radio set , andportable speakersinto hard hi - fi , music streamer , DACs , turntablesand amplifiers ? I wish I had the solvent . The vinyl resurgence and even the revival in compact disk and cassette tape all seem to have been unexpected , and vinyl radical at £ 40/£50 a pop is an expensive hobby .
I fell into Aloha State - fi . Watching my brothers practice DJ - ing when I was young did n’t have an essence on me – I was much more into film , and movies are an easier sell when you ’re a kid – so I can see there might not be 1:1 spiritual rebirth when there ’s so much else out there when you ’re jr. . Perhaps this land site should devote more prison term to launching - stage products / place more of an emphasis on demystify hi - fi conception and making them easier to understand to help oneself make hi - fi accessible .
That ’s a thought I ’ll be grapple with , but I also think more can be done on the brands ’ side too . You look at Sonos and it seems to have found a mixing that works , even if you could see the company as not being traditionally hi - fi – Sonos is ‘ hi - fi - lite ’ as it were , but perhaps that ’s an area for emergence . A series of Cartesian product that act as a step up before displace them more into ‘ right ’ hi - fi . We ’re all here to see Hawai’i - fi become even more successful , but I ’m not sure its outlook always help it to attain that .
