is hi fi dead?
Posted by: Rick Weldon on 14 April 2004
i am pleased to say that this does not seem to be the case!the proof? we have just had our first $1 million (us dollar ) month!
Afternoon All
Jude said:
An important point I feel, and one I am sure keeps the management of Naim and other specialist manufacturers up late at night.
Life changes, social values change, and technology changes with it as well.
When I got my first 'serious' HiFi, there were no computer or AV systems vying for ones disposable income, and as a student/starting in work, the two most desirable 'must haves' in those days were a car or motorbike, and a high quality HiFi.
Most of ones friends were seriously interested in good gear, particularly if one was involved in the 'arty' set, and into music as well.
But now, the pace of life has quickened immensly, and spare time is at a premium for all. The ability to put aside an evening to relax with and into some good music at home via the HiFi is becomming more and more a rarity. Particularly with classical music, it's quite hard to 'switch off' from the rigours of the day, and the other things crowding ones mind with pressing matters to deal with, and just get absorbed into the music, say a large symphony.
On the other hand, the 90 minute 'fix' of escapeism via a movie in the home, is a good antidote to the stresses of modern life, as well as providing that mental/emotional 'escape' to somewhere else that immersion in the story-telling of the film achieves, but much more simply, quickly and directly than the quiet meditation over music reproduction, assuming one has the time and frame of mind to be able to relax into it.
I prefer music to film, but more and more I find it is the AV medium that I turn to for entertainment in the home, basically for reasons of time, and the simple way it gets you involved and the escapist 'hit'.
The other thing I've found is that whilst going for a 'high-end' AV solution is going to cost even more than 2 channel, unlike 2 channel, one can achieve very acceptable results for quite a modest outlay - for music one just seems to be more critical overall, and therefore needs to spend more on the kit, especially if you're a listener of many years experience and exposure to good gear.
I have no doubt the trend towards AV, and HD based delivery systems will worry companies like Naim, and I'm sure they will be investigating these options as an ongoing business strategy.
For us, the end user, there will always be specialist manufacturers catering for those who want that last 'edge' of performance and either have the funds, or are prepared to pay them to get it. However, the Naim we know and love may well be a very different product in not too many years to come.
If mainstream music does go multi-channel, then I would expect to see an amalgamation of HT and HiFi as we know it, with 2 channel music all but disappearing.
I don't see portable compressed formats 'taking' over, as they are parallel but different markets catering for a different need.
However, whether the medium by which the music is delivered continues to be on a disc is harder to predict. Online purchasing/downloading of music may well be the way forward on a business cost basis, and I should imagine that again companies like Naim will be there to get the best performance out of the medium.
Personally HD based delivery wouldn't worry me, PROVIDED the quality of results was at least equal to or better than what we have now. Certainly current compression technologys can't provide that, but that may change in the future.
The only certain thing that I can see, is that the future outlook is changing quickly and unpredictably, and that within short order, the 2 channel system as we know it, and the gear that drives it will to all intents and purposes become obsolete. In time, my existing equipment will reach the end of it's useful working life, and one will then simply embrace whatever the dominate technology is, and at the best quality level one can afford.
Until then, my Naim 2 channel system gives me access to a level of enjoyment re recorded music in the home that stands alongside anything else on offer in the market place, and for that, and for being able to own it, I am grateful.
Best Regards
John...
Populist thinking exalts the simplistic and the ordinary
Jude said:
quote:
I feel though that the people who enjo hi-fi are getting more serious about it while the general public isn't interested at all. Whether or not the niche that enjoys hi-fi is large enough to keep all of the hi-fi companies afloat who knows?
An important point I feel, and one I am sure keeps the management of Naim and other specialist manufacturers up late at night.
Life changes, social values change, and technology changes with it as well.
When I got my first 'serious' HiFi, there were no computer or AV systems vying for ones disposable income, and as a student/starting in work, the two most desirable 'must haves' in those days were a car or motorbike, and a high quality HiFi.
Most of ones friends were seriously interested in good gear, particularly if one was involved in the 'arty' set, and into music as well.
But now, the pace of life has quickened immensly, and spare time is at a premium for all. The ability to put aside an evening to relax with and into some good music at home via the HiFi is becomming more and more a rarity. Particularly with classical music, it's quite hard to 'switch off' from the rigours of the day, and the other things crowding ones mind with pressing matters to deal with, and just get absorbed into the music, say a large symphony.
On the other hand, the 90 minute 'fix' of escapeism via a movie in the home, is a good antidote to the stresses of modern life, as well as providing that mental/emotional 'escape' to somewhere else that immersion in the story-telling of the film achieves, but much more simply, quickly and directly than the quiet meditation over music reproduction, assuming one has the time and frame of mind to be able to relax into it.
I prefer music to film, but more and more I find it is the AV medium that I turn to for entertainment in the home, basically for reasons of time, and the simple way it gets you involved and the escapist 'hit'.
The other thing I've found is that whilst going for a 'high-end' AV solution is going to cost even more than 2 channel, unlike 2 channel, one can achieve very acceptable results for quite a modest outlay - for music one just seems to be more critical overall, and therefore needs to spend more on the kit, especially if you're a listener of many years experience and exposure to good gear.
I have no doubt the trend towards AV, and HD based delivery systems will worry companies like Naim, and I'm sure they will be investigating these options as an ongoing business strategy.
For us, the end user, there will always be specialist manufacturers catering for those who want that last 'edge' of performance and either have the funds, or are prepared to pay them to get it. However, the Naim we know and love may well be a very different product in not too many years to come.
If mainstream music does go multi-channel, then I would expect to see an amalgamation of HT and HiFi as we know it, with 2 channel music all but disappearing.
I don't see portable compressed formats 'taking' over, as they are parallel but different markets catering for a different need.
However, whether the medium by which the music is delivered continues to be on a disc is harder to predict. Online purchasing/downloading of music may well be the way forward on a business cost basis, and I should imagine that again companies like Naim will be there to get the best performance out of the medium.
Personally HD based delivery wouldn't worry me, PROVIDED the quality of results was at least equal to or better than what we have now. Certainly current compression technologys can't provide that, but that may change in the future.
The only certain thing that I can see, is that the future outlook is changing quickly and unpredictably, and that within short order, the 2 channel system as we know it, and the gear that drives it will to all intents and purposes become obsolete. In time, my existing equipment will reach the end of it's useful working life, and one will then simply embrace whatever the dominate technology is, and at the best quality level one can afford.
Until then, my Naim 2 channel system gives me access to a level of enjoyment re recorded music in the home that stands alongside anything else on offer in the market place, and for that, and for being able to own it, I am grateful.
Best Regards
John...
Populist thinking exalts the simplistic and the ordinary