Nations on th forum
Posted by: Bert Schurink on 25 September 2018
i was just thinking that it would be interesting to see how many different countries are represented on the forum. As all have a distinct legacy / background in audio. For instance I am originating from the Netherlands, and now living in Germany. The topic of hifi seems to be much more lived in Germany. Would be interested to hear the Nations on the forum and some background on how they experience audio interests in the country....
Well I'm from England and Hifi of the type we listen is still quite a niche market but interest in general hifi has really blown up over the past few years and I think the huge interest in vinyl has played a part in this and so has internet streaming.
I'm from the Netherlands too and all my friends buy Sonos.
I'm trying to get an European anti-trust committee engaged to block Sonos on the European market.
Sadly for the British on this forum, this won't count for you however you could trust your government to do a similar thing.
Ps, I'm much in love with the British audio (history) though I rate the (Dutch) Philips contribution to CD-players and Dacs high.
In the UK myself and I too experience many telling me how good Sonos is, which used be Bose and before that B&O.
I’m sure it’s better than many tabletop speakers and radios, if a little limited in scope but if it makes them happy and sets them on a path to even better things, then so much the better.
I worked with a guy last year who worked at a council tip and I asked him if they ever got any hifi brought in
“there’s this little English brand called Naim, not name N A I M it’s not worth very much but if you ever get any in call me”
”No we don’t get anything like that “ he said but we get lots and lots of the Sonos”
says it all
I'm from Scotland and of course this is Linn country … well I do have an LP12 and Linto but the rest is Naim and B&W.
We are in a great state of flux since not only do we have Brexit but also Scottish independence … you never know, we may get out of Europe, get independence and then get back into Europe … well I can dream :d
I think "hi-fi" is often seen as a vanity/lifestyle issue (look at the vinyl revival) but audiophile nervosa isn't quite as prevalent 
We have a lot of legacy in the UK and still a number of manufacturers (how many are really independent is a moot point) but I think "mid-fi" is probably a better description of the majority of the audio leaning population (… or is that extremely snobbish of me).
Other than the "big brands", niche hi-fi equipment from other countries doesn't appear in our consciousness too much, well not in mine anyway.
Allan
Bob the Builder posted:I worked with a guy last year who worked at a council tip and I asked him if they ever got any hifi brought in
“there’s this little English brand called Naim, not name N A I M it’s not worth very much but if you ever get any in call me”
”No we don’t get anything like that “ he said but we get lots and lots of the Sonos”
says it all
He's probably got the NAC32.5 at home that you fancied to run with your bolt down 250.
UK listener.
Well I'm from Ireland and I'd consider someone who listens to a Sonos system as someone with a hifi system.
There are so many houses you can visit and there is nothing delivering music through speakers, if there is music there it's through headphones or else the TV is the background "noise".
Having said that live music seems to be booming, go figure!
.sjb
" The topic of hifi seems to be much more lived in Germany " What does that mean ?
Probably just language - I read it as 'much more alive'
I’m in Minnesota, USA, home to several well-known audio manufacturers. I am guessing, based on recently touring many open houses for sale, that the rate of hi-fi ownership here is higher than average. Maybe it’s our long, cold winters. Or maybe it’s the large number of people who are trying to drown out the inane, grating utterances of he who shall not be named.
Ardbeg10y posted:I'm from the Netherlands too and all my friends buy Sonos.
I'm trying to get an European anti-trust committee engaged to block Sonos on the European market.
Sadly for the British on this forum, this won't count for you however you could trust your government to do a similar thing.
Ps, I'm much in love with the British audio (history) though I rate the (Dutch) Philips contribution to CD-players and Dacs high.
Just out of curiosity, why are you trying to block Sonos in Europe? (I don’t own any Sonos kit, nor am I connected in any way to anything/body connected to Sonos ...
Sonos say existing customers will not be given an option to opt out of its new privacy policy. They intend to collect account data. Some folks think its too intrusive as the data includes email addresses, IP addresses & account login information.
Well Mike-B, that's one of the reasons. In general, I dislike brands when they are too popular and still trying to get an even bigger piece of the cake. No Apple, no Samsung, no Sonos in my house.
But the real reason is that I deeply love palindromes and Sonos is a disgrace to it.
Notlob
OK Ardbeg10y, you can have your own battles & good luck, but its the way of the world these days.
I am concerned if it is true that Sonos are collecting e-mail addresses, but if I think about it I wonder what is linked to Sonos that gives e-mail addresses other than those used with Sonos connectivity. I don't have Sonos BTW. Whatever I'm happy to have MS Windows, Apple & my smart Android TV all reputed to be watching my every move, I suspect in reality they are watching for trends.
Another Brit here, and a Naim user for around 35 years, and now living in Ireland for last 20 years.
previous loves included Quad systems from their good (early) years.
Hi....
From northern Sweden.
I've had this Hifi interest all my life,but from 1983 more focused on Linn and Naim.
Albeit I have also some tube-systems to listen too.
The high fidelity interest in Sweden has in many,many years had a downward trend.... unfortunately.
Young people listening to music,..but we all know what they listen through....
Cheap Inear's via Smartphone's ????.
Unfortunately,..a gloomy reality we live in.
/Peder ????
Outer Tralfamadore here. The future is bright. Most households have a decent stereo system as the government offer income tax relief if you can provide documentation or proof of purchase.
Not really, I’m from Norway and the Hi-Fi interest is becoming more like a small niche consisting of a grey haired population.
In the hay day of Hi-Fi / or up until the nineties young lads used their hard earned money from delivering news papers or gifts from the Christian confirmation on one of two things- a moped or a decent Hi-Fi system..
Today no one buys mopeds - or Hi-Fi. It’s for old gits only.
Welshman exiled in the North West of England.
I'm from Ireland and have been living in the far northwest of the U.S. for the past 24 years. Been away too long to contribute anything useful vis a vis hi-fi culture in my native country other than the predictable observation that the habit of sitting down and listening to music in the home as an activity in itself appears to be practically extinct, as it is everywhere else.
From Ireland also, the first music I recall hearing was “How much is that Doggie in the window” on my late Dads Garrard 301 / Quad 22 / ESL 57’s when I was about 3 or less, the rest is history as it set the benchmark for me (the system not the music!) and later provided me with a good system to blast my Sabbath albums through! I still have it all stashed away and am contemplating having it refurbed in the UK one of these days. Interestingly there are only three high end audio dealers in Dublin and countrywide not much more. I guess the population is small overall but the demand is obviously low. Sonos is popular though and it suits many people perfectly, I’ve no issue with it at all, it’s a lifestyle system that works out of the box and provides a music system to many who have no interest or perhaps can’t afford anything more. Nothing wrong with that unless you’re a hifi snob.
There weren't so many who wanted to share their data on the nationality of this thread,just 15… boring.!
◾Richard: How many members have the forum
◾Of these,how many assess you are active.?
Those who write more constant here,do not seem to be more than 15-20...except in the music-tips threads.
But the forum is read by many non members too I think.
/Peder ????
Peder, the forum has over 25,000 registered members. As to how many are active, always hard to say, but right as I type there are 613 people looking at the forum, of which 111 are currently logged in as members.
TOBYJUG posted:" The topic of hifi seems to be much more lived in Germany " What does that mean ?
A lot of shows, a strong dealer network, a considerable media coverage.