Everything runs in cycles, and audio has passed its nadir and is now trending back up. And high-fidelity audio — for heaven’s sake! — is moving back onto the radar screen. Consider these 10 points:
1. It Can’t Get Any Worse.
Sound quality is at an all-time low. This is even more depressing when you consider that in the past, sound quality was limited by technology. Today, there is absolutely no technological excuse for poor sound, but never have so many people been content to listen to crap. Sound quality will get better because (say it with me) it can’t get any worse.
2. The Retro Revolution.
For the first time ever, downloads surpassed CD sales in 2011. Downloading has become totally mainstream. So, obviously, downloading will become uncool and CDs will become cool again. Trendsetters will realize how good CDs sound compared with downloads.
3. Big Is Beautiful.
Along the same lines, trendsetters will tire of pocket-size playback and check out their dad’s big and clunky loudspeakers. Bingo!
4. Short Attention Span.
The restless, attention-deficient-disorder child that is the consumer electronics industry is always looking for something novel. Sound quality has been a neglected market. What’s old is new again.
5. Heard on the Street.
The Consumer Electronics Show is a great place to feel the pulse of the industry and get a handle on sentiments. In distinct contrast to the “sound quality is dead” talk of previous years, this year the audio chatter was decidedly upbeat. Audiophiles are excited again.
6. We Have the Technology for That.
Also at the show, I was struck by the number of cool new products and concepts whose sole purpose was to emphasize sound quality or improve it. I lost count of how many times I said, “Wow, this is going to blow people’s minds.” From Samsung’s vacuum-tube audio dock and home theater systems to Klipsch’s massive Console (both shown above), audio innovation is alive and kicking.
7. The Dr. Is In.
From Concourse A to Club Z, Beats by Dr. Dre headphones are everywhere. Almost overnight, the wildly popular line has awakened a new generation to the pleasures of high fidelity. Suddenly, crappy earbuds are out and good-sounding headphones are in.
8. Lives of the Rich and Famous.
Following directly from the Dr. Dre phenomenon, companies everywhere have discovered celebrity sells. In particular, musicians can sell the heck out of sound quality. Once a celebrity DJ endorses something (like sound quality), watch out!
9. Do These Headphones Make My Head Look Phat?
Fashion. Look no further than Monster’s new line of headphones. Once a fashion suggestion, headphones are now a fashion must. And once fashionistas get their hooks into something… well, you get the idea.
10. Follow the Money.
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC bought a majority share of Beats for $300 million because it needed something cool to differentiate its Android phones from everyone else’s Android phones. And lo and behold, HTC’s Rezound with Beats by Dr. Dre stands out from the crowd. It will inspire consumers to pull out their wallets for sound quality. And, by the way, also buy a new phone.
Is this just a wishful, reverberant dream of a bygone era? Or is it possible? Will audio technology become cool again? Will sound quality become the Next Big Thing? I choose to think so. Go ahead — jump onto the cutting edge. Pull a CD off the shelf. Crank up the volume. Shake your subwoofer. Bust a move. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
hey, the medium that increased 99% in sales in 2011 was VINYL, not CDs. So I fully expect vinyl to be part of the audiophile renaissance.
Also, beautiful sound does not have to be big. I know my sons are mightily impressed by records played through my 40 year old British monitors (8" woofer, dome tweeter, passive radiator) and my mid eighties B&K amplifier. And my eldest son is into musical instruments pretty heavily. I fully expect him to be asking me for some minitowers and a decent amp for his room in the near future.
My daughter is in her mid twenties and yes she has an iPhone full of MP3's, but surprisingly she and many of her friends are now embracing their Dad's stereo's. She came to me about 6 months ago and asked if I would help her setup a vintage stereo system complete with a turntable no less. I still had my Pioneer integrated amp from college and my brother's Dual turntable sitting on a shelf in the closet. Both needed some work, but they are now operating flawlessly. To complete her system, I purchased a new Shure cartridge and found a very nice pair of vintage AR speakers on Craig's List. She now has a collection of about 25 LP's mainly picked up in thrift stores and garage sales. After some cleaning most of them play quite well. She just recently added a CD player and is actually buying CD's again. So Ken, even though your article was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, there are signs out there that at least some young people do appreciate high fidelity sound.
I think the problem start with the fact that we are used to noise everywhere. Especially when it comes to mobile calls.
All of this talk about fashion ignores the real driving force behind the (likely) upcoming resurgence of sound quality: technology. When everything started to go "mobile and downloadable" in the late 90's, necessary compromises were made due to limitations in processing power, storage capacity and bandwidth. Hence, the emergence of the craptastic MP3 format and its derivatives. But we're now entering a period in which all three of those variables are becoming inexpensive commodities. So it's only a matter of time before the power of "better" once again takes hold in the audio arena and the public is given the opportunity to buy lossless formats (such as flac) directly from iTunes, Amazon, et al. And, of course, the most potent fuel for purchases of better audio equipment is the existence of better sounding audio to play on it.
I doubt we'll see a resurgence of CD to replace downloadable music. The CD format was standardized at a time when technology imposed serious limitations. CD encodes using 16 bit samples at 44KHz and this imposes serious dynamic range limitations. Modern loss-less streams such as 24bit Ogg Vorbis at 192 KHz sampling rates sound far better on my single-ended tube amp playing through a pair of B&W monitors than CDs ever will!
The article and posts are really should first address the fact that the consumer audio market is very segmented. To make things a simply (if somewhat crude) as possible. There are audio products for audiophiles and there are audio products for the rest of consumers (the vast majority). Sure, there are some youth who will appreciate older and better quality formats with the exception of the LP format, which is enjoying something of revival with some youth because it oozes some retro style, the vast majority will buy whatever is cheapest, most compact, and most convenient. Most youth would rather carry an iPhone or Android or iPad now and in the foreseeable future. Sound quality is the least of their concerns.
It's nice to indulge in romantic nostalgia but I doubt most old things (including CDs) will be new again. It's over-optimistic. In fact, I'm actually surprised that , you, Ken Pohlmann put out such an article. You've always took the "In with the new, out with the old" stance. What happened?
The article and posts are really should first address the fact that the consumer audio market is very segmented. To make things a simply (if somewhat crude) as possible. There are audio products for audiophiles and there are audio products for the rest of consumers (the vast majority). Sure, there are some youth who will appreciate older and better quality formats with the exception of the LP format, which is enjoying something of revival with some youth because it oozes some retro style, the vast majority will buy whatever is cheapest, most compact, and most convenient. Most youth would rather carry an iPhone or Android or iPad now and in the foreseeable future. Sound quality is the least of their concerns.
It's nice to indulge in romantic nostalgia but I doubt most old things (including CDs) will be new again. It's over-optimistic. In fact, I'm actually surprised that , you, Ken Pohlmann put out such an article. You've always took the "In with the new, out with the old" stance. What happened?
My daughter and granddaughter are amazed by the sound quality of my system. 20 year old B&W 804s, KEF C75s and a new Def Tech subwoofer and KEF centre channel powered by a recent-ish Denon receiver and 20 year old Adcom power amp. They love the sound but even for me this is an expensive setup cobbled together over many years.
I'm disappointed in the trend to lossy compressed everything but the cost is a factor which I'm sure weighs on young people. If my 804s' price increased in line with inflation they would cost about $4,500 Cdn today. Instead they are over $8,000. The new ones are better but not that much better.
This is an expensive but rewarding hobby. An iPod is a few hundred bucks and anyone can enjoy their tunes on it. We have the technology for amazing sound but not everyone has the cash for it.