Sad. It feels like the mid/high end audio market is broken. Prices are out of control at the high-end and the mid-end continues to be eroded from below where the majority of users are happy with sound bars and smart speaker devices.
A friend owns a small high end shop and is doing well with $$$ brands T+A, Hifi Rose, etc. It blows my mind what some guys (50+ in age) spend on audio, when the majority of them are far from wealthy. The kids could care less about high end audio as you suggest. But hey, different strokes.
Thanks for the update,Scott. As a McIntosh owner, I’ll be interested to see where Marantz lands since the Marantz HDMI circuit board and interface software are both used in the MX123 AV processor which is at the heart of our system. Keep the vids comin’ my friend. And enjoy the music powerfully, accurately, ….and loudly. 😎🎶🎶
Thanks for your thoughts on this, my personal opinion on this matter coincides along with yours, and suggests to me that, younger peoples disposable income spending habits have shifted dramatically since the HiFi heydays. I am referring to 1970 to about 1990, back then owning a really killer sound system for your home environment was COOL ! It was the thing to do, while impressing your friends, around 1990 it started shifting towards Hi End Car audio, and then Home Theater started taking off, with lots of crappy Brand Name all in one systems. Next the ultra Home Theater, massive nightmare receivers with so much stuff built in it became ridiculous to even operate one properly. Enter the 2000 -2010 explosion of relatively affordable yet powerful computers, tablets, smartphones etc.... My point is younger folks ( I am referring to those in the 25-35 age bracket ) generally spend disposable income, in regards to electronics, based on the current trends. And unfortunately owning a nice sounding, modestly priced HiFi in the 2020's is no longer considered COOL. Thanks again for the video, always nice to watch them.
Unfortunately many of these brands were so well made that they’re out living the consumer’s needs to update. Many of us would love to own these gems but can’t afford to buy them
When the only big box store options to buy gear are Best Buy & Walmart for the majority of people.... Theres no place for new consumers to truly familiarize themselves with brands/gear. Growing up, I had The Wiz, Crazy Eddies, Sears, CIrcuit City, so many options! We are to a degree spoiled in boutique brands, moreso now than ever if you ask me. Klipsch & Marantz are like American intitutions, i'd be sad to see them go. Then again, they are as synonymous as Harley Davidson which makes resurrection a gurantee if they happen to go out for a few years.
B&W's top of the line speaker systems cost as much as a house. Less than 1% of the worlds wealthy can afford that kind of gear. $1 million systems owned by maybe 10 or20 people in the world. Many ultra high end manufacturers will be going belly up. Not enough young people in the hobby. That's been going on for a while. Sad to see it.
Thanks for the news, I hadn’t herd this. It definitely sucks! All good legacy brands. I really hate to see Polk go 😔 they currently seem to have really good engineers, and I was really waiting to see what they come out with next! Hopefully someone buys them. Please let us know if you hear anything else. 👍🏻
Though nearly all of my equipment is from the "Golden Age" of hi-fi stereo ('60s and '70s), in 2018 I bought a Marantz SR7011AV unit to handle multi-channel audio (HDMI multi-channel sound from SACDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays) and 4K video from discs or streaming. I love the old Marantz "portal" design, with the round circle of blue light on the black faceplate. Those are no more. I generally dislike the sound and the look of modern "digital-age" equipment and I hope I never have to buy another AV receiver -- no matter who makes it.
Well, with no more box stores around and prices so high on Chinese junk, people are looking for vintage audio. Plus with Amazon killing stores, you can shop from homes.
Would be pretty terrible is these brands disappeared. It’s a crazy idea that might Klipsch disappear after all this time. I would hope it would survive somehow. However, I think of Sears.
Nobody wants to sit still and listen. Also, the entry level stuff is pretty good. Most people are content with the sound quality. Convenience and ease of operation is more important to the typical customer.
No one can afford the new stuff. Second hand market is huge right now. At least Yamaha will still be around. I'm just hoping my 2004 Denon stereo receiver holds up like the receivers from the 70s.
One constructive comment on your enjoyable content. 😀 This isn't TV production where they need filler. I suggest, eliminate the padded intro, B roll etc. Cut the repetitive statements. This 10 minutes becomes 3 and viewers don't have to manually skip ahead. Good luck.
I would argue that the recent massive in housing costs and groceries would have a lot to do with the plunging sales of audio equipment -as well. People, especially younger people and those not in the upper 10% richest have actually lost purchasing power because n the last 4 years. That also factors into car sales dropping and the results of the recent presidential election.
I think VOX was bad for Klipsch.I dont know the details but the company started to change after. There was some talk of the klipsch forum members buying it. Maybe we should have.
For everyone new to the market and doing their research, listen up. These companies will new have your best interests or provide the best support and customer service. Companies like SVS are and will remain superior. It’s a shame but this will all likely drastically affect the future of quality products and cause price increases.
Holy Mother Of Mercy. What next. Oh that's right, I only buy vintage...so no biggie for me. Except for Beats, I can't think of any new brands that have taken the world by storm in stereo sales. Could it be that not many people are interested in stereos anymore? People have less disposable income, many are working 2 jobs to make ends meet. Maybe it's listening to stereo or getting some shut eye...some sleep. Modern music is uninspired and many would say lacking in creativity, innovation and soul. Even awful some would say. The younger generation isn't usually into the older stuff, which we know is often such good music. What would be their motivation to spend on stereo equipment. Good music was always my motivation. They spend hours each day on their cell phone, then there's still TV and sports...and sports betting. They gotta watch a near 3 hour game if they have a bet on it..right? Stereo listening at home and books have taken not only the back seat but the rumble seat. Our society is changing. People and their priorities are changing; and I even forgot to mention such spare time takers like Facebook and Video Games.
"We are chameleons, and our partialities and prejudices change places with an easy and blessed facility, and we are soon wonted to the change and happy in it. We do not regret our old, yellow fangs and tushes after we have worn nice fresh uniform store teeth a while." - Mark Twain
Sad. It feels like the mid/high end audio market is broken. Prices are out of control at the high-end and the mid-end continues to be eroded from below where the majority of users are happy with sound bars and smart speaker devices.
A friend owns a small high end shop and is doing well with $$$ brands T+A, Hifi Rose, etc. It blows my mind what some guys (50+ in age) spend on audio, when the majority of them are far from wealthy. The kids could care less about high end audio as you suggest. But hey, different strokes.
Thanks for the update,Scott. As a McIntosh owner, I’ll be interested to see where Marantz lands since the Marantz HDMI circuit board and interface software are both used in the MX123 AV processor which is at the heart of our system. Keep the vids comin’ my friend. And enjoy the music powerfully, accurately, ….and loudly. 😎🎶🎶
Great content, thanks! Would be interesting to know units sold, units in inventory.
Thanks for your thoughts on this, my personal opinion on this matter coincides along with yours, and suggests to me that, younger peoples disposable income spending habits have shifted dramatically since the HiFi heydays. I am referring to 1970 to about 1990, back then owning a really killer sound system for your home environment was COOL ! It was the thing to do, while impressing your friends, around 1990 it started shifting towards Hi End Car audio, and then Home Theater started taking off, with lots of crappy Brand Name all in one systems. Next the ultra Home Theater, massive nightmare receivers with so much stuff built in it became ridiculous to even operate one properly. Enter the 2000 -2010 explosion of relatively affordable yet powerful computers, tablets, smartphones etc.... My point is younger folks ( I am referring to those in the 25-35 age bracket ) generally spend disposable income, in regards to electronics, based on the current trends. And unfortunately owning a nice sounding, modestly priced HiFi in the 2020's is no longer considered COOL.
Thanks again for the video, always nice to watch them.
Unfortunately many of these brands were so well made that they’re out living the consumer’s needs to update. Many of us would love to own these gems but can’t afford to buy them
When the only big box store options to buy gear are Best Buy & Walmart for the majority of people.... Theres no place for new consumers to truly familiarize themselves with brands/gear. Growing up, I had The Wiz, Crazy Eddies, Sears, CIrcuit City, so many options!
We are to a degree spoiled in boutique brands, moreso now than ever if you ask me. Klipsch & Marantz are like American intitutions, i'd be sad to see them go. Then again, they are as synonymous as Harley Davidson which makes resurrection a gurantee if they happen to go out for a few years.
B&W's top of the line speaker systems cost as much as a house. Less than 1% of the worlds wealthy can afford that kind of gear. $1 million systems owned by maybe 10 or20 people in the world. Many ultra high end manufacturers will be going belly up. Not enough young people in the hobby. That's been going on for a while. Sad to see it.
Thanks for the news, I hadn’t herd this. It definitely sucks! All good legacy brands. I really hate to see Polk go 😔 they currently seem to have really good engineers, and I was really waiting to see what they come out with next! Hopefully someone buys them. Please let us know if you hear anything else. 👍🏻
Though nearly all of my equipment is from the "Golden Age" of hi-fi stereo ('60s and '70s), in 2018 I bought a Marantz SR7011AV unit to handle multi-channel audio (HDMI multi-channel sound from SACDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays) and 4K video from discs or streaming. I love the old Marantz "portal" design, with the round circle of blue light on the black faceplate. Those are no more. I generally dislike the sound and the look of modern "digital-age" equipment and I hope I never have to buy another AV receiver -- no matter who makes it.
Absolutely outstanding video! Thank you Scott! I never knew that these companies were owned by big corporations. I so appreciate your channel…!
Well, with no more box stores around and prices so high on Chinese junk, people are looking for vintage audio. Plus with Amazon killing stores, you can shop from homes.
All progress is change, not all change is progress.
Would be pretty terrible is these brands disappeared. It’s a crazy idea that might Klipsch disappear after all this time. I would hope it would survive somehow. However, I think of Sears.
Nobody wants to sit still and listen. Also, the entry level stuff is pretty good. Most people are content with the sound quality. Convenience and ease of operation is more important to the typical customer.
No one can afford the new stuff. Second hand market is huge right now. At least Yamaha will still be around. I'm just hoping my 2004 Denon stereo receiver holds up like the receivers from the 70s.
One constructive comment on your enjoyable content. 😀 This isn't TV production where they need filler. I suggest, eliminate the padded intro, B roll etc. Cut the repetitive statements. This 10 minutes becomes 3 and viewers don't have to manually skip ahead. Good luck.
I have sent your feedback to Top Management for review! :-)
You must be one Really Busy Guy!...The foam on peoples beer is still settling in 3 minutes.
My ideal length would around 12 minutes or a little less .
I would argue that the recent massive in housing costs and groceries would have a lot to do with the plunging sales of audio equipment -as well. People, especially younger people and those not in the upper 10% richest have actually lost purchasing power because n the last 4 years. That also factors into car sales dropping and the results of the recent presidential election.
I think VOX was bad for Klipsch.I dont know the details but the company started to change after. There was some talk of the klipsch forum members buying it. Maybe we should have.
Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade and singing "oh how beautiful".
- Rudyard Kipling
So sad to hear this, nonetheless thank you very much for doing this video we appreciate the insight
For everyone new to the market and doing their research, listen up.
These companies will new have your best interests or provide the best support and customer service.
Companies like SVS are and will remain superior.
It’s a shame but this will all likely drastically affect the future of quality products and cause price increases.
Holy Mother Of Mercy. What next. Oh that's right, I only buy vintage...so no biggie for me. Except for Beats, I can't think of any new brands that have taken the world by storm in stereo sales. Could it be that not many people are interested in stereos anymore? People have less disposable income, many are working 2 jobs to make ends meet. Maybe it's listening to stereo or getting some shut eye...some sleep. Modern music is uninspired and many would say lacking in creativity, innovation and soul. Even awful some would say. The younger generation isn't usually into the older stuff, which we know is often such good music. What would be their motivation to spend on stereo equipment. Good music was always my motivation. They spend hours each day on their cell phone, then there's still TV and sports...and sports betting. They gotta watch a near 3 hour game if they have a bet on it..right? Stereo listening at home and books have taken not only the back seat but the rumble seat. Our society is changing. People and their priorities are changing; and I even forgot to mention such spare time takers like Facebook and Video Games.
"We are chameleons, and our partialities and prejudices change places with an easy and blessed facility, and we are soon wonted to the change and happy in it. We do not regret our old, yellow fangs and tushes after we have worn nice fresh uniform store teeth a while."
- Mark Twain
Mark Twain??? I thought that was MY quote?
Their either cheaply made or way too expensive. Only JBL is in touch with consumers