On Father’s Day we had two of my kids home (age 30+/-). I was able to persuade them to use Apple Music to “play DJ” as we passed the remote around to play a personal favorite. I had just finalized the assembly of my dream stereo (recently retired) which they had not heard. They could not get over the sound - I then realized their musical experience for the most part was only digital music through ear phones. I quickly grabbed a couple of my favorite albums & we were off to the races. My son in law exclaimed to the group, as he read album liner notes, “this album is over 50 years old! Then I realized most of my peers don’t have the “big stereo” anymore because unlike me they never replaced the old Pioneer from the 60/70’s as they skipped right to streaming & Bose headphones or Air Pods not building a new digital/analog music system. I found my research was long & difficult to understand how all the digital music components come together and the expense. With that said it was the best $ in retirement I have spent. You are right - just as music isn’t created by 4 musicians figuring out a melody in a studio together anymore, people of my age have no clue as to how good the new equipment can sound - AMAZIN’!
Maybe they dont have the money to even try. Many people think that spending 500 dollars is not a lot of money and recommend that cost that as a ·"entry level" thing , but that entry level device will need other hundreds for only having "entry level" stuff.
@@hipidipi20157maxI don’t understand moving this to the have’s/have’s not…discussion - I gave up many things to put together my stereo; many of my peers spend their resources in retirement in different ways - new cars/boats, extensive travel etc. This victimhood crap has no place in my life - collected a paycheck for over 50 years and never worked a 40 hr/week job always 50-70.
I spent decades as a studio engineer............I worked for some of the biggest names in music, so I'll offer a little input (just incase it's interesting to anyone).......one thing we have to consider in this day and age: currently, the majority of audio content out there is now experienced using 'ear pods', etc. Very few people have good quality sound systems in their home, yet car stereos have improved immensely. This dramatically changes the way creators mix music and sound design. Also, sadly, we come to realization that a cast majority of musical content out there (with some genre exceptions), is mastered to achieve 'maximum loudness' and impact, at the expense of dynamics and nuanced arrangement and mixing...............it's a changing world, and not all good for audio enthusiasts......................and then there's the other big issue when talking about high end audio - the environment that it's consumed in..............unless you're in a room which has been 'tuned' and properly treated, (in correlation to whatever speakers/amplifiers you have) you're still not often getting very close to experiencing that audio the way the producer/engineer intended, and what they heard as they recorded/mixed/mastered.
About 3 minutes of SuperTramp or Rush, or AC/DC and your'e gonna miss those 12" Cerwin Vegas. Jiggle your innards they do, not like some ear-bud or 2" tweet from a surround sound setup. Put some watts behind it to the point where your house lights dimm on the bass notes and the neighbors call the police. THAT's music.
I bought your PS Sprout some time ago and I absolutely love it. I entered a very well equipped audio store with multiple listing rooms... meanwhile there was music playing in the background and it intrigued me because it was so nice to listen too while browsing. Finding the system that was actually producing the lovely sound I was quite surprised...it was the PS Sprout attached to a Thorens record player and a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 200....I bought the PS Sprout right then and there.... that's my little contribution to the audio world 🤗
Hi Paul, I am in my 60's and I got into audio after my first concert. I need to have that experience you are talking about. Being able to sit in front of my stereo, close my eyes and re-experience that concert level joy that I felt during the concert. This is the direction I took. I agree with you that the older you get, your ability to hear higher frequency diminishes. But the love of music in a concert level is and has been my love of music. Thank you for you do. Kindest Regards..
I am continually blown away by the energy, enthusiasm and work ethic that Paul McGowan demonstrates at 76. Most people could not keep up at any age. A great role model for all of us. I seriously wonder where 'hi end' audio will be in 10 years. Perhaps audio will be like the market for hi end photography. I was a photography enthusiast during the 70s. But the camera I like the best is my Samsung Phone. The fact it is ubiquitously available and takes still pictures and videos that are among the best I have ever experienced leaves no room in my life for bulky expensive SLR cameras. Sure if I was a pro or an artist I'd have a $50k camera that would be SOTA. I wonder if the nostalgia for vinyl will lead to similar interest in triode amps. That would keep the exposure to the audiophile illusion alive. I just don't see great class D amps standing out when a cheap DAC/pre/power amp driven wirelessly by your phone will suffice. Perhaps it will just morph to home theatre that plays music ok.
I'm almost 70. I don't know of ANY of my younger friends relatives who spend serious $$ on JUST audio equipment and/or recorded media. To them, I'm just an "eccentric" (mostly) jazz music "collector". They were raised on pc-gaming, and mp3 based music. That's their point of reference. Many have never been to small venue concert. They would rather spend money to upgrade their gaming computer. When I was in college the "art" of both live and recorded music was our main pastime. No TV. No home computer No interactive games. It was binary. Study or "party" to live and/or recorded music. Most of use were proud to "show off" our modest '70's (now vintage) gear. TINA - There IS (or should I say WAS) No Alternative.
I think your analysis of the market is spot on Paul. I hope your product succeeds as the other main difference now is how income is spread over more parts of one's life. When I started out I had no mobile phone or or any other product that committed a chunk of my wages to subscriptions, so proportionally I had more spare income than today's generation. Even back then the proportion of people willing to spend out the additional cost of a good audio system was limited as the tech improvements and cost grew larger over time.
Exposure. Younger generations are not exposed to quality home audio. Malls no longer have audio stores for them to wander into and hear it. Malls themselves are disappearing. They just are not exposed to the difference between their Bluetooth earbuds and a good high-end system. My teen granddaughter was over the other day and I sat her down at my PC and had her listen to my ATH-50Ms with a good amp driving them. Even using the PC DAC! She was blown away compared to her Airpods. She took an older pair of closed back headphones and a spare Schiit Magni2 with her. She loves the better sound.
You nailed it. I remember the first time I heard a McIntosh amplifier (2255,) as well as the first B&W 801. Now all the local dealers are gone and the knowledge with them. They helped to create the appreciation I still have today.
I totally agree, once something is at a certain point, we don't necessarily pine for better. I think that's sometimes true even if we know what we're missing. I have a newer, more expensive TV that is much better than my older LCD. I just hooked up the old TV for use in another room, and no doubt its picture quality is inferior by a big gap. But it still looks good, and if I was stuck again with only the old TV for some reason I'd have a great time using it. What I'm discovering is that my videophile and audiophile side only offers so much for me. A well made film, or well written and performed piece of music doesn't really require a super high fidelity recreation to be highly inspiring and enjoyable. And, I sometimes find the faults of media equipment charming. It's as if my mind enjoys some interpreting tasks rather than having everything explicitly and near perfectly delivered to my senses. The media itself, and the equipment used to render it, mixes with the content to create a new experience.
As an engineer, we've always been taught "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good-enough". If we continue to wait for the perfect, nothing will come to market. There won't be anything to enjoy. We continue to work toward the perfect while enjoying the good-enough which is the best available at the moment. Don't obsess over it, just enjoy.
I appreciate your desire to be able to close your eyes and have the sound stage filled with the musicians. To pick out the details and nuances of the music. It’s wonderful. I wish that I had a PS Audio budget. I have found a way to get very close though. I have B&W bookshelve speakers, connected to an old Rotel receiver and an ifi Bluetooth. I stream Qobuz at cd quality. The trick is near field listening. The speakers are 7 feet apart and I am in the middle about 3 feet back. The sound stage is remarkable. I have 3 systems. This one I put together used for $300. The next cost me $700, used. Tube amp, Klipsch speakers,and SMSL SU1 DAC. Sounds good. My best cost $5,000. With Zu speakers and a Heaven Eleven integrated amp, Denafrips DAC and WIIM DAC. It is very nice in my larger room.
My 5yo son loves when I put music on our system and even decides to shut down the tv and just dance and listen to it... he is an exception that has a father who loves music and loves the ritual of having the turntable in use... will see how things will continue and how I can influence him and his friends regarding some of this good old life pleasures. Unpluging from the digital world sure can be great and I know there are quite a few youngsters today that do enjoy it (analog photography instead of digital... having to wait for results instead of having the instant and marginal pleasure of looking at the picture...)
I am a young guy in the audio hobby. My first love is home theater, but I found a passion for stereo through reading reviews and evaluating speakers for home theater. I think my generation is probably more interested in multi-channel theater than two-channel audio. Personally, I am interested in the Aspen line of speakers. The demo I had in listening room 3 is the best I've ever heard. I would love to in the next few years be able to buy a pair of FR-30s and a matching center channel. The KEF Blade One Metas are also really nice, and they have an entire line of center channel, and on-wall/in-wall/in-ceiling surround speakers that are voiced to match.
i’m 55 and got into highend hifi 2 years ago and and i am done upgrading. Even i was never interested in heavy components over 45 lbs or run hot (and i’ve auditioned $1m stereo systems with wilson audio and Wisdom Audio speakers with burmester amps). i have: Apple Music lossless nad c298 amp goldenear brx 2 subwoofers eversolo dmpa6 + lps denafrips pontus II 12th dac denafrips iris 12th ddc Cardas parsec cables isoacoustics feet Parasound 2100 preamp ifi Supanova power cables
Paul....great video, I do see a lot of the shrinking you're talking about but also I see a future rekindling of Interest especially with Gen Z who are in college now that are showing a great interest in music..... especially the older stuff that we grew up with.
In 2022 and 2023, in US.. there were more vinyl sales than cd sales. I'm a little sceptical that the people driving that resurgence are also buying the type of equipment that is sort of needed to make vinyl sound great compared to cd or streaming.
You made me feel young…only 73! Not huge was a mile, now an inch! The difference between a $5000 and $50,000 system is really small, unless you have excellent hearing and formally trained to listen.
There is a big difference between a Sonos and audiophile stuff, but the difference between various levels of audiophile equipment seems to be getting pretty small. John Arltkinson at Stereophile recently said he is having increasingly difficult time distinguishing between class a/b amps for instance. The New 'affordable" stuff is damn good.
After a adolescence spent listening to hand held radios and stereo consoles, I got my first taste of Hi-End Audio while attending university in the 1970s. Many would consider it mid-fi today, but exposure to Kenwood, Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer and other legit components sent me to audio nirvana, and I've never looked back.
those are the brands I looked at like they were the Ferraris or Porsches of audio but never to be found on stores and extremely expensive. Today I dont recognize almost any brand, its all weird stuff called dacs, drivers, streamers, roon, etc
As always, Paul thank you I will say this from my experience. I strive to have my system sounding the best as possibly can and one thing I can say is whenever my friends come over they talk about how they hate to go home and listen to their system because of the vast difference, basically like you said people have to hear the difference to know that there is a difference and the younger generation are fine with where they are and have no idea of the difference. as a joke is like listening to a friend sing, but never had singing lessons to improve. Have a great day please excuse any typos.
Hi end is alive and well-in China where mass production and pragmatism have brought hi end equipment within reach of average western consumers and creating some healthy competition to the established players.
There is also another issue… the source… you can have a great home theater system and realized that there are few movies to really enjoy it… the same for music… better is your system, faster you realize that a lot of recording are not as good as you wish, while this reality is less “perceptive” on mid range system , like Sonos as your exemple…
Yep, my experience is that hifi peak sound quality is up to $2500 per component (DAC, preamp, amp, etc.), and beyond that is like you said art/collecting/furniture quality. My $450 Parasound 2100 preamp sounded the same as the $5500 McIntosh C49 so I returned the McIntosh. Same with my $2400 NAD c298 class D amp sounds as good as the $3k Arcam PA240 amp, so I returned the Arcam.
Paul, from what I see, there are many people who still appreciate quality. That section of humanity is never going to equal those who are happy with crap, but it isn't going away, either. I see quality still being sold in food, clothing, automobiles, cameras, TVs, shoes, telescopes, fine books, basically anything people still buy. Of course the average person is completely oblivious to anything resembling quality, but the average person always was oblivious.
Average person doesn't have the budget to go full quality on everything, even if they aren't oblivious to it existing. I should say Regular Person or consumer. Look at how popular the fast fashion stuff is, or factory farmed food, or whatever it is that the AliExpress/ Temu type sites do. There's also the thing about diminishing returns when actually find some thing that are passionate about. Like a guitar as an example, there's $100 acoustics that can be fun to play, upgrade the strings and it could sound pretty okay. Get a good $1,000 acoustic and it should not just sound so much better, but also be something that has a certain other appeal like simply the look. Going from a $1k to a $3k acoustic is getting into fun territory of going and auditioning them for that something wow factor, and can easily be disappointed. Going above that is getting into the equivalent of high end audio where just spending more doesn't quite mean are getting anything better for yourself.
I feel the biggest issue with "High End audio" gaining new listeners is the fact of mobility. As a 65yr old guy I and all of us of a certain age, would greatly anticipate the release of an album, finally we have it. We go home and put it on the turntable....and SIT there and listen while reading the liner notes, etc. Very, very few people under the age of 35 or maybe 40 these days ever experienced this....their music was on the go. In the last 10 years no waiting on anything, just type it in on Spotify. My point is that taking time to sit and focus on listening is a shrinking idea. Sure, a percentage of younger folks will have the interest to do that as they gain income and desire....but that percentage, what used to be like 90% on the 80s is now what, 20%...?
Hi Paul … I love your posts. Always informative with some humor thrown in. In my mind a big issue with the high end in 2024 is $$$. Putting together a full range system that creates a 3D soundstage is expensive. I would love to own a BHK and Aspen FR 30’s. They would do that. But not in the budget. Not in just about everyone’s budget. Sound quality at that level is $80K on up for the system (or $300K for just a Wilson WAMM if you want to go nuts) makes true high end audio (the kind you describe) a niche market for the top 1%. Even if a young person gets “the bug” the cost of admission is just too high. It’s a problem.
This is a great point! Love Paul but his speakers prices are outrageous and he doent have the history to command such prices. The whole industry is dying from "Greed". I am 68 and bought my first nice stereo in 1972, I have seen it all and have bought it all.........
@@LarryNiles-t1d He does have that history. I've not auditioned the FR series yet, but pretty much everyone I trust have said the 5 and 10's are very compelling at the price and should be any shortlist. I don't yet know what sort of room I'm going to have when move house, so not sure yet which type I'm looking at. The FR20/30's get a lot of praise too from independent reviews, but I know my next house won't work with them, and certainly the 30's are beyond my budget. I don't get your point about 'outrageous' prices or greed... quality has cost.
And there should be physical stores with the stuff and the seller should be willing to play a CD or vinyl you like instead of some elevator music or boring jazz or bassanoca etc.
100 years ago in the UK, most houses had an upright piano and that was the family entertainment. Wind forward and 78 rpm records, along with the radio, was the source of the family entertainment. Go forward some more and the TV became the medium if choice. In the mid 1970s more and more homes were investing in hi-fi systems and all of that technology, from the piano to the hi-fi system, shared one thing in common - they were shared experiences by the family. With the advent of personal entertainment in the form of the Walkman followed by the iPod, convenience and isolation became the new way to listen to music and the death of hi-fi in the mainstream was inevitable. It’s happening with TV too - the younger generations are turning to TH-cam and Netflix, preferring to watch on their own mobile devices anywhere and at anytime. PS Audio needs a change in human behaviour to survive unless they tap into the next generation’s music deployment methods.
Great insights. I am 71 and gave up TV 10 years ago. My wife and I were early adopters of internet. Once we had super high performance lap tops on gigabit connection we just prefer the on demand entertainment and connection of our personal entertainment systems over the big screen with tv ads. I'll watch a TH-cam video about a supercar while she watches a Betty Davis B&W movie on her own system in the same room. We constantly are interacting.. Hey check this out and discuss news and events or cool YT shorts. I'm still a big fan of my dedicated listening room. My wife has no interest in audiophilia.
Looking forward to your new books as well as the "blue ocean" product announcement. Today's entry level speakers & electronics can be quite good, way better than smart speakers like home pods or echos. Small hifi speakers can be relatively unobtrusive and not dominate a room but still sound very good. With uncompressed streaming the need for other expensive sources is reduced. However, I don't see a lot of people taking advantage of this. Sadly, with the exception of members of our local audio club, very few of my friends have an audio system at all. When I go to local high end audio stores those purchasing seem to be in the older age bracket buying the very expensive equipment. it seems like a lot of young people today view listening to nice audio systems as a solitary activity. If they want to hear music better than what comes out of their phone speaker they go to a concert with their friends. Very few have any desire to collect vinyl records or CD's. It does make me worry about the future of good audio companies. I sincerely hope PS Audio continues to thrive making great high value products.
I have an excellent audio system that excels in presenting a convincing soundstage along with natural reproduction of the human voice. 2 things that even non audiophiles find very impressive. Yet, among the younger people with whom I interact, they couldn't seem to care less. They are perfectly content with their earbuds and smart speakers. It's a totally different world from the one I grew up in (I'm the same age as you). Having a good stereo was a priority that took precedence over many other things when I was in my 20s. With today's adult generation, most seem to see it as a kind of "fringe endeavor".
Right??? We have dsp, measurement microphone, great software for speaker design and advancing transducer tech and amplification. We just need better new music. Even with that, there is enough good older music to enjoy.
I’ve had decent hi-fi since I was at uni and that became a Naim Unitiqute nearly 15 years ago - improved it by adding a power amp 10 years ago, but any further upgrades are realistically unobtainable. What with inflation should be £1500nis now £2500. Gets used as a DAV now with streaming via a Google Chromecast (£25). The factory can’t realistically support 10+ year old digital stuff as it just stops being made. The stuff that is more upgradable like Linn is just incredibly expensive. There might be lots of rich people to sell to globally, but I think the upgrade path is being lost and the entry customer base is being squeezed out.
The great quality of digital sound is indeed shrinking the gap between OK consumer products and audiophile systems. The same thing is happening to an even greater extent with photographic equipment. Consumer grade cameras have been totally replaced by cell phones except for high end hobbyist and underwater cameras. I feel like a dinosaur when carrying around "real" digital cameras when traveling while everyone else uses their phones. Still, I have the advantage of using a macro lens to photograph the antennae of a moth or using a long telephoto to get decent frame filling pictures of a rocket launch from four miles away. The return to vinyl records and film based cameras is another aspect of reaction to the modern "good enough" consumer technology.
I’d love to work in high end audio, but unfortunately there’s just no industry in this field in my country… Given I can’t afford any financial missteps in order to obtain my own house, I’m also not willing to start up a company myself. If that financial stress weren’t there, I’d probably would start something however…
this is the right answer. Im not young and cannot afford it and buying in payments cannot be because there are no stores to test anything, just amazon reviews and stuff that goes out of stock very fast before you have the time to save the money. When you save its 100 dollars more or discontinued.
The future if audiophile system will be driven by high res lossless streaming with audiophile DSP and DACs to allow best possible cross-over filtering and direct-amp to speaker driver. This can be done as discrete components or as an active speaker like KEF’s LS60. Sadly the audiophile discrete digital system of tomorrow is still poorly supported. For example, it could include an FR30 Direct Drive version where you can connect each speaker driver with a mono-block for best cone control and use active cross-over and audiophile fine-tune EQ superior to a passive fixed cross-over.
Future or past? The quality of the components in some active speakers (even very expensive ones), hard to repair and update (lack of freedom and sustainability), look like the past to me. Maybe it's the future ? Like many new cars that most people enjoy: ugly, unreliable, very bad components, "high-res" AI and infoentertainment, bad for the environment, sometimes dangerous (heavy, bad brakes system or suspension and lack of stability) and expensive. Cheap electronics in a expensive MDF (cheap wood dust) box with speakers and bad sounding streaming is the future?, instead of better components in better boxes and sometimes better sound? This hobby is not for everybody. Some brands with better value (money, sound, sustainability, freedom) will probably build "old school" systems for that minority of audiophiles (rich or not) Now we have freedom; we can enjoy active speakers, passive, integrated or not, different material and sources that we own or not? Your vision of the future is darker: music that we don't own and that can be removed or changed (regardless of the original and artists), "high-res" that sometimes sound worse, and particle board boxes with stuff inside (DAC embedded in resin and poor power supplies). Future or past?
@@Jorge-Fernandez-Lopez I’m not talking about past conditions. Audiophile lossless streaming provides higher quality digital audio than CD/SACD due to higher bandwidth and error-free audio data. When correctly used it is superior on audio fidelity! With a streaming account you can have access to some around 100 million tracks of music for the cost of a few Dollars per month. In terms of how well your products are engineered using particular material, it will be always with variation depending on price point. The future is not in CD or vinyl even they will fade out slowly. For example, nobody spends serious R&D money on CD tech or vinyl tech. Same with cassette tape tech, DVD/BluRay tech and VHS tech.
@@ThinkingBetter I think than Hi-res for listening is fine, not as good as CD, but fine for Lo-Fi listening. If we really want high fidelity, very high level of noise (no music) above 30 kHz in many «hi-res» files and big resonances (electronics) must be filtered and shouldn't be reproduced by tweeters. If the «hi-res» file hasn't been altered by the platform and the frequencies above 25 kHz are filtered, these files can sound as good as CD. Mongomery shared extremely good technical content; I also did my best (not at the same level than Monty did) to share a method to check these anomalies sample by sample with Audacity, or the whole spectrum with RTA. Hi-res streaming is fine, although I prefer better files. Hi-res streaming and active consumer speakers are fine, CD and many passive speakers and systems (probably Aspen series and PS Audio products) are better and give more freedom. Only one choice: all in one box systems and music owned by business that stream with "stairs" or Authenticated Master Nonsense !! can't be the only option. My music has no stairs, Qobuz do (bigger or smaller) according to their web. Multiple choices, that's the future I want; only one (not very good one), the past.
@@clickbeetle2720 I'm not talking about lossy compressed streaming. If you leave out all the snake oil nonsense, your DAC will play according to the data that it gets from whatever source. The DAC doesn't play differently provided the data is the same and it can maintain a precise clock of the sample conversions. A CD file stored on a CD disc or the same file stored on an AWS (or whatever data center) server disk will sound 100% the same if the DAC cannot see the difference. It's no different than some JPEG photo that you save on a writable CD media or your Google drive. When you open it you see exactly the same photo 100%, if the file is the same. So why are you hearing a different story some times? Either the file in the datacenter is not the same file or your gear doesn't handle the streaming optimally. One known reason lossless music streaming can sound inferior is if your system converts the stream. One common example is SRC (Sample Rate Conversion), which is common if you are streaming to an operating system that runs a fix PCM clock e.g. 48kHz. Your 44.1kHz CD track ends up being unconverted to 48kHz before it hits the DAC. Software will add those samples and depending on how audiophile that software does the job, you will lose some quality. Thus, for streaming to be optimal, you must operate it in exclusive mode on your PC/Mac or whatever allowing the stream's native clock to pass through to the DAC with the data identical same as when you play your CD. When this is done correctly, absolutely your streaming can match and also beat CD. Reason it can beat CD is that it is easily unscalable to much higher sample rates and resolutions. Nowadays you can easily stream 192kHz 24 bits lossless. For example, Toto IV is streaming right now on my system in 192kHz 24 bits. And I just switched between "Exclusive Mode" on and off. YES, there is a tiny difference. It sounds more transparent with this mode on but it's a tiny difference. The improvement with 192 kHz 24 bits over 44.1kHz 16 bits is also tiny even when using my Stax headphones. I can easily A/B compare these and just did again. This album is produced by a friend of me btw.
@@Jorge-Fernandez-Lopez It's probably true that too little work has been done on the production and DAC sides on the higher sample rates to get the best benefit out of it. Just streaming 192kHz 24 bits sounds good on paper, but a bad low pass filter or content with unwanted ultrasonics (e.g. from transcoding SACD to PCM) might cause issues making it sound inferior to CD, even the intent was to beat it. But this has NOTHING to do with the technology of streaming itself. There is no doubt that a streaming connection can exceed CD quality in terms of data throughput and data integrity. Jitter is not a topic of any relevance in the context of judging streaming, as there is zero reason with modern lossless streaming why you can't buffer enough samples to maintain a very precise DAC clock when streaming. When modern lossless streaming fails in some A/B comparisons, it's not about the concept of streaming failing.
Fact is the vast majority of people are happy with mediocrity in all aspects of their lives. The watch mediocre TV shows, movies, read mediocre novels and magazines and listen to mediocre music by mediocre artists on mediocre equipment. They hang mediocre art on their walls and furnish their homes with mediocre furnishings and eat mediocre food and dare I say... vote for mediocre politicians. Every now and again a piece of true art bursts through to the mainstream and catches fire. Of course there is a sizeable minority with greater awareness and perception that can and do appreciate quality- although not in all aspects of their lives- some things they just might not value so much- for many that happens to be HiFi- many folks simply don't hear or appreciate the experience of listening to good music on a good system, as it is for food etc. Mediocrity rules!
Nobody has room for a nice stack of pre amps , amps , EQ’s , etc … not to mention a huge set of speakers that take up half ur living room anymore . Those days sadly are gone
@@tonybeef1142 So do I. But I live in Toronto where housing is rapidly moving to small spaces as we have seen in EU and UK. Kids coming out of college have very little chance of having a detached home. They'll own a condo if they are lucky and it will be under 1000sq ft. My bet is they are listening to music on wireless earbuds driven by their phone. My senior citizen peers all have large detached homes. I drove down one street yesterday and saw 3 McLarens, a Ferrari and a 911 GT3. My bet is that same street had few if any hi end audio systems. I look around the real estate listings. I see in ground pools, home gyms, wine cellars, elevators and dedicated home theatre rooms. Never see a serious audio system.
The real problem with true HiFi Audio is that you not only need DECENT SOUNDING GEAR, you also need a "DECENT" SOUNDING ROOM, ACOUSTICALY TREATED, and a decent speaker SETUP PLACEMENT. In my opinion, HiFi industry has been mostly focused on GEAR and it has done a fairly good job at this, what the industry lacks is offering an "easy" and "practical" way to make that wonderful gear sound great in MOST "decent" rooms. When this industry finds a way to get this INTEGRATION right and easy, then and only then, it will flourish!
@Paulmcgowanpsaudio - we hear a lot of hi-end audio reviewers/commentators on TH-cam mention that acoustic treatment of rooms is a must have if we are to experience the listening pleasure associated with hi-end audio. Do you feel the same or would you endeavour to lay the groundwork of audio equipment that will be capable of delivering audio bliss in even untreated rooms? Huge fan of your channel!
We're listening at least 50% to the room, lower frequencies it's almost entirely the room. This is due to reflections and physical dimensions, so there's no way of getting around it other than treatment and subwoofer(s). And yeah, holy smoke, speakers placed right and a bit of treatment makes a huge difference. 🙌
I have a set of apogee duetta 2 speakers that sound better without room treatments, but you have to place them about 1/3 of the way into the room.@@PSA78
With streaming and digital media is so much easier these days. You just need a good receiver and good speakers. The problem comes with music going downhill. Justin Bieber or Billie Eilish will sound terrible even on a high end equipment. 😄
Maybe not your type of music. But Billie Eilish are great recorded tracks. I have learned it is often worthwhile to get out of your box and be open for many types of music
@@stijnvanderlooy5311 Right. We can get technical about it but music is a complex experience. Seeing a thug in a Jaguar is possible (and gross) but seeing a gentleman in a Jaguar is a much more appealing and pleasing experience. So it's not only about the hardware.
The best way to allow audiophile dreamers to reach their goals? You may have to buy and invest in highest quality needed Chinese Corporation’s cables and audio tweaking products. Most affordable and valued means to an end. One American product that can provide filtering and surge protective means (after thousands of miles dingy dirty copper) is a Tripp Lite Isobar plug-in-unit (no cable). Filters the signal at the wall. Plus, a Chinese made carbon fiber wall plate I found plenty available for $25. Blu-tac an obsidian pyramid on top of the Tripp Lite.
I think they have reached sonic accuracy 20 years ago. Now the question will be what plug is will be developed to adjust for room limitations and speaker limitations. The source is the source, tgere is almost nothing you can do to fix it. It is what it is. AI may have some abilities to correct for some issues but at what point will it no longer be original recordings but a computers interpretation of the original recording.
I am 65. I have not and will not Ever give up on having a proper audio system, which Must include at least one turntable, CD player, cassette deck, and decent speakers, plus other things. Portable speakers can be useful, but I have not bought one and don't expect to any time soon. I don't use my phone for music At All.
I have a nice audiophile system in my living room, but I spend more time listening to the cheap 40 year old clock radio on my night stand in the bedroom. The last 20 years saw the rise and fall of SACD/DVD-A and the rise and further rise of MP3. Most people prefer convenience over quality, once the quality is, as Paul says, "good enough."
Until a recent Android update Android would downsample any high res streaming sources fed into it down to 48khz, but now no longer necessarily downsamples it and can easily play it in high res. So in one update Android has enabled Hugh res on billions of devices! Do you think this will pave the way for more mobile phones to add better DACs to cater to high res and introduce more people to high res? Or will the lack of true high res support in Bluetooth prove to be too much of a hurdle and mean we'll need to wait for Bluetooth to be upgraded also?
Good meaningful presentation Paul, my only worry is a convoy moves at the speed of the slowest ship. There is great many excellent high end and mid HiFi products out there. I have a nasty feeling that convenient products will eventually win the greater portion of the market owing to the human condition. Lazy?
Those problems in the industry of music are in all levels, not just in HiFi audio (from the studio to the listeners). If you turn on the radio to the striming and you listen the music they are transmitting mustily poor quality music ( I am trying to be polite). The young people do not have time to close their eyes and watch the orchestra in their rooms, this is sad. A few people take one hour just to be listening music and to get flying. Every body make two o more activities at the same time and some times they listen music while they are making those activities, you need and EarPods o Alexa for that. I think these are the reasons of the problems. I love music and I still enjoy the orchestra in my audio room. Sorry if my English is bad, I say hello from Mexico.
I think hifi will be a small market , and very high end will be very small, lot of people will just want a one box streamer and speakers, or even just a good smart speaker.
In some ways I believe that the more it changes the more it stays the same. There's a big difference in development time for products today when we can use more and more software to help (lots of really great ones that's free), technology like DSP, smaller efficient class D amps, and so on. It might look different when someone decides on new HiFi gear in the future, but it might not be less. Same thing in the music industry, at the moment it seems like it's the contemporary blues scene that's having a good up swing. The old black men might have been replaced by mostly young white women, but they are coming out at a steady pace and are kicking b*tt. 😄
Yep, my 2 kids in their teens and twenties don't care about sound quality in my $15k stereo system with Apple Music lossless quality, that they don't even want to hear a demo. They are only interested in streaming music quality when it's in their car or Apple airpods
I'm playing the back nine and wonder what will happen to my very nice tube amp/ tube preamp, plus so much more stereo rig when I'm gone My wife jokes, going to sell it at a garage sale for $100
No estoy de acuerdo con Paul en cuanto a que el mercado se está encogiendo. El futuro de la industria se tiene que cimentar en el resurgimiento del Vinyl y en los videojuegos. Hoy la Ciudad de México (y muchas ciudades del mundo) está llena de bares Hi-Fi (y siguen abriendo nuevos) ; las empresas chinas están ofreciendo productos de calidad a precios extremadamente competitivos atrayendo a público joven; si bien somos y seguiremos siendo una minoría creo que la comunidad está bastante activa y creciendo. Lo que siempre falta a la mayoría son ingresos para poder invertir en un DAC de más de 4 mil dólares, ¿cómo justificar esa inversión a las masas cuando puedes escuchar tu música con $50 dólares o menos? Respuesta corta: No se puede. Es una excentricidad, y las excentricidades son de nicho.
My kids (young adults) do not even own a cheap stereo and speakers. iPhone / computer + earbuds/headphones seems to be their go to. I wonder if the interest in Hi-Fi is waning with the younger generation. Growing up in the 60s / 70s, I remember music for the home was a big deal. Not sure the interest is their with the younger crowd.
High end audio is a major financial investment so compare the sales of Rolex watches to high end audio and what do you see? Sound technology is driven by the consumer's life style not the mythical concept of perfect sound reproduction in someone's living room.
As we get older 16k is as high as we hear. Too much below 80 is just annoying. I wish I had an amplifier with a compression knob with a wide Q in the midrange. Options.
From a Ear 👂 Trumpet to a Pair of MBL Radialstrahler 101 X-Tream at $200,000. Two Hundred Thousand a Pop 😮 The Evolution of Reproducing Sounds and It’s Strange Because The Asian Market Like Japan 🇯🇵 Seeks Out All Our Old Speakers 🔊 From 60’s to 70’s Products and The European and U.S. Markets Want The Latest and Greatest This Reminds Me of The 70’s Muscle Amplifiers Wars There’s Nothing Like a Refurbished Pair of JBL Hartsfield and There Was a Time When Your System Was Like Furniture Now The Systems Look Incongruous 😮
When it comes to audio equipment I've always been on the side of Function over Fashion. If it's well built and produces the sound I enjoy but looks like a cow's ass, I don't care. I remember in the not so distant past you couldn't buy JBL "studio monitors" (< I use that term lightly. Before the real studio monitor M1 was produced.) manufactured in their Mexico plant (thanks Harman 😒) they were all shipped to Japan and not available for sale in the States. I recall seeing them for sale on eBay by Japanese retailers. Then almost suddenly they were available in the States.
When I ask myself what the people who would have been into big speakers and reel to reel tape decks in the '70s are into now, it's not DACs and home theater, it's video games and gaming PCs. The industry isn't losing ground to other audio products. Our whole society is shifting away from listening to music as a focused activity toward interactive electronic entertainment. Another factor is that audio equipment had been cutting edge consumer technology until home computers became available. For tech hobbyists, HiFi is no longer the leading edge of advancement in home and personal technology. There are things that will preserve the long term interest in high quality audio technology. People aren't going to stop enjoying music. Video games and movies benefit from high quality sound reproduction. Home theater and video games will maintain a need for quality sound reproduction and people will continue to seek out well made, beautiful, lovingly designed audio equipment. We can see by the growing headphone and personal audio market that sound reproduction tech is alive and well, even though it's probably not going to be as high on the tech food chain as it was in the past, and it's going to be focused on different aspects of the gear than it was before, such as headphones versus turntables. The one thing that HiFi has slowly been losing since it started to blossom in the mid 1950s is the hobbyist/tinkerer appeal. As manufacturers continued to attempt to bring more people into the market they constantly eroded the tinkering appeal of equipment by making it easier to use. It's a catch 22 situation. You appeal to one group at the expense of another.
There should be a definition of high end and whats the difference with hifi or high quality. Once the high end was the CD I think and now audiosnobs only want 192 something or 24 bit something they care about sound but not music. A good noisy performance is better than a bad performance with clean sound and high bits or herz
REALITY CHECK: The more arrogance mfg's maintain toward ridiculous pricing, the deeper they're digging their grave. The #1 preferred channel among audiophiles for high end audio is the used market. The sooner mfg's realize they're actually competing with the used market, the better chance they'll have not going defunct !
Paul, you are the spirit of '76. Let that Audio Freedom Ring! 😀 Gramps. Does that mean you'll rebrand as Gramps Amps? Or is this a new line coming out? Just messing with you. Keep up your energy and enthusiasm.
it's taste of sugar...if you've never had sugar you will never want it. I think the future of hi end(ish) audio is out of patent clone amplifiers eg darTZeel or Marantz...
Crack open a pair of airpods/airbuds w/e they call em, and you got your future laid right out in front of you! I see a future where the power of a BHK amplifier can be stuffed onto a board as small as a hypex module. I see a future where the sound from these smaller boards will become indistinguishable from the boulder sized amps of old and it will ALL be packed into the speaker from the get go. Thats what I see
![Chris Langan - The Interview THEY Didn't Want You To See - CTMU [Full Version; Timestamps]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9miVG2xT5jY/mqdefault.jpg)
On Father’s Day we had two of my kids home (age 30+/-). I was able to persuade them to use Apple Music to “play DJ” as we passed the remote around to play a personal favorite. I had just finalized the assembly of my dream stereo (recently retired) which they had not heard. They could not get over the sound - I then realized their musical experience for the most part was only digital music through ear phones. I quickly grabbed a couple of my favorite albums & we were off to the races. My son in law exclaimed to the group, as he read album liner notes, “this album is over 50 years old! Then I realized most of my peers don’t have the “big stereo” anymore because unlike me they never replaced the old Pioneer from the 60/70’s as they skipped right to streaming & Bose headphones or Air Pods not building a new digital/analog music system. I found my research was long & difficult to understand how all the digital music components come together and the expense. With that said it was the best $ in retirement I have spent. You are right - just as music isn’t created by 4 musicians figuring out a melody in a studio together anymore, people of my age have no clue as to how good the new equipment can sound - AMAZIN’!
Maybe they dont have the money to even try. Many people think that spending 500 dollars is not a lot of money and recommend that cost that as a ·"entry level" thing , but that entry level device will need other hundreds for only having "entry level" stuff.
@@hipidipi20157maxI don’t understand moving this to the have’s/have’s not…discussion - I gave up many things to put together my stereo; many of my peers spend their resources in retirement in different ways - new cars/boats, extensive travel etc. This victimhood crap has no place in my life - collected a paycheck for over 50 years and never worked a 40 hr/week job always 50-70.
I spent decades as a studio engineer............I worked for some of the biggest names in music, so I'll offer a little input (just incase it's interesting to anyone).......one thing we have to consider in this day and age: currently, the majority of audio content out there is now experienced using 'ear pods', etc. Very few people have good quality sound systems in their home, yet car stereos have improved immensely. This dramatically changes the way creators mix music and sound design. Also, sadly, we come to realization that a cast majority of musical content out there (with some genre exceptions), is mastered to achieve 'maximum loudness' and impact, at the expense of dynamics and nuanced arrangement and mixing...............it's a changing world, and not all good for audio enthusiasts......................and then there's the other big issue when talking about high end audio - the environment that it's consumed in..............unless you're in a room which has been 'tuned' and properly treated, (in correlation to whatever speakers/amplifiers you have) you're still not often getting very close to experiencing that audio the way the producer/engineer intended, and what they heard as they recorded/mixed/mastered.
Agree. I said this 8-10 years ago..
too true. Glad we're on the same page
So very true 😮
thanks
About 3 minutes of SuperTramp or Rush, or AC/DC and your'e gonna miss those 12" Cerwin Vegas. Jiggle your innards they do, not like some ear-bud or 2" tweet from a surround sound setup. Put some watts behind it to the point where your house lights dimm on the bass notes and the neighbors call the police. THAT's music.
I bought your PS Sprout some time ago and I absolutely love it. I entered a very well equipped audio store with multiple listing rooms... meanwhile there was music playing in the background and it intrigued me because it was so nice to listen too while browsing. Finding the system that was actually producing the lovely sound I was quite surprised...it was the PS Sprout attached to a Thorens record player and a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 200....I bought the PS Sprout right then and there.... that's my little contribution to the audio world 🤗
Hi Paul,
I am in my 60's and I got into audio after my first concert. I need to have that experience you are talking about. Being able to sit in front of my stereo, close my eyes and re-experience that concert level joy that I felt during the concert. This is the direction I took.
I agree with you that the older you get, your ability to hear higher frequency diminishes. But the love of music in a concert level is and has been my love of music. Thank you for you do.
Kindest Regards..
Im 39!! And I've been into it for 10 years. Really it was TH-cam that got me into it!!
I am continually blown away by the energy, enthusiasm and work ethic that Paul McGowan demonstrates at 76. Most people could not keep up at any age. A great role model for all of us.
I seriously wonder where 'hi end' audio will be in 10 years. Perhaps audio will be like the market for hi end photography. I was a photography enthusiast during the 70s. But the camera I like the best is my Samsung Phone. The fact it is ubiquitously available and takes still pictures and videos that are among the best I have ever experienced leaves no room in my life for bulky expensive SLR cameras. Sure if I was a pro or an artist I'd have a $50k camera that would be SOTA.
I wonder if the nostalgia for vinyl will lead to similar interest in triode amps. That would keep the exposure to the audiophile illusion alive. I just don't see great class D amps standing out when a cheap DAC/pre/power amp driven wirelessly by your phone will suffice. Perhaps it will just morph to home theatre that plays music ok.
Amazing work capacity of this man. He is still full of enthusiasm
I'm almost 70. I don't know of ANY of my younger friends relatives who spend serious $$ on JUST audio equipment and/or recorded media.
To them, I'm just an "eccentric" (mostly) jazz music "collector".
They were raised on pc-gaming, and mp3 based music. That's their point of reference. Many have never been to small venue concert.
They would rather spend money to upgrade their gaming computer.
When I was in college the "art" of both live and recorded music was our main pastime.
No TV. No home computer No interactive games. It was binary. Study or "party" to live and/or recorded music.
Most of use were proud to "show off" our modest '70's (now vintage) gear.
TINA - There IS (or should I say WAS) No Alternative.
I think your analysis of the market is spot on Paul. I hope your product succeeds as the other main difference now is how income is spread over more parts of one's life. When I started out I had no mobile phone or or any other product that committed a chunk of my wages to subscriptions, so proportionally I had more spare income than today's generation. Even back then the proportion of people willing to spend out the additional cost of a good audio system was limited as the tech improvements and cost grew larger over time.
Dear Paul. Whatever you choose to do, wishing you a long, healthy, productive and purposeful life.
SPOOKY !!!. Al the Best from the Netherlans EU !!
Awesome content! Love how you bring so much value to your videos. Keep up the great work! Definitely inspired me to keep pushing with my own channel!
Exposure. Younger generations are not exposed to quality home audio. Malls no longer have audio stores for them to wander into and hear it. Malls themselves are disappearing. They just are not exposed to the difference between their Bluetooth earbuds and a good high-end system. My teen granddaughter was over the other day and I sat her down at my PC and had her listen to my ATH-50Ms with a good amp driving them. Even using the PC DAC! She was blown away compared to her Airpods. She took an older pair of closed back headphones and a spare Schiit Magni2 with her. She loves the better sound.
You nailed it. I remember the first time I heard a McIntosh amplifier (2255,) as well as the first B&W 801. Now all the local dealers are gone and the knowledge with them. They helped to create the appreciation I still have today.
@@rockermarco amazon world..I GO OUT of my way when shopping to make purchases anywhere but amazon
I totally agree, once something is at a certain point, we don't necessarily pine for better. I think that's sometimes true even if we know what we're missing. I have a newer, more expensive TV that is much better than my older LCD. I just hooked up the old TV for use in another room, and no doubt its picture quality is inferior by a big gap. But it still looks good, and if I was stuck again with only the old TV for some reason I'd have a great time using it. What I'm discovering is that my videophile and audiophile side only offers so much for me. A well made film, or well written and performed piece of music doesn't really require a super high fidelity recreation to be highly inspiring and enjoyable. And, I sometimes find the faults of media equipment charming. It's as if my mind enjoys some interpreting tasks rather than having everything explicitly and near perfectly delivered to my senses. The media itself, and the equipment used to render it, mixes with the content to create a new experience.
As an engineer, we've always been taught "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good-enough". If we continue to wait for the perfect, nothing will come to market. There won't be anything to enjoy. We continue to work toward the perfect while enjoying the good-enough which is the best available at the moment. Don't obsess over it, just enjoy.
I appreciate your desire to be able to close your eyes and have the sound stage filled with the musicians. To pick out the details and nuances of the music. It’s wonderful. I wish that I had a PS Audio budget. I have found a way to get very close though. I have B&W bookshelve speakers, connected to an old Rotel receiver and an ifi Bluetooth. I stream Qobuz at cd quality. The trick is near field listening. The speakers are 7 feet apart and I am in the middle about 3 feet back. The sound stage is remarkable. I have 3 systems. This one I put together used for $300. The next cost me $700, used. Tube amp, Klipsch speakers,and SMSL SU1 DAC. Sounds good. My best cost $5,000. With Zu speakers and a Heaven Eleven integrated amp, Denafrips DAC and WIIM DAC. It is very nice in my larger room.
My 5yo son loves when I put music on our system and even decides to shut down the tv and just dance and listen to it... he is an exception that has a father who loves music and loves the ritual of having the turntable in use... will see how things will continue and how I can influence him and his friends regarding some of this good old life pleasures. Unpluging from the digital world sure can be great and I know there are quite a few youngsters today that do enjoy it (analog photography instead of digital... having to wait for results instead of having the instant and marginal pleasure of looking at the picture...)
I am a young guy in the audio hobby. My first love is home theater, but I found a passion for stereo through reading reviews and evaluating speakers for home theater. I think my generation is probably more interested in multi-channel theater than two-channel audio. Personally, I am interested in the Aspen line of speakers. The demo I had in listening room 3 is the best I've ever heard. I would love to in the next few years be able to buy a pair of FR-30s and a matching center channel. The KEF Blade One Metas are also really nice, and they have an entire line of center channel, and on-wall/in-wall/in-ceiling surround speakers that are voiced to match.
Looking forward to the books very eagerly!! God bless you with good health and longevity dear sir
i’m 55 and got into highend hifi 2 years ago and and i am done upgrading.
Even i was never interested in heavy components over 45 lbs or run hot (and i’ve auditioned $1m stereo systems with wilson audio and Wisdom Audio speakers with burmester amps).
i have:
Apple Music lossless
nad c298 amp
goldenear brx
2 subwoofers
eversolo dmpa6 + lps
denafrips pontus II 12th dac
denafrips iris 12th ddc
Cardas parsec cables
isoacoustics feet
Parasound 2100 preamp
ifi Supanova power cables
Paul....great video, I do see a lot of the shrinking you're talking about but also I see a future rekindling of Interest especially with Gen Z who are in college now that are showing a great interest in music..... especially the older stuff that we grew up with.
In 2022 and 2023, in US.. there were more vinyl sales than cd sales. I'm a little sceptical that the people driving that resurgence are also buying the type of equipment that is sort of needed to make vinyl sound great compared to cd or streaming.
Thanks Paul. I'm very much looking forward to Blue Ocean.
You are great sir...🙏You always give good advice to everyone
You made me feel young…only 73! Not huge was a mile, now an inch! The difference between a $5000 and $50,000 system is really small, unless you have excellent hearing and formally trained to listen.
People need to protect their ears around the loud stuff. 😊😊
Where were you in the sixties? My ears weren’t the only thing I should have protected.
@@garyharper2943 I was a young kid in the 60s. 😁
The laws of diminishing returns are significant in audio.
There is a big difference between a Sonos and audiophile stuff, but the difference between various levels of audiophile equipment seems to be getting pretty small. John Arltkinson at Stereophile recently said he is having increasingly difficult time distinguishing between class a/b amps for instance. The New 'affordable" stuff is damn good.
After a adolescence spent listening to hand held radios and stereo consoles, I got my first taste of Hi-End Audio while attending university in the 1970s. Many would consider it mid-fi today, but exposure to Kenwood, Marantz, Sansui, Pioneer and other legit components sent me to audio nirvana, and I've never looked back.
those are the brands I looked at like they were the Ferraris or Porsches of audio but never to be found on stores and extremely expensive. Today I dont recognize almost any brand, its all weird stuff called dacs, drivers, streamers, roon, etc
As always, Paul thank you I will say this from my experience. I strive to have my system sounding the best as possibly can and one thing I can say is whenever my friends come over they talk about how they hate to go home and listen to their system because of the vast difference, basically like you said people have to hear the difference to know that there is a difference and the younger generation are fine with where they are and have no idea of the difference. as a joke is like listening to a friend sing, but never had singing lessons to improve. Have a great day please excuse any typos.
Hi end is alive and well-in China where mass production and pragmatism have brought hi end equipment within reach of average western consumers and creating some healthy competition to the established players.
There is also another issue… the source… you can have a great home theater system and realized that there are few movies to really enjoy it… the same for music… better is your system, faster you realize that a lot of recording are not as good as you wish, while this reality is less “perceptive” on mid range system , like Sonos as your exemple…
Yep, my experience is that hifi peak sound quality is up to $2500 per component (DAC, preamp, amp, etc.), and beyond that is like you said art/collecting/furniture quality.
My $450 Parasound 2100 preamp sounded the same as the $5500 McIntosh C49 so I returned the McIntosh.
Same with my $2400 NAD c298 class D amp sounds as good as the $3k Arcam PA240 amp, so I returned the Arcam.
but looking better and still sharper than ever Paul!
Paul, from what I see, there are many people who still appreciate quality. That section of humanity is never going to equal those who are happy with crap, but it isn't going away, either. I see quality still being sold in food, clothing, automobiles, cameras, TVs, shoes, telescopes, fine books, basically anything people still buy. Of course the average person is completely oblivious to anything resembling quality, but the average person always was oblivious.
Average person doesn't have the budget to go full quality on everything, even if they aren't oblivious to it existing. I should say Regular Person or consumer.
Look at how popular the fast fashion stuff is, or factory farmed food, or whatever it is that the AliExpress/ Temu type sites do.
There's also the thing about diminishing returns when actually find some thing that are passionate about. Like a guitar as an example, there's $100 acoustics that can be fun to play, upgrade the strings and it could sound pretty okay. Get a good $1,000 acoustic and it should not just sound so much better, but also be something that has a certain other appeal like simply the look.
Going from a $1k to a $3k acoustic is getting into fun territory of going and auditioning them for that something wow factor, and can easily be disappointed. Going above that is getting into the equivalent of high end audio where just spending more doesn't quite mean are getting anything better for yourself.
I feel the biggest issue with "High End audio" gaining new listeners is the fact of mobility. As a 65yr old guy I and all of us of a certain age, would greatly anticipate the release of an album, finally we have it. We go home and put it on the turntable....and SIT there and listen while reading the liner notes, etc. Very, very few people under the age of 35 or maybe 40 these days ever experienced this....their music was on the go. In the last 10 years no waiting on anything, just type it in on Spotify. My point is that taking time to sit and focus on listening is a shrinking idea. Sure, a percentage of younger folks will have the interest to do that as they gain income and desire....but that percentage, what used to be like 90% on the 80s is now what, 20%...?
Hi Paul … I love your posts. Always informative with some humor thrown in. In my mind a big issue with the high end in 2024 is $$$. Putting together a full range system that creates a 3D soundstage is expensive. I would love to own a BHK and Aspen FR 30’s. They would do that. But not in the budget. Not in just about everyone’s budget. Sound quality at that level is $80K on up for the system (or $300K for just a Wilson WAMM if you want to go nuts) makes true high end audio (the kind you describe) a niche market for the top 1%. Even if a young person gets “the bug” the cost of admission is just too high. It’s a problem.
Love Paul. Want to bring more people in? Bring the retail cost down. And yes, I'm wealthy and have high-end. It is just a simple business matter.
This is a great point! Love Paul but his speakers prices are outrageous and he doent have the history to command such prices. The whole industry is dying from "Greed". I am 68 and bought my first nice stereo in 1972, I have seen it all and have bought it all.........
@@LarryNiles-t1d Agreed.
@@LarryNiles-t1d He does have that history. I've not auditioned the FR series yet, but pretty much everyone I trust have said the 5 and 10's are very compelling at the price and should be any shortlist. I don't yet know what sort of room I'm going to have when move house, so not sure yet which type I'm looking at.
The FR20/30's get a lot of praise too from independent reviews, but I know my next house won't work with them, and certainly the 30's are beyond my budget.
I don't get your point about 'outrageous' prices or greed... quality has cost.
@@benwu7980 Speaker history under the PS Audio name.......No His retail prices make no sense at all.
And there should be physical stores with the stuff and the seller should be willing to play a CD or vinyl you like instead of some elevator music or boring jazz or bassanoca etc.
It will never disappear but it will become less popular. Just about everyone I know listens to MP3s through earbuds and they are happy with that.
100 years ago in the UK, most houses had an upright piano and that was the family entertainment. Wind forward and 78 rpm records, along with the radio, was the source of the family entertainment. Go forward some more and the TV became the medium if choice. In the mid 1970s more and more homes were investing in hi-fi systems and all of that technology, from the piano to the hi-fi system, shared one thing in common - they were shared experiences by the family. With the advent of personal entertainment in the form of the Walkman followed by the iPod, convenience and isolation became the new way to listen to music and the death of hi-fi in the mainstream was inevitable. It’s happening with TV too - the younger generations are turning to TH-cam and Netflix, preferring to watch on their own mobile devices anywhere and at anytime. PS Audio needs a change in human behaviour to survive unless they tap into the next generation’s music deployment methods.
Great insights.
I am 71 and gave up TV 10 years ago. My wife and I were early adopters of internet. Once we had super high performance lap tops on gigabit connection we just prefer the on demand entertainment and connection of our personal entertainment systems over the big screen with tv ads. I'll watch a TH-cam video about a supercar while she watches a Betty Davis B&W movie on her own system in the same room. We constantly are interacting.. Hey check this out and discuss news and events or cool YT shorts.
I'm still a big fan of my dedicated listening room. My wife has no interest in audiophilia.
Looking forward to your new books as well as the "blue ocean" product announcement. Today's entry level speakers & electronics can be quite good, way better than smart speakers like home pods or echos. Small hifi speakers can be relatively unobtrusive and not dominate a room but still sound very good. With uncompressed streaming the need for other expensive sources is reduced. However, I don't see a lot of people taking advantage of this. Sadly, with the exception of members of our local audio club, very few of my friends have an audio system at all. When I go to local high end audio stores those purchasing seem to be in the older age bracket buying the very expensive equipment. it seems like a lot of young people today view listening to nice audio systems as a solitary activity. If they want to hear music better than what comes out of their phone speaker they go to a concert with their friends. Very few have any desire to collect vinyl records or CD's. It does make me worry about the future of good audio companies. I sincerely hope PS Audio continues to thrive making great high value products.
We are in the age of one thing does everything instead of one thing doing one thing very well. Even a car cant be just a car today.
I have an excellent audio system that excels in presenting a convincing soundstage along with natural reproduction of the human voice. 2 things that even non audiophiles find very impressive. Yet, among the younger people with whom I interact, they couldn't seem to care less. They are perfectly content with their earbuds and smart speakers. It's a totally different world from the one I grew up in (I'm the same age as you). Having a good stereo was a priority that took precedence over many other things when I was in my 20s. With today's adult generation, most seem to see it as a kind of "fringe endeavor".
The future of Hi-Fi? Whatever. Gear is better than ever. The future, and present, of music is my worry.
Right??? We have dsp, measurement microphone, great software for speaker design and advancing transducer tech and amplification. We just need better new music. Even with that, there is enough good older music to enjoy.
At least we have the great music from the past. There is some great stuff today, but hard to find because things are so fractured today.
Best recordings are from late 1960s and 70s
You may be 76 but you have great spirit... The Spirit of 76! Next B-Day will be lucky with all sevens.
I’ve had decent hi-fi since I was at uni and that became a Naim Unitiqute nearly 15 years ago - improved it by adding a power amp 10 years ago, but any further upgrades are realistically unobtainable. What with inflation should be £1500nis now £2500. Gets used as a DAV now with streaming via a Google Chromecast (£25). The factory can’t realistically support 10+ year old digital stuff as it just stops being made. The stuff that is more upgradable like Linn is just incredibly expensive. There might be lots of rich people to sell to globally, but I think the upgrade path is being lost and the entry customer base is being squeezed out.
The great quality of digital sound is indeed shrinking the gap between OK consumer products and audiophile systems. The same thing is happening to an even greater extent with photographic equipment. Consumer grade cameras have been totally replaced by cell phones except for high end hobbyist and underwater cameras. I feel like a dinosaur when carrying around "real" digital cameras when traveling while everyone else uses their phones. Still, I have the advantage of using a macro lens to photograph the antennae of a moth or using a long telephoto to get decent frame filling pictures of a rocket launch from four miles away. The return to vinyl records and film based cameras is another aspect of reaction to the modern "good enough" consumer technology.
I’d love to work in high end audio, but unfortunately there’s just no industry in this field in my country…
Given I can’t afford any financial missteps in order to obtain my own house, I’m also not willing to start up a company myself. If that financial stress weren’t there, I’d probably would start something however…
I think most young people can’t afford high end audio, yet.
this is the right answer. Im not young and cannot afford it and buying in payments cannot be because there are no stores to test anything, just amazon reviews and stuff that goes out of stock very fast before you have the time to save the money. When you save its 100 dollars more or discontinued.
The future if audiophile system will be driven by high res lossless streaming with audiophile DSP and DACs to allow best possible cross-over filtering and direct-amp to speaker driver. This can be done as discrete components or as an active speaker like KEF’s LS60. Sadly the audiophile discrete digital system of tomorrow is still poorly supported. For example, it could include an FR30 Direct Drive version where you can connect each speaker driver with a mono-block for best cone control and use active cross-over and audiophile fine-tune EQ superior to a passive fixed cross-over.
Future or past? The quality of the components in some active speakers (even very expensive ones), hard to repair and update (lack of freedom and sustainability), look like the past to me. Maybe it's the future ? Like many new cars that most people enjoy: ugly, unreliable, very bad components, "high-res" AI and infoentertainment, bad for the environment, sometimes dangerous (heavy, bad brakes system or suspension and lack of stability) and expensive. Cheap electronics in a expensive MDF (cheap wood dust) box with speakers and bad sounding streaming is the future?, instead of better components in better boxes and sometimes better sound? This hobby is not for everybody. Some brands with better value (money, sound, sustainability, freedom) will probably build "old school" systems for that minority of audiophiles (rich or not) Now we have freedom; we can enjoy active speakers, passive, integrated or not, different material and sources that we own or not? Your vision of the future is darker: music that we don't own and that can be removed or changed (regardless of the original and artists), "high-res" that sometimes sound worse, and particle board boxes with stuff inside (DAC embedded in resin and poor power supplies). Future or past?
@@Jorge-Fernandez-Lopez I’m not talking about past conditions. Audiophile lossless streaming provides higher quality digital audio than CD/SACD due to higher bandwidth and error-free audio data. When correctly used it is superior on audio fidelity! With a streaming account you can have access to some around 100 million tracks of music for the cost of a few Dollars per month. In terms of how well your products are engineered using particular material, it will be always with variation depending on price point. The future is not in CD or vinyl even they will fade out slowly. For example, nobody spends serious R&D money on CD tech or vinyl tech. Same with cassette tape tech, DVD/BluRay tech and VHS tech.
@@ThinkingBetter I think than Hi-res for listening is fine, not as good as CD, but fine for Lo-Fi listening. If we really want high fidelity, very high level of noise (no music) above 30 kHz in many «hi-res» files and big resonances (electronics) must be filtered and shouldn't be reproduced by tweeters. If the «hi-res» file hasn't been altered by the platform and the frequencies above 25 kHz are filtered, these files can sound as good as CD. Mongomery shared extremely good technical content; I also did my best (not at the same level than Monty did) to share a method to check these anomalies sample by sample with Audacity, or the whole spectrum with RTA. Hi-res streaming is fine, although I prefer better files. Hi-res streaming and active consumer speakers are fine, CD and many passive speakers and systems (probably Aspen series and PS Audio products) are better and give more freedom. Only one choice: all in one box systems and music owned by business that stream with "stairs" or Authenticated Master Nonsense !! can't be the only option. My music has no stairs, Qobuz do (bigger or smaller) according to their web. Multiple choices, that's the future I want; only one (not very good one), the past.
@@clickbeetle2720 I'm not talking about lossy compressed streaming. If you leave out all the snake oil nonsense, your DAC will play according to the data that it gets from whatever source. The DAC doesn't play differently provided the data is the same and it can maintain a precise clock of the sample conversions. A CD file stored on a CD disc or the same file stored on an AWS (or whatever data center) server disk will sound 100% the same if the DAC cannot see the difference. It's no different than some JPEG photo that you save on a writable CD media or your Google drive. When you open it you see exactly the same photo 100%, if the file is the same.
So why are you hearing a different story some times? Either the file in the datacenter is not the same file or your gear doesn't handle the streaming optimally. One known reason lossless music streaming can sound inferior is if your system converts the stream. One common example is SRC (Sample Rate Conversion), which is common if you are streaming to an operating system that runs a fix PCM clock e.g. 48kHz. Your 44.1kHz CD track ends up being unconverted to 48kHz before it hits the DAC. Software will add those samples and depending on how audiophile that software does the job, you will lose some quality. Thus, for streaming to be optimal, you must operate it in exclusive mode on your PC/Mac or whatever allowing the stream's native clock to pass through to the DAC with the data identical same as when you play your CD. When this is done correctly, absolutely your streaming can match and also beat CD. Reason it can beat CD is that it is easily unscalable to much higher sample rates and resolutions. Nowadays you can easily stream 192kHz 24 bits lossless. For example, Toto IV is streaming right now on my system in 192kHz 24 bits. And I just switched between "Exclusive Mode" on and off. YES, there is a tiny difference. It sounds more transparent with this mode on but it's a tiny difference. The improvement with 192 kHz 24 bits over 44.1kHz 16 bits is also tiny even when using my Stax headphones. I can easily A/B compare these and just did again. This album is produced by a friend of me btw.
@@Jorge-Fernandez-Lopez It's probably true that too little work has been done on the production and DAC sides on the higher sample rates to get the best benefit out of it. Just streaming 192kHz 24 bits sounds good on paper, but a bad low pass filter or content with unwanted ultrasonics (e.g. from transcoding SACD to PCM) might cause issues making it sound inferior to CD, even the intent was to beat it. But this has NOTHING to do with the technology of streaming itself. There is no doubt that a streaming connection can exceed CD quality in terms of data throughput and data integrity. Jitter is not a topic of any relevance in the context of judging streaming, as there is zero reason with modern lossless streaming why you can't buffer enough samples to maintain a very precise DAC clock when streaming. When modern lossless streaming fails in some A/B comparisons, it's not about the concept of streaming failing.
Fact is the vast majority of people are happy with mediocrity in all aspects of their lives. The watch mediocre TV shows, movies, read mediocre novels and magazines and listen to mediocre music by mediocre artists on mediocre equipment. They hang mediocre art on their walls and furnish their homes with mediocre furnishings and eat mediocre food and dare I say... vote for mediocre politicians.
Every now and again a piece of true art bursts through to the mainstream and catches fire.
Of course there is a sizeable minority with greater awareness and perception that can and do appreciate quality- although not in all aspects of their lives- some things they just might not value so much- for many that happens to be HiFi- many folks simply don't hear or appreciate the experience of listening to good music on a good system, as it is for food etc.
Mediocrity rules!
If there is a way to pre order your books let me know and i will do .... really interested !!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us !!!
I'm retired, but I still get up 5am...
I have to pee!
Nobody has room for a nice stack of pre amps , amps , EQ’s , etc … not to mention a huge set of speakers that take up half ur living room anymore . Those days sadly are gone
I do and so do many others..😅
@@tonybeef1142 So do I. But I live in Toronto where housing is rapidly moving to small spaces as we have seen in EU and UK. Kids coming out of college have very little chance of having a detached home. They'll own a condo if they are lucky and it will be under 1000sq ft. My bet is they are listening to music on wireless earbuds driven by their phone.
My senior citizen peers all have large detached homes. I drove down one street yesterday and saw 3 McLarens, a Ferrari and a 911 GT3. My bet is that same street had few if any hi end audio systems. I look around the real estate listings. I see in ground pools, home gyms, wine cellars, elevators and dedicated home theatre rooms. Never see a serious audio system.
The real problem with true HiFi Audio is that you not only need DECENT SOUNDING GEAR, you also need a "DECENT" SOUNDING ROOM, ACOUSTICALY TREATED, and a decent speaker SETUP PLACEMENT.
In my opinion, HiFi industry has been mostly focused on GEAR and it has done a fairly good job at this, what the industry lacks is offering an "easy" and "practical" way to make that wonderful gear sound great in MOST "decent" rooms.
When this industry finds a way to get this INTEGRATION right and easy, then and only then, it will flourish!
@Paulmcgowanpsaudio - we hear a lot of hi-end audio reviewers/commentators on TH-cam mention that acoustic treatment of rooms is a must have if we are to experience the listening pleasure associated with hi-end audio. Do you feel the same or would you endeavour to lay the groundwork of audio equipment that will be capable of delivering audio bliss in even untreated rooms? Huge fan of your channel!
We're listening at least 50% to the room, lower frequencies it's almost entirely the room. This is due to reflections and physical dimensions, so there's no way of getting around it other than treatment and subwoofer(s).
And yeah, holy smoke, speakers placed right and a bit of treatment makes a huge difference. 🙌
I have a set of apogee duetta 2 speakers that sound better without room treatments, but you have to place them about 1/3 of the way into the room.@@PSA78
Music lovers use their system to listen to music. Audiophiles use music to listen to their system.
For up and coming audiophiles you could make some cheap speakers which sound good. Very easy to do.
Do you have a personal piece of music that always gives you goosebumps?
Well I am going to read your books, something to look forward to...
“The audiophiles guide to the listening room.”
With streaming and digital media is so much easier these days. You just need a good receiver and good speakers. The problem comes with music going downhill. Justin Bieber or Billie Eilish will sound terrible even on a high end equipment. 😄
Maybe not your type of music. But Billie Eilish are great recorded tracks. I have learned it is often worthwhile to get out of your box and be open for many types of music
@@stijnvanderlooy5311 Right. We can get technical about it but music is a complex experience. Seeing a thug in a Jaguar is possible (and gross) but seeing a gentleman in a Jaguar is a much more appealing and pleasing experience. So it's not only about the hardware.
The best way to allow audiophile dreamers to reach their goals?
You may have to buy and invest in highest quality needed Chinese Corporation’s cables and audio tweaking products.
Most affordable and valued means to an end.
One American product that can provide filtering and surge protective means (after thousands of miles dingy dirty copper) is a Tripp Lite Isobar plug-in-unit (no cable). Filters the signal at the wall.
Plus, a Chinese made carbon fiber wall plate I found plenty available for $25.
Blu-tac an obsidian pyramid on top of the Tripp Lite.
can’t wait for the new books!
76 Trumbones and a clarinet! 😂
Most will simply not justify the cost of high end audio no matter how good it is when lower priced stuff sounds good and is good enough.
Nice news 🎉
I think they have reached sonic accuracy 20 years ago. Now the question will be what plug is will be developed to adjust for room limitations and speaker limitations. The source is the source, tgere is almost nothing you can do to fix it. It is what it is. AI may have some abilities to correct for some issues but at what point will it no longer be original recordings but a computers interpretation of the original recording.
CLO
Chief Listening Officer
I am 65. I have not and will not Ever give up on having a proper audio system, which Must include
at least one turntable, CD player, cassette deck, and decent speakers, plus other things.
Portable speakers can be useful, but I have not bought one and don't expect to any time soon.
I don't use my phone for music At All.
I hope Paul lives to be 300!!
Younger Generations at the Toronto HiFi show were all in the headphone room
I have a nice audiophile system in my living room, but I spend more time listening to the cheap 40 year old clock radio on my night stand in the bedroom. The last 20 years saw the rise and fall of SACD/DVD-A and the rise and further rise of MP3. Most people prefer convenience over quality, once the quality is, as Paul says, "good enough."
Until a recent Android update Android would downsample any high res streaming sources fed into it down to 48khz, but now no longer necessarily downsamples it and can easily play it in high res. So in one update Android has enabled Hugh res on billions of devices! Do you think this will pave the way for more mobile phones to add better DACs to cater to high res and introduce more people to high res? Or will the lack of true high res support in Bluetooth prove to be too much of a hurdle and mean we'll need to wait for Bluetooth to be upgraded also?
Good meaningful presentation Paul, my only worry is a convoy moves at the speed of the slowest ship. There is great many excellent high end and mid HiFi products out there. I have a nasty feeling that convenient products will eventually win the greater portion of the market owing to the human condition. Lazy?
Those problems in the industry of music are in all levels, not just in HiFi audio (from the studio to the listeners). If you turn on the radio to the striming and you listen the music they are transmitting mustily poor quality music ( I am trying to be polite). The young people do not have time to close their eyes and watch the orchestra in their rooms, this is sad. A few people take one hour just to be listening music and to get flying. Every body make two o more activities at the same time and some times they listen music while they are making those activities, you need and EarPods o Alexa for that. I think these are the reasons of the problems. I love music and I still enjoy the orchestra in my audio room. Sorry if my English is bad, I say hello from Mexico.
I gave my 14 y/o nephew a set of self powered Klipsch to play from his phone and he caught the bug.
I think hifi will be a small market , and very high end will be very small, lot of people will just want a one box streamer and speakers, or even just a good smart speaker.
In some ways I believe that the more it changes the more it stays the same. There's a big difference in development time for products today when we can use more and more software to help (lots of really great ones that's free), technology like DSP, smaller efficient class D amps, and so on. It might look different when someone decides on new HiFi gear in the future, but it might not be less.
Same thing in the music industry, at the moment it seems like it's the contemporary blues scene that's having a good up swing. The old black men might have been replaced by mostly young white women, but they are coming out at a steady pace and are kicking b*tt. 😄
Yep, my 2 kids in their teens and twenties don't care about sound quality in my $15k stereo system with Apple Music lossless quality, that they don't even want to hear a demo. They are only interested in streaming music quality when it's in their car or Apple airpods
Please take one day off to go to church and for God. We enjoy you and your videos thank you
Good appetiser for Blue Ocean lol 😜
Hi Paul
I Can’t Sleep 💤
Can You
Toughen It Up
I'm playing the back nine and wonder what will happen to my very nice tube amp/ tube preamp, plus so much more stereo rig when I'm gone My wife jokes, going to sell it at a garage sale for $100
The future is bleak as audiophiles are losing their hearing and leaving the physical world. Not Paul of course he'll last another three decades
No estoy de acuerdo con Paul en cuanto a que el mercado se está encogiendo. El futuro de la industria se tiene que cimentar en el resurgimiento del Vinyl y en los videojuegos. Hoy la Ciudad de México (y muchas ciudades del mundo) está llena de bares Hi-Fi (y siguen abriendo nuevos) ; las empresas chinas están ofreciendo productos de calidad a precios extremadamente competitivos atrayendo a público joven; si bien somos y seguiremos siendo una minoría creo que la comunidad está bastante activa y creciendo. Lo que siempre falta a la mayoría son ingresos para poder invertir en un DAC de más de 4 mil dólares, ¿cómo justificar esa inversión a las masas cuando puedes escuchar tu música con $50 dólares o menos? Respuesta corta: No se puede. Es una excentricidad, y las excentricidades son de nicho.
My kids (young adults) do not even own a cheap stereo and speakers. iPhone / computer + earbuds/headphones seems to be their go to. I wonder if the interest in Hi-Fi is waning with the younger generation. Growing up in the 60s / 70s, I remember music for the home was a big deal. Not sure the interest is their with the younger crowd.
Majority of them can't tell between not do good sound and good sound.
Another one of my ideas ..Is being concidered. 10 years ago I was laughed at..
High end audio is a major financial investment so compare the sales of Rolex watches to high end audio and what do you see? Sound technology is driven by the consumer's life style not the mythical concept of perfect sound reproduction in someone's living room.
“Blue ocean “ ? UR Such a tease Paul 😂
So Paul, a hard question, God forbid, if the day comes, who potentially takes over PS Audio? Will they carry on with your same direction as well?
Let's observe that the "music" that people listen to nowadays really doesn't have to be hi-fi.
they can learn better music but they cant learn more dollars
As we get older 16k is as high as we hear. Too much below 80 is just annoying. I wish I had an amplifier with a compression knob with a wide Q in the midrange. Options.
From a Ear 👂 Trumpet to
a Pair of
MBL Radialstrahler
101 X-Tream at
$200,000. Two Hundred Thousand a Pop 😮
The Evolution of
Reproducing Sounds and
It’s Strange
Because The Asian
Market Like Japan 🇯🇵 Seeks Out
All Our Old Speakers 🔊 From 60’s to 70’s Products and
The European and
U.S. Markets Want The
Latest and Greatest
This Reminds Me of
The 70’s Muscle
Amplifiers Wars
There’s Nothing Like a
Refurbished Pair of
JBL Hartsfield
and There Was a Time
When Your System Was Like Furniture Now
The Systems
Look Incongruous 😮
When it comes to audio equipment I've always been on the side of Function over Fashion. If it's well built and produces the sound I enjoy but looks like a cow's ass, I don't care.
I remember in the not so distant past you couldn't buy JBL "studio monitors" (< I use that term lightly. Before the real studio monitor M1 was produced.) manufactured in their Mexico plant
(thanks Harman 😒) they were all shipped to Japan and not available for sale in the States. I recall seeing them for sale on eBay by Japanese retailers. Then almost suddenly they were available in the States.
When I ask myself what the people who would have been into big speakers and reel to reel tape decks in the '70s are into now, it's not DACs and home theater, it's video games and gaming PCs. The industry isn't losing ground to other audio products. Our whole society is shifting away from listening to music as a focused activity toward interactive electronic entertainment. Another factor is that audio equipment had been cutting edge consumer technology until home computers became available. For tech hobbyists, HiFi is no longer the leading edge of advancement in home and personal technology.
There are things that will preserve the long term interest in high quality audio technology. People aren't going to stop enjoying music. Video games and movies benefit from high quality sound reproduction. Home theater and video games will maintain a need for quality sound reproduction and people will continue to seek out well made, beautiful, lovingly designed audio equipment. We can see by the growing headphone and personal audio market that sound reproduction tech is alive and well, even though it's probably not going to be as high on the tech food chain as it was in the past, and it's going to be focused on different aspects of the gear than it was before, such as headphones versus turntables.
The one thing that HiFi has slowly been losing since it started to blossom in the mid 1950s is the hobbyist/tinkerer appeal. As manufacturers continued to attempt to bring more people into the market they constantly eroded the tinkering appeal of equipment by making it easier to use. It's a catch 22 situation. You appeal to one group at the expense of another.
There should be a definition of high end and whats the difference with hifi or high quality. Once the high end was the CD I think and now audiosnobs only want 192 something or 24 bit something they care about sound but not music. A good noisy performance is better than a bad performance with clean sound and high bits or herz
REALITY CHECK: The more arrogance mfg's maintain toward ridiculous pricing, the deeper they're digging their grave.
The #1 preferred channel among audiophiles for high end audio is the used market. The sooner mfg's realize they're actually competing with the used market, the better chance they'll have not going defunct !
Paul, you are the spirit of '76. Let that Audio Freedom Ring! 😀
Gramps. Does that mean you'll rebrand as Gramps Amps? Or is this a new line coming out?
Just messing with you. Keep up your energy and enthusiasm.
PS Audio Blue Ocean = wireless active speaker using DSD over Bluetooth
it's taste of sugar...if you've never had sugar you will never want it. I think the future of hi end(ish) audio is out of patent clone amplifiers eg darTZeel or Marantz...
thanx for being there and being a role model
Crack open a pair of airpods/airbuds w/e they call em, and you got your future laid right out in front of you! I see a future where the power of a BHK amplifier can be stuffed onto a board as small as a hypex module. I see a future where the sound from these smaller boards will become indistinguishable from the boulder sized amps of old and it will ALL be packed into the speaker from the get go. Thats what I see