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My comments

• I don't see the comparison here. Just about everybody needs to get from point A to point B. There are many methods to accomplish such a goal and the ultimate would be to have a premium form of personal transport. The exotic car. But the vast majority will buy an economy car that performs the task at hand. Some will simply not even have a car.
  
  The definition of "Potential Hi-end audio buyer" is what I have some issue with. Owning premium playback equipment is actually about the music. The music is what matters and frankly, most of the music out there is, subjectively, absolutely crap. 99.9% of the people out there who claim to listen to music don't really listen to music. The .1% who do, will buy the best audio system they can afford to get there. But that would also be balanced against attending the live event. The rest would do fine simply streaming highly compressed music on their computers.
  
  Those who value their collection of well recorded good music will seek out the best possible playback equipment they can afford. But you and I know that most "music lovers" out there don't value music. They download it for "free". Something that's "free" does not require $1000 (maybe make that $500) worth of equipment to play it back. They sound fine on an iPod.
  
  High end audio manufacturers are catering to that .1%. A small but high margin market. This business model can only change when the technology of great sounding equipment gets disrupted by something that will bring the price way down. I see digital amplifiers (Class D?) as possibly having potential to do that. The other piece of the business model, is of course the music. Our societal culture defines music. Music is an artform. There are a few very well record good music out there, but the vast majority of music is poorly recorded and absolute drivel to listen to. Only some of it is actually worth paying money for.
  
  Which brings up the money. Copyright fees, distribution, rights management, licencing fees all conspire to drive up the price of everything from the equipment itself to the playback medium, to the music itself. Why should a CD or DVD I legally own and paid good money for have the right to go and deactivate or disrupt my computer? or not play in my home or car CD player? I paid (sometimes too much) for that right and the seller has broken my trust in a perfectly legitimate business transaction. It only takes one (or two) to put the entire industry in jeopardy of losing my business altogether. I can play my own music (as a musician) or I can simply not value music and use something else to define my personal societal culture.
  
  There is nothing wrong with hi end audio. The issue is size of the market and what is being marketed. The definition of "potential high end audio buyer" is what I would question. In reply to: "Poll: What's wrong with high-end audio?"

  July 31, 2009

  0 replies

• I walk into a shop that has something playing as background music, hear something that attracts my attention and ask what it is. I write it down and download the song to see if it's something I really like. If I like it, I go and see if it's available on LP. Otherwise I go seek out the CD. In reply to: "Poll: How do you find new music?"

  July 10, 2009

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• Yes I do. Recently copied a collection LPs to CD for somebody and he gave me a Thorens TD160 and his record collection as payment for the work. So now I have two decent turntables. One is set up to my stereo and the other is plugged through an ADC to an iMAC. I also recently bought more new recordings on Vinyl by Diana Krall, Coldplay, Plain White T's and others so my rather extensive LP collection is still expanding.
  Put your friends in front of your system and listen to the same recording on LP and CD (volume matched) and watch their jaws hit the floor. In reply to: "Poll: Why don't you have a turntable?"

  July 10, 2009

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• It's been more than 10 years since I bought my last set of speakers. The speakers I ended up buying were reviewed in Stereophile, or maybe they weren't, but I have been unable to obtain a copy of the review. However, buying speakers was a 6+ month process of visiting the store(s), bringing my own listening material and getting the dealer to set up a system similar to my home system and room size. Never was I pressured into buying anything. But when the right sound hit, even my wife noticed. The dealer was so good that to this day, I still buy most of my equipment or recommend others to them. Certainly not the absolute best price, but the highest quality in salesmanship and product. The speakers work so well in my home that I have not had a need to upgrade speakers despite having upgraded almost every component everywhere else. However, my latest upgrade in amplification (YBA) has exposed the limits of these speakers so the cycle may begin again. In reply to: "Poll: Do you listen before buying speakers?"

  May 4, 2009

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• I recently bought 4 LPs. One of the LPs, I heard on the radio, downloaded one of the songs from the internet and enjoyed it so much, I decided I would by the CD. In checking around, I found the LP and bought the LP instead. The LP was the same price as the CD. Those who complain about pops and ticks on vinyl listening have never heard a new recording on a decent turntable. But I can understand they don't want to be bothered with the routine needed to clean LPs, cartridge needles, and carefully place needle on said LP.
  
  The other 3 LPs I bought were new old jazz recordings. In reply to: "LP revival: Fact or fantasy?"

  March 10, 2009

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• I have just over 1000 LPs and though I've heard most of them, I don't believe I've actually heard every single one of them, nor do I even like the music for all of them. I guess that makes me a collector and not a music lover. I don't think I'll ever hear all my LPs. In reply to: "LP collectors: Vinyl-obsessed video tells all"

  January 19, 2009

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• I have a record cleaning machine and it's great. I pick up a lot of garage sale finds and a good cleaning brings the music back to its prestine new condition.
  
  Personally, I think the start-up cost is a bit on the high side as the technology isn't all that high. With a bit of work, one can build his own. But the Nitty Gritty machines are quite good quality and I guess they don't sell enough of them to be able to bring the price down.
  So a reasonable investment. In reply to: "Vacuumed vinyl sounds better--or why LP lovers need record-cleaning machines"

  June 17, 2008

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• So every now and then I hear a song, either on the radio or in a store. I go home, download this crappy MP3 and listen to it for awhile and decide, I do like the song. So I do what John recommends. Buy the CD, or if available, the LP. For 99.5% of the songs on my iPod, I have the LPs or CDs or DRM removed MP3's. I'll probably go to jail for that .5% of songs I forgot to erase. (sigh). In reply to: "'Anybody who legally downloads music is an idiot!' says irate record store owner"

  June 6, 2008

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• I'm wondering why I can't go down to my local music store and pick up an SD card with an entire album permanently burned into it. That spinning disc is one more moving part that can break down along with a laser that may burn out.
  
  I am for high quality recording, whether they be on media or downloads, but know that not everybody has broadband to their homes. Would I pay extra for higher quality? That's a tough question. Why am I paying more for poor quality now? Isn't it up to the producers to put out their best quality product possible rather than "claim they're losing money because people are stealing" their poor quality stuff? In reply to: "HDtracks: Why settle for iTunes now that you can get CD quality music downloads?"

  May 2, 2008

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• I see most of the good hifi shops that have disappeared. The number of hifi shops that cater mainly to the home theatre crowd is more common, the number of hifi shops that throw seminars (there used to be lots of educational seminars to attend) are gone, the quality of music available (maybe I'm just getting old) is also scarce. I see big box stores and cheap poor quality downloads displace good customer service and education and consistant high quality. But you get instant gratification. Buying a good music system is no longer a 6 month research project.
  
  Chicken and egg question, right?
  
  There are people out there that have never heard a well recorded CD, let alone sit down and listen to good music on a turntable.
  
  My nephew came over to listen to some music a few months back.
  ...so after picking his jaw up off the floor after listening to Norah Jones' CD, Come Away With Me, and then hearing the same record off of an LP, he turns around and says, what can you put together for me for $300? In reply to: "Shattering audiophile stereotypes"

  May 2, 2008

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