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Is there any better time to be an audiophile? (Read 3461 times)
canonken
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Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
02/21/21 at 14:51:44
 
OK, I'm sure there are *some* elements that were better in the past, but talking overall.  For example, we ARE in a worse place when it comes to dealers (not as many places to hear gear).

Off the top of my head:
--Generally speaking, there are really not 'bad' products anymore.  Sure you might not like it, but you don't see the hacked together junk from decades past.  The sound you can get from a $100 pair of Polk bookshelf speakers or a $299 integrated amp is fantastic.  This seems to be due to competition, reviews, and the advancement/accessibility of engineering, testing.
--The internet, and being able to find anything.
--Shipping costs being low and allowing national and international distribution of gear without drama
--The big one is having access to brands like Decware, Zu, Tekton, Schitt, Denafrips, the ACA, Magnepan LRS, and many others.
--The other big one is hi-res music streaming.  Even if you don't like streaming, you cannot argue having access to unlimited and endless songs for a month for the cost one one CD.  Oh, and CDs are cheap and easy to buy online, at used stores, and you can rip them lossless to a server, too.  And of course you have more hi-res download options.
--Vinyl is back.  However while I feel we are in a golden age of hardware but the records themselves are struggling (high demand, constrained production...hope this improves)
--Especially for a budget audiophile, you can build an embarrassingly good system for $1,000 (speakers, amp, DAC...connect to streaming service), and step up to maybe $3,000 and you can get something like a Decware, pair of Caintuck or Zu, a DAC, a turntable, and have money left over for some accessories.  A system like that could keep you happy and not wanting for more for decades.

Feel free to disagree with me (but hopefully it is more than 'well I just liked it better back in the day because...yeah!'), I am just curious to hear how you feel and view about the state of the industry today.
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CAJames
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Re: Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
Reply #1 - 02/21/21 at 15:13:40
 
Only real issue I see is current production vacuum tubes are still no where near the quality of "golden age" tubes. So stock up now cuz when they're gone they are gone!

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[FOOBAR2000 | Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia
Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Maple-tree Phono 3E
Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos
Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Senn HD-650
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canonken
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Re: Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
Reply #2 - 02/21/21 at 15:46:31
 
That does bring up another question I have pondered with tubes - simple economics (NOS being cheap) prevents people investing in higher-quality new production tubes.  If making a killer new tube will carry a $100 retail...and the good NOS versions are $50...you really cannot make a viable business out of this.  However, once those NOS tubes are getting rare, selling for $200, then your $100 tube becomes WAY more interesting.

The 300B market is obviously insane, and this is now a viable business (and apparently, totally sold out):

https://www.westernelectric.com/300b

I refuse to believe you cannot make a new tube that would meet or beat any NOS one...provided there was enough money.  Yes, there is a huge gap in knowledge, but if there is money, demand, people will rise to the occasion.  I'm not suggesting we are there today, but rising NOS prices (and stable or growing tube demand) will push this along.

Sophia is another one that stands out as someone going after this market:

https://sophiaelectric.com/
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CAJames
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Re: Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
Reply #3 - 02/21/21 at 16:11:12
 
Yeah, in theory I agree with you but in practice I don't think high end audio is a big enough market to justify the kind of investment companies like RCA and Mullard and Western Electric made back in the day when tubes were in everything.

The thing is no one thought the (fill in the blank heritage tube) was that big a deal when they were making hundreds of thousands of them. It was only decades after the fact that audio designers discovered them and they became classics to a handful of nerds like us. Western Electric is trying to come back, but I've been following that story for years and they are no where near making the same tubes that made them famous with any consistency. There is Takatsuki, that is actually making high end tubes in quantities where they are available, and they cost as much as the famous NOS tubes they are trying to replace (go figure). Same with EML and a couple of others. I'm old enough to remember going to the hardware store with my dad to test and replace TV tubes, but those days are gone and aren't coming back.

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[FOOBAR2000 | Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia
Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Maple-tree Phono 3E
Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos
Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Senn HD-650
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piezoman
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Re: Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
Reply #4 - 02/21/21 at 16:39:39
 
This is a very interesting question.

My sad little story is this.....I'm only 2-3 yrs into the annals of audiophilia after spending most of my life in the pathetic drudgery of the Circuit City's [now defunct], Best Buys. etc. of the world.  Ugggh. I remember visits to a couple boutique stereo shops when I was a teen.....it was completely mesmerizing, I just loved staring at all the faceplates, knobs, switches and the like on beautiful gear like Marantz, McIntosh, Accuphase, Kenwood, etc. You put me in a room like that and I can busy myself all day in fantasy. I would have endless dreams of this stuff. It  was a real high!

Then in my late 20's [late 1980's], I was introduced by an older friend of mine to somethign that just blew my mind to smithereens. His gear looked like something from another planet, which was my first-turn-on; I just LOVED stuff that looked like research lab equipment. He had a pair of ribbon hybrid Apogee Calipers [looked like space alien speakers at the time, lol], bi-amped by a pair of Threshold power amps, a PS Audio processor and preamp, huge thick cables everywhere. I couldn't believe what I saw, then when I heard it, it flipped my mind. He taught me alot back in the day, he was an electrician with an engineering mind. He taught me that cables are just as much of a component in a system as the power amp. The sound was so pristine, so balanced, so insanely complex and detailed. It just killed me. But cost was prohibitive, I had no way to pay for something like this, though I fantasized about it endlessly. It drove me mad......25+ years goes by with Best Buy type bullshit, depressing really, no cool upper caliber stereo shops around anymore, music was just a background event. I learned nothing during that whole time, read nothing, great audio was just something of an untouchable fantasy.

Till about 3 yrs ago, when I decided I finally couldn't take it anymore and started once again researching, reading, getting myself interested again....and the bug returned more fierce than ever. It was and is beautiful.
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HockessinKid
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Re: Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
Reply #5 - 02/21/21 at 17:52:54
 
I think this may very well be the best time, especially with the wonderful Decware line-up of 25th Anniversary products and exceptional high efficiency single driver speakers. After all, it's not likely they'll miniaturize tube amps + a driver to the point they'll fit in your ear canal 😂🤣. Even if they do, something tells me they won't be able to properly ventilate them😉.

HK
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Steve Deckert
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Re: Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
Reply #6 - 02/22/21 at 03:06:50
 
Indeed there is no other better time to be an audiophile than now.  On so many levels because technology has made the less expensive options sound better than less expensive options sounded in the past.  

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metropolis7
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Re: Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
Reply #7 - 02/22/21 at 05:02:38
 

We have music coming out of our ears these days, it's truly an embarrassment of riches. Youtube clips, hi-rez, cheap as dirt cds, free as dirt cds from the library, lp reissues, etc.
Gone are the days of being relegated to your local fm station or risking money on a $12 cd that turns out to be a one-tracker.

If there are any resources that are in short supply these days, it's our time and attention. For that, check out Steve Deckert's thread on how to listen. Sage advice!
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CAJames
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Re: Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
Reply #8 - 02/22/21 at 18:19:29
 
Quote:
Posted by: metropolis7      Posted on: Today at 05:02:38

We have music coming out of our ears these days, it's truly an embarrassment of riches. Youtube clips, hi-rez, cheap as dirt cds, free as dirt cds from the library, lp reissues, etc.
Gone are the days of being relegated to your local fm station or risking money on a $12 cd that turns out to be a one-tracker.


Yes! I'm not into streaming but I've been saying for a while if the recording companies were giving us these deals on CDs 15 years ago the record business would be in a very different place now.
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[FOOBAR2000 | Jay's CDT2 MRK3] -> Denafrips Terminator 2 + Gaia
Sumiko Pearwood -> Mapleknoll Athena -> Luxman SUT -> Maple-tree Phono 3E
Woo WA22 -> 2x UFO25s, balanced monos
Omega SAM , Hifiman Arya, Senn HD-650
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canonken
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Re: Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
Reply #9 - 02/23/21 at 01:13:50
 
Well remember 10-20 years ago, not uncommon a random CD would be $15, 20, even more...and you have to factor for inflation add some more dollars to those.  Especially 'retail' prices at mall stores and such.  We are in such a better place.
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Dominick
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Re: Is there any better time to be an audiophile?
Reply #10 - 02/23/21 at 05:46:35
 
I remember when CD’s first came out.  It was like a drug....I had a subscription to Columbia and BMG music.  When my discs would scratch to the point of being unusable....I would turn them into coasters.  

Dom
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