CEA Study on the Demand for Sound Quality...

True. Butk, as I said before, it takes some "ear education" to start making sense of the terms you mention. And its not like the intelligence is not out there. Man people can learn so many things that are less compelling just because they are cool, why not music... again?

 

You forgot number 7. Increasing inability to hear aka deafness. If I had money I would invest heavily in hearing aids right now. The super-watt madness of the 70's is about to result in some pretty horrific
payback. My father had top of the line speakers, and used them to maximum effect. They've long since blown out, and so is his hearing. It's not too bad for a 53 year old, but he can no longer discern good dynamic sound from loud compressed crap. If he dislikes the way something sounds/isn't hearing enough of something, instead of seeking midrange, he simply raises the treble to the roof, rolls off the bass, and increases the volume. He's in paradise. My, unfortunately overly-sensitive to high frequency, ears run for the hills...

And their worried about the IPod generation's hearing. I've never understood the headphone argument. Whether it's in the ear, over the ear, or roaring out of the speakers, isn't it all equally bad when turned up too loud?

 

Sounds like some producers and people on message boards...

 

It isn't one person I'm talking about, it's most people I know that I'm talking about. I don't know anyone who would call themselves an 'audiophile', but I do know some great music fans.

My best friend is like a brother to me, I've known him since high school.
I got into the audiophile thing and I think I fell for the snobbery part of it. I had no right to really. I think there were times where I made him feel bad because of my attitude. He used to actually apologize for his stereo. When I think of how stupid I must have acted I feel like crap. This guy is the reason I discovered The Jayhawks. I'm into and loving 'americana' music all because of him. He loves music, owned his own indie CD store and now sells exclusively online. But his stereo isn't great and it never will be. He simply has no interest in it. Who am I to tell him he's 'wrong' or 'misinformed'?

dan c

 

Right on, Dan, my bro, here's what one of my friends had to say, and after this I am going to try to stay out of this thread, because it's really getting on my nerves a bit...

I had a friend who, like me, was a grade-schooler during the era of "the hippies." Once we were talking in general about that era, and he said "you know who I hated? The hippies..."
That surprised me and I said that I was pretty impressed, loved the music, cool long hair, etc.
He nodded, but said "Yeah, I liked that, but there was really one thing about them that absolutely bugged the crap out of me, they all thought they were RIGHT about everything, and if only the rest of the world could be as enlightened as THEM, we wouldn't have any wars or poverty, etc.etc."

 

"groupthink" or mob mentality just may work if really put to the test...

 

Dan, I get your point and agree with what you say. The 'guy' I mentioned you described was meant to mean a type of person.

Now, I hope my posts have made it clear that my comment had nothing to do with a snobbish kind of attitude. You can easily check it for yourself, if a certain type of technology is touted enough by the media the next time the ordinary consumer walks into the store to buy any type of related hardware they will always mention it. Heck! I've been at stores time and time again and see people walk in and ask for DVD players that played Div-X. In some cases I could understand what the person was after, in others I am quite sure that the person was asking for this technology just because he/she heard about it, not because they meant to use it.

That is not questioning the person's intelligence or worth, it is just pointing out that when you 'sell' new technology to the masses it's the buzz words that catch on. And my point, again, is that things like music in 5.1 and HiRez just haven't been communicated to reach the general public, hence us more in the know have to put up with less than little releases because there is not a large enough market for the type of product we like.

If the media and everybody talks long enough about a technology it will sell. For example, there was a lot of talk here in Spain about double layer DVD recorders and the recorders sold like hotcakes. The only problem is that it is quite difficult to come across a recordable double layer disk in this country. And when if and when you do, it is darn expensive. So people were buying into the 'buzz' technology even if it has basically amounted to vaporware.

 

Yes, but there is some evidence to suggest that earphones are potentially more dangerous because it's like direct injection. It all depends on the amount of pressure you subject your eardrum to. Some people play headphones extremely loud and over lengthy periods. Plus in many cases your ears are captive to a sealed environment with 'phones. Pete Townshend blames his hearing loss on headphones, not the in concert volumes he experienced. I suspect the same of my ears, because when I was in high school I listened loud and long with headphones. My hearing loss is slight-to-moderate, not severe, but it is enough to make we wish I had taken more care.

Yes, I went to a number of loud rock concerts in my youth, but they were limited in duration. And I couldn't play the speakers loud at home, except when both my parents were gone, so it was infrequent (they liked to stay home most of the time).

 

I've read of studies that indicate some people are not "wired" for music either, contrary to the widespread belief that everyone appreciates music. A certain percentage of people apparently only hear rhythm and sensation when music plays. It seems to be a genetic thing. I don't really know whether this is a trait that is on the increase as time has passed or not. But I suspect that there is a significant portion of the populace to whom "it all sounds the same" through no fault of their own. So perhaps to this group, if they are to be engaged at all by music it might need to be loud, aggressive, and pulsating. They wouldn't be able to notice sound textures, melodies, or perceive different types of instruments or even emotions present in a performance.