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Are we the last 'Hifi' generation?

I think Richer Sounds are a good indicator of how the market is moving and they are certainly giving the traditional hifi dealer a run for their money.

I recently purchased a Sonos Amp from them which is basically a self contained wifi amp and a pair of third party speakers for which the overall cost was about £1k which included some decent speaker cables for my place in Spain. The amp is just 8.5" square and 2" in height and takes up hardly any space. The speakers are Dali Oberon 1 bookshelf speakers as recommended by Richer Sounds. With this I can pick up thousands of radio stations and use Spotify etc. I could, if I wish, connect up a TT but I can't be bothered with that.

The advantage of this type of system is that I could upgrade either the amp or the speakers separately which is a major advantage for those who want to keep their speakers for many years ahead. In theory I could sell on the Dalis and replace them with Shahinian Arcs or whatever as it delivers 125 wpc.

It sounds very good but obviously does not compare with the top end stuff such as Naim or similar but we are not far away from lower prices for better wifi kit and there are hundreds of thousands of traditional speakers that will be around for years to come.

There would be nothing to stop anyone from connecting a top end wifi amp to a pair to say a pair of 15" Tannoy's and they would not need to buy another CD or LP ever again.

The main obstacle to this is that the old chaps tend to like collecting loads of CDs and LPs but younger people prefer to pay a monthly subscription for unlimited music choice which makes wifi based systems the almost certain winner in years to come.

I think hifi will still be around in wifi form but the days of loads of black boxes and special stands that occupy space will be soon be a thing of the pasts

I am now seriously thinking of selling my Garrard 401 TT with the Naim Aro etc, plus the CDS3 CD and the NAT01 tuner and buying a Naim XDS2 or similar and just slot it into the 52/300 plus Shahinian speaker system.

I’m perfectly satisfied running two Sonos Amps with Tannoy’s and ATC’s. The thought of spending more on a “top end Wi-Fi amp” has never crossed my mind. The Sonos Amp works so well with my main turntable system and configuration of my home that I see no alternatives that appeals to me.
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This is what people listen to these days. Why would you spend anything over what a cheap pair of bluetooth in-ears cost for that?

 
Rick Beato is great, I like him, but he’s 100% a boomer/classic rock fan who is always moaning about the tiny subset of new music he’s actually managed to locate (in the laziest way possible). Remember he’s commenting on one very specific chart genre category on one streaming service. Music has exploded over the past 30 or so years to the extent chart pop is now just children’s music. Everything else exists elsewhere in different categories.

It’s just clickbait. Don’t rise to it.
 
If we are talking about ridiculously-priced 'high end' bling hifi then yes, I think their days are numbered. But I am optimistic that younger people are still interested in good music and good reproduction, just not in overpriced out-of-reach gear. They'll start off with cheap streaming and head phones but eventually may end up with a decent set up of reasonably-priced components once they have more disposable income. The bling hifi IMO deserves to die out; much of it disgusts me (both in performance and price) and I am an old guy who has been in the game for a long time.
Ha ha, do you live in Tunbridge Wells by any chance? Why be disgusted by people with likely more money than us choosing to spend their money how they choose?

I suspect that the high end will always find a market. Often made by small companies able to ride out economic storms and not requiring vast numbers of sales to stay afloat. As to whether high end products are value for money depends on the depth of one’s pockets and how discerning one’s ears are. Fortunately for all of us there is a wide choice of hifi (as in music reproducers) at a wide range of prices. Long may that continue!
 
OK, I'm confused then. This is Spotify - without equal the most popular music streaming service (which has a free tier too) and the most listened songs from last month (current time looks very similar). That is worldwide. Does that not represent anything then?
 
I love the part of the video where the old man had to put on his glasses and squint to be able to read the fresh, new musicans' names.
 
You're missing out the fact that housing is immensely more expensive than it was when we were young, as is transport, education, etc. Plus the precarity of many younger people's jobs. Hi-fi is an expensive option for young people who are paying massive rents.
My first house cost 12,000 quid. That year my annual pay cheque was £3000. 1/4 of the house cost.
Average UK home price today is about 275000 apparently. Average annual wage is 27,000, 1/10th of the house cost so i agree, we had it much much better. A simplification but valid in many ways.
 
OK, I'm confused then. This is Spotify - without equal the most popular music streaming service (which has a free tier too) and the most listened songs from last month (current time looks very similar). That is worldwide. Does that not represent anything then?
I thought I'd do a bit of research and show you how all top 10s are shit through the ages - so I went (UK chart) to May 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003 and then gave up. Sadly, there are at least two good songs in each list. Here's 1983 for example:

- 1 Spandau Ballet True
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2 New Edition Candy Girl
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3 Heaven 17 Temptation
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4 Beat Can't Get Used To Losing You
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5 Galaxy featuring Phil Fearon Dancing Tight
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6 Wham! Bad Boys
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7 Fun Boy Three Our Lips Are Sealed
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8 Human League (Keep Feeling) Fascination
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9 Hot Chocolate What Kinda Boy You Looking For (Girl)
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10 Tears For Fears Pale Shelter
 
OK, I'm confused then. This is Spotify - without equal the most popular music streaming service (which has a free tier too) and the most listened songs from last month (current time looks very similar). That is worldwide. Does that not represent anything then?

What have pop charts ever represented? I only paid attention to them in the 1970s when they were full of the glam rock etc that I liked as a kid. By the time the ‘80s-90s came around every now and again there would be a Smiths or REM song in there. You always had to sit through eight Wet Wet Wet ballads and a Black Lace novelty song before hearing anything decent. Popular music is awful. It always has been. Ignore it!

PS I’ve not watched the video yet, I’ll get to it later. I may like all of it for all I know.
 
Popular music is awful. It always has been. Ignore it!
Hang on, what's not to like in May 1983. Even May 1973 isn't all bad:

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1 Dawn featuring Tony Orlando Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree
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2 Wizzard See My Baby Jive
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3 Sweet Hell Raiser
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4 Gary Glitter Hello Hello I'm Back Again
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5 Perry Como And I Love You So
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6 Roger Daltrey Giving It All Away
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7 David Bowie Drive-In Saturday
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8 Hot Chocolate Brother Louie
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9 Wings My Love
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10 Alice Cooper No More Mr Nice Guy

Probably not the done thing to be a Gary Glitter fan but he was big for me when I was 10, metaphorically speaking. And Hot Chocolate made it a decade apart.
 
Let's face it if PFM got sucked through a time warp and popped out in 1963 half the posters would be moaning about what a racket this new fangled rock & roll music is and how these these funny new microgroove records aren't a patch on their trusty 78s...
 
Rosalia looks great (haven't heard of her before) but that track stinks (sorry).

Billie Eilish is one current exception I can think of. Interesting to see where she goes from here.

The last high profile mainstream album I can think of that got treated to special care in its production was Random Access Memories and that's 10 years ago from a band that doesn't exist anymore. At least we still have Peter Gabriel mucking about ever so slowly.
 
My first house cost 12,000 quid. That year my annual pay cheque was £3000. 1/4 of the house cost.
Average UK home price today is about 275000 apparently. Average annual wage is 27,000, 1/10th of the house cost so i agree, we had it much much better. A simplification but valid in many ways.
My kids live in London: average house price £737,512; average deposit on a flat £115,759.
 
Rick Beato is great, I like him, but he’s 100% a boomer/classic rock fan who is always moaning about the tiny subset of new music he’s actually managed to locate (in the laziest way possible). Remember he’s commenting on one very specific chart genre category on one streaming service. Music has exploded over the past 30 or so years to the extent chart pop is now just children’s music. Everything else exists elsewhere in different categories.

It’s just clickbait. Don’t rise to it.
I know this is true. Can someone please start a thread on where to find this worthy new stuff and add suggestions of radio stations that promote it? For those of us whose lives don't allow a lot of time on youtooob etc.
I think it would help a lot.
 
When I was in my teens in the 80's the stuff I listened to was MJ, Madonna, Prince, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Tears for Fears, Genesis etc. For some much of this is "pap" but at least it was more or less well-produced (not the since remastered versions) and had dynamic range which meant it made sense to move the listening experience from the walkman or ghettoblaster over to the (modest) 2ch hifi system. For an uptick in listening pleasure.

Why would you persuade young'uns of today to get something better than their BT cans when the music they listen to is produced to sound "good" on such gear and will sound pretty bad on a proper stereo (due to heavy compression/wall of sound)?

Rambling here.
 


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