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AUDIOPHILETALK.COM

The audiophile hobby has come a long way since the days in the late 1960s when
young men were sent to fight a senseless war in Vietnam but often learned about
music and audio at the PX store which was in effect their audiophile retailer
back then. Over the decades, the audiophile hobby has evolved just as the Baby
Boomers aged. Hippies became Yuppies that bought even more audio gear especially
in the early 1980s with the advent of the Compact Disc in 1983 by Sony and
Philips. Today, OG’s (original audiophiles) are in the late 60s or well into
their seventies. During COVID, the change-resistant audiophile business went
back into the past in hopes of selling Oligarch audio (meaning crazy expensive
electronics and speakers) to 70-something audiophiles. They also did a full
embrace of retro format known as vinyl.

The future of audio is about something very different than what Baby Boomers
like about the hobby.


DO YOUNGER AUDIOPHILES NEED TO COLLECT MUSIC?

Today’s younger audiophiles don’t always collect music. And why should they? For
the cost of one Compact Disc or reasonably priced LP record – they can have
access to each and every recording ever made. And that access is in resolutions
that start at Compact Disc level and go up to ultra-HD format. Some view this
access as “free” (which isn’t really true but you can see their point) as
services like Prime from Amazon allow access to music. Verizon can get you
“free” access to Apple Music as part of what you pay them. It, of course isn’t
free but it seems free because access to music is now bundled into other
packages.

As compared to Baby Boomer and Generation X – the need to collect music isn’t as
important as it used to be. Why spend $100 or more on non-collectable vinyl
record when that money could be used on audiophile electronics, speakers,
subwoofers and elsewhere.


LIFESTYLE ADVANTAGES TO THE AUDIOPHILE HOBBY VERSUS STATUS & CULTURE



Do you remember the scene in Boogie Nights when Don Cheadle’s character is
selling audio gear to Burt Reynold’s character? It was a pure time warp back to
when stereos and muscle cars defined a guy’ manhood.

That is gone now.

Younger audiophiles look to listening to music as a way to bring experiences to
them. Millennials will spend like mad on music festivals or Taylor Swift tickets
as well as other live musical events. An audiophile system allows them to
upgrade their experiences to be able to get into music, in their home, every
night.

Generation Z suffers from fear, stress and anxiety. Before taking more ADHD
drugs, could listening to say 15 minutes of Dark Side of the Moon or a bit of
Miles Davis Kind of Blue, help? You bet it can. Try this trick… take your blood
pressure at home. The put on some awesome music that isn’t too manic (no Prodigy
or Squarepusher) and set a timer for 15 minutes. When you are listening, close
your eyes and take five to 10 deep breaths. Then test again. Don’t be shocked if
your numbers for your blood pressure drop by as much as 10 points. It is an
amazing health benefit.


AFFORDABLE AUDIOPHILE GEAR THANKS TO CHI-FI

While during COVID, many audiophile companies have moved to selling only $10,000
plus dollar parts – there has been a new revolution in the audiophile world
called Chi-Fi or Chinese Hi-Fi. The companies that make much of the audiophile
products in the marketplace today also are now making their own gear. Companies
like Topping, S.M.S.L. and FiiO are only a start of these new brands. They offer
very high performance, small form factor audiophile components that are very
affordable. Chi-Fi is almost never sold at an audiophile brick and mortar dealer
as it has very little profit margin paired with very low retail prices. Much is
sold at Amazon.com or other online retailers.

Today’s younger audiophiles love collecting audio gear, especially headphones.
These new affordable options allow people to actually collect audiophile
components versus having to flip them for each and every audiophile upgrade.

There’s more to talk about in the audiophile hobby. We will post again soon to
talk about audiophile tweaks that you can actually afford as well as dispelling
audiophile bullshit like putting speaker cables off of the floor via little saw
horses or painting the edges of your Compact Discs with green paint.

Until then…