Sound reproduction and playback

[David Horn]

(12-03-2018, 07:05 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Economic reality is also a factor. I have noticed that places that even  try to sell high-fidelity equipment are getting scarcer.

If it is musical performance - I am a classical music fan, and I am not convinced that the  musical talent is thinning. The repertory certainly isn't thinning, although the discography is thinning. Is Simon Rattle less competent than Toscanini? I think not.  

Economic reality has its role. First, our educational system is more interested in training  people for existing jobs than in showing people how to live. Emphasis on STEM is desirable, but in view of the shrinking workweek we might need to teach people how to spend their leisure time. That means music, literature, and the visual arts.  Second, smaller apartments allow less privacy for enjoying music on a sound system, so having a chance to listen  to a loud, colorful work like a symphony by Anton Bruckner with the volume turned up on a stereo system gets dicey. Third, retailers have no idea of how to sell high-fidelity equipment. Inflating a price tag and then taking a gigantic markdown is good for selling many things -- but not sound equipment. What sounds good for the price (if one must consider price) is  better than something with an impressive markdown. 

Today's values are convenience, not quality.  Earbuds and files on a streaming service are tiny and the music library is huge.  Never mind that the reproduction is horrid.  It's convenient.


First and foremost, the audience for classical music is shrinking.  Interest in jazz and other serious music is also declining.  Attention spans are collapsing even faster.  I don't see a return to the older values any time soon.  So appreciate what you have, and cherish the fact that the recorded music we have is both abundant and excellent if you look for it.