What Are YOU Doing to Grow Hi-Fi?

Michaels HiFi

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I wrote an article the other day and I wanted to share part of it.

Seeing some people whine here about how 'mean' we are to their country and how traumatized they are over it while they dismiss slave labor and concentration camps in China....made me realize just how much I believe in what I wrote.

--

We always hear it, don’t we?

”Oh, the future of hi-fi is so bleak.”

”Nobody cares about good sound anymore.”

”It’s all streaming and earbuds now. Audio is dead.”

"The ASR crowd cares only about numbers and have no clue about how things sound"

I’ve heard these laments a thousand times. They echo through forums, they whisper in Facebook groups, they get muttered over drinks at audio clubs by people who sound more like funeral directors than passionate believers in what they claim to love.

And you know what I realized?

These people are professional complainers, not builders.

They’ve surrendered before the battle even started. They’ve accepted defeat as inevitable. And in doing so, they’ve abdicated their most important responsibility: passing the torch.

So let me ask you directly: What are YOU doing to change that?​

Me? I’m starting with my granddaughters.

Today, while I sat with a proper adult beverage—French vodka, Italian carbonated lemon, exactly two ice cubes, the way civilized people do things—my granddaughters sat next to me with their chocolate milk. And together, we listened.

Not passively. Not as background noise while we scrolled through phones or stared into the void of modern distraction. We sat down, in the sweet afternoon light, and we let great music fill the room around us.

That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

But it’s everything.

[rest of article is much longer so that's all I put here to simply make the point]

--------


I ask you - are you one of the forum nitwits arguing over stuff no one cares about or are you actually helping BUILD our hobby?

The nitwits are miserable people and instead of dealing with them I'm gong to focus on helping hifi audio grow.

Here is a pic of them going to church with me

Kids.jpg
 
I wrote an article the other day and I wanted to share part of it.

Seeing some people whine here about how 'mean' we are to their country and how traumatized they are over it while they dismiss slave labor and concentration camps in China....made me realize just how much I believe in what I wrote.

--

We always hear it, don’t we?

”Oh, the future of hi-fi is so bleak.”

”Nobody cares about good sound anymore.”

”It’s all streaming and earbuds now. Audio is dead.”

"The ASR crowd cares only about numbers and have no clue about how things sound"

I’ve heard these laments a thousand times. They echo through forums, they whisper in Facebook groups, they get muttered over drinks at audio clubs by people who sound more like funeral directors than passionate believers in what they claim to love.

And you know what I realized?

These people are professional complainers, not builders.

They’ve surrendered before the battle even started. They’ve accepted defeat as inevitable. And in doing so, they’ve abdicated their most important responsibility: passing the torch.

So let me ask you directly: What are YOU doing to change that?​

Me? I’m starting with my granddaughters.

Today, while I sat with a proper adult beverage—French vodka, Italian carbonated lemon, exactly two ice cubes, the way civilized people do things—my granddaughters sat next to me with their chocolate milk. And together, we listened.

Not passively. Not as background noise while we scrolled through phones or stared into the void of modern distraction. We sat down, in the sweet afternoon light, and we let great music fill the room around us.

That’s it. That’s the whole thing.

But it’s everything.

[rest of article is much longer so that's all I put here to simply make the point]

--------


I ask you - are you one of the forum nitwits arguing over stuff no one cares about or are you actually helping BUILD our hobby?

The nitwits are miserable people and instead of dealing with them I'm gong to focus on helping hifi audio grow.

Here is a pic of them going to church with me

View attachment 36044
Very nice Michael. I did the same with my 3 kids when they were your grand daughters age. This led them into being musicians and audiophiles into their adult life.
 
No children or grand children here either.

Two of my grand nieces and nephews were over a week ago ages 4 and 6. They were playing K-POP on a tiny little box of some kind and moving to the music. We went to my music room and I played it for them and they dances and went wild for a while.

Probably the only time K-POP will be played in my room.

I'll see of I can find a picture of them I took.
 
No children or grand children here either.

Two of my grand nieces and nephews were over a week ago ages 4 and 6. They were playing K-POP on a tiny little box of some kind and moving to the music. We went to my music room and I played it for them and they dances and went wild for a while.

Probably the only time K-POP will be played in my room.

I'll see of I can find a picture of them I took.

Yes - please share if you can find one!

Also, it helped that I played some Disney songs for them along with "regular" music.
 
It's good to expose others to good audio reproduction but not all will become an audiophile. Very few in my experience. There has to be a passion inside to drive the hobby.

None of my kids really are. My daughter finally has a system I helped her to put together at age 39. To Brian's point she set a budget of $400 for the amp, LOL She has a Dayton Audio HTA-200, a vintage Technics turntable and I got her an unreal deal on KEF RC3's with stands.

I set my granddaughter up with a system, she's 13. There's a thread here somewhere on that experience.

There's the thread about the CBS story of the audio bar. It's good to expose folks to good sound we may be few but who knows who might be next to join in.
 
It's good to expose others to good audio reproduction but not all will become an audiophile. Very few in my experience. There has to be a passion inside to drive the hobby.

None of my kids really are. My daughter finally has a system I helped her to put together at age 39. To Brian's point she set a budget of $400 for the amp, LOL She has a Dayton Audio HTA-200, a vintage Technics turntable and I got her an unreal deal on KEF RC3's with stands.

I set my granddaughter up with a system, she's 13. There's a thread here somewhere on that experience.

There's the thread about the CBS story of the audio bar. It's good to expose folks to good sound we may be few but who knows who might be next to join in.

I agree. It's still good to expose them to appreciate real music they no longer get exposed to in schools: opera, classical, etc along with the stuff they like as kids.

At the very least I hope it expands appreciation of music beyond the latest terrible pop star.
 
I am planning some listening parties!
I’m not sure when listening became a more solitary pursuit for me. Jobs, family, kids, and multiple moves all led me away from the kind of parties where listening was a big part of the experience.

I picked up this book, it’s got some great ideas on how to hold a listening party and pair albums with cocktails.

Booze & Vinyl: A Spirited Guide to Great Music and Mixed Drinks

IMG_0458.jpeg

I also helped some friends who are moving to Costa Rica spec out what will be a killer stereo inside their budget of $10,000.
 
I have a group text with some local guys, after meeting one of them at a local wine store. We have traveled to a couple of local stereo shops. We are lucky to have 3 here in Seattle. We have had some smaller listening sessions so far. My local child/family have moved back into their house, and we are slowly getting back to a status where we can have others over. I have that set of friends to have over, and another set over, but they are not audiophiles. It’s always fun to play pass the iPad choosing songs.

We also have that Vinyl Bar in town, which I have gone to. (Shibuya HiFi)

2 of my 3 kids have/had systems including turntables. One went to PhD program, and just uses headphones from his laptop. The other has a 2 1/2 year old, and wants to setup her Sonos system again. Neither has the time to get back into anything else, but they do stay into Spotify, and new music.
 
Start first cheap, then expensive. Nobody does buy a high end setup from the beginning.

The audio community will only grow when there is a widespread love in good sound. Sadly the fact is that young people are listening to poor setups. A computer with speakers is fine, a mobile phone with a JBL speaker is amazing and when they finally have a full time job they buy a wonderful LG/Sony or Samsung tv with a soundbar. They have no clue how a good system sounds.

For the majority who does want their setup below 1000 euro I advise this

A Wiim streamer (Chinese)
A Denon amp (Chinese)
And speakers they have to listen in the shop what they like.


When they like to upgrade: that is the moment they start upgrading and buying on and on.
 
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