Stannous Audio
I note in CNET a lament for the demise of the “true audiophile”. [Link] As is often the case, such lamentations are more a matter of graveyard gushing than rational expression. So far as my observations can tell, there have been few audiophiles, true or otherwise.
For those who care, there were basically two waves of social determination in the second half of the last century. Both took their being from the electronics revolution that started during the Great Patriotic War and has continued to this day. This revolution, of course, is built upon the scientific foundation of modern physics. The first wave was the so called high fidelity or HiFi wave, which was concerned with sound recording of great spectral accuracy and electronic equipment capable of recreating that accuracy in atmospheric vibration. As with the PC environment, the industry of HiFi grew out of knowledgable – often self educated – and creative garage inventors. The second wave was the stereo wave which was concerned with reproducing not only the spectral purity of music but also its spatial composition in the concert hall.
I did not get to participate in the first wave. My parents were not that interested in music to warp their lives in the HiFi wave, but I did get to participate in the Stereo wave. But I did get to observe the HiFi wave in the homes of some of my childhood friends whose fathers were so dedicated.
Some elaboration is in order. The HiFi wave was largely one of self construction. Those who could designed their own amplifiers, tuners, and the like, and built them. Those who lacked the technical knowledge or creative bent for the multileveled considerations of audio reproduction, which in their way parallel the chromatic corrections of compound lenses, purchased and built kits. Regardless, the home environments of those who were part of the HiFi wave were naturally characterized by electronic schematics, scattered components, and the aroma of electronic (rosin) solder – and clunky equipment that was the bane of froufrou decorating.
In contrast, by the time the stereo wave reached its strength the kit manufacturers had largely gone into the night. Stereo wave participation was now just a matter of intellectual and economic commitment; labor was limited to cable connection and mounting media. And it is this difference that bring us to the crux of the matter.
Since only money was actually necessary, and not personal labor, both physical and mental, those who rode the stereo wave were mostly there for social reasons. For most, having a “good” stereo was a matter of early conspicuous consumption or just a natural part of the Jones competition. But in the process, something happened that changed things.
Before the HiFi and Stereo waves, all recordings were equally bad, and all reproductions of the sound were bad. But with good recording and good reproduction, distinctions among artists and genres became evident to everyone, not just those who could physically haunt the concert halls. The result was that only the exacting skills of professional artists did not sound poorly and among genres, only classical music did not clink with faults. Hence the fanaticism of those who participated in the stereo wave with more and more exacting recordings of classical music.
But most citizen-consumers of the Yankee republic do not really like classical music. I myself have to admit that I like classical music but I like folk music better becuase it has an aspect of imperfection and humanity to it. The same applies to most of our citizenry; in effect they like music that they like and ofetn it is not classical. And here is the crucnch: because that music does not reproduce well on exacting equipment, they do not need nor want to invest in such equipment. Instead they invest in equipment that is good enough to reproduce the music to their liking but not so good as to arrantly display the faults of the performance.
And hence the demise of the “true” audiophile.
I no longer have a stereo “system”. It died in a house fire and I had used it so little as to not feel the need to replace a then twenty year old collection of Sony electronics and Accoustic Research turntable and Infinity speakers. I now have a Creative MP3 player – loaded with “ripped” CD’s I purchased to replace some of the records lost in the fire – and a very nice pair of Koss headphones that actually bulk larger than the player. because as always, its a lot harder to make good speakers than good electronics.
