Time to say...... Goodbye?

[RichardM]

Sad to hear this will close, I have found it very useful for the classifieds as well as general forums. Adverts.ie is pretty horrible for high-ish end audio so I’ll miss that option hugely!

Looks like the UK ‘WAM site is going off too. Sad to see that as well.

[hudo]

Sad to hear this will close, I have found it very useful for the classifieds as well as general forums. Adverts.ie is pretty horrible for high-ish end audio so I’ll miss that option hugely!

Looks like the UK ‘WAM site is going off too. Sad to see that as well.

Looks like people wants it to stay, so don't be sad, there's a good chance it will still be live in one shape or another:)

Survey responses are mostly votes for upgrade/modernisation, so we'll start planning something in the direction - useful ideas are lines/points, and how to attract younger audiophiles...

Reminder about the survey link: https://forms.office.com/r/Vgf0fMdWTh

[block]

It's true about the younger generation not getting into this hobby. A couple years ago my niece (about 20 years old at the time) came over to my house, I have my home cinema and hifi set up together so we were listening to music through youtube. She had spotify and I tried to play it though my streamer but couldn't get it to work, so she does listen to music.

Then she points at my amplifier and asks "what is that?" which I proceed to tell her that it's an amplifier which then she asks *what that for?"

It's all bluetooth speakers nowadays for convenience.

[Adrian]

Well I’m not surprised that consideration is being given to shutting it down. I myself have not been a great poster, I did try introducing a number of different themes, Lyrics and the photo section, books etc. some traction did occur but like most things, it fizzles out after a while.

I have an annual subscription to the FT, but I don’t get to read it enough. I’m just too busy etc. I also have a subscription to the Phoenix magazine and to Black & white photography. Again I barely get to read them. I think I’m just too tired, and perhaps as one gets older I’m preoccupied with family matters and I simply don’t have enough energy.

I still have fond memories of a certain excitement / nostalgia of the forum. I remember DaveF going on about a Leben amp, Ciaran descending into plenary with the purchase of Airtight monos and an Airtight preamp. I remember other snippets “Rats reaches 1000 posts!” ( pervious forum perhaps?). Pearce reminiscing about a college in Galway…Fond memories!

As to why the forum has struggled? I think it is a reflection of a ageing population in addition to not reaching critical mass of members. Perhaps we just ran out of stuff to chat about? Additionally I don’t think we are unique, IMO a lot of the older previous hobbies are struggling. Model railway sets etc, vintage motorbikes clubs, vintage cars, model aircraft etc. I get the impression these activities are in decline.

WRT younger members… I’m not so sure. I remember one “brand New member” on his first post… “ I’ve got these headphones xxxx …what are they worth?’

There was no introduction, there was very little info given on the item, history, condition, age etc. There was just this demand…”what are they worth?’

It was a rather “arrogant’ first post, as if there’s a bunch of older gurus on here who would do all the donkey work research and get back to him with and accurate answer for probably not even a thank you.

I’m not online in other forums, it’s too much of a flame war / abuse out there, but thankfully this forum did remain civil.

I do check the forum at least once a week, but again I don’t have much to offer in the way of advise / insights / music etc. Kinda strange in some ways…. Some people have looked through my vinyl collection and commented…How did you get this stuff.. because we don’t recognise any of it! There’s stuff here we’ve never seen / heard of before!! I tried to make a coherent reply… but failed. My best answer probably was… Ahhh…I can’t remember….ahhh…hmmm.. don’t bother asking, coz I don’t know myself! Hahahaha!

One thing I have learnt… noticed… the internet / App Store etc, is a kinda big distraction. It stops one from progressing. Instead of physically getting involved in some hobby, be it sport, or building a bicycle etc, one tends to get sucked into a couch potato lifestyle of just surfing trash, watching trash, playing trash etc.

Now I know we can’t live w/o the internet, because it’s needed for so much, banking, etc etc but I do feel it has kinda killed off other hobbies etc


However… I did not lose my appreciation of hifi. I’ve developed the system into a destination system. I’ve stopped buying music…because I’m going back listening to all my stuff again. I’ve heard stuff like I’ve never heard it before. I’m simply astounded at times at how good CD can be….but vinyl still has the edge!

Additionally I am shocked at the price inflation which has occurred in some brands. Granted there’s still good value to be had in some stuff. But some gear whilst it was considered “dear” 20 years ago is just totally off the charts today! I mean it’s just like …”WTF’ !!!

Or perhaps it’s just the euro being a trash currency? Who knows ….who cares!!

[Diapason]

I know it's a truism to say that "kids just aren't into hifi any more", but to be honest I'm pretty sure that's been the case since I was a kid getting into hifi. I don't really think that's the reason for the demise of traffic on this forum, and given the gear going in and out of Cloney these days, there is apparently no shortage of people in Ireland buying some REALLY tasty equipment. It's phenomenal the stuff that's bought and sold in this country. Genuinely.

Forums across the board just aren't what they used to be, and in the vast majority of cases social media has stolen a lot of traffic. To add to that, this forum has gone through a few different lives. When we started there were enough of us upgrading or buying new equipment that there was a critical mass of advice being asked for and received. Speaking personally, system stability means that I'm not really in that place any more, and I know a lot of other (former) regular posters are in the same boat. Plus, there are SO MANY options these days that if you come here and ask for advice on a specific product, there's a sporting chance none of us have even heard of it, let alone heard it. It's very difficult to generate much buzz any more.

The other thing that happened was that the main topics of interest ebbed and flowed here, and posters came and went with it. For a while it was equipment, then it was music, then it was DIY, etc, but they all fizzled out eventually, and people who were uninterested in the topic du jour weren't inclined to stay. We lost a lot of posters that way, which is a shame, but that's how it goes.

These days I work in a job that has my PC so locked down I can't really read or post from it. I also spend most of my personal online time doom-scrolling Twitter, so it's tricky to find time or inclination. I posted on other forums for a while (What's Best Forum back when I had money, Steve Hoffman forum when I fleetingly got into vinyl, etc.) but I really miss the way this forum used to be. I'm not sure it can be revived, but I'd love to be wrong. I have always set "View New Posts" here as my default landing page any time I open a web browser. That seems strange now, but there used to be so much good content, I didn't want to miss anything.

Hopefully we have a future in a modernised for(u)m. I'd hate to lose the history and the contacts.

[Diapason]

Dammit, you have me reminiscing now about my favourite bit of speaker silliness. Good times.

[HiFiFan]

I am sorry to see the forum go too. I just moved back to Ireland last month after 25 years in the US. Forget my password for the last few months but finally remembered. Certainly one of the more civil forums.

[peelaaa]

Its a shame to see the forum go. Who else in Ireland will understand the magic of Quad electrostatics!!!

[tweber]

Same here, so sad to hear the news. I got some great advice here over the years.

Me too, get why it's happening but hope it's not really the end. I definitely got good advice and help here over the years - hifi and coffee related in particular. Met some good people here too. Thanks lads!

[hudo]

Me and Fran made a good progress moving Forum to the new server, so we'll definitely keep it alive for few more years, and hopefully do some updates based on the survey i posted here (https://forms.office.com/r/Vgf0fMdWTh). I'll also take over some maintenance duties from our great and fearless leader Fran, he deserve some break:)

Stay tuned for the updates!