Tír Na HiFi

tony wrote:Is just that we are not as mature a nation as the rest of europe? A 15D2 car still gets more kudo's on the 'be jeppers you are cool dude! clapometer. Germans,French etc have long passed that stage and seek other more to them more fulfilling ways of spending their money.

you could be right
if you consider the amount of money you could spend in a lifetime on cars, especially given that their reliability is reasonably good
a hindsight view might be to redirect that cash elsewhere
it could be used cars and used hifi?

might be better value than prancing around in a new car

nige2000 wrote: however i can guarantee you can go into did, powercity or harvey norman and there will be a 200/300 euro system with over 200 watts rms (wow) with sound quality that will make your skin crawl........

Yeah, but think of the flashing lights!

Hifi is essentially and an old boy's game now, with the exception of the youngsters on this forum. Who else could have a room all to himself to listen to music, preferably in the dark watching his valves glow. It's an antisocial activity usually carried out alone or with some other audiophiles. Nobody ever sat the family down to listen to a few Talking Heads albums. In the distant past this might have happened only because there was nothing else .
The best equipment nowadays is expensive , a pair of Gamut RS7 speakers costs $39,000, and top Wilson Audio Alexandria XLF are $210,000. The most affordable floorstanders are around 3,000€ new and something desirable is probably over 10,000€. So there quite a big investment involved even if you start off secondhand and cheap. For younger folk there are lots of other demands on incomes , like mortgages,cars, fees etc.

Ken Moreland wrote: Nobody ever sat the family down to listen to a few Talking Heads albums.

maybe as a form of punishment

The best equipment nowadays is expensive , a pair of Gamut RS7 speakers costs $39,000, and top Wilson Audio Alexandria XLF are $210,000. The most affordable floorstanders are around 3,000€ new and something desirable is probably over 10,000€. So there quite a big investment involved even if you start off secondhand and cheap. For younger folk there are lots of other demands on incomes , like mortgages,cars, fees etc.

sure but im sure we could put together a decent sounding system for circa 1k
even if its bought on amazon :)

nige2000 wrote:

Ken Moreland wrote: Nobody ever sat the family down to listen to a few Talking Heads albums.

maybe as a form of punishment

There is no need for that. All my children can recite numerous talking heads lyrics backwards and they are well rounded,well adjusted members of society.
They are forever lavishing me with chocolate and good coffee as a thank you for putting them through the mill on TH's throughout their childhood.

For that comment the next meet up will only have TH tracks with maybe a break for the odd David Byrne composition.

Ken is correct though it is an old mans game with some enlightened young folk who may have figured out what a good system is all about but some are still struggling to identify good muzak

How many share their gear with family? When did you last come home to find the old Jadis lit up and Quads singing to a gang of teenagers?

When did you last see people sitting and listening to music? Most people consider music as a soundtrack to their day, not as an end in itself.

Diapason wrote:When did you last see people sitting and listening to music? Most people consider music as a soundtrack to their day, not as an end in itself.

hmmmmmnn
background music .......

i find the topic aggravating at best, not be the only way to listen as some try to suggest :)

My teenager informs me that they don't want to sit and listen to music , they want to do something else at the same time. She currently has the Hoff Ensemble /Quiet Winter Night from 2L, on her phone playlist ,but has no interest even in a pair of good headphones!
This brings me to another old chestnut - there are close to zero women in Hifi , young or old(er)--why's that?

Ken Moreland wrote: This brings me to another old chestnut - there are close to zero women in Hifi , young or old(er)--why's that?

They have more sense?