Quote:
Originally Posted by mhennessy
Look, all this really is very simple...
The hi-fi market has been declining for decades. Today, it's a minority interest for a very small percentage of the population, and it's harder than ever to make a living from it.
The present state of affairs is the response to this. Rather than waste time on the technical aspects of these cables and accessories, try studying the marketing of this stuff. Really study it - from inside the industry. It's simultaneously fascinating yet depressing yet somehow impressive. We as engineers are far too quick to dismiss marketing, but it's far more important than the actual product you're trying to shift. The people doing it have very, very different mindsets to ours, but they're just as smart as we are. Perhaps more so - which is the depressing yet inevitable conclusion when you compare salaries 
People need to put food on the table, and they can't be too fussy about whose money they take... |
So true Mark. And I can say that, having started out as an electronics test engineer (a techy) and ending up in the heady world of marketing communications in the electronics industry (a marketing man). Ok,
that market is very different to the retail/commercial electronics side of electronics, but it's an area I have worked in since 1989 and rose to become a director of such a company. It's all about convincing a potential customer that what you are selling will make them feel 'how they want to feel' given the nature of the particular product that you are promoting. And in the case of audiophiles (I'll refrain from using 'audiophools' for a minute!) that's largely a feeling that:
1) It will improve and enhance their listening pleasure.
2) It will impress their friends and associates on forums.
3) It will give them a feeling of belonging to an elite group of people who appreciate better hifi equipment
I'm sure it creates other feelings too.
Out of interest, what does buying a new (vintage) piece of hifi equipment mean to me?
1) Nostalgia, it's probably a piece of kit that I saw as a teenager, lusted after but could never afford.
2) The pleasure and satisfaction of getting it to work properly.
3) It's visual appeal - new stuff just doesn't compare for me.
4) Hopefully it sounds better than the previous one. Doesn't matter that much though!
5) Maybe an investment if I bought shrewdly and made a good job of fixing it up.
6) The chance to share my problems and get advice from people on here while I fix it, and ultimately do a 'write up' that may help others.
7) The thought and satisfaction that I have 'saved' a relatively modern piece of hifi from being junked and turned it into a desirable piece for many similar minded collector enthusiasts.
I've digressed, but yes, esoteric, audiophile hifi equipment is all about money. And there is not a group of people on the face of this earth who at times will be 'economical with the truth' in order to make money. In fact, audiophile hifi equipment is as good an example as you will find.
