My attempt to explain the audio equipment / listener evolution dynamic...

[picky]

First, I must explain what percipitated my zeal to embark on such a thread as this. It was after I'd read and commented on new member, jcm's thread regarding the rather sad state of the Klipsch dealership network, which can be found at: http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/136856.aspx

After thinking about the thread jcm started, I found that I have so much bottled up inside as to try and surmise what I think might be steering Klipsch in the direction it appears to be heading that, as the details emerged, I decided that I did not want to post the following "book" under jcm's thread for fear of being labled a "Thread Hijacker". LOL So, here goes nothing...

Today's listener has changed. Some of you are probably thinking, "No kidding!" The operative word here is "mobility". Nearly everything in our modern lifestyle suggests that we need to keep moving, as if to suggest that somehow, man shares DNA with the shark, which must continue to move in order to stay alive. Nearly every detail of our daily lives has become mobile-centric. The majority of people have shed the tradition of wearing dress footwear with its stiff, highly polished leather uppers for casual, more comfortable, lightweight footwear made specifically for added comfort while walking. More types of restaurants and stores (such as pharmacies) today offer drive-thru window service than ever before. Sales of one-cup coffee brewers began to soar in 2005, suggesting that Americans no longer have time to sit and drink a pot of coffee at home. Annual sales of laptop / notebook PCs began to outpace sales of desktop PCs in 2006 when 50.9% of all PCs sold that year were indeed laptops / notebooks. I dare say that percentage has grown since then. Daily newspapers have stopped delivering hardcopy newspapers to many residential customers on a daily basis. Some now offer electronic copies of their newspapers on-line either for the price of a subscription, for free or both, while other newspaper went completely out of business. We now can read the e-version of the newspaper on our notebook PC, smart phone, iPad or our Kindle. Personal portables devices have become one of the most sought-after items these days. Just last week, the iPhone 4 broke Apple's own record for sales when it announced that the iPhone 4 was the most successful product launch in the corporation's history, selling 1.7 million iPhone 4 units in a mere 3 days! We've all heard about the folks who slept outside stores for a day or two just to be the first to buy one. And most of these personal, portable devices all have at least one thing in common: They store and play music.

I believe that the majority of today's listeners are more transitory than the listeners of years past and primarily because of the evolution of the playback equipment. Back in the day, the only accepted method that was available to critical listeners of quality sound was to sit still in a semi-dedicated room that contained large speakers and sensitive equipment that needed to remain stationary, else the needle (stylus) would skip or the tape might unravel. The room was commonly void of other distractions such as a television, in order to allow listeners to concentrate on what they were hearing. Many times, an entire side of a vinyl record was listened to without interruption before anyone commented on what had been heard. At that time, no other method existed to enable a high-quality listening environment, while one was on the go. Oh, car stereos existed in the form of 4-track and 8-track, continuous loop tape players that were finally ousted by the cassette tape. But, their sound quality could not come close to what a listener could experience at home. And as for personal listening, there were primitive, plastic, pocket-sized AM/FM transistor radios that came with a ceramic earphone, which was never intended to make anything but speech intelligible.

In the 1970's it was the innovative genius of the Sony Corporation that brought us the cassette-based, battery-operated Walkman player with its tiny stereo headphones. The device actually advanced the performance-level of early personal portable devices ten-fold. Next, Sony decided that the tiny headphones were too large and invented stereo "Earbuds", which sat inside the ear and no longer required the headband that many women hated because it was inconvenient to wear with longer hair. This was closely followed in the 1980's with the advent of the Compact Disc (CD) and the evolution of the Walkman into the Discman, which played CDs. When it was soon discovered that it's too difficult for a person to wear a Discman and carry more than one CD at a time, newer devices such as Apple's iPod were introduced along with a new media format most of us hadn't heard before: MP3. These devices were self-contained, have no moving parts and required no physical media from which to hold the data. You know the rest of the history, which continues to evolve as we speak.

With consideration to the evolution just explained, please think for a moment: Other than (possibly) yourself, how many people do you currently know would be willing to sit for an hour in the same room and quietly listen intently to the sound of a high-end sound system, without any distractions such as a television, handheld video game, smart phone, or notebook, etc.? I would not be surprised if your number is quite low, if not zero. The few people I can think of are folks who are a part of this forum. Not all of the forum members I know would listen to music in this manner. I can think of no one, among my friends or relatives, who are not forum members, who would be willing to sit still for an hour and listen without doing something else at the same time (multi-tasking).

With that said, it is my opinion that many of the folks who aren't likely to sit and listen might not be willing to shell out the dollars it takes to set up a high-end system such as many of us have and love (especially in the current economy). I believe this helps explain America's love affair with personal, portable devices and is partially responsible for the demise of the salon-style audio dealers and the audio industry's evolution towards portable devices and smaller-sized home products, the bulk of which are currently manufactured abroad. More and more products are being designed to embrace the use of these devices. Home audio receivers now often include an iPod docking facility or plug, automobiles are being made to interface with iPod, iPhone, Zune and other portable devices, many companies including Klipsch manufacture portable iPod docking stations with good sounding speakers and a recharging capability.

Klipsch is not stupid. If they were, they would not have just celebrated their 60th year in 2006. They have engineering, research, development and marketing departments, they do their demographics and product projections. Klipsch knows their product, their customers, their markets and the direction they are headed. They simply don't talk about it. They can't!

My observation from a consumer's (outsider's) perspective is that Klipsch's current, primary areas of focus lies in its headphones, Palladium, Reference Series products for export and commercial theater products. I say this because their plant in Hope, Arkansas is currently engaged in manufacturing many RF-7 speakers for export abroad to Europe and elsewhere as well as a wealth of commercial theater product. I'm also aware from the Klipsch Careers web site, that the engineering department has recently been adding employees to its headphone design and testing department.

It may be that Klipsch continues to design and manufacture the high-performance "monoliths" we all know and love so much because there are just enough if us still around who are willing to fork out our dollars for the chance to sit quietly in our living rooms and be amazed for hours. We also know that "high-end audio" is also what Klipsch does best. Perhaps, without these incredible examples of sonic expertise to showcase as benchmarks of their abilities, the lesser products might not carry the same credibility? Perhaps, not? In either case, it is to our advantage that Klipsch continues to follow tradition in producing such wonderful new and Heritage products while constantly evolving along with, and hopefully ahead of, the industry. The whole situation with their dealers is another untold story, but I certainly hope it is a story that will have a happy ending. Hopefully, Klipsch is working to resolve any issues with its distributors quickly.

-Glenn

[Groomlakearea51]

Excellent observations [Y]

[twistedcrankcammer]

Well thought out and said Glenn.....

Roger

[Bill H.]

Thinking along the earlier post and this current one ..........another major evolution has been the change of Selling the above items.

In around, 2005 Klipsch hardly ever sold equipment over the web.................fast forward to 2010...........and you see Klipsch slowly changing the Business model from Big Box sales stores (as in the down grade of sales at Best Buy), to almost a Major shift to Internet sales, with stores like Vann's, Crutchfield and even doing their own sales directly from the Indy Klipsch company site. This to me, has cut out the past practice of "Grey Market" sales that used to Plague Klipsch alot..............

In addition we are seeing the slimmer, slicker more European looking models along with a truly Magnificent Product in the Palladium line..that holds its own against more expensive speaker makers in the Market..............

Change..........it is coming............like a Bullet Train.................

[Chris A]

My observation from a consumer's (outsider's) perspective is that Klipsch's current, primary areas of focus lies in its headphones, Palladium, Reference Series products for export and commercial theater products.

What is declining is the 2-channel crowd, as you point out. What I don't see is less people listening to music, rather I see more people using their surround sound (5.1, 7.1, etc.) in watching movies at home (the good, the bad and ugly) - something that younger generations actually DO sit still for. It's the main-line movie theaters that are dying. The only people that seem frequent movie theaters seems to be 1) young adolescents/adults, 2) people wanting to see a spectacle such as 3-D movies but don't have the technology at home, 3) people that can't afford low-end home theaters, and 4) people that are trying to escape their home environment (for one reason or another). Many people are now buy homes with dedicated home theater rooms (using mortgage bailout funds...[]

However, the home theater marketplace which has clearly been a growth market is now a mature. Earphones (little ones) for iPod users is also a growth marketplace, one whose trend is upscale quality (hence Klipsch's emphasis on the market). People listen to iPods and earphones as an economic alternative to 2-channel rigs - and much more convenient, I might add (even while driving down the road [8-)] ). They now put their money into home theaters and gaming centers if they have any left over.

Klipsch follows the marketplace. Gray-hair empty nesters (i.e., the same Baby-Boomers that currently buy weekend-Harleys and weekend-sportscars) dominate the residual 2-channel marketplace, but this market will continue to decline as the succeeding generations of Baby-Busters, Gen-X'ers, Millennials, etc. sequentially take their place (assuming that a North American middle class exists in 20-30 years).

"Sorry Charlie" (...a commercial phrase from a childhood long ago...). Time stands still for no one.

[picky]

Cask05: All good observations and I do agree with the majority of what you mention here. I am obviously one of those gray-haired, empty-nester, baby boomers you mention. However, I consider myself to be atypical as compared with many of my brethren. Although I do some occasional 2-channel listening on my garage Heresy III system (usually from our backyard deck), my primary and secondary home systems are 7.1 and 5.1 respectively. There are no other 2-channel systems in our home except for a boombox that goes on trips to the lake. I do carry portable devices with Klipsch earphones such as my notebook PC and my smart phone. I also have a 6 CD changer in my car that accepts MP3s. Few of my friends in my own age group know much about any of these items, nor do they want to as they become easily confused by most of the current technology. I do not own a Harley.....yet. Maybe after I get a job. LOL And, it's my wife that has the sportscar: A '96 Mustang SVT Cobra, that is driven daily, not just weekends. I drive a station wagon they now call a crossover.

I just want to be clear that my original thread is not a complaint. I like the way things are currently and hope things continue to evolve and improve. My writing is simply my attempt to place a stick in the sand and draw a line from where were once were to where we are now. -Glenn

[Saturn5]

Well said. I think the worst impact "modern mobile audio" has had is that people have taken an attitude of "good enough." Sure, an MP3 is compressed, but I can carry 300 albums on my iThing! I don't care if what I'm listening to is top quality because it's just backround music anyway.

I don't think most people even understand what critical listening is anymore.

To me, nothing moves me as much as music that sounds so lifelike you can close your eyes and see in your mind where every musician is. A loud rock beat, room filling organs, or a solitary trumpet.... when it sounds *real* it becomes so much more than just backround music. I don't think most people appreciate that difference, or even care.

GoGo Gadgets!

[jacksonbart]

where can I get some bail out funds?

[Olorin]

Just two comments . . .

I'm a Gen-X'er, as are a few others here. I'm sure we're outliers, but we're here. There's also a vinyl resurgence going on among the twenty-somethings right now, so not only is all not lost, but there is a continuum being maintained. It's only as grim as you want to see it being.

As for bailout funds . . . on second thought, just one comment. One can of worms is enough.

[dtel]

Very true Glen, BUT there is one thing to remember, as the older people here has seen in the past, everything always comes back around.

I think large, quality sounding speakers for the home will be back in style, just like LP's are starting to come back already.

People have just about hit bottom with the quality of these very small devices which can hold thousands of songs. At first all they wanted was something that could hold as many songs as possible, but there starting to realize they have given up much of the quality, and they will want more, people always do.

Nothing can replace filling a room with great sound, there are some great headphones, but it's not the same as a room coming alive with sound.

[picky]

Well said, Saturn5, Olorin & dtel: I do believe that it’s quite possible that many of the folks who do not pursue high quality sound, don't seek it out because maybe they've never experienced it before. Although, for many of us (myself included), we are somehow driven to seek out “the ultimate sound” by something inside us. Yet, I cannot believe this is true for everyone.

With that said, I have seen with my own eyes (and ears), a regular listener transformed into one with a voracious appetite for high-quality sound:

Example: My long-time friend Tom W. has always loved recorded music. But he usually stayed quite conservative on his selection of gear and seemed very satisfied with his choices. I find nothing wrong with that; if you’re happy, you’re happy. But, I sort of “wrecked him” his wife loves to say: When Verna and I completed our Klipsch Reference Series 7.1 theater about 6 years ago, we invited Tom and his wife over for a movie night. We spent the first part of the evening in the theater just talking over drinks at the bar and I had some CDs playing on the system for background. But, when I started some DVD movies, Tom got real quiet, put his drink into the cup holder and just sat there talking it all in. When the first movie ended a couple of hours later, he was speechless (as I’ve noticed, many folks who witness our setup for the first time). Tom had nothing but glowing compliments and lot so questions about his experience that evening. We were flattered to say the least. Two weeks later, Tom and his wife invited us over their place for dinner. After dinner he invited us to their basement to “see something”. There sat a brand new Samsung 48” rear projection HDTV, flanked by a pair of Klipsch RF-5s, RC-5, RS-5s and a RSW-10 sub! Tom said, “It had to be Klipsch after hearing yours”. His wife said, sarcastically, “Yeah, thanks a lot!!” LOLOL And so began another happy love affair with high quality sound, all thanks to Klipsch.

I do agree that many folks settle for “good enough” as Saturn5 said just because it’s only background music anyway. I often fall into that category when I am distracted by other activities, which is why I love the convenience of portable devices, too.

And Olorin mentioned the vinyl resurgence, but I believe it might be a bit more broad that just among twenty-somethings. I really don’t know for certain. As dtel points out, things always seem to come back in style. And this is certainly true for me. Although we have about 525 CDs, we still own more than 400 vinyl LPs and we do have a turntable in our HT’s equipment rack that gets used. But, I am struggling to get over the $30-$35 dollar prices affixed to new vinyl these days. Yikes, that seems like a lot of money for something I used to pay $7 bucks for! LOL

It would not surprise me to see larger speaker setups come back into homes. However, one deterrent to this happening as quickly as it could, is that there are now more small and medium-sized (and in-wall and ceiling) speaker designs than ever before that offer a much-higher level of sound quality than previously available, and also carry with them a huge WAF (Wife Approval Factor), which larger systems typically do not. Of course, for those of us living alone, this is a moot point.

But, even if the new systems aren’t quite as large, physically as before, the ultimate goal, for me anyway, it an improvement in sound over what was previously attainable and if it’s the best I can afford and I am happy with it, that ‘s the bottom line! ….or, is it? LOL -Glenn

[Boxx]

Well said Glenn... very thoughtful and well written.

And you didn't have to resort to blaming "George Bush" for the problem.

[laager]

I think large, quality sounding speakers for the home will be back in style, just like LP's are starting to come back already.

One problem is space. Homes have been gradually shrinking in size for the last 4 decades at least. There's no longer enough space for 'big'. Only in recent years has there been the dedicated home theater to replace that lost space and those dedicated home theaters aren't likely to be used for music, even background music. How could they when they are generally soundproofed or distant from the common living areas?

[khorn#1]

Glen,

Your post hit the nail right on the head. Very good insight and so very true. I myself has never got into the mp3, iphone, etc craze. I have a mancave that does have home theater but, the main use is for two channel.

My wife and my kids cant understand how I can sit down there for hours and just listen to music through two front speakers. They get it that I enjoy it, they just cant get the connection of zoning out and just getting involved in the artist that you are listening to.

Most of my extended family and friends are the same way. I have one friend that gets it and its hard for he and myself to get together because of work family schedules.

Everything nowdays is put the ear buds in or play the mp3 player through your car unit and listen to compressed crap that you got off the internet. Not me.

I love my xm radio in my truck and I will play the little garage system when I am in the garage working on something but THERE IS NOTHING MORE ENJOYABLE TO ME THAN CLOSING MYSELF OFF IN MY MANCAVE AND LETTING THE MCINTOSH AND KHORNS PERFORM THERE MAGIC.

iT REALLY IS A HIGH FOR ME. I think a few on this forum know what I am trying to express.

Randy

[ClaudeJ1]

Glenn, we simply must get together for a listen of each other's systems (met you and your better half in Indy in 2007). I moved from Farmington Hills to South Lyon last fall and my smaller room sounds better than my bigger one did.....go figure.

To add fuel to your fire, let us add the following observation, echoed by many people who are frustrated with the music industry......the "software" that we play on our speaker systems:

While MP3's are, by far, the most popular, they represent the worst of sound. Why? Because pop music, also the most popular, is mixed to sound LOUDEST on the radio and in cars (dynamic compression). Then, to sell them to the 13 year old iPod lemmings at 99 cents per song, they are "data lossy compressed" in order for the servers to collect that 99 cents as fast as possible (gross sales per second). This causes Apple stock to go up and make Mr. Jobs "belly belly happy." Even if you were to get an MP3 with 320 Kilobit VBR (the best form of MP3, minimally impacted lossy data compression, and almost as good as a CD), you would still have a dynamicallycompressed music.

On the other end of the spectrum, enter T-bone Walker, who produced the first audio recording with John Mellencamp on a DVD format (package also includes CD for those who want that for the car). It will play on any cheap, $39 DVD player (the kind that Roy uses to demo the Jubilees in Hope). By riding on the shirt tails of the movie industry, we now have 24-bit, 96 Khz.digital medium with over 120 decibels of dynamic range available to capture the most life from any performance or microphone technique. We also have the Zoom H2 for those who make home grown recordings. Let's not even mention Blue Ray, which goes even beyond the (old already???) DVD movie PCM audio format. All of this with silicon level hard decoding available in any Home Theater receiver for about $500 with amazingly good quality amplifiersand Audyssey Room EQ for dummies.

So we now have, with any good Klipsch speaker at the end of the chain, the very BEST program capability in the history of the sound recording medium, yet, it is used by almost no one in the "mass market." This is what drives Malette to make his own recordings, I reckon, but leaves out 99.9999999 percent of the world's best recording artists in the process.

What a shame, and how ironic that we can't enjoy the fruits of the storage and playback evolution now availble so cheap, relative the 70's heyday of HI FI.