Modern American Hi Fi

[Thaddeus Smith]

While this has obvious marketing undertones and is almost 2 years old, I think it's spot on. I'm curious to hear opinions from you guys that lived through the first wave of Hi Fi.

 

http://www.zuaudio.com/questions-list/2013/8/18/what-is-zus-take-on-the-future-of-hi-fi

 

 

There's been so much talk about the future viability of high fidelity playback that it’s making all of us at Zu sick.

“The unraveling of the high end.”

“The death of two channel.”

“The iPod kids of today don't care about fidelity.”

 

On and on and on it goes. Why all the talk? Certainly history shows that music is a primal force enjoyed by mankind irrespective of environment, nationality, or age. People will continue to make and enjoy it. Music is ever-expanding, ascending, descending, and reaching to fill our collective souls. But to disregard the large dynamics shifts in the industry of high fidelity audio, and not just in philosophy but in its trade and lifestyle, is to sign up for obsolescence.

“The iPod is a gateway drug.” —Nelson Pass

 

What Zu is seeing is a return to the fundamental enjoyment of music—all music, harmonic, melodic, soft, loud, and otherwise. It’s simply about the music, now more than ever before.

Hi-fi has lost its mantle of keepers of fidelity. It has lost its regard for new sounds, textures, expressions, and horizons. By and large, it’s leaderless and burdened with assumptions.

 

Yes, it’s the end as we know it. Hi-fi is being replaced. It is being displaced by systems and devices the new music lover can live with, systems that are capable of recreating the sonic events that move them.

No, it wasn’t hi-fi that saved vinyl. It was hip-hop, the DJ, and the techno scenes. And now it’s the kids, those growing up in the Great Recession and those that yearn for real things and value art. This new generation of music lover is about the DJ, punk, metal, desert, country, pop, alt, ambient, world, space, goth, jazz, classical, bluegrass, nerd, noise, and the bitchin’ and far out. Like most of what is going on in the music scene today, Zu is about sincerity, originality, putting it out there, making it happen. Zu is expanding hi-fi and refuses to pander to what it was in the ‘80s and ‘90s—not all that pretty when stacked up against the golden years of audio.

 

The original searchers for high fidelity recording and playback embraced sounds in all their forms. The original audiophile embraced ideals, compromise, and new progressions. The original audiophile has much more in common with the new generation and both are a 180 out from where the analytical high-end poser from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s lead us. Hi-fi is returning to its roots, returning to the music.

 

Here is a bit from Zu’s original communication drafted in 1999, on the eve of our by-our-bootstraps launch:

‘Impressions of new realities struggle and flow—eventual transition. Awareness of surroundings, songs of tranquility and warning—history and intuition instruct that patterns of sound have been a fundamental constant... Observance of nature, both physical and spiritual, teach us of the endless interplay of vibrational forces. While traveling the line of time we can see many periods of increased awakening and technological advancement but none so powerful and rapid as that of the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment and the birth of modern physics. The dramatic increase of understanding regarding possibility, vibration and energy coincide with our collective ability to listen and express patterns of life.

David Toop in his book Ocean Of Sound paints a powerful image of our modern musical awakenings: “...Starting with Debussy in 1889, is an erosion of categories, a peeling open of systems to make space for stimuli, new ideas, new now, this environment included sounds of the world—previously unheard musics and ambient sounds of all kinds, urban noise and bioacoustics... unfamiliar tuning system and structuring principles, improvisation and chance.”’

In 2005, Zu expanded upon this theme. Condensing and adding to these thoughts, we turned them into a hard hitting marketing statement--

 

A Revolution in American Hi-Fi.

It's the return to musical exploration, tradition, and character.

It’s the return to reason, to ease of use, to accessibility for normal homes.

It’s the return to searching for new sounds and insight through them.

A Revolution in American Hi-Fi is the return of sincere craftsmanship and design in the devices that recreate those sonic events.

 

It’s simply a return to living music.

 

Zu isn’t trying to capitalize on hi-fi's change. Zu is trying to participate in it, embracing and helping the new sounds and expressions along. We’re trying to grow hi-fi. Zu is carving out its contribution to the art of playback—in its products, music lifestyle, marketing, and sincere attitudes about music, fidelity, and corporate integrity.

Zu has been approached many times by hi-fi industry movers and shakers, asking how to reach out to the youth and tap into younger markets. This question reveals just how lost today’s hi-fi industry is. Zu isn’t ‘reaching out.’ We’re living it, making it. Zu is actually reaching out to the older generations, to those in hi-fi that can help bring about a revolution in the return, where hi-fi is restored to its proper place in the home- out from the cave and back to the living room, back to the first or second thing an eighteen year old kid needs in his dorm or apartment. Sure it’s traditionally been a guy thing, but not in the new scene. Girls are into it- the second and third biggest music lovers at Zu are girls, and that’s pretty normal in today’s music scene.

 

The fragments of hi-fi that remain must embrace the techno and everything else that has come along since Debussy, Hank, Elvis, Dylan, Beatles, Bambaataa, Lydon.... The new scene, where it’s about the music, is looking back at their heritage. They know Miles, they know old country and even the great composers. The new scene gets it. Embrace them and learn from them.

 

[Thaddeus Smith]

I especially like this bit:

 

 

 A Revolution in American Hi-Fi.

It's the return to musical exploration, tradition, and character.

It’s the return to reason, to ease of use, to accessibility for normal homes.

It’s the return to searching for new sounds and insight through them.

A Revolution in American Hi-Fi is the return of sincere craftsmanship and design in the devices that recreate those sonic events.

It’s simply a return to living music.

 

This completely describes what I've been building into my system by piecing together equipment and upgrades from Maynard, Dean, Schiit, etc. Spend money where it makes sense, don't get caught up in the $$$ contest, and make it about the music.

[CECAA850]

It seemed that every time I made a move in audio in the past, it was a move away from complexity of playback.   I guess I got lazy over the years.  Now days I'm still going in that direction but am more concerned with quality of playback as well.  Disposable income comes into play as well.

[Thaddeus Smith]

Complexity is relative. All of this PC based stuff is super easy for me and simplifies things greatly. I'm under no illusion that everyone here feels the same.

 

In any case source>dac>amp doesn't get much simpler.

[minermark]

Complexity is relative. All of this PC based stuff is super easy for me and simplifies things greatly. I'm under no illusion that everyone here feels the same.

 

In any case source>dac>amp doesn't get much simpler.

I agree with your simple statement, it's what i run 

Almost forgot, wife runs the same in the house.

Edited May 15, 2015 by minermark

[CECAA850]

In any case source>dac>amp doesn't get much simpler.

 

Exactly compared to spinning albums like I did in the 70's and 80's.  At that point in my life I moved quite a bit and lugging a huge album collection was a pain.  Cleaning had to be done each time you listened and I never could put the clicks and pops out of my head like some can.  Cassettes were much easier and smaller.  Then came CD's.  Like I said I'm lazy and liked the ease and size of the new formats.  Hard drives are smaller yet.

[Chris A]

First message: "We see a new and viable future for audio."  So do I.  In fact, I believe that. once nostalgia begins to wane a bit, that "hi-fi" will take on new performance levels (as you and I have discussed in another thread on HT audio systems). 

 

Second message: "We don't really know where it's going, but right now there seems to be a lot less emphasis on fidelity."  I agree.

 

Third message: "It's about all forms of music - not just the forms that have come in the past."  Of course - and some of this new music places demands on the hi-fi systems that the old music didn't - like steerable sounds from all directions in our hemisphere of listening, music recorded today-not yesterday. music from across the world and integrated into new music genres (this always happens in music with time in the human experience).

 

Fourth message: "The present compressed music isn't the music of music lovers and hi-fi enthusiasts."  (Thank the Lord.)

 

Fifth message: "It's got to get simpler than the hi-fi of old, and it's got to perform not just as well, but better than the past."  Hallelujah--thank the heavens. It's got to be fun, inviting, understandable, and doable (economically).  And future hi-fi has to integrable much easier than the past: no more "looking for the right rock" but rather having tools that we can use to help us figure it out before we have to buy it.

 

Sixth message: "The (reproduced) music has to be relevant to our lives."  No more following music that is too hard to listen to, is too hard to connect with melody, rhythm, and a connection to who we are and will remember fondly. (In other words: we don't listen to music that we're supposed to listen to because it's "good culture", e.g., avant-garde music and other forms that may not connect with us, but rather music that we do connect with, including the music from the past that still has relevance for us.)  The music can also be integrated with picture and moving video, perhaps even gaming, etc.

 

Seventh message: "We have the innovative hardware that you should buy."  Well, perhaps this is wishful thinking on their part, because I don't connect with their hardware, but maybe you do.  I think that Zu has forgotten about the best kind of audio reproduction devices - and Klipsch and Danley, et al. haven't forgotten.  In fact, the innovation keeps driving forward on true high fidelity like we've not heard before.  It's new and exciting and you won't find it used on craigslist that's over 50 years old...

 

Chris

Edited May 15, 2015 by Chris A

[Ski Bum]

It's new and exciting and you won't find it used on craigslist that's over 50 years old...

 

It doesn't even need to be a cutting edge Danley or whatever.  That antique Klipsch speaker in the craigslist ad has more engineering behind it than the entirety of the Zu speaker catalog. 

[wvu80]

I agree with your simple statement, it's what i run Almost forgot, wife runs the same in the house.

 

I'm impressed!  My wife almost breaks down in tears because its so stressful she has to press TWO buttons, the AVR and the TV, to watch a show!  Gasp! 

 

And if something goes wrong,  ie, the AVR's PC mode gets pressed, requiring her to again press the TV button?

 

She simply won't watch TV, she'll just do something else until I can come in a press the TV button for her.

[richieb]

I have yet to catch on to the PC based streaming of content and am comfortable with CD sound quality and for me simplicity of playback. I recently brought out the Denon TT and bought a phono pre chasing the ghosts of vinyl past. I'm sticking with CD as I heard none of the "magic" many speak of when talking vinyl. And I refuse the slippery money slope of ultra high dollar tables, arms, carts, etc.

And for the Zu guys, yeah they are true with the above statements. I own the Zu Essence, 10 in. full range with ribbon tweet. Nice sounding and well built, image as good as any other speakers I've heard. I've spoken with them numerous times and the customer service is beyond approach. Matter of fact Sean Casey founder, designer, promotor of the brand personally delivered my speakers from their Utah headquarters as he was passing through KC. Spent the day listening to my gear, (loves Klipsch) and went out to dinner with us. Loves KC BBQ and remembers his visit each time I call.

[Thaddeus Smith]

by the way.. I googled "American Hi Fi philosophy" and came upon that article. I hadn't heard of Zu audio prior to this. I've heard terms like "british audio" and "american audio" and was just trying to compare the philosophies and such.

[minermark]

 

I agree with your simple statement, it's what i run Almost forgot, wife runs the same in the house.

 

I'm impressed!  My wife almost breaks down in tears because its so stressful she has to press TWO buttons, the AVR and the TV, to watch a show!  Gasp! 

 

And if something goes wrong,  ie, the AVR's PC mode gets pressed, requiring her to again press the TV button?

 

She simply won't watch TV, she'll just do something else until I can come in a press the TV button for her.

 

Wife has her Khorns in the living room, along w/pre/ and two mono blocks that must be switched on, then she must walk through the kitchen to get to the Pc in the study that is opticaly connected to her system

[garyrc]

Many good points above ...

 

One problem, though, is that there is very little exposure to live acoustical music -- unamplified classical, modern orchestral, jazz, etc., -- so young people with low quality equipment and media may not know that that's not what the original music sounds like.  Even live music that uses sound reinforcement often suffers from being put in venues with horrible acoustics. 

 

We old geezers among the Hi Fi nuts of the late '50s and '60s went to everything from symphony concerts to free live rock concerts in Golden Gate park with nearly all of the best bands.  The Hi Fi crowd sat close, but not too close; outside, there weren't acoustical problems of as great a magnitude as in the later, high priced concerts indoors.  Sure if the wind changed, the sound changed, particularly for those who were too far away, but it was kind of cool.  And, yes, most of us enjoyed these concerts without chemical aid because the mounted police ringed the meadow watching for a passed joint or someone taking off their clothes.

Edited May 15, 2015 by garyrc

[vnzbd]

Well I do have some experience with Zu as I went away from Klipsch for a while and ran their Omen Def series. I am back to Klipsch but it was an interesting journey. I was wowed by their web site, inspiring writing and personal touch you received when calling the company. I purchased, enjoyed,up graded grew bored and sold. I was a adventure getting them set up right as the ports are on the bottom of the speaker and are unconventional to say the least.

 

The full range driver is amazing for mids, but the lows were never quite there. Build quality was top shelf. One day I plugged back in a set on my KLF-10s and found out they were just more fun to listen to.

 

As I still keep up with them and their American as apple pie feeling, I feel a little different about them. Check out their cabling section, read about the "Nano" drivers, etc... I do believe they are offering some Kool-Aid with that apple pie...

 

Still in love with the idea of simple quality audio though...

[minermark]

Many good points above ...

 

One problem, though, is that there is very little exposure to live acoustical music -- unamplified classical, modern orchestral, jazz, etc., -- so young people with low quality equipment and media may not know that that's not what the original music sounds like.  Even live music that uses sound reinforcement often suffers from being put in venues with horrible acoustics. 

 

We old geezers among the Hi Fi nuts of the late '50s and '60s went to everything from symphony concerts to free live rock concerts in Golden Gate park with nearly all of the best bands.  The Hi Fi crowd sat close, but not too close; outside, there weren't acoustical problems of as great a magnitude as in the later, high priced concerts indoors.  Sure if the wind changed, the sound changed, particularly for those who were too far away, but it was kind of cool.  And, yes, most of us enjoyed these concerts without chemical aid because the mounted police ringed the meadow watching for a passed joint or someone taking off their clothes.

"most of us enjoyed these concerts without chemical aid because the mounted police ringed the meadow watching for a passed joint or someone taking off their clothes"

Well now hold on there amigo, i remember more than ONE time chemicals being involved and waking up naked :wacko:

[Chris A]

Live music is the source...the well that we all go to for inspiration.  Canned music is the supermarket.  Recognizing the supermarket as distinct from the well of inspiration is something that I believe will continue to occur.

 

For instance, drop in on Austin, TX any weekend, and listen to the sounds-live.  My son-in-law has a band that in the past played in Austin and elsewhere.  One night, a young lady reportedly came in to listen and sat at the bar--Alison Krauss was listening for new ideas from his band.  My son-in-law had a nice conversation with her during a break, and she was very complimentary.

 

And it wasn't the only notable musician that they met playing gigs.

 

Makes you want to go out for a listen every once in a while.  Maybe you'll run into someone that's notable.

 

You don't get that at home plugged into your iPod.

[babadono]

 

I agree with your simple statement, it's what i run Almost forgot, wife runs the same in the house.

 

I'm impressed!  My wife almost breaks down in tears because its so stressful she has to press TWO buttons, the AVR and the TV, to watch a show!  Gasp! 

 

And if something goes wrong,  ie, the AVR's PC mode gets pressed, requiring her to again press the TV button?

 

She simply won't watch TV, she'll just do something else until I can come in a press the TV button for her.

 

Mama needs a Harmony remote

[minermark]

 

 

I agree with your simple statement, it's what i run Almost forgot, wife runs the same in the house.

 

I'm impressed!  My wife almost breaks down in tears because its so stressful she has to press TWO buttons, the AVR and the TV, to watch a show!  Gasp! 

 

And if something goes wrong,  ie, the AVR's PC mode gets pressed, requiring her to again press the TV button?

 

She simply won't watch TV, she'll just do something else until I can come in a press the TV button for her.

 

Mama needs a Harmony remote

 

What she wants and has ask me for is MORE POWER!  as in bigger Amp(s).

Got a spare QSC1700 sitting on the shelf never used yet, told her about it sometime back, and she said sure lets try it out, to this day iv yet to go in and do it, she has not reminded either, we both kind of spaced it.

Maybe one day.

[WMcD]

Chris A. Thanks for the translation.  First time through I thought the exposition was disorganized psychobabble.  Second time though, with the translation, the exposition seems like organized psychobabble which is only foggy salesmanship. 

 

It appears to me that the author is babbling about what he considers to be a true appreciation of music, reference to music's diversity which is appreciated by only some people -- like in the old days and the upcoming generation but lost on the present generation with mp3  of junk pseudo music stuck in their ears.  Those wretched folks who have been misled by others.

 

And then the big plugola, that the Zu organization is very hip to "music," and their equipment facilitates listening as part of the hip "lifestyle." And, of course, the organization has "integrity."   Because of this, we are to have a favorable view of their rather traditional equipment.

 

It really reads like hippies on weed sitting down at a word processing program and rediscovering what Madison Avenue did with some Martini's and Royal typewriter.  Pay for our overpriced speaker wire because we are hip to trends of good music.  And you can be more hip too because we are the ultimate in hip -- but so sincere. 

 

Perhaps they believe it and hope some buyers will.  It is though, the same old wine in a new bottle.

 

WMcD

Edited May 16, 2015 by William F. Gil McDermott

[derrickdj1]

Hi Fi is for us gadget heads and real music lovers.  Most people are not willing to go thru the expense, learning curve and educational process to get into real HiFi.  I do have to admit that some great sound can come out of some ear buds.  I recently started using a pair with my PC and the sound is awesome.  I don't even know what brand they are since my wife gave them to me.  Can't find a name of them, lol.