Common excuses that non-audiophiles give for why they do not purchase high end audio systems?

DevAAudio said:

What are the most common excuses that non-audiophiles give for why they do not purchase high end audio systems? I think everyone that can hear can enjoy the benefits of music! Here are some talking points to help convince your non-audiophile friends to catch the audio bug! The time has never been better to get into high end audio. In this blog entry I address the following excuses:

1. I don’t have time to buy CD’s and Records
2. I can’t hear a difference between a regular system and a high end system
3. High end systems are too expensive
4. I don’t want a bunch of big ugly equipment in my home

https://www.devaaudio.com/blog/why-high-end-audio-makes-sense-now

Those of us who understand the benefits of high end audio have to get the word out and help others understand how amazing the world of high end audio is. It’s about the music and if people could be convinced to go and visit an audio dealer they might finally realize what they are missing out on! Music brings people together!

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well you're right on one count......'it's about the music'. Trouble is you fail to realize a large percentage of 'audiophiles' think more about their equipment and egos. Just the implication of 'Ultra High End Audio' is enough to make most rationale people walk away ..........

DevAAudio said:

What are the most common excuses that non-audiophiles give for why they do not purchase high end audio systems? I think everyone that can hear can enjoy the benefits of music! Here are some talking points to help convince your non-audiophile friends to catch the audio bug! The time has never been better to get into high end audio...................................................................................

............................................................Those of us who understand the benefits of high end audio have to get the word out and help others understand how amazing the world of high end audio is. It’s about the music and if people could be convinced to go and visit an audio dealer they might finally realize what they are missing out on! Music brings people together!

Click to expand...

OK but I seem to recall similar proposals every few years since the '70s. The major reason is that music just isn't that important to most people who can afford high end audio and recently technology makes it too easy to get music anywhere/anytime in quality that is "good enough" for most.

Good luck.

I have been in a lot of high-end audio salons, particularly before the advent of home theater. I have also been attending and exhibiting at high-end trade-shows for 15 years.

I have learned a few things from this experience:

1) Most people attribute better sound quality to the speakers and believe the components don't make much of a difference
2) Many audiophiles value the looks of their components as much as the sound quality
3) Many audiophiles, reviewers and salon owners believe they have very resolving, live systems and they don't
4) Very few audiophiles actually assemble systems that are live sounding with great imaging and soundstage
5) Most audiophiles are fairly technical, at least those that have digital playback systems
6) Every system is at a different level in the climb to audio nirvana, so it is virtually impossible to make valid comparisons without having 2 systems in the same room
7) Some audiophiles are obsessed with critical listening. Others have reached a level that they are happy with, so they just enjoy the music. I'm personally the latter, although I have to continue doing the former because I'm in the Biz. And I admit it, I like making improvements. It's like practicing golf and hitting better shots each time. Keeps you coming back.

In order to motivate people to be new high-end customers, I believe several ingredients are required:

1) A threshold of significant sound quality improvement over their iPhone that does not break the bank
2) A demonstration of really compelling live sound at a show, friends house or in a salon that demonstrates deep and wide imaging and superb focus, as well as minimizing fatigue. This goes beyond detail rendering. This is what gives the music life.
3) A simplicity of the system that does not require an audio engineering degree to install, maintain and for the wife and kids to use
4) A system that sounds compelling in a normal room with furniture, windows and doors rather than a room specifically designed for audio with acoustic treatments

I cannot think of any system I have ever heard in a salon that meets these criteria. Maybe in one or two reviewers homes, at least the compelling sound quality part. The vast majority of systems at shows are fatiguing, gimmicky sounding or they do not deliver the imaging and liveness.

Lets face it, in order to achieve the kind of sound quality that gets people to open their eyes and their checkbooks and not use their iPhone for music is not easily attained. We all work very hard to reach our particular level of nirvana. Some of get there and others will listen critically forever....

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Your optimism is admirable and I encourage your efforts but everything you say here has been said before.........................to little avail.

The ideal example, imho, was the AR Listening Room in Grand Central Terminal in NYC (and a similar one in Boston). Placed where many business and working people passed twice daily, they simply played a wide variety of good music over a first rate system (high end had not yet been conjured) and the door was kept unlocked. Enter, sit, stay, stand, leave at your own pace. No lectures and no sales. They had stacks of free literature and racks of business cards from authorized dealers. While it was a significant success for the company, it did not change the course of history.

twitch said:

well you're right on one count......'it's about the music'. Trouble is you fail to realize a large percentage of 'audiophiles' think more about their equipment and egos. Just the implication of 'Ultra High End Audio' is enough to make most rationale people walk away ..........

Click to expand...

I do not see being an 'all about the music' audiophile, and audiophiles that are into the equipment, as being mutually exclusive.

The vast majority of my listening is music first. And that is always my motivation for improving my system.

But that does not mean that, I can not also enjoy the hell out of becoming an 'equipement first' audiophile and spending a few hours every few weeks, just paying attention to the equipement, making tweaks and evaluating the changes, listening to 'audiophile approved' recordings, swapping equipment in and out, etc.

I also do not begrudge anyone in the hobby for the equipement first. Who are we to say they are not enjoying their systems and listening experiences just as much as us 'music first' listeners? It is an accomplishment on its own to assemble a system that is able to do all the things we love about this hobby (imaging, dynamics, detail, transparency, etc), even if the end user does so as their primary goal.

I come here to be inspired, to discover new music. I encourage that. ...Music that strikes the chords in each person living on planet Earth. The rest is secondary, very. People are taking it from there.
This site here is about what's best in everything that is inside life; health, wealth, cars, high-end audio gear, good looks, astronomy, technology, economy, geography, photography, cinema, documentaries, books, medicine, ...everything best.

It's the music playing that first started my audio journey...the Beatles, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Doors, the Stones, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Muddy Waters.

Music is everywhere; travelling, visiting family and friends, on the radio, on the internet, iPads, iPods, home.
We travel around with some family members inside a car, four of us, and we listen to music selected by the youngest...Ariane, 28-years old...a beautiful young woman, and the four of us were listening, not talking, not complaining, just relaxing very happily. She has great music taste; all recorded on her iPhone and plugged into the USB port of the car radio. We had a moving view on the ocean of the West coast and the flowers, the trees, the forests, the mountains, ...everything perfect.

Music matters, everything around matters, people matters. It's the best.

The one reason - not excuse - I hear all the time is related to cost.

Are you talking about people who have systems and don't make the leap? Because frankly you don't need to spend money to enjoy listening to music. I would rather spend more money going to see live music on a regular basis than dump anymore money into the system I have. It's all about individual priorities. Seeing the real thing beats all!

Rob

You would make a great hi-end audio dealer.

* Steve is one of my favorite members.

Thank you very much sir. Some of my best friends are . . . audio dealers.

It is rare for me remember anyone not immediately recognizing the superiority of a high end system. The problem is getting someone to engage in music listening as a primary activity. Unless it is a party or being utilized as background music they have a very short attention span. Even if I were to make a system as a gift (which I have done) they only listen as background music. Consequently they never make the commitment that audiophiles make.

Simon Moon said:

I do not see being an 'all about the music' audiophile, and audiophiles that are into the equipment, as being mutually exclusive.

The vast majority of my listening is music first. And that is always my motivation for improving my system.

But that does not mean that, I can not also enjoy the hell out of becoming an 'equipement first' audiophile and spending a few hours every few weeks, just paying attention to the equipement, making tweaks and evaluating the changes, listening to 'audiophile approved' recordings, swapping equipment in and out, etc.

I also do not begrudge anyone in the hobby for the equipement first. Who are we to say they are not enjoying their systems and listening experiences just as much as us 'music first' listeners? It is an accomplishment on its own to assemble a system that is able to do all the things we love about this hobby (imaging, dynamics, detail, transparency, etc), even if the end user does so as their primary goal.

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Very nice post, Simon!

I am also music first, but can engage passionately with the gear side as well. Just recently I posted a review of my new speakers on WBF, but now I just enjoy music. I was supposed to do some toe-in tests with my speakers, but right now I am not into it, the music is calling. Perhaps in a few days.

DevAAudio said:

What are the most common excuses that non-audiophiles give for why they do not purchase high end audio systems? I think everyone that can hear can enjoy the benefits of music! Here are some talking points to help convince your non-audiophile friends to catch the audio bug! The time has never been better to get into high end audio. In this blog entry I address the following excuses:

1. I don’t have time to buy CD’s and Records
2. I can’t hear a difference between a regular system and a high end system
3. High end systems are too expensive
4. I don’t want a bunch of big ugly equipment in my home

https://www.devaaudio.com/blog/why-high-end-audio-makes-sense-now

Those of us who understand the benefits of high end audio have to get the word out and help others understand how amazing the world of high end audio is. It’s about the music and if people could be convinced to go and visit an audio dealer they might finally realize what they are missing out on! Music brings people together!

Click to expand...

I think for the younger generation you have a much better chance starting with a headphone system rather than a speaker system. The Head-Fi website, for example, seems to have quite a bit of traffic. No wonder since everyone seems to listen with headphones these days, except in the car.