During much of recent history, there has been a organization or group that was kind of the standard bearer – which kind of influenced the immediate future of high-end audio: hardware, attitudes, evaluation techniques, etc.

I wonder if this is no longer true – that we as a culture, and especially we as a hobby, have been fractured so much that we are just composed of a lot of different groups, based on some [I would say fantasy] of shared interests – and I ponder if most or all of these are just cul-de-sacs, and lot of niche dead-ends.

In the past [and correct / assist me if need be] we had:

Stereo magazine – Measurements are king

Stereophile – Measurements are still king, but the king is wearing shorts

The Absolute Sound/HP – subjective listening is King

Audiogon – pluralism and shills are king

Audio Asylum – pluralism and nastiness are king

Audio Circle – Discounts, pluralism and disinformation shills are king

…

Lately though, I think none of these sites is any longer dominant. HP reviews and Stereophile reviews and Audiogon and Audio Circle pumps no longer sell that much product. They are no longer guiding the industry.

Perhaps that is because the economy and politics are so dominating the culture these days [the middle class is too poor to buy anything and the wealthy are buying things left and right when they are not scared out of their wits]. So we have lots of very expensive gear and lots of very cheap gear – not much in-between.

And, somehow, the social networks got people hearing lots and lots of opinions, often believing and valuing what a complete stranger tells them.

The only way I have seen out of this mess, this tower of Babble [but better than the old days of a single dominant player!] is to rate things based on many different aspects. Not sure if this would work for Yelp or other rating sites – but we got whole spectrums of lean < --- > warm, dynamic < --- > closed-in, accurate versus non-accurate, etc. etc. and many more which we have talked about and listed on this blog and website many times.

That way instead of ‘it sucks’ we can get ‘it is warm sounding’ and instead of ‘its the best’ we can get them to say ‘it has good dynamic bass’. This would result in the neutering the shills [and the rest of the hyperbole-generating hordes :-)] because, although their goals is to convince everyone that a products is the best for everyone on this and every other planet, all they can now say is, for example, is that it has ‘great dynamics’ – letting all the people who like a more laid back presentation know that this is not for them.

Anyway, our hobby/industry is getting swept up along with all the other more modern industries by what is happening outside the listening room. Sure is fun to watch 🙂

Did that component just start sounding better? That component I thought sucked a few years ago now sounds great. Are they building them better now?

Or conversely, did that component just start sounding terrible? Are they just building that component that I used to think was great, and now I think sucks, with worse parts than they used to?

Or is it just me?

We all run into these circumstances where our impressions of sound quality change. Some changes in our perceptions occur over years. Some over days. Some take just a few minutes 🙂

Oh, and the answers to the introductory questions are… yes.

There are all sorts of reasoning we use to describe such a topsy-turvy apparently wishy-washy situation…

1. The quality of the power changes in direct relation to the quality of the changes in the sound [I have always been suspicious of this one, and instead prefer #2]

2. Our emotional state affects how we enjoy most kinds of music – it taking perhaps an hour or so to relax and enjoy many kinds of more ‘laid back’ music genres if it has been a hectic day

3. If we do not have a lot of experience listening to different equipment, first impressions – which may last weeks – are just not reliable, and long term impressions are only relevant compared to what we had previously

4. Our ears do change and grow more experienced and we are able to hear more – we educate our ears just like wine lovers educate their palette [this reasoning is often used in a derogatory manner by non-audiophiles to explain why THEY can’t hear, or taste, something.]

5. Manufacturers do actually change equipment without telling everybody, usually for the better

6. Our preferences change. [This is the most interesting subject, for me personally]. As we hear better and better equipment for long periods of time, as our ears grow to trust that we are not going to attack them with aggressive and annoyingly obnoxious exaggerations or parodies of sound – we start to hear things… the mind – ear interface becomes more and more efficient, and we start experiencing other states of mind more and more often.

It is not just drug-like sound that many of us are looking for, but the ability for the drug-like sound to affect us deeply. This is opposite to a typical addiction where one becomes less and less sensitive to a drug. Here, as we open ourselves to the music more and more frequently, and achieve a drug-like ‘high’ from the music more often, the more easy it becomes. [This is why it is a good thing that the faster I drive, the louder the wind noise, and the less able I am able to hear the car radio .. :-)]

This increased sensitivity to drug-like sounds, and this, what we have been calling the drug-like music state, if pursued with some diligence over time, is a great thing. It is independent of the cost of the system making the drug-like sound. Expensive systems can deliver a more powerful druggish sound, and more frequently [ sometimes every time you play them! Danger Will Robinson! ], but otherwise it is an experience that is available to just about everybody who cares to try and achieve this musically altered state-of-mind.

As we look at expanding Audio Federation’s footprint, we often think about whether to expand the distributorship side of the business or to expand the dealership side of the business. When we talk to people about this, everyone sure does seem to have figured it all out 🙂 but it is all in great fun and full of good-willed optimism and I thought I would try and share some of that here.

There are several goals here – financial, of course. And stability. Building the Audio Federation ‘Brand’. And also just the day-to-day, which is the most fun versus being somewhat boring or a royal pain-in-the-butt. Oh yeah, and which are we better at?

Essentially,: Which will we be more successful at, both in terms of earnings and personal enjoyment – an expanded dealership or an expanded import business?

First – being a dealer is WAY more fun. We get to meet a lot of nice people, play a lot of music, get to hear a lot of new music. I mean, in some sense, this is the ultimate can’t-really-be-a-job-can-it job. And Neli is really, really good at the customer interface thing – she is always so patient and understanding and helpful. But on the practical side [ick. HATE that side :-)] one has to look at the rise of the internet and the used gear racket and the decreasing loyalty people feel towards their dealers [less so for older folk, but still, it ain’t like the olden days]. Stability wise, I think dealers are able to hang onto a product line longer than distributors, on average [and as distributors, this is a perception we will have to fight all the time – we want to be the distributors for something, once we decide to take it on – for, like, forever].

Anyway, on the ‘this is fun and something we really want to do’ side of the equation, expanding the dealership wins [and we have some rather unique ideas, we think, to make it a heckuva lot more fun – for everybody – once we get down out of the mtns].

On the other hand – some people feel that being a distributor is the only way to be a success in this business [Actually, being a cable manufacturer has a much higher probability of financial success, but I digress…]. But, as one looks at successful distributors versus dealers, what does one see? Well, I do not know what people see, and there is not much actual data here that I am 100% sure of – but I see Sumiko on one hand, apparently successful importer [judging by by the number of their reps and success of the brands they carry, along with the premium they charge for importation] and I see Listen Up, apparently successful Colorado dealer [based on the number of their stores and large advertising budget -they also have strong pro and Home Theater arms of the business ].

So, I am not sure distributors do any better than dealers do in achieving financial success. Opening a recreational goods store would be a much better idea – in Money mag or somewhere they report that this is a quickly growing area of the economy and the average store makes about $500K in revenue [we do not do so bad here -thanks everybody! – but the average dealership makes way less than this].

OK. the $64M question: Is being a distributor any fun? No. It really ain’t. But it does have its satisfactions: Neli loves talking with and helping dealers a lot. We like helping products get into the U.S. and becoming more and more successful. We get a hand in helping way more audiophiles get their hands on high quality gear – albeit indirectly – and this is very rewarding [although we are very honored to be dealers for all of our lines, being the Audio Note importer/distributor is ultimately more rewarding, as the dealer network magnifies the impact of our efforts to get people to replace the Bad Sounding with the Good Sounding].

So where does that leave us?

Yes, we are going to expand.

Yes, we are going to move the store somewhere more appropriate [not sure when, but there are few places less appropriate than here in the foothills above Boulder].

Yes, we want to expand our showrooms [It’s where the most fun is. We had 4 large systems setup here before we decided to move – which is more than most large dealers. We would like to bump this up a notch or 2… and this time get a place with corners so we can also show off the Audio Note speakers to their best effect :-)].

Yes, we are going to have a magazine once again. Although Spintricity is currently mothballed, we will revisit this magazine idea…

Yes, we are going to… 🙂

[OK. Hope this non-audiophile business-centric post was not too darn boring. But it is a topic that has been on our minds a lot lately – and just thought I’d give you a peek behind the scenes here a little].