Pursuing the Ultimate Music Experiences

Interesting factoids from FutureSource on headphone uptake…

Note that the average price for a ‘headphone’, in this survey anyway, is $30.

This means that the real growth is in in-ear headphones (currently 60% of the market).

As a point of reference, the original open Sennheiser headphones, the HD 414, in 1968 remains the best selling headphones of all time – and were my first headphones (but did not survive my transition to high-end audio in 1978)

“According to a new report by Futuresource Consulting, worldwide shipments of headphones grew by 8.5% in 2014 to 309.5 million units.

The report also found that, despite average retail price only growing by 4% in 2014, less than the growth in 2013, the trade value of shipments grew by 12%, generating revenues worth $9.4 billion. This is partly due to the falling cost to include certain features.

Despite increasing fragmentation in the headphones market, Sony, Philips, and JVC continue to secure the top three market positions, accounting for 31% of worldwide shipments. There is growing competition, notably from Apple Earpods, with a 5% worldwide volume share, and Beats by Dre, which has grown in volume by leveraging Apple’s strong distribution networks.

Futuresource Consulting has also analysed the different features and types of headphones emerging on the market within this new report. It notes that microphones have become a common feature across all types of headphones, especially as the ownership of mobile devices continues to grow. In 2014, headphones with microphones grew by 58%, to account for 36% of worldwide shipments.

In-ear headphones accounted for the lion share, 60% of worldwide shipments, with the inclusion of new features helping to drive growth in this segment.

During 2014, many brands introduced Bluetooth headphones to meet the growing demand of music on the go. This segment is forecast to increase over the coming years, with wireless headphones likely to account for 21% of worldwide shipments by 2018.

Sport headphones was another big area, with many headphone vendors introducing different designs for comfortable grip around the ears. We are seeing strong competition from specialist headphone manufacturers in this area, including Yurbuds, Jaybird, Jabra, and Parrot.

“The demand for headphones is increasing, especially as consumers are using their mobile devices for a plethora of content on the go, whether that’s whilst commuting to work, running, cycling, or simply walking into town,” Simon Bryant , Associate Director Consumer Electronics , Futuresource Consulting. “We are also seeing an increase in demand for more sophisticated features, which is increasing value and driving more sales for the vendors. In the coming months, we will likely see an increased presence from specialist vendors, which can add unique features.”

Accuracy or Musicality, Consumer Reports on Digital Audio, Putting on the Brakes

Not much going on the last few days. Lots of ‘zines pulling out old posts.

This one caught my attention…

Who’s Right? Accuracy or Musicality (J. Gordon Holt, Stereophile, 1977)

I think they used to write longer articles back then than they do now.

Based on the brands mentioned, it seems like products with more accuracy have greater longevity than musicality. At least over the last 40 years.

Over the last 20?

It seems to me, as several major brands go under and/or get bought out – that it is the brand names that have longevity. Name recognition is very important in today’s crowded marketplace and online marketing chaos.

J. Gordon Holt’s point, to sum it up, is that whether a sound is accurate or musical is in the eye of the beholder [measurements tell us something but not nearly enough to be able to call something ‘accurate’] and that an audiophile should take a closer look at just who this beholder is that they are counting on for an assessment of the quality of a piece of audio gear.

Well, if he thought this “who is that beholder you are trusting” thing was a problem in 1977…. !!!

As Neli and I are called upon to reflect on what we have learned over the last 13 years after turning our high-end audio hobby into a business, and as we think seriously about expanding the business, it is the wide range of quality of equipment reviews, both by the trade and by the audiophile, that is, we feel [well, maybe I should leave Neli out of this :-)], primarily responsible for marginalizing our industry and putting a cap on any growth that might occur.

For example…

Manufacturers can consistently always find several people, trade and/or consumer, to give their product a positive review. And a lot of audiophiles put a lot of faith in these reviews. This means, for example, that from a buyers point of view, all $100K amps must be of equal quality, because they ALL get rave reviews. In fact, they all get several raving, drooling, OMG, OMG reviews.

This has fallout that I will write about when I am in a really, really bad mood [Neli tries to prevent me from reaching the keyboard at those times, so it might be awhile :-)]. The only antidote, at this time, seems to be more and more shows [yay!] and more good dealers who have good sound – places where people can hear things for themselves. [“Trust your ears, Luke”]

Consumer Reports

Michael Lavorgna [what is it with people named Michael being so much smarter than people with other names? :-)] over at AudioStream pointed to an article by Consumer Reports on How to make your digital music sound better which he says is a worthwhile article for non-audiophiles to read.

And it is!

And kind of funny too, in an inside joke kind of way.

Perhaps there is some implicit good ‘tide is turning’ news here when a mainstream publication starts treating music fidelity with respect?

Putting on the Brakes

Another post from the wayback machine.

This from 1923, no less.

This is your standard “anti-tweak, anti-technology, it should only be about the music, things sound good enough already” post.

In the last month, we covered at least two stories that were promulgated by essentially this exact type of personality. One was anti 24/192 (who needs these new digital formats? Digital is already perfect). And… Uhhhmmm… I am forgetting the other one.

Anyway, these people still tend to dominate the news and the discussion. I consider these people to be true, old fashioned high-end audio conservatives – they fight change for the sake of change. They provide a useful function, IMO. Not very exciting though [how about a 128 bit (VLW) / 1 Bhz format – now THAT would be AWESOME…! 🙂 ]

There is some discussion of this on InnerFidelity

Geez, all three posts were from Stereophile-rated websites. Sorry ’bout that folks. Next news blast is already shaping up to be different…

That’s hi-fi for now folks. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.

Rock Legends Cruise, DSD Live Streaming, Retro Hi-Fi

This sounds like a blast! Rock Legends Cruise IV

This floating rock festival for a cause aboard Royal Caribbean International’s spectacular, Independence of the Seas, departs January 21 – 25, 2016 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Featuring:

Peter Frampton | Gregg Allman
Grand Funk Railroad | America
John Kay & Steppenwolf
The Marshall Tucker Band | Randy Bachman
Ace Frehley | Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band | Uriah Heep
Foghat | The Outlaws | Rik Emmett
Kim Simmonds & Savoy Brown
The Pat Travers Band | The Artimus Pyle Band
The Devon Allman Band | Matthew Curry
Warrior’s Pride | Gary Hoey | Dana Fuchs

Oh, I hope this is the wave of the future. The heck with studio recordings and Recording Labels…

DSD Live Streaming
“In April, this site will stream two live concerts using the latest DSD 5.6 MHz digital audio format, as a proof-of-concept test for DSD online music distribution. These free presentations will be made possible through the kind cooperation of the Spring Festival in Tokyo, which is now in its 11th year, and the world-acclaimed Berliner Philharmoniker.”

Retro ads…

retro vintage modern hi-fi

Retro hi-fi girls…

retro vintage modern hi-fi

I find some of the posts on retro vintage modern hi-fi endlessly comforting. But YMMV.

Octoberish show month, digital technology is already perfect,  standing waves. Three shows and counting in October / very early November.  Technology confuses yet another person. Understanding our complicated listening environments

Digital technology is already perfect

Another article about how digital is good enough and uses the common incoherent argument that compares the ear’s frequency range to the format that should be used to store, transmit and reconstitute music.

Why DACs Need to Become Like Digital Cameras — and Less Like TVs

These kind of articles should be ignored, people [of course, me linking to it and saying that people should ignore it means y’all will head on over there at the earliest opportunity :-0].

The first time I heard this technology-is-good-enough argument, a variant on it anyway, was in 1985, I think, when PCs with the new Intel 286 chip came out, replacing the standard 8088 chip.

PCs with the 286 were about, literally, a million times slower than PCs today. Or your smartphone. But a friend told me that this speed improvement at the time was ridiculous, “how fast did they think a secretary could type, anyway?”

And the digital camera vs TV thing? Just what the heck is that about? So much link-bait out there, getting kind of wacky doodle.

Shows – Eenie, Meenie, Miney, … I’m sure there must be a Moe

3 major shows in 33 days.

The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest October 2-4, 2015

TAVES in Torotono October 30 – November 1, 2015

You then have the New York Audio Show November 6-8, 2015

Its not like people don’t like shipping gear here, there and everywhere… But the real problem is that these 3 shows are actually good shows, and a person shouldn’t miss either of them if they like going to  shows.

Standing Waves

An interesting article on our acoustical environments 

That’s hi-fi for now folks. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.