Is bigger better?

There was a time when bigger meant better in audio.

I still remember the console stereo my dad bought in the ‘50s. Walnut veneer, glowing dials of the Stromberg Carlson receiver, a built-in Rek-O-Kut turntable—and amazingly decent sound. It wasn’t audiophile by today’s standards, but there was an intention behind it: to bring music into the home with presence and pride. 

I can't say the same thing for today's version of consumer audio: an Amazon Echo, or perhaps a Sonos.

Somewhere along the line, we traded fidelity for convenience. Smart speakers are miracles of engineering, but they don’t move air in a convincing way. They simulate stereo, but they don’t disappear into a soundstage. They’re background noise providers. Functional. Forgettable. That might be okay for kitchen timers and weather reports. But not for Kind of Blue.

I’m not against progress. But I do worry about what we’ve normalized. Do we really believe we are honoring music when it plays on our smart speaker? 

Our core music systems deserve more than a Bluetooth speaker. I

t deserves space. Attention. Care.