I was fascinated by the traffic flows at RMAF.
We had two rooms connected together and separated by a door. In the larger room the main system, Sprout Lounge in the smaller of the two. The reactions to each venue were what really caught my attention.
In the big room we featured the more expected high end speaker system, gear in a rack, giant cables, footers, isolation bases, a day and a half of intricate setup and multiple magical blessings and incantations from those that labored on the setup to achieve a magical listening experience. In the small room the division of attention was 180 degrees of the big room: the majority of labor in decorating the room, an hour or so setting Sprout on the table, adding a turntable and a set of bookshelf loudspeakers, a few minutes to dial them in and ready to go. The same amount of energy was expended on both setups, just apportioned differently.
We received many fine comments on both rooms. But what fascinated me most was the number of younger music lovers moving to the Sprout Lounge and staying, enjoying, talking about it. Those same music lovers listened to the big system as well, but it was clear their interest really was with the smaller living room setup.
Sprout is a lifestyle product, one that can be plunked down, connected and enjoyed.
The big system IS a lifestyle in and of itself; lifelong obsession with perfecting something.
Is this the great divide starting to peek around the corner?
