A fellow manufacturer dropped me a note recently in response to one of my posts regarding the declining acceptance of high-end audio in the home. He writes:
"Audio-as-a-destination-activity is the enemy of the rest of the household. It takes both money and the listener away from the family.
Home Theater is a friend of the family ... and much more. As in the MasterCard commercials, HT is priceless to the Mom because it has the possibility of being used to bring the family together for a shared activity.
C'est la vie, c'est la guerre. Redesigning the genetic code is not our job."
I think what's interesting here is found in the first line: "audio-as-a-destination." Or put another way, the proverbial two-channel man cave sanctuary.
I believe much of the perceived shift away from high-end audio (we hear tell about) is actually a shift away from the dedicated sanctuary approach and not two-channel itself.
I have never met a family that does not enjoy music and isn't appreciative of better performance. Music has a bigger place in the family than home theater ever will.
Home theater is a passing phase. Music is here forever.
The shift in our industry isn't away from the high-end - it is a shift away from the isolation of the sanctuary.
High-end needs to change its status-quo to one of supporting the family enjoying high-performance audio.
