According to Wikipedia, the Renaissance is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas and achievements of classical antiquity. It occurred after the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages and was associated with great social change.
What of an audio renaissance reviving the period in history where great ideas, efforts, and achievements in service of furthering the state-of-the-art in musical reproduction for the home reigned supreme? A fresh new era where new names and fresh blood replace the venerable Marantz, Harman, Lansing, Berliner, Klipsch, and Scott (to name a few).
In thinking about this it occurs to me we’ve had cycles of renaissances all along. Bursts of technological milestones and breakthroughs that have, without question, affected social change on a scale unimaginable in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Think of stereo systems in cars. In-ear speakers fed by invisible music sources. Machines that can access millions of tracks of music with only a voice command from the listener.
I cannot put my finger on it but to me it feels like we are on the cusp of yet another surge of amazing wonders just around the corner.
What’s your view?
