Cool link.
I really liked this quote:
“I just asked my fiancé this question and she says,
"Make it accessible and really easy to use and Fu**'n cool (like Apple). And make it something we absolutely have to have. The problem with your audiophile stuff is its just too darn hard to use!"
It seems like pandering honestly to be asking us this question. We don't know. We're not part of that world. We're audiophiles, the more obsessive natured music appreciators of the world.”
My wife, in spite of her using Mac’s and PC’s daily, being a Dr. in Veterinary medicine and all around bright gal, can’t figure out how to turn on my HT system.
It’s a reflection of the complexity we can fall prey to. I know I’m at the outer edges of complexity, but even ‘normal’ systems are prey to all kinds of configuration nightmares.
What’s required is an ‘Apple’-like approach to usability, where huge amounts of effort are expended by the industry on behalf of the consumer.
The usability of all components in the chain is critical to making high-quality listening experiences be easy.
All the ‘innovations’ of the recent years, DVD-A, SACD, HD Video, have only added to the complexity. Layer in DRM nightmares onto it (can you say HDCP) and no wonder people buy single brand HTIB’s. They just do not want to deal with the complexity.
Mind you, no one question my system is the best (or one of two) they’ve ever heard, but they also can’t understand half of what it took to get it there. Heck, most are just gawking at the ML’s wondering how these monoliths (pun intended) manage to produce such glorious sound.
As an industry, there is a ways to go.
