Are separates on borrowed time?

[admin_exported]

I think they could be, and not just because i think active speakers sound better...

I've got a laptop which i use as a source, most people also have a laptop, or pc, tablet, phone etc, though not all of them are using them as a source.

I've got an Apple TV3, it only cost me e109 and is simple to setup (i currently can't play video from it but that may be another thread later) and works off the bat with iTunes, receiving the audio data from my laptop, so simple, cheap and convenient.

I've got a pair of ADMs, which means i don't need anything else to enjoy excellent sounding music, i've got a complete hifi system that consists of two speakers and a tiny box, if you don't include the laptop (or tablet, pc etc.) that'd be here anyway.

Surely as technology advances, more and more people are going to end up with a similar system? Why pay for stuff you don't need? Is your typical box swapping enthusiast going to be phased out? How long will it be profitable for manufacturers to make "old skool" seperates? Economies of scale and all that.

 

[moon]

no

 

[Sospri]

Dream on.....

 

[idc]

No, their popularity will rise and fall but they will not disappear. The only hifi products that really did disappear are formats such as cassette.

 

[moon]

I think they could be, and not just because i think active speakers sound better...

I've got a laptop which i use as a source, most people also have a laptop, or pc, tablet, phone etc, though not all of them are using them as a source.

I've got an Apple TV3, it only cost me e109 and is simple to setup (i currently can't play video from it but that may be another thread later) and works off the bat with iTunes, receiving the audio data from my laptop, so simple, cheap and convenient.

I've got a pair of ADMs, which means i don't need anything else to enjoy excellent sounding music, i've got a complete hifi system that consists of two speakers and a tiny box, if you don't include the laptop (or tablet, pc etc.) that'd be here anyway.

Surely as technology advances, more and more people are going to end up with a similar system? Why pay for stuff you don't need? Is your typical box swapping enthusiast going to be phased out? How long will it be profitable for manufacturers to make "old skool" seperates? Economies of scale and all that.

sorry, isnt this old news Max?

 

[paradiziac]

Music beamed wirelessly or via ethernet from computer/NAS/phone to DAC+active speakers?

And end to endless cable debates...where would be the fun in that? No more box-swapping to find some illusive "synergy".

...all hifis will be perfect and sound the same...

It makes logical sense, but...NO THANKS! Sounds like something out of Brave New World!

 

[SteveR750]

The music centre was popular in the 70s, yet many of us still have separates.

 

[moon]

The music centre was popular in the 70s, yet many of us still have separates.

indeed, our Aiwa system rocked, ahem..cough cough..... well at least the Archers sounded good.

 

[paradiziac]

Most people I have ever spoken to on the subject* would consider a £300 system to be an outrageous waste of money.

True, if you look at "HiFi's" in the high street electrical shops, systems top out at about £300 for the real top of the range stuff...

By that measure, separates have been dead for a long time, and I can't see £1000+ active speakers flying off the shelves either...

 

[daveh75]

I've got an Apple TV3, it only cost me e109 and is simple to setup (i currently can't play video from it but that may be another thread later) and works off the bat with iTunes, receiving the audio data from my laptop, so simple, cheap and convenient.

A niche product designed for a specific purpose...

 

[Sizzers]

Most people I have ever spoken to on the subject* would consider a £300 system to be an outrageous waste of money.

*By which I mean people who have no special interest in hi-fi.

How true that is.

I hate discussing hi-fi and its costs with people who have neither interest or knowledge on the subject, and I avoid any such conversationslike the plague. Some people use dedicated laptops/DAC's as their source, which is twice the number of boxes as a CDP or TT, and as I neither love or trust the PC I won't be changing anything.

 

[Trefor Patten]

Seperates to disappear - I don't think so! But change, ah well, now you are talking. I can forsee a future where the CD player is replaced by some kind of dock for an iThingy/Android/Tablet-type device which stores/plays/streams music from the internet, saves programmes to flash memory for later playback etc, thus removing the need for a tape deck, radio tuner and so on. But, even with active speakers, a new range of boxes - probably smaller, possibly in a range of colours - to optimise playback, condition power supply etc, etc etc. As long as there a re hi-fi enthusiasts there will be manufacturers serving them and if I used solid-state memory instead of a silver disc, or a big slab of black plastic, I really don't mind.

I just want the new thing to sound better than the old! :cheers:

 

[The_Lhc]

I can forsee a future where the CD player is replaced by some kind of dock for an iThingy/Android/Tablet-type device which stores/plays/streams music from the internet, saves programmes to flash memory for later playback etc, thus removing the need for a tape deck, radio tuner and so on.

Your powers of premonition amaze me, that's already available, you just don't need a dock as the iThingy/Android/Tablet is largely superflous and you can get audio off them wirelessly anyway.

 

[matthewpiano]

Active speakers aren't the answer for everyone Max. They have limited connectivity and, in order to add more, you end up having to have some sort of pre-amp, particularly if you still wish to use analogue sources. Active speakers with multiple digital inputs create a problem of their own in that you end up with far more cables going to the speaker than you would have in a traditional system.

Seperates are a niche product and they will remain a niche product, but I sincerely doubt they will disappear. Many of us still use multiple sources - CD, vinyl, streaming, TV etc. - and find that a traditional integrated amp and passive speakers suits us quite nicely.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not suggesting everyone buy actives, or that they're the solution for everyone, i just think the way tech is going, with most everyone owning a pc, tablet, and the younger generation being so tech savvy, that manufacturers will need to adapt to meet a growing demand for more streamlined and cheaper, pc based audio solutions. Which may marginalise the traditional seperate enthusiast further, will there be a point when the economies of scale and lack of demand mean they'll all but dissapear? Or become quite expensive?

 

[John Duncan]

Separates were on borrowed time from about 2001.

 

[Anonymous]

Separates were on borrowed time from about 2001.

Which begs the question.. How long before we see the iSpeakers? Probably active, wireless, built in preamp, DAC, wifi, just press play on your iWhatever and off you go..

 

[John Duncan]

They tried that, it bombed. Better to license the tech to people who are good at it.

 

[Sizzers]

Separates were on borrowed time from about 2001.

Which begs the question.. How long before we see the iSpeakers? Probably active, wireless, built in preamp, DAC, wifi, just press play on your iWhatever and off you go..

Makes me think of those Japanese toilets which wash and dry your....

 

[moon]

They tried that, it bombed. Better to license the tech to people who are good at it.

You mean like ihome? which sounds like a fox having a romantic encounter with a Hedgehog.

 

[Alec]

Active speakers aren't the answer for everyone Max. They have limited connectivity and, in order to add more, you end up having to have some sort of pre-amp, particularly if you still wish to use analogue sources. Active speakers with multiple digital inputs create a problem of their own in that you end up with far more cables going to the speaker than you would have in a traditional system.

Seperates are a niche product and they will remain a niche product, but I sincerely doubt they will disappear. Many of us still use multiple sources - CD, vinyl, streaming, TV etc. - and find that a traditional integrated amp and passive speakers suits us quite nicely.

Some have analogue connections. I feel I'm missing something...

 

[BenLaw]

i just think the way tech is going, with most everyone owning a pc, tablet, and the younger generation being so tech savvy, that manufacturers will need to adapt to meet a growing demand for more streamlined and cheaper, pc based audio solutions. Which may marginalise the traditional seperate enthusiast further

I don't think the argument hangs together, you're only talking about the source. Yes, the proportion of people using a computer as their source will increase (while TTs and possibly / probably CDs will also remain for a minority) but this will continue to be implemented in different ways. The majority will (and already do) want a 'cheap, streamlined' solution, hence mp3 players, docks and headphones. This won't stop there being a vibrant hi-fi community using separates and, yes, also active speakers.

Active speakers aren't the answer for everyone Max. . .

Seperates are a niche product and they will remain a niche product, but I sincerely doubt they will disappear. Many of us still use multiple sources - CD, vinyl, streaming, TV etc. - and find that a traditional integrated amp and passive speakers suits us quite nicely.

Agreed. Separates are a niche product in the whole market of 'music consumption' (yuck!) but actives are almost certain to remain yet more niche than separates.

 

[John Duncan]

They tried that, it bombed. Better to license the tech to people who are good at it.

You mean like ihome? which sounds like a fox having a romantic encounter with a Hedgehog.

No the iPod Hifi

It was ****.

 

[Electro]

I really hope not ray: at least not in my lifetime but I suppose separates will eventually only be affordable to rich audiophiles who want to try and achieve the best sound quality possible, and that is likely to be a very small number of people .

It has taken me years to put my separates system together and get it sounding exactly as I want it, I can turn out the lights and it sounds as close to a live performance as I have ever heard , It's magical and I would not swap my separates for anything else no matter how convenient it was

 

[Clare Newsome]

They tried that, it bombed. Better to license the tech to people who are good at it.

You mean like ihome? which sounds like a fox having a romantic encounter with a Hedgehog.

No the iPod Hifi

It was ****.

Eeeek, flashback.

That was an utter, utter dog. Actually, I like dogs. It was just a total [EDITED]