HiFi was injured by the Walkman, then killed off by Home Theatre and the iPod.
No one sits in front of 2 big speakers, just listening to music anymore, unless a TV screen is there too. It is more likely to be background music while doing something else, possibly playing on a small Bluetooth speaker from a phone.
BUT "high-end" luxury Audio gear with prices suited to the Lamborghini, Veyron and Rolex watch buyers is alive!
HiFi to play my albums became an interest in Junior High School, that lead to an interest in electronics and making my first stereo. It was a different world back in the 70s, where building an amplifier and speakers yourself was an option and cheaper than buying one.
I only have a CD/FM radio/BT mini-compo stereo now and don't use it very often. Just to check how my own original music sounds. I can't use the sound volume to make it an experience. It is annoying to others.
I now mostly use SHOKZ OpenFit earbuds playing 320kps mp3s from my phone around the house and out for a walk. Bluetooth connected headphones do add an extra level of data compression, but not something a granddad like myself can hear. Like having stereo BGM while moving around, and it doesn't block out the cat or family members if not played loud.
But checking out the world of HiFi has a nostalgic hit for me. It came as a shock to pick up the latest Stereo Sound above and see how heavy and full of advertising it is. Reminded me of the heyday of BYTE MAGAZINE in the late 80s when the personnel computer market was booming. Or the Japanese TRANSISTOR GIJUTSU electronics magazine that was even bigger and heavier in the 90s, and now a considerably smaller publication.
The shock continued at the prices in advertisements and gear being reviewed. Like the 4,400,000yen per speaker for the JBL DD67000:
Or the 2,500,000yen for this Ultimate Headphone Audio System:
This is Luxury Good Pricing.
Value-based pricing is a strategy that focuses on the perceived value of your product to your target customers, rather than the cost of production or the market competition. This means that you can charge a higher price that reflects the benefits, features, and attributes that make your product unique and desirable.
This is not how things used to be. HiFi was a mass market item, with various brands having a range of items from not expensive to expensive. But those Brands have disappeared or do not make such equipment anymore. Music doesn't have the same place in people lives any more. There is YouTube, Facebook, computer games etc. for that. The Internet and Mobile Phones changed everything for everybody from the 1990s.
My own adult kids don't have any kind of Stereo. No wonder the brands disappeared. The closes thing anyone has is a Home Theater Speaker System, that rarely plays music.
HiFi, but it isn't called that any more, is now an extreme niche high priced market.
HiFi is Dead, but gear for wealthy Audiophiles lives on.
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