Jump to content

Insane audio adverts


Guest Karl Rand

Recommended Posts

Guest Karl Rand

For many decades audio industry leaders have been bitching about the limited size of their industry and the rising indiference of the masses to really good sound.

If they continue to advertise their gear pictured in rooms that are acoustic nightmares, what the hell do they expect?

The illustration at the bottom of this article may demonstrate what I'm on about.

http://www.stereo.net.au/news/may-we-interest-you-in-kefs-q-series-clearance-sale

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Administrator

I think there are far worse examples than the one you have linked to above.

 

This is a typical "lifestyle" image, and I imagine the Q Series range is squarely pitched at that buyer / demographic.

Room acoustics, sadly, is never likely to cross this purchaser's mind - before, during or after the sale.

 

In fact, in my experience there are very few retailers / specialists in this country who even bother stocking, let alone offering any form of acoustic treatment at any part of the purchasing process.

 

You have to head far more higher-end or specialised / custom before room treatments comes into play.

 

I don't agree with it at all. Even in car audio we were big on sound deadening and acoustic treatments on car interiors. Hell, as a retailer we were one of the first to essentially not sell a set of installed speakers without factoring in door treatment at very least.

 

But, it is what it is.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Karl Rand
6 minutes ago, Marc said:

I think there are far worse examples than the one you have linked to above.

 

This is a typical "lifestyle" image, and I imagine the Q Series range is squarely pitched at that buyer / demographic.

Room acoustics, sadly, is never likely to cross this purchaser's mind - before, during or after the sale.

 

In fact, in my experience there are very few retailers / specialists in this country who even bother stocking, let alone offering any form of acoustic treatment at any part of the purchasing process.

 

You have to head far more higher-end or specialised / custom before room treatments comes into play.

 

I don't agree with it at all. Even in car audio we were big on sound deadening and acoustic treatments on car interiors. Hell, as a retailer we were one of the first to essentially not sell a set of installed speakers without factoring in door treatment at very least.

 

But, it is what it is.

 

 

What you say is largelly true BUT. We know the female of our species is far less interested or impressed by hi-fi in the home and hardly ever attends audio shows. My suggestion is the proven sustained sensitivity women have to the upper frequencies as they age, compared to men, makes them far more sensitive to full range music being played in rooms that are acoustic nightmares. That and the nightmarish appearance of a lot of audio gear has the industry shooting itself in the foot. 

Customised room treatments? Just offer 'she who must be obeyed' to pay for a few very nice persian rugs to be hung on the wall. She doesn't even have to be told they're fakes made in Belgium which actually do a better job than the real thing. The bottom end these days can be handled by digital room correction for the most part.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/25/2017 at 11:02 PM, Karl Rand said:

 

If they continue to advertise their gear pictured in rooms that are acoustic nightmares, what the hell do they expect?

The illustration at the bottom of this article may demonstrate what I'm on about.

http://www.stereo.net.au/news/may-we-interest-you-in-kefs-q-series-clearance-sale

you can hear the result of the very bright room on the audio of the video - it wouldn't be a very nice space to listen to music in - but I'd be happy to swap with my house and convert a bedroom to a sound room if it doesn't have a media room already - visually it's a beautiful space, and as @Marc says, the advert is targeted at "lifestyle" not high end audio.

 

Having mucked with treatment for a few years now, I find it very hard to listen to music (especially at elevated volumes) in poor acoustic spaces.

 

On 5/26/2017 at 0:15 AM, Karl Rand said:

What you say is largely true BUT. We know the female of our species is far less interested or impressed by hi-fi in the home   

I would agree that women (in general) are less interested in the gear, but IME they still appreciate great sound.

It's just that their priorities won't necessarily allow their lounge rooms to get cluttered with the paraphernalia required to have good sound in their lounge rooms.

 

My wife listens to the stereo in our dedicated room as much as I do - at the same time, but also separately.

In between swapping treatment from fiberglass to poly the room was without any treatment for a bit, and I had the new poly sitting in the garage waiting to make "proper" traps.

My wife attempted to listen to the stereo in the untreated room and after 2 minutes got me to help her drag the sheets of Acoustisorb 3 into the room - in 5 minutes the room went from "unlistenable" to "great".

Her comment was, "how can people listen to music in an untreated room?".

 

My point is that the reason the stereo is in the spare bedroom downstairs is that when we moved into our current house and the stereo was setup in the lounge room (a cube), the sound was so bad, I proposed treatment - in the lounge room.

She said, "no way - take the stereo downstairs and do what you want" - I now have a dedicated room :thumb:, in which we both enjoy great sound.

Maybe I've just fluked it - she also loves the TD18 mid bass speakers - to her ears they were a better upgrade than the PSE144s that sit on top, and 18" drivers are just fine with her - again, this is in the stereo room - not the lounge room.

 

On 5/26/2017 at 0:15 AM, Karl Rand said:

 My suggestion is the proven sustained sensitivity women have to the upper frequencies as they age, compared to men, makes them far more sensitive to full range music being played in rooms that are acoustic nightmares. That and the nightmarish appearance of a lot of audio gear has the industry shooting itself in the foot. 

interesting point - I'm not sure why a woman's ear would decrease in sensitivity to upper frequencies any less than a man's - anatomically they would be very similar, and the tiny hairs inside the ear would get damaged in the same way.

On a social level it comes down to priorities - sound vs looks - both (non-audiophile) men and women will mostly choose look over sound - and getting a well treated room looking good is very costly (I've failed dismally on the "looking good" side).

 

cheers

Mike

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, almikel said:

interesting point - I'm not sure why a woman's ear would decrease in sensitivity to upper frequencies any less than a man's - anatomically they would be very similar, and the tiny hairs inside the ear would get damaged in the same way.

 

 

 

It is called the (technical term coming!) "idiot factor"...men tend to jump in with abandon for personal safety whilst women tend to put on the earmuffs or earbuds.  Simple thing is that blokes tend to think they are indestructible until they are not and so expose themselves to stupid things such as loud noises.

 

For instance, I wish I had worn hearing protection when I was shooting a lot in my youth...I probably would not have a ringing in my right ear today if that were the case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



Because my main listen room (I have three well equiped listening areas in our house) is also our lounge room there is always going to be a balance of life style and music room. That translated to pleasing the wife and pleasing me. And I like it that way. I have been to a few dedictaed home theatre rooms and overly damped music rooms and feel they do not really deliver.

 

Luckily I have heavy furnishings, handcraft heavy wool and rugs from Turkey and Morocco on a the wall and floor and a carpeted floor so the room is just on the dead side of lively. But a beatiful room with just the right amount of audio gear (all DIY). A balance is always best. Feels good and sounds good.

 

 

 

 

Edited by mwhouston
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.




×
×
  • Create New...
To Top