Production of hi-fi components will cease in one year...

[Goatboy]

...thus proclaimed the JB HIFI salesperson. 

 

Last week I shifted my equipment racks and needed a couple of longer RCA cables. There are no dedicated hifi stores near me, so off to JB I went. I called ahead and they confirmed stock of 2 metre cables. When I arrived the 2 meter cables were headphone jack to 2 RCA. 

 

Me: I asked for 2 RCA to 2 RCA and they were confirmed in stock...

 

JB Salesperson: No, we only have the headphone jack to RCA. Anyway why would you want 2 RCA to 2 RCA ?

 

Me: ...to connect components...

 

JB Salesperson: Oh I see, well no-one uses hifi components anymore. People use Bluetooth speakers.

 

He went on to reveal that component manufacturers would cease production in a year. I assumed he meant JB would no longer stock components in a year (not that they have much of a range left), however he double downed when I asked him and nope - all component production would cease, and all attempts to disavow him of this notion failed. May as well have argued with a flat - earther.

 

Anyhoo, I left with 3 RCA to 3 RCA cables as a stop gap and a major case of WTF?!

 

So folks, buy up those components while you still can !

[Marc]

And JB thinks people stopped buying components.

No. They stopped training their staff how to sell them.

[Andre28]

May as well change names to JB Wi Fi

[Addicted to music]

Not surprised,

 

in 2014 dropped into Encel in Ruchmond to get a demo on a 105.  They couldn’t hook the OPPO105 via RCA!  A while later they announced they’re closing for good.  

[Marc]

A bad example.

 

Encel still had very knowledgeable and well experienced staff right up until the day they sold. Many of which still work within the industry.

Not sure of the circumstances in that instance, but I'm sure there's a logical explanation.

Encel closed to focus on wholesale (as mentioned here), and because an offer too good to refuse came along on their real estate. 

[Goatboy]

7 minutes ago, Marc said:

And JB thinks people stopped buying components.

No. They stopped training their staff how to sell them.

Yep, and I wonder how many customers seeking good sound will now point to their bluetooth speakers recommended by JB HIFI. 

[Addicted to music]

18 minutes ago, Marc said:

A bad example.

 

Encel still had very knowledgeable and well experienced staff right up until the day they sold. Many of which still work within the industry.

Not sure of the circumstances in that instance, but I'm sure there's a logical explanation.

Encel closed to focus on wholesale (as mentioned here), and because an offer too good to refuse came along on their real estate. 

Not really what I was referring to.....

RCA is unfortunately on the endangered list.  

Encel at the time were no longer marketing for 2 Channel but more towards “lifestyle” components.   You can see when you walked into the store that there market had shifted   They were into AV and all they had was HDMI.  

Yes they closed that store because he was had an offer he couldn’t refused on the real estate, coupled with the fact that there was more money just being a importer/distributor.  How things change when I 1st walked in there at age 17 with the entire Nakamichi range, Luxman turntables and the like!

[Marc]

7 minutes ago, Addicted to music said:

Not really what I was referring to.....

RCA is unfortunately on the endangered list.  

Encel at the time were no longer marketing for 2 Channel but more towards “lifestyle” components.   You can see when you walked into the store that there market had shifted   They were into AV and all they had was HDMI.  

Yes they closed that store because he was had an offer he couldn’t refused on the real estate, coupled with the fact that there was more money just being a importer/distributor.  How things change when I 1st walked in there at age 17 with the entire Nakamichi range, Luxman turntables and the like!

Got it

[kdoot]

Hi guys. Long time no forum.

 

The JB staff member is probably no Nostradamus but he's definitely referring to something real in terms of market forces. Everybody has a personal music player (phone) now. More and more music streams from the Internet to the phone and maybe from the phone to a nearby bluetooth or airplay or chromecast speaker. Very few care about having a soundstage or imaging, they just want music in the room.

 

I'm firmly in the audiophile camp and yet my requirement for analog cabling has dwindled down to a single pair of balanced interconnects and a single set of speaker cables. Because at some level that's the essence of audio today: a DAC, a power stage and the transducers. Most people will get those three components in a single box, or at best have the DAC and amp together plus a set of external speakers. Audio-focused consumer products now favour wireless digital sources and systems involving video have HDMI as their lingua franca for both video and audio.

 

Just like the carburettor, line-level analog pre-amplifiers will be history before most of us are. 

[Addicted to music]

21 minutes ago, kdoot said:

Hi guys. Long time no forum.

 

The JB staff member is probably no Nostradamus but he's definitely referring to something real in terms of market forces. Everybody has a personal music player (phone) now. More and more music streams from the Internet to the phone and maybe from the phone to a nearby bluetooth or airplay or chromecast speaker. Very few care about having a soundstage or imaging, they just want music in the room.

 

I'm firmly in the audiophile camp and yet my requirement for analog cabling has dwindled down to a single pair of balanced interconnects and a single set of speaker cables. Because at some level that's the essence of audio today: a DAC, a power stage and the transducers. Most people will get those three components in a single box, or at best have the DAC and amp together plus a set of external speakers. Audio-focused consumer products now favour wireless digital sources and systems involving video have HDMI as their lingua franca for both video and audio.

 

Just like the carburettor, line-level analog pre-amplifiers will be history before most of us are. 

A lot of those stores such as JB, HN, Goodguys have similar products with similar market segment.   Look at the basic Bluray player and most in there stores will all have HDMI out!  RCA are no longer the cable of choice in these stores because manufacturers are leaving the RCA out!  

As mentioned b4 Bluetooth wireless  speakers and headphones etc. 

Take a look at large panels,  most will have a HDMI and most smart tv will have phone control. 

The boss doesn’t even listen to the rig.  She said to me this morning why should I buy CDs when I can stream it on the phone and play it?  She’s very happy to just do this!  

My daughter requested a noise cancelling headphone and she has wireless speakers.  

So where is the RCA in all of this?

 

 

[kdoot]

4 minutes ago, Addicted to music said:

So where is the RCA in all of this?

 

Um, yes. That's exactly the point I was making. Were you agreeing with me?

 

Predicting that no vendor would produce hi-fi separates *one year from now* is probably a stretch too far. Predicting the eventual demise of analog interconnects such as RCA in consumer electronics is a no-brainer.

[Satanica]

31 minutes ago, kdoot said:

Very few care about having a soundstage or imaging, they just want music in the room.

And that's the way it's always been the way I see it.

[Addicted to music]

3 minutes ago, kdoot said:

Um, yes. That's exactly the point I was making. Were you agreeing with me?

 

Predicting that no vendor would produce hi-fi separates *one year from now* is probably a stretch too far. Predicting the eventual demise of analog interconnects such as RCA in consumer electronics is a no-brainer.

Yes.

 

You will also find that the next cable going down this endangered species list is Ethernet.   Walk into any modern office and it’s all wifi. 

[Goatboy]

5 minutes ago, Satanica said:

And that's the way it's always been the way I see it.

Exactly.

 

Thirty years ago it was a boombox for mass consumption, instead of wireless speakers. I suppose most people owned a basic amp, TT and speakers when vinyl was the only option, but even then, only a minority were interested in optimal sound.

[kdoot]

2 minutes ago, Addicted to music said:

Yes.

Cool

2 minutes ago, Addicted to music said:

You will also find that the next cable going down this endangered species list is Ethernet.   Walk into any modern office and it’s all wifi. 

This is my world. You're mostly right when it comes to how personal computing devices connect to a network, that's nearly all Wi-Fi. But it's Ethernet that bridges the wireless access point ("WAP") to the network core. Ethernet is the mainstay of every office network and there's nothing other than optical fibre competing for that role. 

[audiofeline]

I had a similar experience at my workplace when I confronted the person responsible for our new website (and others) that reference material critical to our operation would not print correctly. 

 

I was told that people should not print from websites as they are designed for screen display, and that nowdays no-one ever prints anything anyway. 

 

Attempts to use logic and evidence did not change the mindset.

 

[Guest Eggcup The Daft]

3 hours ago, kdoot said:

Hi guys. Long time no forum.

 

The JB staff member is probably no Nostradamus but he's definitely referring to something real in terms of market forces. Everybody has a personal music player (phone) now. More and more music streams from the Internet to the phone and maybe from the phone to a nearby bluetooth or airplay or chromecast speaker. Very few care about having a soundstage or imaging, they just want music in the room.

 

I'm firmly in the audiophile camp and yet my requirement for analog cabling has dwindled down to a single pair of balanced interconnects and a single set of speaker cables. Because at some level that's the essence of audio today: a DAC, a power stage and the transducers. Most people will get those three components in a single box, or at best have the DAC and amp together plus a set of external speakers. Audio-focused consumer products now favour wireless digital sources and systems involving video have HDMI as their lingua franca for both video and audio.

 

Just like the carburettor, line-level analog pre-amplifiers will be history before most of us are. 

They won't become history until vinyl dies and digital players all work well with power amplifiers.

Having said that, I see everything eventually residing in the speakers, controlled by a tablet: and in the real world, that will happen even for top quality sound, bypassing much of the current audiophile community.

 

And whenever anything "dies" these days it seems that a group of diehards will turn up and say "it sounds better, we're keeping that". And, sure, I'm keeping my Osborns for a good few years yet, passive though they are.

 

Ease of use comes into this as well. Sure, I can ask a digital assistant to play particular tracks now, but I'm old enough to feel silly talking to a box, and cynical enough to expect it to record things it shouldn't. And my wife can get to Radio National in two button presses - take away the tuner (I'd love that box gone) and now we have to open an app on a tablet or something to get it to play, well, from another box. When I can solve the ease of use issues, I'm going to scrap a lot of my analogue devices. Still not sure what's acceptable to her, let alone me...

 

[kdoot]

There's still a hobbyist industry for classic motor vehicle enthusiasts – it's not like carburettors simply stopped existing. You'll be able to keep things going the way you currently have them but don't expect to get much help from the mass retailers.

 

(I literally just said to my phone, "Hey Siri, play radio national", and within a few seconds that station started streaming into the wireless headphones which were already on my head from when I was watching a YouTube clip on my computer before I came into this thread.)

[Bunno77]

I've had similar experiences in JB and other stores. When sales staff are so ignorant, arrogant and completely wrong I just turn around and walk out. Usually they continue talking or trying to get me back in. 

[andyr]

6 hours ago, kdoot said:

I'm firmly in the audiophile camp and yet my requirement for analog cabling has dwindled down to a single pair of balanced interconnects and a single set of speaker cables. Because at some level that's the essence of audio today: a DAC, a power stage and the transducers. Most people will get those three components in a single box, or at best have the DAC and amp together plus a set of external speakers. Audio-focused consumer products now favour wireless digital sources and systems involving video have HDMI as their lingua franca for both video and audio.

 

Just like the carburettor, line-level analog pre-amplifiers will be history before most of us are.

 

 

Not all of us have only a single pair of ICs and a single set of spkr cables, mate! 

 

I no longer have a line-level analogue preamp, per se, but even so, in my main system my count is:

• 4x digital cables
• 11 pairs of RCA cables
• 3 pairs of spkr cables. 

And that's a stereo music system - so no AV! 

 

Andy

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by andyr

[TerryO]

What goes round comes round. Who would have thought ten years ago that records would be produced let alone be popular again? 

Yes the majority will always go with what ever is new and easy and most importantly cheap, however no matter what hobby there is always a percentage who want top end gear. So Hifi is unlikely to die out completely no matter what old mate at JB thinks he knows.

It all comes down to population, even if there is only a small percentage of people into good Hifi gear then as populations continue to rise even if the percentage drops a bit there will still be similar if not even larger actual numbers wanting Hifi gear around the globe, so the industry as such will continue.

 

That is the future for the Hifi world according to Terry's Crystal ball.. ... 

 

cheers Terry

Edited November 6, 2018 by TerryO

[kdoot]

2 hours ago, andyr said:

 

Not all of us have only a single pair of ICs and a single set of spkr cables, mate! 

 

I no longer have a line-level analogue preamp, per se, but even so, in my main system my count is:

• 4x digital cables
• 11 pairs of RCA cables
• 3 pairs of spkr cables. 

And that's a stereo music system - so no AV! 

 

Andy

 

Surely you're the outlier among even this exceptional bunch

 

I would really really love to know the details of what all those cables are connecting together and how, if you have the time and inclination. 

[andyr]

8 hours ago, kdoot said:

Surely you're the outlier among even this exceptional bunch

 

I would really really love to know the details of what all those cables are connecting together and how, if you have the time and inclination. 

 

It's a 4-way active system, kdoot, with a TT having 2 arms. 

 

So my 4x digital cables are:

• CDP, DAB+ tuner and A2D converter (on the phono stage) into a 4-way digital source selector
• output from digital source selector to miniDSP.

My 11 pairs of RCA interconnects are as follows:

• 2 cables from arms on the TT to phono stage
• phono stage to A2D converter
• 4 pairs of cables from miniDSP to 8-way volume control
• 4 pairs of cables from 8-way volume control to amps.

3 pairs of spkr cables:

• from bass, mid and ribbon amps to the 3-way active Maggies
• (subs don't have spkr cables, per se, as they are on the back of the sub cabinets - so only have an RCA interconnect coming into them.)

The cables are all made by me, to my design, except for a phono cable, from one of my arms to the phono stage.

 

Andy

 

[Ittaku]

1 hour ago, andyr said:

 

It's a 4-way active system, kdoot, with a TT having 2 arms. 

 

So my 4x digital cables are:

• CDP, DAB+ tuner and A2D converter (on the phono stage) into a 4-way digital source selector
• output from digital source selector to miniDSP.

My 11 pairs of RCA interconnects are as follows:

• 2 cables from arms on the TT to phono stage
• phono stage to A2D converter
• 4 pairs of cables from miniDSP to 8-way volume control
• 4 pairs of cables from 8-way volume control to amps.

3 pairs of spkr cables:

• from bass, mid and ribbon amps to the 3-way active Maggies
• (subs don't have spkr cables, per se, as they are on the back of the sub cabinets - so only have an RCA interconnect coming into them.)

The cables are all made by me, to my design, except for a phono cable, from one of my arms to the phono stage.

And sounds awesome too

[bob_m_54]

I think the most telling aspect of the OP, is that most of the staff in these type of stores are only shop assistants and counter staff. There are very few salesmen or saleswomen these days.

 

Ask any of them which component is the better of two, and why?