LG Partnering with Meridian

[Flint]

http://www.audioxpress.com/news/lg-...ian-audio-on-new-speaker-designs-for-ces-2018

This could be interesting.

First Samsung purchased Harman Kardon (with a press release claiming it was for their automobile technologies) and immediately increasing efficiencies and significantly improving the included headset accessories that come with the Galaxy products. Now LG is partnering with Meridian for sound bars and Bluetooth speakers.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

High Fidelity is dead.

 

[Towen7]

High Fidelity is dead.

Is it really though? If space/size compromises have to be made and one lacks the knowledge and experience that someone like you has ... is it such a bad thing that there are products that sit between TV speakers and real high fidelity rigs?
These types of products are often gateways into bigger and better things from an audio perspective.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Is it really though? If space/size compromises have to be made and one lacks the knowledge and experience that someone like you has ... is it such a bad thing that there are products that sit between TV speakers and real high fidelity rigs?
These types of products are often gateways into bigger and better things from an audio perspective.

The problem is that there is an increasing lack of knowledge about what supposed good sound is. I hear gross misinformation from tech news sources which the target purchasers look to in order to make buying decisions. So much junk food information is not great for the continued health of high fidelity.

An Alexa is NOT a high fidelity device, but I never hear any tech sources say that; quite the opposite.

 

[Flint]

I disagree that High Fidelity is dead, but I do see where Rammis is going.

I think, as Towen suggests, there is a healthy market for the space between crap and great which is filling with pretty good sounding stuff which is small, easy, affordable, and often portable. I think that's a good thing because it means there are more opportunities for laymen to enjoy music and soundtracks in ways they would never get with becoming experts and developing the a desire to budget for higher end proper gear. That doesn't mean the higher end stuff isn't still widely available. In fact, I get the impression there is more higher end stuff in the midrange market which performs very well for the money than ever before. We also see practical acoustic treatments being sold in retail shops and discussed in pop journalism, which is great. We have a plethora of amazing headsets on the market sitting right alongside the POS stuff we all hate, but in the past 20 years all there was to buy as a layman was crap POS stuff. Things are changing, and the "middle-class" of audio is expanding and I don't think that is killing high fidelity at all.

 

[Snake Doctor]

By definition High Fidelity - Ideally High Fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) frequency response within the intended frequency . Yes I plagiarized the definition. I lean toward Towen in this discussion. Sound quality has improved over the last 20 plus years from one source to another. However, where I agree with Towen is the lack of education by a lot of the end users. I live in central NC and the best place to go for audio information or to listen to equipment, if they still have the room set up, is Best Buys. The audio/video specialty stores have all left, so the BB guy tells you a sound bar will give you everything you have dreamed of with sound at a very affordable price.

By definition yes, you will get inaudible noise and distortion so on and so on.....but when you slowly put a system together a system that gives you the type of sound we discuss here, it is several steps above the standard definition. That is what I think is dying, and it started about 5 years ago.

I love music and great video, so I would go to a store that specialized in audio/video and the same guys were there year after year regardless of where you were, (Texas, Delaware, Ohio, NC) they understood what you were looking for and they would help educate you/me. You could see the speaker, amp, prepro, monitor and they would hook it up so you could hear/see for yourself and make an informed decision. It will sound different in your house, if you don't like it bring it back and we will try something else. For the most part that is gone. When we travel and I run across such a store, my wife knows we will be there for a while....at least I will be.

So that is why I agree with Towen.