I have noticed recently a lot more angst amongst the audio community, which in itself is not uncommon, but now manufacturers are getting involved – time for a story…

A few things have caught my attention. Those guys that spend their time writing to hi-fi magazines complaining about the price of audio equipment these days; John Darko’s video on Hi-Fi Snobbery being a two-way street (03/10/24), and the owner of a high end Swiss brand publishing the reason for a significant business change of direction (sort of).

The thing is (as the text book says) change is the only constant, and prices always go up. C’est La Vie.

Perhaps ‘Angry of Somewhere’ hasn’t bought a loaf of bread or milk in the last couple of years – Supermarket own brand filtered milk 2L £1.20 now £1.90, Coburn Cob bread 50p now £1.00. You can do the maths.

Then there’s Mr. Darko’s timely reminder that people can do what they want with their own money, and this got me thinking – how did I get to where I am with audio? It’s difficult to explain so here’s a football analogy.

Back in the 70’s my father supported what is now a Premier League team. At the age of six or seven I used to go with him to the home games, until the violence off the field became too much, and then it was time for change.

After a couple of visits to other teams in lower leagues I settled on my local team which was non-league (amateur) as it was known – no blood spilled here! I stuck with them.

In my teens I used to go and watch training on a Thursday evening and was even invited to join in. I then travelled to away games on the team coach and got to know the players and backroom staff. I felt part of the club.

This continued into adult life and although I wasn’t playing I found friends among the supporters and we travelled home and away, even overseas – it was a community of sorts. There was friendly rivalry with the opposition supporters and we got to the stage where we organised quiz nights and pre-match games against some clubs.

The only thing I would say is that, like most teams they had ambitions to play at a higher level. This however brought additional cost to the team and supporters. Plus things weren’t so friendly amongst the fans the higher you went – not for me.

I spoke with a friend of mine who still supports my father’s favourite team and he told me the cost of attending even the home games with his two children was into the hundreds of pounds per game with travel, food, match day programme, and game tickets! (recent publication of match day prices for the Premier League between £30 and £100 per game).

Here’s the point. Audio, like football becomes more expensive in the higher leagues, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself.

So what league am I playing in? Certainly not the Premier League. I guess at my time of life perhaps I could afford a classic Porsche, but I don’t have a garage (converted it to a kitchen); I wouldn’t use it to its full potential, and the cost of running such a car would be more than my living costs each month, so it’s not for me – but then I don’t go into the Porsche dealership and ask why they don’t make their cars more affordable…

Defining audio as a league is too difficult of course, and the term ‘high-end’ is widely misrepresented by the marketing demons. Like football there are varying quality levels in each division and different styles of play, so how do you decide?

One way is to find a sound that you like and if it’s affordable (to you) stick with it – and have fun. However, this does mean lots of research, time at shows and dealerships and some success and failure along the way. It seems today’s audio generation wants to short-cut that journey and go straight to the ‘best’ destination – sorry but you’ll just end up as frustrated as ‘Angry of Somewhere’ with that approach, and the journey is part of the fun, isn’t it?

If you stress about wanting to play in a higher audio league then here’s a statistic I was told by a former professional footballer (England International) – 75% of academy players in the UK don’t make it. So for you and me growing up wanting to play for your national team that’s way less than 1%… Way less!

Settling on a preferred sound rather than a brand (for me) was a route to audio happiness. I could identify ‘that sound’ where I heard it and make my list of products to try – and now I have formed a business around that same approach. You’ll see, for the most part, that the cost of components I promote fall into a certain price range. I’m good with that, and it allows me plenty of room to explore – more than you’d perhaps think!

There’s a vast range of new and second hand product out there, some starting at non-league prices (well maybe plus a half-time pie and chips) so there’s no need to sound like a broken record especially if you are prepared to put in some effort.

If you’re not sure, remember what Bobby McFerrin says and, although it’s the most annoying of ear worms, (sorry)

Don’t Worry Be Happy!