[Editorial] Some Rambling Notes inspired by a recent HiFi Show Reportage

Our latest report from the Milan HiFidelity Show 2023 generated such a plethora of reactions, via both e-mail and social media, where it was the post that collected the most likes and comments of any in recent years, that I feel obliged to add some further reflections. I'll do that in a series of installments; please be patient.

The first consideration, the one that stands out the most, is that the market is so unaccustomed to criticism, even constructive criticism, that reading a report like ours...generates angry reactions, to say the least. I'll immediately clarify something, perhaps I'm pointing out the obvious, but evidently it's something that I thought, apparently mistakenly, would be obvious: those who were left unmentioned in the reportage were _not necessarily_ judged badly and did not necessarily belong to the category of poorly organized rooms, with rude or unprofessional staff, as I mentioned there. Simply put, the sound of those rooms either didn't impress me, or it wasn't in line with my idea of an acceptable quality/price ratio. Others, which by the grace of God were left unnamed, were excluded because the sound, the organization of the room or the “human” management/interface were a real disaster, but by the grace of God no names were mentioned.

Evidently, the decades of specialized press that acted solely as a support to the market, rather than to its readers, have generated incorrect expectations. Therefore, allow me to point out what, in a normal world, the role of operators and that of the specialized press should be. The former propose their vision of the HiFi market and their products, while the latter have the thankless task of drawing up the report cards, stating the good, the bad and the ugly. Why? Because it is simply logical. Otherwise magazines would be simple press agencies at the service of operators. Now, dear distributors and dealers, as long as you “hire” someone, in one way or another, it is normal to expect this someone to heap lavish praise on you and your work and limit himself, as unfortunately many online magazines do, to passing on your press releases (by the way, please AVOID sending press releases to us, as we won't publish them). Reviewers, old and new (alas!), do this, no more and no less, in a false climate of we all love each other and one hand washes the other.

However, this should NOT be the case, because criticism serves to improve our work, when someone points out shortcomings that we might have missed. For example, this is how the world of scientific research works: an author writes a paper, then submits it anonymously to a panel of likewise anonymous experts in the field, the so-called peer reviewers, who, depending on the case, can accept the work; reject it, judging it not original enough or wrong (spotting errors!); or propose improvements that the author himself had failed to consider. Many great scientific advances have been generated this way, with authors (yours truly included) sometimes accepting painful criticism and embarrassing defeats (yours truly included).

In a world that works well, there is always someone who evaluates someone else's work. Is it annoying? Sometimes it may be, but it is a necessary step in advancing the state of any art. Otherwise, let everything go as it is going, but I think the final result is there for all to see: a crazy market, with thousands of brands that realistically will have a very short life (leaving buyers lost in the middle of nowhere) or products priced beyond all reason.

I would like to ask dealers or even designers how an amplifier can cost as much as a BMW series 5, even taking into proper account the well-known economies of scale. The electronic part of such a car is more complicated to design and build than any existing amplifier or DAC on planet Earth. Prove the opposite to me, if you dare to try. And I'm not even inserting into the equation the engine, the chassis, the interiors, the bodywork and paintwork. Before you tell me that the manufacturing of high-end components (electronics, turntables or speakers) involves sophisticated and expensive processes, I invite you, dear friends, CEOs and designers, to look at the manufacturing process of a Porsche 911 or of a Pagani, to understand how the cost of no shiny cabinet in the world can compete with the automaker's costs of similar obsessive workmanship! This is real high end, my friends, the rest is lies. Flashy and luxurious, but still lies.

Morever, if you chat with distributors/dealers who have the courage to tell the truth, everyone clearly sees this market is rotten to the core. Do we want to go on like this? Do you really want yet another pat on the back to say that everything sounds good, that it costs the right amount of money, that you're all good in what you do and that every HiFi component is necessary? Do you think this approach will generate higher sales? Nothing could be more wrong, because if everything is fantastic and everything sounds great, can you explain to me how buyers should choose between products? [from W.S. Gilbert's libretto for the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta The Gondoliers: “When everyone is somebody, then no one's anybody.”

I'll say it straight out: in my opinion 90% of the products on the market are absolutely useless, pure garbage. Why? Do you remember when the cash flowed from the buyers' pockets to those of sellers? It was in the '70s and '80s, right? Maybe even during part of the '90s. Do you remember how many (few!) brands and how many products were on the market then? Let's think about it. Is it impossible to go back to a situation like that? Maybe, but can't we honestly say that the limit of all reasonableness has been vastly exceeded? Your loyal friends of the press and those yes men you seem to like so much won't say/write it; customers have little say in the matter; and, unfortunately, many of them buy “toys” for the sole pleasure of buying them, without understanding anything about the sound they would like to get, how it should be faithful to the real sound of musical instruments, or how to get there.

A good number of enthusiasts, however, still use their brains and dare to say that things don't work well and that the sound they hear at HiFi exhibitions is often, too often, embarrassing. They do not complain just for the sake of complaining, but because they care about this hobby and it makes them sad (and often angry!) to see how this market has evolved into a ridiculous, almost infinite circus overcrowded with insanely priced toys. When such enthusiasts speak up, sellers in this market would do well to remember the adage “Don't shoot the messenger.”

I have many other things to say, and they will be the subject of other ramblings. Keep your seat belts fastened and your tray tables locked in the upright position until the captain turns off the fasten seatbelts sign.

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October 2023 editorial

Some rambling notes inspired by our recent Milan HiFidelity Show Reportage