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In the Forum: Playback Listening
In the Thread: The “Inverted High End Audio” ™
Post Subject: the bigiining of the high-end marketPosted by yoshi on: 10/10/2006
I did some reserch sometime ago on how the current high-end market started. In the 60's, stereo gears were sold at electrical stores along with other electrical items. Some people had seen a possibility of specialty streo market and started so-called high-end salon in late 60's to early 70's. J.G. Holt declared the establishment of high-end market in Stereophile on 1970 or 1971 (I forgot). In the economical turmoile of early 70's, middle price products were dropped off from the production. Mass products were absorbed by then growing suburban chain stores and higher priced products went into high-end salons. This pretty much established the discontinuity of distribution networks of stereo gears we have today.
J.G. Holt, followed by Harry Pearson, and their reviews seem to have had a big impact on the high-end market, subsequently to the manufacturers. I've read many of Holt's reviews from late 60's to early 70's. His source was strictly classical and the key word in his reviews was "accuracy". I couldn't help to have an impression that "accuracy" he's talking about was that of tonal accuracy. I haven't had a chance to read reviews of HP's early days, but I suppose the key was "sound stage".
Like Jesus swept the 2000 years of western culture with the idea of "sin", the idea of high-end reproduction after 70's seems to have swept by the way those two reviewers saw fit.
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