That is an interesting read. While much of what was stated I agree with. Some of it I do not. Yes, streaming will be the main source of music listening going forward. I love streaming right along with vinyl, CD’s and even my cassettes. For sure, there is an element of “snobbery” in the audiophile community that is not appealing. The vinyl only attitude is not helpful either. However, there are many audiophiles, like me who are not that way.
To illustrate… this last weekend I had a 20-something over to talk about audio equipment. He knew nearly nothing about it but wanted to learn. My first question to him was how he consumed music currently. The answer was through Spotify (I was not surprised). I said that is a great place to start (the audiophile snob would never say that, but it is true). So, then the discussion revolved around getting better sound from Spotify (better than his earbuds). He also wants to get into vinyl and cassettes (that surprised me).
My suggestion to him was to get an inexpensive set of decent sounding powered speakers that had Bluetooth, phono line-in (switchable to regular line-in), USB, and AUX. I showed him a good candidate for around $250. This would take care of his Spotify right away but would also allow him to add a turntable, CD player, or tape deck as money permitted.
We then chatted about my home theater system and my two-channel system (different room), how to play records, my cassette deck and CD players. I also showed him my ROON setup. I played him a record, cassette, CD, and some stuff off ROON. He was shocked how good the music sounded. It was like he was in audio heaven. His comment to me when he was leaving was… “this is where I want to get with audio someday.”
When I go to the local record store (Randy’s Records in SLC), it is me and maybe one other older dude and a bunch of 20-something “hipsters.” They love vinyl because it sounds better than their earbuds. Vinyl played through a turntable and a set of powered speakers is a better listening experience for them. That is how we get them in. It is through vinyl and through helping their Spotify and iTunes streaming sound better.