Skills or glitter
Yesterday was as sad disappointment and a big eye opener for me. On Tuesday I delivered for the best Hi-fi Dealer of Inca Tech Claymore from the 1980,s a retro Claymore we now make. Whilst there on the counter was a DUFF modern expensive integrated amp with a combo CD player, it was opened, inside I saw cheap car stereo chips and a very poor PSU design. The whole thing looked as if it came straight from a Application Note. No new designs smaller nasty power supply, Power amp chip,s with crap thermal properties. It then struck me hard the skills of the designer of my past were all gone and this no skill type of design is now in prominent pole position, how long would this piece of kit last, certainly not 40yrs. Then yesterday this fantastic old friend/dealer rang me to tell me the new Claymore Retro sounded just like the old designs but with more holographic sound and deeper bass with lots of grunt. But it showed up equipment faults i.e. the new equipment of today is design to match the same product line, for example Rega to Rega and Linn to Linn . He also told me people are no longer concerned in the quality of the sound and the near real life presentation but only in style and can it talk to digital lies like a NAS systems. What have we done, well we have been conned. The marketing Gura,s (only to make money) have taught us incorrectly and to there opinion that this cheap shite and throw away products is best, best for who I ask?, certainly not the music or you ears and pleasure.
Now my thanks and good wish go to the staff and my friend Ian for all there help, and to show me to make a product sell it as to glow in the dark be cheap to make and die in a 2yrs, a design a 17yr old could do from a apps note, with no skills or feel for the music but worst of all no experience.
Comments
More thoughts to come.
Chin up, Col!
And also, that those craftsmen will look with dismay and injustice at how many consumers in market place operate.
in any event, we love you Col. And your skills.
We’ll buy you a tube of glitter-glue for Xmas.
It's up to us as enthusiasts to find the good stuff.
I'm trying to stop this becoming a 'beat the dealer' post, as I may end up sounding like an old acquaintance of mine ;-)
But, anyway, your friend (Col's dealer bod) shouldn't be averaging down by saying 'the Claymore shows up the faults', but should be finding the gems of equipment that can co-exist with the Claymores of this world. I'm sure there are some. Indeed, the group of us here have such gear.
The challenge is also for manufacturers capable of producing great sounding kit to produce what the marketplace wants or focus 100% on a niche of man-cave enabled design, enormous turntables and rooms lined with shelves containing vinyl. It exists, as we know.
But it is a niche that I do not occupy, and don't want those with skills going that way. As you know, I don't want my living space turned into a vinyl cavern. I don't even like the sound of most vinyl systems. A NAS system is a great thing soundwise and living environment-wise, so why the heck wouldn't the enthusiast want one in 2018? We're not back in the 70s when it was plastic-related clutter or nothing.
Returning to the main theme having wandered comprehensively through the undergrowth, I want skills and glitter. Or at least a modicum of good product design. Although looking at my systems, I can see I will compromise heavily in favour of skills.