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Passed on only to a minority--GREAT 1950s hi-fi at home image




At the risk of being called a pseudo-intellectual, and at the greater risk of sounding like a broken record, the post-WWII era saw a constellation of social phenomena that provided a singularly rich growth medium for hi-fi as a hobby.

Part of it was the number of men who received technical training while in the service. Dynaco could not have prospered, if nobody knew how to solder. Part of it was promotion through mass media that a hi-fi was necessary for "the good life." Part of it was that hi-fi got its foot in the door before television took over the domestic sphere, and even then, for a while at least, TV worked with, rather than against hi-fi. "Peter Gunn" soundtrack albums, Miles Davis TV specials.

That post-WWII generation passed hi-fi as a hobby onto the next generation. As I wrote in the AWSI "It Takes More Than Martinis, Mister!", through the early 1970s, hi-fi (it is difficult to overstate the importance of Hugh Hefner's love of jazz in this regard) was viewed as essential to a young man's establishing himself socially and romantically. But by the mid-1980s, big-screen TV replaced hi-fi as the aspirational good. When young men first saw "Top Gun" on a 10-foot screen, audio got thrown under the bus.

To repeat my mantra: the Latin Mass is not going to go away, chess is not going to go away, and hi-fi is not going to go away. But now all three are minority enthusiasms.

Hi-fi will remain a vibrant hobby for a dedicated minority. However, it will be more and more difficult for businesspeople to make a buck on it, especially those who have the overhead of a brick and mortar commercial building.

Honestly, the profusion of regional shows is as much a sign of distress as success. But I just wrote about that last month.

JM

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