Politics of Audio (Linn Hi Fi, Shows, & Cables!)

Every industry has its politics and audio & video is no exception. When I decided to open Audible Elegance, I had no clue as to the either the existence of or the power of the politics that pervaded the industry. My first step, and probably the most brutal one, was becoming a Linn Dealer at the recommendation of Heybrook Audio. From that moment, all hell broke lose for years for us. This clearly affected what product lines I could sell and what lines were closed off. What became very apparent (and quickly) was that this effect was widespread with products become lumped together at dealerships. You were either of one group, or another. It took years for Audible Elegance to overcome political stigmas. Then, the industry which was a closed loop for years (only dealers could attend CES) became a new battleground with those who were open to having consumer shows and those who were opposed to it. There were a number of reasons on both sides but, once again, there became a division at the upper levels. I supported consumer shows which, ironically, has now become the standard. My favorite one, by far and away was Rocky Mountain AudioFest and I am sorry that it passed away with the founder and later supported by his dedicated wife. I heard amazing things at that show. Meanwhile, and much to his credit, Wendell Diller of Magnepan tried to see that fledgling audio companies had a chance to be heard and thus "THE SHOW." was born. While still an offshoot of CES badges, it was a sincere attempt to support the spawning of new thoughts and designs. His effort resulted in my having an ultimate favorite speaker/electronics manufacturer (that did not survive) that I will alway lust to have. I went back to their room 6 times over 4 days in Las Vegas. It was that good and in the years following, rarely beaten. The cable wars also became rather interesting, particularly with the schism within Monster Cable which spun off into MIT and later Transparent Audio. This also affected what product lines were available, or not. Add in the growth of AudioQuest, Straight Wire (which split also into Wireworld), Cardas, and others and the whole thing became a challenge to dealers. Later Nordost entered into the market, initially politically neutral but it too then became it's own world. The more potent aspect of this cable war was that manufacturers became very leary of recommending any cable to dealers or consumers alike. Why? Well, if a manufacturer suggested one cable, some of the other cable companies would not recommend their product. (Of course, this area was also fraught with concerns about results and consumer backlash from any recommendation so best remain neutral....which made sense.) Today, with the consolidation of product lines as the industry shrinks along with the retirement or passing of the original players, much of this has passed. There are still some echos of it but not much. For those of us who now have become the old guard, these memories will always remain and it helped those who remain to understand much more about the industry than most can imagine. https://audibleelegance.com https://www.ebay.com/str/audibleelegance #audibleelegance #hifi #hifiaudio #audiocables #audio #hificables #hifishows #linnaudio #rockymountainaudiofest #CES #cincinnati #columbusohio #louisvilleky #lexingtonky