[AetherDrive]

I’m just sitting here drinking my morning cup and browsing the internet, just thinking about the possibilities that could present themselves in the near future…

Technology is advancing globally across all fields at breakneck speeds and it’s not slowing down. In the last couple years we’ve seen this space explode with new interest and with it new ideas from single person boutique designers who’ve been enabled by 3D printing to the now popular chifi companies that have an aggressive iterative release schedule. In the last decade or so, planars have boomed with popularity and composite material sciences are allowing for more an even more diverse choice for dynamic drivers. Plus, the advent of, actually good, bluetooth headphones and TWS earbuds that have an all-in-one package, the market has never been this diverse with choice.

With all that said, where do we go from here? What are the trends, products, design goals, etc that you are coming out of this space in the near future and what is that you are looking forward to the most in the coming years?

 

[draytonklammer]

I'm very curious to see what happens with solid-state silicon drivers.

 

[Ciggavelli]

3D sound, like with the Smyth Audio Realiser A16. More surround sound mixes. I have a gaming headset with 7 drivers in it for true 7.1 sound. It is pretty amazing. The A16 Realiser does a pretty close approximation, with the benefit of using Summit-Fi headphones. They already have Atmos on the Tidal app on mobile. If they release Atmos on the desktop app with lossless albums, that could be a game changer

Next, hopefully we’ll get new driver types or maybe mixed drivers in high-end headphones like we see with IEMs.

 

[Davidzak64]

 

[Thomasr]

20 years ago, nobody would have predicted the resurgence of vinyl. I think the coming years will see a continuing - and possibly increasing - appreciation for analog gear and just good, honest presentation of stereo recordings.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

- IEMs will be getting better and better and will push full size HPs out.
- Portable dongles will reach the level of desktop counterparts and with lower power requirements for now dominating the market IEMs will make desktop amps/dacs obsolete as well.
- Online streaming will be the primarily source of listening material, if it's not already

 

[SilverEars]

The hobby will die out.

 

[TheDJHastings]

I'm not sure I can speak on where I think the hobby is going, but I can speak on where I would want it to go. There seems to be a massive problem in that it seems like headphone engineers are generally unable to meet the comprehensive set of criteria that audiophiles want out of headphones. Where I hope the industry goes is to put a lot more money and effort into r&d so that accurate theoretical acoustic and psychoacoustic models can be proliferated throughout the industry.

When I say accurate, I mean models than can deliver a set of engineering specifications that can reliably meet functional criteria and reliable attenuate known issues that headphones ruin into.

I'm envisioning something like the harman curve but for the entire spectrum of headphone theory.

 

[Spareribs]

If tubes can still be made, I think traditional tube amps will still continue. The reason is because many high quality designs are surprisingly simple with a simple signal path and a circuit board is actually not necessary and not even used in many cases and they sound great…..Another reason is because a traditional old style tube amp is easy to repair which can make a huge difference in its desirability. You basically own it for life like a cast iron skillet

If an old formula has great sound, there is no reason to change it. Which is why pianos, guitars, violins, etc….never change

 

[earmonger]

Wireless brain implants as easy as microchipping your pet.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

With all that said, where do we go from here? What are the trends, products, design goals, etc that you are coming out of this space in the near future and what is that you are looking forward to the most in the coming years?

There were always two camps, one more towards the purist audiophile and one more towards the gearphile. This continues and will probably continue.

The question is whether the next generations see the value in sound or gear, since music gets less good as the decades go by.

20 years ago, nobody would have predicted the resurgence of vinyl. I think the coming years will see a continuing - and possibly increasing - appreciation for analog gear and just good, honest presentation of stereo recordings.

I look at it a different way... after we went from 78 RPM records to 33 1/3, and then when 8 track and cassettes and MP3 and CDs came out and didn't do it for us, many of us didn't believe there was any reason to move away from vinyl and didn't think it would ever go out of style.

In the 1980s when I first heard a CD at an audio shop, I swore off digital due to the bad sound quality. I stayed with vinyl and didn't buy any digital gear for more than 20 years after that.

Wireless brain implants as easy as microchipping your pet.

We will refrain from asking the question how you seem to be able to state that with certainty

 

[aabw]

analog will always trump digital but portability is where they may start to create separation

 

[bangraman]

As long as there is a human in the mix, there will always be enough delusion and pretension to override, or integrate that delusion into, advances in signal processing tech. So I think we can safely say that analog will remain with us for quite a long time for example, even if it's cyclic.


In terms of the more mass market, I think it's just as likely that ML will change what we listen to and not just what we listen through - which will continue to evolve to be more pervasive / general purpose with the eventual mashing up of phones and AR headsets (something that I've been saying will happen for 15 years at this point, and still think it will as any concept of privacy erodes through increased convenience). This may lead to a Spotify Premium for virtual performances for example, where the experience becomes just as much about participation as listening to the music.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Soon the line between audiophile purchases and simple marketing with be farther apart......and new newer generations will think they have approached fidelity, when in truth it was the results of better marketing making those youngsters of the future pay more for less. Yet because they believe it to be more........ somehow they will reach total satisfaction nonetheless........and be totally happy.

 

[bagwell359]

Soon the line between audiophile purchases and simple marketing with be farther apart......and new newer generations will think they have approached fidelity, when in truth it was the results of better marketing making those youngsters of the future pay more for less. Yet because they believe it to be more........ somehow they will reach total satisfaction nonetheless........and be totally happy.

In the 70-85 timeframe it was very common to see an apartment of single men (mostly) with the stereo as the centerpiece of the living room. Pre cable, pre cell phone - it was a different time.

Then the era of HT, walkmans, and music with heavy electronic bass. The mushrooming of the cost to enter the "high end" or even good mid-fi is also a major factor in splintering the market. Mail order/Best Buy vs high end shops. The market is broken into quite a few sub-groups.

Technology will move forward, marketing will be there hand in hand. The "high end" will be a niche as it always has been. Those who grow up on live unamplified music in this technological society are fewer and fewer. Ability to discern musical truth and technology can go hand in hand, let's hope that continues in at least some of the market.