If you're into lossless audio formats, room correction, or full surround setups with discrete speakers, receivers still have a strong case

Ahem...

> So all that is left is ultra-high end applications and there are few of those.

(and yes, I am mostly in that tiny demographic)

Makes you wonder if Sound United was struggling more behind the scenes than it seemed

We went from being able to walk into a store and actually try stuff out - compare how headphones sound, how a speaker feels in your hands - to now just gambling on Amazon reviews and hoping return policies are generous

It feels like you're renting access to your own devices

Kind of wild to think that one company now owns such a wide swath of both mass-market and premium audio brands

I think people underestimate how much real friendship is built through boring repetition rather than some cinematic, instant bond

The convenience and isolation are so baked into modern life that choosing to invest in community feels weirdly countercultural now for many

Anecdata, but quite a few people I met in alternative music and politics sphere a good decade ago, I meet again in unrelated non-music/political bubbles focused on heavy community involvement.

Further confirming the joke, many of those either apreach own or look to buy a bunch of power tools.

Today’s grown-up counter culture seems to be building sheds and growing wide variety of tomatoes.

Can we say that friendship has shifted from being an assumed part of life to something you have to consciously work at. It made me realize how rare certain friendships have become - like with my two best friends, we can go a long time without talking, but when we meet up, it feels like no time has passed at all. We don't message constantly, but when one of us is going through something, we're always there for each other. It feels like that kind of bond is getting harder to find these days.

Imagine spending 8 years on a project where your entire user interface is literally tiny hands turning a crown the size of a lentil

Right?? This is like mechanical watchmaking turned all the way up to 11, took a left turn into madness, and just kept going