January 2022

Staying In Is The New Going Out
Our on again / off again social lives increases interest in music at home.
Editorial By Alan Sircom

  It seems like only a year ago that I was ushering in 2021, and now I'm doing the same again to 2022. It's too early to say how history will judge this decade as a lot can happen in the next eight years, and when you live 'in interesting times,' it's often difficult to step away from the contemporary. However, it's worth taking stock at this time and try to see just what happened to our little world last year and what might take place next year. Especially as 'spending more time at home' looks increasingly likely to remain high on the list of 'sensible things to do' for now!

Given that 'staying in is the new going out' might stay the positive spin we put on our on again/off again social lives, I suspect the increased interest in all things domestic audio will continue into the next year. And while the research and development cycles of some manufacturers remain in a low gear, new products will continue to be developed and well received.

However, like many similarly 'nesty' interests, hobbies and pastimes, perhaps the biggest obstacle right now is 'supply chain instability'; that product might be built locally, but the companies that make the components that go into that product might be scattered to the four winds, and such delivery logistics are prone to delays as countries continue to blink in and out of lockdowns. I know of brands that have taken months to deliver products that were 99% ready to roll simply due to something trivial like a logo being stuck on the other side of the world. We in the audio world can draw some comfort that we are not alone in this; the waiting list for Hamilton tickets and Morgan cars is as nothing compared to the one for patio furniture right now.

Audio remains wedded to the success or otherwise of the music industry, and while the latter half of 2020 and most of 2021 will go down as a quiet period for new music, there's a renewed interest in getting back to the studio. Moreover, where recent years saw bands consider a reversal of fortunes for recordings (it used to be that the album made the money and the tour was more 'promotion', it's the other way round today) the periodic enforced absence of venues over the last two years has made the recording take on renewed importance to musicians. Of course, we still need a good way to recompense them for their work!

Congratulations go out to Steven Liddle of Chester-le-Street, who won the excellent Lateral Audio Stands LAS-9 Cadenz equipment table in our recent competition. Well done!

Alan Sircom, Editor Hi-Fi+