BlahBlahCafe - Jean-Michel Jarre forum

Velodynamic wrote:Well Jean Michel is all about art. His ideas doesn't follow any logic sense at all.
Once upon a time he bursted out at Sony when the CD-format was born, that it was like mass producing and selling soap to people, cold and heartless
whereafter the one and only copy 'Music For Supermarkets' vinyl album was created.
Now the same man is moving on with Apple accessories. It's as close to technological "soap" you can get imho...

Perharps, but now music can follow you anywhere in the world, you can't pack your suitaces with dozens of LP or CDs !

It sure has got its evident advantages too. My Sony mp3 player and Klipsch in-ear earphones are with me everyday at work and with the right type of equalizer curves
it sounds really smashing neet with boosted bass that breakes through all over the everyday surrounding noises from different machines.

For me its vinyl when I'm at home, iPhone for when I am out and about. Its a really nice balance

Velodynamic wrote:Well Jean Michel is all about art. His ideas doesn't follow any logic sense at all.
Once upon a time he bursted out at Sony when the CD-format was born, that it was like mass producing and selling soap to people, cold and heartless
whereafter the one and only copy 'Music For Supermarkets' vinyl album was created.
Now the same man is moving on with Apple accessories. It's as close to technological "soap" you can get imho...

I still hope the original owner one day pop's up and share's the album in a high quality vinyl rip, it's so sad that the album has dissapeared from the face of the earth, who knows if it even excists anymore
And I'm not being pessimistic, I'm being realistic

I prefer my AeroSystem One!!

keran wrote:I don't understand why he looses his time and money with those things.
Above all, I'm quite upset with Jarre for this point. He symbolised great sound, great music, futural things and so on. What does he do with such things like Ipods and Ipad, which are obviously great objects, but as sound systems, are not such great things? What about Archos, Cowon, Iriver...?

I do not understand him. Dealing wih Apple is certainly a good business, but what? Does he need that? Jarre Technologies products are not very well distributed, and are too expansive for common people.

But Jarre should have better developped instruments designs, what he was really competent for, with Lag, Roland... What was his signature as well during many years.

Creating such horrible things, for mediocre sound systems, pfff..... Who wants those skulls in his leaving room?
Why creating 4m height speakers? At this price? What is the purpose? Night Clubs? I 'don't think so. Night clubs need more qualitative systems than Ipads sound systems.

Above all, juxtapose good speakers with objects that are not top-level systems like Ipods, I just don't get it from Jarre. Even if Apple progressed in their sound systems quality since 4-5 years, they are so far from Iriver, Cowon or HifiMan, or more simply Sony.

I never thought he could participate at a geek phenomena. I wish he would create a more qualitative project. I attempted from him more ideals in sound and musical things.

I suspect he has a playful nature and he can afford to realize his dreams.
Much like a little kid who created something "crazy" with LEGO bricks . Independed of whether it is economical to be used or furnished. It is a kind of freedom and luxury that not everyone has.

In addition, he has a social meaning for his employees. I can remember how he said in an interview that his people would be like his family and he would be responsible for their.(their welfare). Through the production and sale of the sound systems, he can keep the people and pay also at times, when he have no concerts or not so much CD-sales . In the music-industry its important for him, to have good people which he can trust.

In my opinion, he wants to be unique and give the unexpected.

Velodynamic wrote:Now the same man is moving on with Apple accessories. It's as close to technological "soap" you can get imho...

On the contrary, JarreTech stuff are not Apple accessories. Apple's products becomes accessories to Jarre's hifi systems! If you have an AeroSystem One if your living room, your small iPhone will not be the center focus, it will just be a small audio source and the AS will be the main thing.

Same with the speakers of the iPad. It's a reason why JMJ is not bringing out portable players and earphones; he is not in the accessory market. Not yet anyway.

And to those that dont understand the meaning of his foray into hifi, well, you have to read some of the interviews he had made, where he explains why. The main idea is to get away from small, portable audio and give people a more mindful and physical relation to music. With the LP and CD gone and everything being intangible and easy to throw away, JMJ wants a physical connection to music, which is very natural since you cannot have music without audio waves, your ear drums and your skull.

And of course, not all products in the world are meant for the mass market. The prices are a bit high but I assume the quality is too, in terms of audio, tech specs and design. And of course you also pay for the exclusiveness of the Jarre brand. Everyone has a Sony or Pioneer or Samsung product at home, but it is a bit more fun to own a special, unique product. Jarre said in the recent Bentley/Lalique video that, "only by reaching for the top of the pyramid, you can be relevant for the everyday consumer". Something like that. He's got a point - if you try to be mediocer and put your name on a Samsung line, you will be mediocre. Car companies spend millions on formula one cars and rally cars, so they can develop better cars for the mass market. It's the same with Jarre Technologies really, they're not meant to sell as many copies as possible, but to sell enough, to those who want something special.

Video - "Jarre AeroSkull : Enceinte iPhone et Bluetooth APT-X - Cobrason":

“For me, the skull symbolises the perfect acoustic instrument – it is the sound box for word, song and music.” - JMJ

docklands88 avatar is strangely appropriate for this topic.

Elf wrote:
Jarre thinks we've become like archivists, walking around with our music in our pockets. - We no longer care about how we are listening to music. So my reasons for designing sound systems are purely artistic. [/b]

Hard to believe. Why Iphones and Ipods, which are not the best audio products in that case?
If he wants to reach the top of the pyramide, like GlennFolkvord said, or if he really cares about how listening to music, he would rather have worked on top products, like Cowon, Iriver or Hifiman, even Samsung P4 or Sony.


Apple audio products are the best example of how marketing reaches the masses which prefer to own nice objects (like ipods) despite they are not very good music players. Or how to put sound quality to the background (just the same with those horrible headphones Beats By Dre as an example: big commercial success but poor sound).
Apple has contributed to accustome masses to compromise over sound quality all around the world, since several years, just for a cool design in that case. That was very true at the beginning of Ipods: really cool players, but bad players. Yes, Apple made strides, but still no match with Sony, Iriver or Cowon as I said. No FLAC nor Ogg on Ipods, so significant!!!!

That was the same effect with the success of the Mp3 system to which Apple contributed to. How many people listen to 128 kbps MP3 all around the world on their Ipod, or worse their Iphone, using those horrible white headphones?

Today explaining grandiloquently that it is important to care about how we listen to the music, and creating high priced weard objects for Apple and MP3 music, here is a big paradox. Especially from a musician like Jarre, who mixes and works on sound since several years. He contributes to what he's denouncing!!

Oversimplifying, put a poor sounding player on a very high quality system, you still keep a poor sound. Just put a 128kbps MP3 on an Aerosystem, you just keep shit. Worse, the quality of your audio system will accentuate the lack of quality of your player. Just put a DT880 headphone on your iphone, then on a Cowon J3, just listen to the difference.

Nonsense.

Jarre is lying: signing exclusive rights with Apple, that IS only business. Jarre Aerosystems could have been compatible with all brands. Universal products, able to sound with all brands of players, which could have been bad, normal or good. That would make sense. Or creating new headphones lines.


Somtimes I'm a little tired with his high-sounding phrases: "people don't care any more about how listening to music, I'm going to change that, bla-bla..." Pretending to be the new upholder of the law, and signing exclusivity with Apple sound products which putted sound quality to the background during several years but made success all around the world. Swearing overall it's not business, pff....

Sorry for the fans, and I'm a big one, but.... Isn't it business?

I'm a big fan of Apple. I work on a Mac, own an Iphone... But if I want high sound quality, I'll never listen to music on their products. Just because I do care about how listening to music.

keran wrote:

Sorry for the fans, and I'm a big one, but.... Isn't it business?

I'm a big fan of Apple. I work on a Mac, own an Iphone... But if I want high sound quality, I'll never listen to music on their products. Just because I do care about how listening to music.

Yes ! It`s only business. This is not objectionable, he has a good reputation for excellent sound quality, and he sold its reputation also to Apple, but JMJ should not pretend to be something else.
Good music degenerates into mediocrity with bad equipment. Since we have this portable players, the music also moving into the unimportant side issue. Is for many people just background noise.