Audio for the Young - Noho Sound


Just came across the website of Noho Sound and Stereo in NYC. They claim to be marketing to the under-30 crowd and believe they have come up with the right marketing formula. They are experienced NYC audio salesmen, so I guess they believe they know the market well enough to make this work. They are running weekly music events, presumably to attract the younger crowd to their store and then hoping they will buy a McIntosh amplifier or the like. Who knows? Certainly not me. They want to make owning this stuff hip for the young to own.  Look - Beats convinced people that $500 headphones were cool and every kid wanted a pair.  So it can be done.  

https://www.nohosound.com/
chayro
But I think what these guys are trying to do is get people back to the time where having a good stereo in the house was the norm.  My parents had a Harmon Kardon receiver with EV speakers in the 60's.  All of my friends had decent hifi's in their bedrooms from the days when they sold stereo in Sam Goody record store.  I think, Wolf, what you are talking about are the high-end neurotics like us, which absolutely is a small minority.  Frankly, I think their business model of selling expensive stereo to young people has a very small chance of success, but then again, who thought that people would ever love watching movies on a 4" phone?  As I said above, these guys didn't just drop in from a cloud - they are experienced NYC audio salesmen, who believe they know the market.  Speaking of which, while I'm not in the market for anything right now, I have no desire to see this place, as they have made it pretty obvious that the over-30 crowd is pretty much personna non grata there.  That's ok.  I don't want to kill their vibe.  
Having a decent stereo rig (or any stereo rig) was the only option years ago, and if you wanted something small you might buy a little KLH radio. What I'm mainly talking about is the sad fact that high end audio generally doesn't know how to get other people interested, and certainly the shops don't support live music. I live near both a great concert venue and a couple of high end shops...the guys in the shops have no idea what's happening at the venue, and the venue operators have no interest in the audio shops.
I fully support the movement of getting the next generation into hifi, after all they're the one's driving the return to vinyl. I remember 30 yrs ago when I tagged along with my dad to the local Hifi shop in South Portland, Maine. I was 12 and in heaven with all the boxes that did different things and curvy speakers. I bought my first gear there a few years later - used Acurus & PSB. Now he thinks I'm nuts as my current system costs more than his 2 cars but hey, he literally and figuratively created this monster...
Yes bait and switch them to death! If one in a thousand gets interested then that's a good thing. We need young  audiophiles, and I think the vinyl resurgence could push a few of them our way as mcsclipp says. Love what these guys are doing, I plan to visit next time I am up there it's not far from my GFs place.
Some "youngish" people around have shown interest in Uturn Audio, a local company that makes well designed and relatively inexpensive stuff. A good sign.