High End Audio-Gaining Higher Ground?


This is a spin off from a meeting held by audio designers where the primary discussion was about high-end audio and how to get the younger generation interested & involved in high-end audio. One of the speakers mentioned that his son was not the least bit interested in his rig and if something was to happen to him, his son stated it all would be put up for sale on Ebay.

I thought it would be interesting to put this discussion forth to this audio community and to get opinions on the above subject. Are audiophiles a dying breed and what could rekindle this hobby for all new generations.
phd
At the Bestbuy near me the Magnolia room is located in the rear corner of the store and if you didn't know it was there you could easily miss it, and don't see many people in there anyhow, particularly younger people.
There was a line around the building though to try out the new Mario Bros Smashfest game that hadn't been released yet. There may be some renewed interest in turntables because they're "kind of cool" but like how others have stated many will invest in decent headphones to use with their smartphones not with an audio rig.
I realize you don't have to spend a fortune to get decent sound but most aren't willing to invest the time or resources pursuing it and are more than content with their Iphones.
There are just far too many competing choices for peoples time these days and the price of entry remains a barrier for many
Brands like Krell, Sunfire, Mark Levinson, Pass and even some large tube brands like VTL, VAC may be soon sold via BestBuy stores(Martin Logan, NAD, Paradigm are already there).
Above assumed manufacturers will come up with either price reduction or specific models they'd like to sell via BestBuy to the larger general public.
As a retailer I personally admire BestBuy customer service and business strategy and see the future in this giant to be able to promote our dying hobby.
Best Buy faces a lot of competition these days. A common business strategy to combat that is focus on service and quality. With the right approach a chain like Best Buy offering very good audio products that one can actually hear and audition before buying might not be a bad piece of strategy, to fill a void that might appeal to some.

They already charge top dollar for most accessories, so why not the big ticket items that fuel those as well. That might give them something to work with to compete against Amazon for example.

B&M stores these days have to offer unique value not available via ebusiness, or else....
Todays generation has been abducted by sensory overload and most do not have the attention span to sit down and focus on the nuance of great music. Music is something that is background noise while doing homework, texting, facebooking etc. My 20 year old daughter has no interest in sitting down and just listening to an album. My kids can't even sit through a family meal without being connected to some kind of electronic device.
My 22 year old daughter produces live shows, which is great for somebody with an Art History degree...