High End Audio-Gaining Higher Ground?

There are many good bands out there today but it seems for the most part we're shielded from it for some reason. Perhaps not enough advertising money in it for that demographic? I'm fortunate to live in an area that has a member funded radio station (wfuv) which exposed me to many excellent bands and artists I would have otherwise never heard of. I've long ago had it with the classic rock stations. There is also another station in Westchester county which is privately owned that is very good as well
I tend to think these type of stations are few and far between limiting us to what advertisers and promoters want us to hear

My response to a few good points above...

Yeah, high end stereo stores suck. They will die off completely over time. Online is the future source if all high end audio. 5 years ago it was hard to buy any high end audio online. Now there's lots of it available. It will continue to go that direction.

No good modern music??? I laugh at that. We are experiencing an explosion of superb new music. More available than ever before. PM me if you want to be on my free email list for new notable music.

I agree completely that young people already have a cheap option for excellent sound quality. It's called an ipod. An ipod actually sounds very very good. Even compressed 256k mp3s sound great. And if you invest $90 in a decent pair of earbuds it can sound excellent. That's the ugly truth.

There are many good bands out there today but it seems for the most part we're shielded from it for some reason. Perhaps not enough advertising money in it for that demographic? I'm fortunate to live in an area that has a member funded radio station (wfuv) which exposed me to many excellent bands and artists I would have otherwise never heard of. I've long ago had it with the classic rock stations. There is also another station in Westchester county which is privately owned that is very good as well
I tend to think these type of stations are few and far between limiting us to what advertisers and promoters want us to hear

Enitely too much snobbery in it's current state. I would assume most if it will die off and then encounter a renasance at some point in the future.

So my 15 year old son had a bunch of his friends over for a birthday party. What did he do beforehand? Pull out a bunch of his albums (yes, vinyl) and laid them out so that they could choose what to listen to while they hung out and played video games. Gorillaz, The XX, Green Day, Coldplay, etc. He was interested in music from the time he was born, and I did my best - giving him my Dad's old Technics table, Infinity bookshelf speakers and Yamaha receiver. I bought him some of the records, and bought him a Project Debut Carbon when his older table died. My Dad did similarly for me - in fact, he bought me those Infinity speakers for my 13th birthday (some 35 years ago). I'm sure in part I'm just lucky. My daughter couldn't give a lick about a stereo... but she plays piano and sings beautifully. She gets songs stuck in her head and has to play them.

Separately from my personal experience, I've been hanging out on the Facebook vinyl communities - Vinyl Addiction, Vinyl Junkies, etc. I'm surprised at how many women are there, and how young they are. One really smart, active poster has to be about 16 years old. She's awesome. Most of the people there are resurrecting old mediocre tables and receivers - or maybe considering the Project Debut Carbon or Music Hall but are afraid of the prices. They're buying lots of thrift store and Craigslist vinyl. Great music from the 70's and 80's for $2 or $5 a pop. Jack White's Lazzaretto just broke a 20 year old record for vinyl sales in the first week. Many of these folks will step up to higher-end audio if there's a path for them. The future is good.

Do I have concerns? Well, yes. High-end companies keep going higher. $20K components, which are now common, are not exactly a stepping stone. But... For every Ferrari that a 20 year old lusts after, 10 VW GTI's will be sold. Artists are having a hard time making money on streaming music, but for fans finding great music has never been easier. It's not what it was once, but it is what it is now.