High End Audio-Gaining Higher Ground?

You make the analogy of seeking ever greater audio realism with a drug users endlessly chasing a better high. There's a great deal of truth in that analogy I think.

I think so too. Having never used drugs, although I have abused alcohol in the past and I used to smoke, my number 1 "drug" of choice is and was music. More audio realism gets you closer to the actual performance, imo. That's what I'm in this for; to get a thrill out of a musical event happenning right in my listening room. To get as close as possible to a band playing in front of you. I think that's the general idea of high end audio; to approximate the original performance. Personally, I'll never be fooled that I have a band in front of me, but you can get close, imo.

At best I'm trying to recreate the sound in the mastering studio which may or may not have a basis in real time musician performing.

To put what some people could interpret as cynicism in a more proper perspective, consider that sales of make-up products for 2013 in the US were close to $57 billion while for the same period recorded music sales were only $7 billion. If listening to music or using cosmetics to improve your physical appearance is an attempt at spiritual transcendence then clearly the general population is seeking nirvana via makeup. That actually makes some sort of sense since physical adornment probably predates making music in human evolutionary development.

But what about those people who go overboard with their make-up? At what point does it become too much make-up and instead of enhancing it begins to overpower your underlying physical assets? For audiophiles the analogous question is at what point does the sound of your system start to distract from you listening to music? With cosmetics it's easy to see how garish someone can look, or with perfume, smell. I believe as audiophiles we have a hard time seeing how garish some of our system look and sound to the general populace.

Why do you need all the make-up to look good? Why do you need all that equipment to enjoy music? They really are equivalent questions.

I have to disagree. One doesn't need all that makeup to look good; and I wonder what the women here think of that comment. Enhancement? Possibly; depending on the tastefulness of the subject and the eye of the beholder. High end audio, in the true sense of recreating the original event, is not an enhancement; it is the stripping away of the "makeup" in order to get at the natural beauty within.

It is true that one doesn't "need" all the trappings of audiophilia in order to enjoy music. It is also true that many do, in fact, use it as makeup; but, that enhancement (for example: a subwoofer turned up too loud) is a distortion and often detracts from the enjoyment to the ears of an astute listener. While some of these ideas are thought provoking and have some truth in them, I am left with the thought that if, in fact, the highend is dying it is no wonder that it is; and, ironically, it is in part because some audiophiles seem hellbent on taking away from it what is (or can be) a truly noble goal.

-
High End Audio manufacturers discussing how to get the younger generation interested in equipment is like tobacco companies discussing how to boost sales.
Maybe they need to take a lead from the Oil companies. They seem to be doing fine.
I have two younger children and I would never encourage them into High End Audio. I'm like Marley's ghost with the chain and money box on my ankle, but this stuff is electronic.
If either of my children keep any of my stuff, I hope it will be my RECORD COLLECTION!
-

At best I'm trying to recreate the sound in the mastering studio which may or may not have a basis in real time musician performing.

I would agree with that. However, to get the sound of the master tape, you need the master tape. Everything else is a copy. On the other hand, there's excellent copies out there, like very first pressings, white label promos, etc. Perhaps with mostly imperfect recordings and let's face it, there's no such thing as perfect equipment, quite a few audiophiles are the proverbial cat trying to catch its own tail. I plead guilty to this as well. You really have to sit down and spare a moment to think what you're after in putting together an audio system. This stuff isn't cheap, as you know.