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
Hazyj,
That's true if they can afford it! In this age of student loan debt etc, some won't even be able to afford a home or decent apartment until they're 50 by which time I don't Know how important having a state of the art sound system will be!? I hope I'm wrong but that looks to me to be the way things are trending... Sad
We just mastered an LP for a local band and I don't think anyone in the band was over 25. They wanted to hear the test pressing on our system and while their recording was not particularly impressive recording-wise, they were stunned by the increase in detail and bandwidth that a high end system brought to it.

They now know (and clearly suspected prior to this listening session, or they would not have asked for it) what a good system does and why its valuable to have one. They made that very clear.
Mapman, I would agree that we were dumbed down back then and as you mentioned with the internet and the ability to communicate world wide so easily, we are all much more informed these days. This is a double edge sword in my opinion since information can enrich our lives but can also make us more suspicious of our government & large corporations. In fact the internet is flooded with so much information that we are left with the daunting task to decifer the real truth and would have to read between the lines to do so.

Society as a whole has steadily declined and the younger folks are now refered to as the unemployable generation. This is a big factor in trying to get them interested in high end audio coupled with the fact that more exposure is needed, at least so that they can see what is missing in their lives. I personally accept the idea that I might be part of a dying breed (still makes us unique and special) and I don't plan on going anywhere too soon and have no intentions on throwing the towel in as far as my involvement in high end audio. I still do my part getting younger people to listen to the alternative with an excellent response.
Wwchange- I meant that if we're interested in bringing the kids along then WE have to pay for it! A small sacrifice considering the up-side IMO.
Hazyj, not to worry, things are picking up and the economy is moving right along. According to Obama, in the event the Federal Government runs out of money they will just print up alot more, they have done it before. Our kids will do just fine!