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Future of this hobby?

I took some time off work, and I read the Jan edition of Stereophile cover to cover today. In the Letters to Editor section people were writing in about what will happen to this hobby as the target audience ages and the younger generation doesn't jump on board. I am 28, and I fear that the concern is definitely real. My friends, fiance, and people my age are in love with their Ipods. That is great that they are into listening to music in whatever manner they choose. My friends and fiance all agree that my stereo sounds good but also feel that stereos bought at discount retail stores fill the same need and have no interest in spending the extra cash.

Also, I went to a couple of Chicago Audio Society meetings to see if I could make some friends that shared my interest. I felt a little out of place though when I was the only person in the 20-30 demographic out of a population of forty people. Further, there may have been one or two people in their late 30s and probably half of the people were over 50.

The only conclusion I can reach on this subject is that lesser products are meeting the needs of people my age, and I don't forsee the younger generations waking up one day and deciding to sell the MP3 players so that they can buy high-end turntables. In 20-30 years as much of the current audiophile population ages and some move into assisted living or other arrangements where these elaborate and space consuming set-ups are no longer wanted or needed, the few remaining young people that actually care will be able to take ownership of kick-ass systems at steep discounts. I along with any kids that I have will have our cash ready in anticipation of that day.
firecracker_77
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I agree, Firecracker_77.

We are living during a massive paradigm shift in entertainment, akin to the move to home stereo from radio, and to the move from radio to television.

High end audio will continue to be enjoyed by an increasingly older demographic, until eventually the equipment becomes like collectible...like old tube radios.
robm321
932 posts
 
I think it's a small group and will remain, but I don't fear it will go away at all. There are young people on this forum and with the internet (which is where I discovered that there was such a thing as high end audio) it will reach people that are into music and value quality.
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
Great post! The fact is that the arrogant manufacturers of high end gear, with a few notable exceptions, have continued to make the gear uglier, bigger and precipitously more expensive. Having wires all over the living room and speakers the size of the monolith in 2001 does not meet the needs of modern living circa 2006. Nor does displaying umpteen large black boxes. If that was not enough to alienate new converts to the hobby, then the prices will certainly turn them off. Audio is no longer a status symbol; the days of Hef, in his smoking jacket, next to a reel-to-reel, in Playboy are long, long gone. And the elitist attitute shared by many audiophiles, retailers and manufacturers alike is just one more nail in the coffin. The ipod and Bose wave radio fill the need of modern consumers, they are compact, intuitively easy to operate and elegantly styled. All of this is lost on the dinosaurs that perpetuate the old order while whining about diminished sales and flagging interest.
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