«40% Of Audiophiles Are Dying And No One Is Doing Anything About It!»

The upside to this decline in hi-fi owners (as dark as it sounds) is that there’s opportunity for the 55 and under crowd to pick up some sweet deals from the widows trying to unload all that "unsightly gear my husband left behind and I need to clear it out to remodel the room for my crafting studio. Everything must go!" posts on FB Marketplace.

I think about the decline of woodworking as a hobby in the States and how, if you keep an eye out for it, one can pick up some nice, barely-used quality hand planes, chisels, and the occasional vintage Delta cabinet table saws because neither the kids nor the wives of those woodworking hobbyists are remotely interested in keeping all those tools from the woodshop.

so, HAD top bring these quotes out:

In response to this general discussion " Time is the same in a relative way but you're older, Shorter of breath and one day closer to death" (Pink Floyd) 

This quote I remember hearing when I was in Jr High (same as middle school for you southerners). This was also the time when I spent my time mixing tapes combining Rush guitar solos into new versions with my JVC tapedeck and my parents Dual (united audio) turntable. I was focused on music and was very hungry for equipment that allowed me to immerse myself in it.

Today's generation is more introverted, the play with music, but on different platforms - garage band, other computer programs. They have more options out there than we did and mostly listen to their music on headphones, so the equipment lust is not there. it's up to us, we need to follow the verse:

"Teach your children well
Their father's hell did slowly go by
Feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's the one you'll know by"

Hopefully some of these kids will get it and not turn it back on you like the song.

I bought my son some B&W headphones, he appreciated it but informed me that I shouldn't waste money because he "can't hear the difference" We're losing...

I’ve noticed this weird correlation between listening to lps and death.  Maybe the covariance between listening to lps and age holds a clue.  

But seriously, the summer before my sophomore year in college, I used a significant chunk of my summer earnings to purchase new speakers for my system - Polk 10s for $600.  Using my handy-dandy cpi calculator, that’s $2600 in today’s dollars, which would purchase some pretty kick-ass speakers for a college student today.  So I don’t think it’s about debt levels, cost of systems today, etc.  It’s just about what younger people value, and what they don’t.  

When I was younger, the one thing a freshman in college needed before they went to college was a stereo.  For my children - the youngest of whom is now 30(!) - we had to make sure they had a good laptop (cuz they already had their phone).  And of course we don’t blink twice about spending $1000 on an iphone and $2000 for a laptop.  I use a new phone and computer for anywhere from 3-5 years (or more); my kids?  More like 1-3 years.  So it’s really just about what technology the younger generation values and want to spend their disposable income on (and of course how they listen to music).

So the obvious reason for the shrinking audiophile population is that being an audiophile was a natural progression from the way everyone listened to music 50 years ago.  Cheap console systems had built in turntables and, in many cases, cassette decks.  If you wanted better sound, the path forward was obvious.  For our children, the path forward from how they listen to music is more likely improved earbuds or headphones.  It’s just not a straight line.  So I guess Ive just convinced myself that the audiophile market is a bubble that is almost guaranteed to bust.  I’m shorting Harman shares, lol!

I'm 58 and I cannot think of any of my younger friends or acquaintances that have or want anything more than a home theater receiver and a few speakers. Most are buying "bluetooth speakers" and don't even want to know that their audio is crap. None of them sit and listen to music for the sake of sitting and listening and enjoying. Music is a background thing while they are doing whatever the hell they do for fun. It's sure not obsessing over having the big stereo amplifier to the better pre-amp. It's rare that anyone walking past my audio gear even gives it a second look or asks anything other than " I bet that is loud." It's true, the audiophile of the past is dying off. 

I'm trying to make more of "me" to carry on the interest but my wife is too old to deliver