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

I have already introduced my 11 year old and 4 year old to hifi,  my equipment has already been allocated to my girls.  They are well aware of what is to be theirs.

Lots of valid points, here.

I guess it depends which generation you’re assessing. The millenials I know are most definitely not more introverted! Quite the opposite- they prefer to do most things in groups.

It’s simplistic to to expect people to "just turn off the distraction" when they are getting a dopamine spike from it. And if you’ve grown up with glowing screens since birth, you don’t know anything else. You’ve been trained to wholly depend upon external stimulation.

I grew up with a stay-at-home mom, as did most of the kids I knew. We spent much of our time playing outside. Today, most parents work and neighborhoods are empty because kids are at day care or after school clubs, engaged in organized activities. When do kids just spontaneously play and engage/develop their imaginations? When I was a kid I was very focused on the natural world around me and derived a sense of peace and safety from it. I was repeatefly drawn to focus on its beauty and harmonizing effect. How many kids are given the opportunity to develop a capacity for being still and enjoying it? Instead, it’s constant stimulation-- constantly being directed into structured "doing".

Enjoyment of the arts requires a willingness to slow down, step away from the mental whirlwind and allow one’s self to be acted upon by whichever qualities are associated with the art form in question. Of course, if one has parents who value the arts and nurture this this capacity, one is very fortunate.

I could’ve simply said it appears that kids today are not developing the capacities necessary for sitting down and focusing for an extended period on any art form.

Go back further into our history and you will find that playing music in the home was a prominent form of recreation for families. It's a shame this has been abandoned.

In my younger days I felt the need to have others share in my audiophile enthusiasm and/or share in their enthusiasm, much more social undertaking in those days. Over all those years only a single short lived conversion, and this individual no longer even bothers to have his system setup, all sitting in storage. Generally, the non audiophile comments as to how clear everything sounds, end of story. Sharing with other enthusiasts was mainly for learning experience, I purposely sought out those more knowledgeable and experienced than I.

On to today, I savor my time alone with a system that provides the sound quality I always dreamed of, no need for divided attention or diversion. Illusion of performers in room such that virtually no need to manufacturer the illusion. Having people over or going to concerts has become a detriment in that I get far too easily distracted by their mere presence. Wonderful music performed by talented humans played over a high performance system in one's home is an end game activity, this one of those peak experiences, very unique and irreplaceable for me. Proselytizing to the unwashed is work for the missionaries, heaven not on line for the disbelievers here.

Here is my comment to Jay...

Well Jay, appreciate your concerns. All of which are elaborated by the 809 comments before mine. That number alone tells me the situation isn't that dire. I'm in my eighties and started out with a crystal radio and an amateur license. I'm reminded our musical beginnings that were very social and included dancing to the music with our girls.  Even from those scratchy little AM radios. Now have a silver cabled, low six figure system. Wilson, dCS, C-J, Shunyata, etc. Nobody really cares and that's okay. I really enjoy it but don't stare at the wall... I always read while listening and my wall is glass looking out at a small lake. The smartest thing I've read on this topic was by an intuitive fellow who suggested there is no lack of interest in music now but that how it's enjoyed will change. It will be different than our big boxes and tubes. Younger folks will decide how they consume their passion and in total, the same approximate but small percentage of them will be fascinated with a desire for extreme realism from their media. And they will come our way but differently. Perhaps it will look a lot like the great French manufacture Devialet with their advanced electronic, audio and styling concepts. Just stay tuned. All good.