Are Sales Down

There seem to be sales on ebay that move, where pricing is reasonable. At brick-and-mortar shops, my take is that they are down. Just looking at the market, even among the survivors of the long term decline in the numbers of audio shops, the market trend seems to be toward servicing whole-home automation installations and less of the traditional audiophile market which seems to be shrinking. The online market seems to be hot, but those aren't the traditional audiophile buyers, many more focused on new entrants to the market buying headphone and desktop component systems. I would like to be optimistic that some of those will gravitate toward  the higher end market in time as their earnings and resources allow, but who knows. The independents near me have a smattering of audiophile gear, Rega integrateds, Prima Luna, and a Krell here and there. but most can't afford to floorplan beyond a few brands.

Overall, trends seem away from large home systems, fewer big floorstander speakers, more small standmounts with or without subwoofer reinforcement, fewer multi-box amplification installations and more integrated products that are room-friendly. Generally, there is less interest in high-dollar audio shrine construction with multiple plinths for speakers and amplifiers. People have less room they want to devote to the hobby. Apartment-dwellers settle for headphones and small installations that don't disturb the neighbors. Buyers want gear that delivers good sound they can live with without having it dominate their living spaces. The dedicated hobbyist that seeks esoteric products and designs is sadly become a distant outlier. (I think of the talented and dedicated English gentleman living and working at his farmhouse in France, meticulously reproducing Western Electric horns in solid wood.)