Showing 2 responses by vintageadict

Restaurants are absolutely packed where I live. It amazes me how much people spend eating out and on bar tabs these days. I couldn’t do that when I was their age unless I wanted to be a slave to the CC companies.

IMO, below is the number one reason for these companies struggle as noted in the article.

"The changing consumer market"

My kids have very little interest in large speakers and components. Even surround sound systems are not in vogue now and sound bars etc are much more common. The audiophile crowd has small manufacturers to turn to like never before and also a big selection of used equipment. Just a tough market except for super high end equipment being sold in lesser qty’s. Those that can afford this will buy what they want without price constraints so there are margins to be had.

I see companies like schit, cambridge and others finding a niche in the midfi market with small equipment that takes up less space and has minimal controls.

Your traditional recievers, components etc may be becoming a thing of the past.

It is interesting to me how every commercial has a silver faced 70's era receiver, turntable and speakers in the background. It's considered cool I guess but for looks more than real function. I have a collection of older equipment from the 70's that I still use to this day. All of that stuff is worth 3-4 times what I paid for it. There are also plenty of audio companies trying to capture the retro vibe market with components that have the vintage look. Maybe the younger generation will latch on to that once they get into the working world. I think college kids with a stereo are rare as hens teeth. Polar opposite of my years in school.