More potential bad news for some big names...

The high end has been in a slow motion collapse as evidenced by the explosion of companies exclusively doing 50-100k entry level products.

It has fooled people into thinking it’s a sign of health. There actually has been no explosion, it’s just companies doing less and less volume, trying to cater to the ever shrinking pool of rich boomers with niche products that are the hobbyist equivalent of collectible art pieces.

As time goes by and boomer spending power declines one consequence will be used prices start to fetch a lot less v retail value than before and I think that is occurring now.

if Andrew Robinson's name keeps coming up: he is very smooth... on camera

not on camera he is an arrogant thin skinned bully. But that's just what I experienced in the comments several times.

Back to the subject:- re @deep_333  if I get old, I will sure give away everything I can. It better be enjoyed  by someone(s) long before I am gone :)

Like every year I went to Capital audio Fest on Sunday. It was great, I felt like I was the only one there. Had several rooms to myself like the big Focals. Exhibitors started packing up around 3. Show goes to 4.

Somehow the industry thinks that one can just sell things without advertising or promotion. No posts on forums what to expect, what is new, why it is relevant and why one should care. How are people supposed to know about this show? How is it supposed to attract younger visitors which are future premium buyers?
 

Why are  the shows not structured to show entry level rooms up to ultra premium so visitors don’t get turned off by $150.000 Siltech speaker cables right away.

Unfortunately unless one buys McIntosh it’s an immediate 50% off retail once opening the box. Not even luxury cars devalue that fast. Shows that the value proposition is off.

Why are there not more manufacturers offering upgrades to their equipment instead of planned obsolescence every 2-3 years to give some sense of long term value to the buyer? I.e my 20k Esoteric K01x is now several generations behind. It was bought in 2018. Why could one not offer, DAC board, drive upgrades to keep customers coming back? I would never buy another Esoteric again at this speed of “innovation” in CD players. It does sound good, also not needed at this time..

Last thing is that many of the people building these products are small companies with no succession plans. Why buy an ultra expensive product from someone that is hopefully another 5-10 years able to support the component? Could be solved via properly supported and licensed repair shops across the US.

Many problems today can be addressed. It would take the industry coming together  that would help everybody to benefit instead of just increasing prices.

Brands will come and go.  That's OK.  I do think the high end is likely to contract, though.

Does anyone out there live where the young adults are happy with the affordability of local housing?

More young people live in shared wall environments, which encourages low volume listening.  Even for those that can afford a house, there's other lifestyle options like gaming or home theater.

Where are Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood, TEAC, Nakamichi, Onkyo, Technics, JVC, Sony, all once significant in the mass market now become either niche producers or moved out of home audio entirely. Audio just isn't the same market as in decades past. Streaming, WiFi casting (Sonos and the others), personal audio, TV/video integrations, gaming are the spaces getting the disposable dollars. Some new interest is going to come by way of people coming to the hobby from the Chi-fi entry level products (a good development, IMO) some will come in from HT looking for better quality. It won't be the waves as from the 70s with high quality solid state  market coming from Japan making HiFi affordable compared to the previous generation of costly lower-production tube gear.