High end has always been a niche within a niche and it is shrinking, I do not believe that it is a dying hobby, there will always be high end, but as the market share shrinks manufacturers of high end keep on jacking up the already astronomical prices to make up for the lost sales, we will see more of them going bankrupt in the near future.
Credit goes to home theater and also the young generation who listen to free music on their portable devices, the sound coming through these digital devices is like listening to music through high frequency drivers only, but kids grow up with this and will never know what quality is all about.
Who knows maybe some of this will survive in the Far East, they seem to be more receptive to high end than the West, but we shall see.