The death of ultra hiend audio

In my 'main' sound system, I have components from:

• United States (Schiit Audio -- DAC and monoblock amps)
• Canada (Bryson -- preamplifier)
• South Korea (HiFi Rose network transport)
• England (B&W 803D speakers)

They're all companies that are doing fine, and none of them go for the ultra high-end, except maybe for B&W with the very top of their line.

My own feeling is that ultra high-end audio is kind of like ultra high-end cars; not very many people buy supercars or the like. 

But a lot of people buy mid-Lexus cars, and I think a lot of folks buy at the mid-price for audio, as I have done. My most expensive items were the speakers. (I bought floor models at a stereo store in San Francisco that was going out of business and saved some money.)

The trick here, to me, is that my good system (which cost about the same as a Toyota Camry), sounds a million miles better than anything I could have had earlier in life, when it was record players and maybe a cassette player later on. And my current system is also flexible, running Roon with access to Tidal, able to stream in three other rooms of my house. 

So the overall audio market looks pretty good to me, but the ultra-high end may always be something of a glamorous invalid. As has been said a number of times here, only the very few can afford those. And whether they're *that* much better is questionable at best. 

I built my first home on the side while working a full time job and built or helped build a few since. When you consider the amount of labor, materials and hoops to jump through it takes to build a nice house, it bothers me not at all, that someone can’t stay in business building and trying to sell audio equipment for hundreds of thousands of dollars. When I see cables and cords selling for thousands of dollars, and think how ridiculous, I’m reminded that not long ago someone taped a banana to a wall, called it art and someone bought it for two million dollars. So whatever  you can get away with I guess, but some of us still live in the real world.

I started buying HiFi in the 70’s. As I look at YouTube today and watch videos about gear that costs tens- and hundreds-of-thousands of dollars, I just laugh. And the best part is, the guy that’s selling this stuff is wearing a suit.

I contracted this 'Autiophile Disease' in my early college years (late 80s) and have followed the industry since. However, I have to say that I have never been as disgusted with pricing (all levels of gear) as I am today. The audio industry is capitalizing on this excellent economy, as any good business would, but when the merry-go-round stops, I'm not sure what's going to be left. 

This current economy is being propped up and is not as rosy as perceived. Jobs are becoming scarce, inflation is rising, and housing is all over the place. I hope the audio industry is ahead of this curve because when people can't pay their mortgage, they are not buying gear. The wealthy will have the resources, but even they economize during downturns. As for the majority of the market, it might be rough sailing if we enter a recession. 

There has always been stratosphere pricing in this industry, but as the baby boomers hit retirement they have done very well with the ponzi economy and now are splashing out on their hobbies and passions.

Not just audio, see classic cars from 60/70's as an example.

So there is now a large and increasing amount of audiophile brands doing low volume catering exclusively to this class.

But the wall is coming. It will start with the used market which is already struggling. By the 2040's all this ultra hi end gear will be flogged of for next to nothing in estate sales, like vintage wood furniture is now.