Boy Scouting and ham radio got me into audio. I saw a stereo amp in the Heathkit catalog and thought it would be cool to have my own stereo in my bedroom and not have to ask my Mom if I could play a record on the big console stereo in the living room. My Dad helped me build some cabinets for the 12" coax speakers I paid for with paper route money and amazingly I got a Garrad 55b for Christmas that year. It was glorious, and my interests shifted from ham radio to music, girls, and smoking pot.
When I was a kid entertainment options were more limited. Most of the time we played outside, but if it was raining there was watching TV in the living room with the rest of the family, reading a book, playing piano or guitar, soldering together electronics in the basement, or squirreling off to the bedroom I shared with my brother to play records. In college, status was determined by how big your stereo was (nobody could afford a TV (reception in the dorm sucked anyhow). Computers were the size of washing machines and cost as much as a house (obviously there was no internet). Plenty of girls and pot.
50 years later (I'm 67), and my interests haven't changed much (note: I'm happily married to the love off my life).
I'm so happy I grew up when I did. Kids today have far more distractions (TikTok, video games, iPhones, etc.). They still listen to music, but they consume it different than we did (I mostly hate the new pop music, but all the great music from the past is available at my fingertips). I guess I am officially an old fogey, but for my interests, I am living in the best of times! I can afford whatever audio equipment I desire, listen to anything I want to, and the pot is better than it's ever been!
What do the statistics say about the age of Audiophiles and the replacement rate?
I'm unable to verify this so I'd like some guidance. I have a family member who is an authorized dealer of some really nice product lines (ARC, Magnepan, Sonus, Bryston).
He won't confirm or deny my hunch, but at his shop I see mostly older white, affluent men. I see very few middle age men and no men in their 20s. I don't keep all shop hours, but I do spend about 15 hrs./wk. there. My relative won't show me his sales demographic but I can see with my own eyes.
So my question is this: Is there an equivalent replacement stream of new blood entering the Audiophile world or not? Do you have statistical proof?
If the universe of Audiophiles (supposedly 20,000 in the lower 48) is indeed shrinking where does that leave the manufacturers and dealers?