I don't see any evidence that that the audiophile hobby is dying or even shrinking.
1. There are more audiophile brands every week. I see company after company coming onto the scene with new gear at all price levels. Peruse the latest Music Direct catalog and tell me this industry is dying.
2. The market for used gear is larger than it's ever been. Browse through all the ads in Audiogon and USAM. The great majority of this gear is coming from people who have upgraded - a critical source of revenue for the industry.
3. The upper end of the market has been exploding with new companies specializing in 6 figure equipment and new model introduductions at a rapid pace.
4. The lower end of the market is also rapidly expanding with amazing new products introduced every month. You can put together a really good 2 channel system for under $5k if you are just streaming. $15k buys you what would have been considered top end sound a couple decades ago.
5. The number of retailers has indeed shrunk but the retail industry has regionalized to accomodate the cost of flooring and demonstrating high priced gear. If you are going to buy piece costing multiples of $10k you will travel a few hours to hear it.
6. Yes, the high end is dominated by geezers. We're the ones with the money. But there is always a crop of middle age music lovers waiting untl the kids get out of college to start putting together their dream system.
7. The two major audiophile publications (TAS, Stereophile) are vibrant and healthy. They have plenty of advertisers to support them and each issue brings ads for new companies and new models. How many cable companies do we need?
8. Audiophile shows are booming. We now have shows all accross the county and attendance regularly sets new records. Journalists are seeing an increase in younger people and women at the shows. The hotel hosting this year's AXONA sold out months ago.
I've been involved in this hobby for over 50 years and I can tell you that it's always been on the verge of extinction. We audiophiles love to get twitterpated about how we're the last great hope. However it's now bigger than it's ever been and it is growing across the range of price and quality. Those geezers you see in your family member's audio shop have always been there and in a few years there will be a new set of geezers to take their place.