What's going on with the audio market?

I believe it is difficult to assess the direction of high-end audio from sales on Audiogon and other used on-line markets, but attendance at Axpona was reported well up from previous years, as was the show in Munich. Reports of increased attendance by vendors and observers.  Maybe the Russian, Asian, and wealthy European  markets will keep the Hi-fi world alive. 

Check out some of the uber-high-end...must be some mega-wealth buying these stuff.
https://www.audionirvana.org/forum/title-to-be-added/audio-shows/munich-2016/13663-some-shots-from-m...

Jfant...you may want to keep your ignorance of what drives world markets and fiscal policies to yourself.  Your Fox-y source of information is showing.

My interest in audio began at a very young age of 6, when I stayed up listening to am radio hits.  Eventually, at 9 I received my first compact record player, spinning 45's and by the age of 11 33's.  Although, I always had a great desire for sound quality, it took until my early 20's to discover that audio could come close to replicating the live venue.  
Throughout the last 50 years I have personally known maybe 6 people...outside of the audio world...who cared about audio equipment.  It has always been on the periphery.  All  my friends, from high school on, just jammed tunes on their 8-tracks, cassettes, etc.
The explosive pricing for top end equipment appears to be nothing new.  Back in the late 80's I was astounded to read of a $7500.00 amplifier.  Now, that's on the lower end of the tier.
Personally, I don't see a drop in audiophile interest...it merely seems to  exists in the same world of esoterica as always.