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I wonder how many audiophiles there are these days

There’s a lot of speculation about how this is a dying hobby. I’ve been at this for 40 years, and it certainly isn’t what it used to be. In the old days there were cars and stereos as “toys” and that was about it. Now there’s a long list of competition, together with a general lack of interest in high end sound quality (Pono didn’t make it, which was no surprise). 

My kids friends come over (millennials) and I often get a “wow”, and that’s about it. I keep an old vacuum tube in a drawer to hand them, for the inevitable question “what are those?”. Then I tell them about how I’d go to the drugstore with my dad and do the TV tube test as a regular activity, which usually leads to a strange look and a sudden desire to know what’s for dinner. 

Anyway, there are still many high end equipment companies, probably more than ever, but it’s likely most only sell a handful of units. Serious audio stores are pretty rare, witness the road trips some of us take to just hear a set of speakers. 

If if you define “audiophile” as someone that is seriously interested in this as a hobby, does serious research on components, and is willing to spend a significant sum (which is totally relative), how many of us are there? I suspect at least 10,000, but not more than 50. Total guess, I’m hoping it’s higher because it’s a great hobby and I’d hate to see it get any more rare. 

Probably more important, is whether interest has stabilized. I think it has. There seem to be a lot of younger guys in these forums as well.

What do you think? 
JL


glow_worm
glupson
7,842 posts
 
These days, things we like to call "systems" are somehow still relevant. Give it a decade or so, when every current 15-year-old is starting to be a major factor, and it will be no more. As whoopycat suggested, Bluetooth speakers and headphones are probably all that will remain at any level of significance. Some may be better quality (think Dynaudio etc.) but sound quality is not on minds of current teenagers. iPhone speakers are just fine with them, even when given some "more sophisticated" option.
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,540 posts
 
There used to be a ’Statement of Ownership’ printed in the back of magazines in the November issue that gave circulation numbers for that year. There isn’t one in this year’s Stereophile or TAS so maybe that regulation has been discontinued. However, in last November’s Stereophile, the "Total Paid Print Copies + Paid Electronic Copies" monthly average for the preceding 12 months was 68,451, which is not fantastic but enough to feel reasonably good about the number of people still interested in audiophile gear.

I think another measure is the number of companies making audiophile gear. If no one’s buying the stuff, you are gone pretty quickly. I think there are more audiophile companies making more audiophile gear now than ever before. There are probably more companies making high end turntables now than there were makers of all types of high end components in the early 80s.

Every day there are a couple hundred items listed here and I assume most of them sell eventually. I know the stuff I have listed has sold.

The internet has made the buying of audiophile gear less obvious than when there were more local shops around. Remember when shopping malls were packed with stores and shoppers? Now most of them are empty but people are buying more stuff than ever.
corvaldt
9 posts
 
There will be lots more than that. In America maybe, but here in Europe there are new shops opening up from time to time, but Audigon is not wholly relevant because many of the higher end products available in the States are simply not sensible to import, so there in no opportunity really to listen to them. 

And then factor in India and China. I don’t think the hobby is going to die out soon! 
djones51
4,947 posts
 
Seems to be a lot of companies building expensive gear so someone must be buying it. Whether they are audiophiles enjoying this gear or statement pieces playing in the background who knows and I doubt the companies building it care one way or the other. How many audiophiles are out there? No idea, per capita might be the same , a lot of young people now use cheap bluetooth and ear buds with their phone but when I was young a lot used cheap speakers all in one turn tables and small transistor radios with ear plugs. It's a niche market always has been.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Fabio was an audiophile.

He invited the well known reviewer Larry Archibald over to see is Fabulous 😀 high end audiophile system. "When I’m with my stereo, I’m in my world," Fabio told Archibald. Fabio explains,

"The big black columns are speakers, one is just for the woofers, the other is for the mid-range and the tweeters," he said, pointing to four 8-foot speaker columns, two on each side of his giant Sony video monitor. "Here you get very complicated because you got 12 sub-woofers, instead of one; you have 76 panels in each column between mid-range and tweeters. Then you have a special crossover. ..."

He could have mentioned, as well, the 2,000 watts of power that rage beneath the high-tech, custom-finished stalagmites of sound.

Like a lovesick suitor, Fabio explained to Archibald his decade-long passion for Krell Industries product-especially the company’s "monster" amplifier-and how he once picked up the phone in an effort to meet the CEO of the company, which is something you can do when you’re one of the most recognized people in the world.”
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