Future of this hobby?

OP, 

Your insight into the "audio hobby" is absolutely brilliant.

I'm also 28 years old. Unfortunately, people these days can't be bothered about achieving objectively better performance from audio gear. They don't want to learn or hear about technical jargon.They simply want technology to work for them seamlessly.

- is it loud enough?
- can i hear the lyrics?
- does it have good bass? 

These are the 3 main requirements for of the average person who is not an audiophile / audio enthusiast. Party speakers, bluetooth speakers, and average home theater systems are all they need. 

There is one big problem with this hobby...far too many folks lose sight of the real objective: The ability to enjoy our music unconditionally. You don't need a super-expensive reference system for that. Just ask Steve Hoffman...heck even my main system is too accurate on most tracks. Mastering errors galore!!  I have to remaster the tracks so I can enjoy them again.

Try this:
Let go from being analytical about the performance of your system. Don't try to pinpoint what is wrong with how it sounds or what can be improved upon. Just kick back and enjoy. - focus on the lyrics, the emotions, and the overall feeling that you want from that song or album.

Most people are in this exact state of mind - Therefore, Lo-Fi audio does not bother them.

As for the future of this hobby...You will have 3 classes of audiophiles.

Class 1: They are tech savvy and understand audio at the studio level. They don't buy into bogus claims in audio. If they buy a costly piece of audio gear - that purchase would be justified by their knowledge and expertise. Over the years, they can experience unique set-ups and are fully satisfied throughout the process.

Class 2: They are clueless about how to match gear together, are not tech savvy, and buy into bogus claims in audio. If they buy a costly piece of audio gear - that purchase would be an impulse decision. Over the years, they pour tons of money into this hobby without experiencing much enjoyment.

Class 3: Act like they know everything, but have little to no practical knowledge to apply. They make bogus claims and dispel all truths with incoherent arguments. Stubborn as mules.

Overall, great perspectives from other posters too. 

Cheers!

Considering that this thread is over 15 years old, it appears that there's still a future for the hobby.

Right. LMAO! The OP was 15 years ago. Here we are today, high end bigger than ever, LP sales actually greater than CD, not exactly the extinction event prophesied in the "great perspectives"!

You want a truly great perspective? Doomsayers been doomsaying since like forever. Doomsayers are everywhere! The genuinely great perspective you are missing is that people are not little robots following the simple path you imagine. High end audio costs money. High end audio calls for leisure time. Young people busy working building their way in life tend to not have much money or leisure time. When they get older, completely different story.

Let them have their iPods and their Cardi B. The innate human desire for music and the connections it brings are not going anywhere. Meanwhile all the great audio gear is only getting better and better. There really is no downside. Doomsayers notwithstanding.

"Here we are today, high end bigger than ever..."

We like to fantasize that way, but how big that high-end really is? How many high-end speakers are sold these days? Pick virtually any definition of high-end. Include Tekton, Wilson, Wharfedale, Magico, whatever you desire and at various price points and let it be high-end. Same for amplifiers and other devices. I know only one person that has anything anywhere close to resembling the thoughts of it. Some years ago, all my friends had what was decent systems for their time. Only one has it now. The market has gotten smaller not because those who were once interested died, but because they lost interest in having some system beyond basic reproduction. They could afford it now even easier than then and still no real interest.

The fact is that technology has advanced so what was high-end then is just an average performance today. Maybe people simply do not need anything better than a certain, but still decent, threshold.

Not to go into calculations about vinyl sales again, but that market exists and is so small that it is silly to constantly bring up that they sold more than CDs. Two is double than one, but is still only two.

Really, are there any numbers anyone knows that could be attached to "bigger than ever"? Quality for sure, number of units sold who knows.

Doing repair work I am constantly busy repairing, upgrading, and building customer components for people.  Not sure what is selling with the big names but I cannot keep up.