I believe there is more to the current lull than our typical seasonal swings, or economic conditions, and that the high-end market may indeed be shrinking as @cooper52 pointed out earlier in this thread.
The point is that the market does seem to be shrinking and we can point to any number of factors affecting it. I'd put market-saturation at the top of that list, followed closely by an aging constituency (I guess I fall into that category) and then the fact that HEA doesn't seem to be attracting a younger following. My recent visit to the California Audio Show in Oakland was a bit of an eye-opener in that regard: I'd guess the average age of the attendees on the day I was there was somewhere in the late 50s.