This makes me wonder how many younger people have ever been into hifi. I have seen seen a number of discussions on here in regards to the idea that HEA is dying and kids are missing out. But again how many people on here had a high-end system when they were kids? Most of my friends all had stereo’s but nothing speacial. Mostly Onkyo receivers or something similar paired with Boston Acoustics or Polks or whatever we found in our parents garages.
Sure they weren’t considered hifi by audiophile standards but they brought hours of joy to many a kid who scraped by mowing lawns and washing dishes at the local cafe.
I’ve talked to a lot of baby boomers who are nuts about vintage Pioneer, Sansui and Marantz recievers. They just gobble them up like popcorn because they could never afford them when they were kids. I know guys in their late sixties that have 20 or 30 of them.
Those guys all tell me that almost nobody they knew had the funds to get a real high end system back then and that it was always sort of a niche hobby for the privilege few.
By most audiophile standards those old recievers would probably be considered a “lifestyle” product and not a bonafide hifi amp. But they are still more popular now than ever. All in one streaming amps are being designed by very highend manufacturer out there and similar “lifestyle” products like Sonos wireless speaker systems are everywhere. I would venture to say there are far more speaker, amp and dac manufacturers now than there has ever been. The market is huge. But in order to get younger people involved in this hobby and take the leep from “lifestyle” to hi-fi we as an audio community need to embrace the technology instead of scoff at and shun the idea that a kid with very little money could be content to listen the Chance the Rapper on an iphone with cheap earbuds.. They have to start somewhere.
The common thread here is the love of music. Most on here would probably also scoff at the music this generation listens to. I say who cares they would do the same to yours. The snobbery in this hobby needs to die. Go to an audio show sometime....white haired guys in socks and sandals. Every system playing the same tired Audiophile tracks....yawn. Sean Casey @ Zu Audio understands this very well. Say what you want about his speakers but the guy knows how to bring energy to his demos and his rooms are always packed.
Personally for me when I see companies like Peachtree, Bluesound, Devialet etc bridging the gap between lifestyle and hifi I see hope for this hobby. When I go to brick and mortar stores that do not carry any of these products and a sales staff completley ignorant of what a streamer is I see a dinosaur waiting to become extinct. To be fair most of the shops in my area do carry streamers now or are starting to. But five years ago....no way.
In the end who would you rather be, a kid completley lost in their own world with their earbuds on listening to their favorite band or some neurotic crotchety audiophile on the forums arguing about the efficacy of fuse direction and the benefits of placing wood blocks under speaker wires? You don’t get them and they sure as heck don’t get us. Not yet anyway.
