What is going on? No-one buys good stuff priced right.

...for your listening 'pleasure' and perhaps a form of education:

'Industrial Disease' by Dire Straits.

Still funny, and still wayyy too true.

IMHO, all of y'alls comments have elements of the Truth.  Too expensive, too 'niche', too esoteric, too self-limiting in the modern marketplace.  We're all discovering that the digital domain is dominating the discussion of the day.  And I love alliteration, but that's just me....;)

The 'cultured ear' has become passe'...

I suspect that the majority of those of us who lurk these forums came of age and grew through the maturation of audio reproduction and the means and methods to produce and reproduce it.  We witnessed the birth and growth of a market that has become so broad and varied as our tastes in the 'how' we prefer to experience it has mirrored this growth.

You can drink a 5$ bottle of wine or a 500$ version of the same vintage.  In a blind test, would you be able to tell the difference if you hadn't sampled both in some fashion previously?

I sincerely doubt it.

We've 'created our own dilemma'.

To the 'newcomer' to 'audio', an all-encompassing system entails an HDTV w/7.1 surround linked to a digital device ('puter, I-whatever,'droid...) w/blueteeth sunk everywhere, controlled by a remote something that controls more than just that system....if they can afford that level of sophistication.  And I'm not going to heft the 10' pole towards the economy, geopolitics, and whom y'all want to blame for all of That....

We are being phased out.  Your monoblocks are going Class D, like it or not.  I'm not going to say that vinyl is going to disappear tomorrow, or even a decade from today.  But I have some transcription discs that unless I take an inordinate amount of time and treasure to resurrect them, they will still remain 'curiosities', remnants of an era passed.

'Twas always thus, and will always be such.  Things change...and a lot faster than wallets, preferences, and opinions.

*Kicks soapbox into the corner, and stalks off....*

Ha, I'd rather be a Brontosaurus than engineered mosquito. Interesting angle of view, Electroslacker.
What Sense63 and Carmenc wrote sounds sad. We'll enjoy what we have and will have but next generation..it's very uncertain to say the least.
As soon as I can I'll get the biggest baddest amps I can afford and accomodate in my place, believe you me. Let's call it both a tradition and counter-culture. And they sure will sound better than any shiny box.

" We are being phased out ". That's a little too desperate, I would say, but yes the situation is not good.
About wine analogy. Yes, you can clearly tell the difference between a so-so wine and an excellent one even if you have never tried any wine before. But any analogy has limits. Those who were 'brainwashed' with digital, and usually poor quality digital, would have hard time to appreciate fine things.

There is a lot of great equipment available for sale here on Audiogon (as opposed to Cr**g**st), and some of it is expensive, even very expensive, but no one is forced to buy anything. The summer, notwithstanding, there is a button called "Make Offer" that allows anyone to submit an offer lower than the asking price. I have noticed that some things have been sitting longer than previous years. Sometimes, it's the fault of the seller. One guy, recently told me he was too busy for a short demo, despite living close to me. I just think that, with 100%+ feedback, I deserved a demo. Needless to say, I won't be buying anything from that seller.

I have been tempted to replace my Avalons with the latest in speaker development, but the price of an even used pair of, say Raidho, Rockport, Tidal, Vandersteen, YG Acoustics, etc., have reached into the unreachable stratosphere. Even if I was able to afford an uber-speaker, I have no assurances that I will find it's performance more satisfying.  And...of course, I am left with the need to sell a more than moderately priced speaker in today's market. The days of continual upgrades may be over for me.