Why do all audio forums on the internet seem "dead" ?

Audiophile forums and our hobby have not been the same since the market crash and soft economic recovery. It hardly takes Janet Yellen to predict sluggish high-end audio sales or a lack of exuberance in participation, because we don’t fit neatly into a standard luxury product model.

Audio rags have pretty much served their purpose and seen their lime light and now the scattered intellect of the web has our members more divided than ever. More/better informed? That could be debatable.

Exasperated locally by the subsequent sale and restructuring of A’gon also imo left a lot of folks less enthusiastic about sharing in the experience. And yes, on the whole, the dominant segment of audiophiles with deep pockets are growing older fast, and more cautious as well.

It takes a confluence of favorable conditions to create the robust specialized market we once enjoyed. The shear volume of high-end gear that was once available from day to day offered us a "kids in the candy store" situation which was rare and used sales fueled new sales and the overall enthusiasm. One might have thought it would never end...

There is still lots of activity everyday here. Many of those who've been here since the beginning seem put off by many of the newer members who don't treat others with respect and seem to be here to score points in an imaginary of "Who's The Expert?". For an all-things-audio perspective, this site is still the best online IMHO. It's far from dead. 

I also used to read AudioAsylum regularly, but it really seems to have less participation than ever and it feels like the average participant there doesn't really want to hear much about anything newer than the Elcaset. 

Computeraudiophile and headfi both have vibrant specialist communities. The former is teeming with knowledge and constant product updates both on hardware and software, but the tolerance is low for newbies who are too lazy to search archives before posting questions that have been covered. For me, it's currently the place with all the real audio action, even though I wish that were still here. 

Headfi is the place for all things headphones and related gear. It's a very young & global community and "My 'Murica" will need to open their eyes & hearts a bit in conversation with many ESL typers, etc. Hey, remember that their English is better than my Norwegian, Mandarin, etc!

Audio enthusiasts are still busy online, we might just all have to dig a bit more to connect. Cheers,
Spencer 

Second note;
many forums do not respect, Freedom of Speech, therefore, it is easy to be banned from these ones. Sad, but true.

As much as I hate to say/think it, the hobby's dying.  Don't get me wrong, it will always exist, but its glory days very well may have happened in the last century.  I'd agree that Headfi has very robust activity but it's not solely dedicated to audiophile (fact is, the amount of anti-audiophile ranting over there can be surprising).  For me, I love my music and my gear and choose not to lament about the state of affairs as it doesn't affect that love in any way.

The more people seemingly become connected through the web the more in fact they become disconnected to the point of virtual isolation. If it is a progress they want they may have it and see where it leads.