YouTube Indicates What the Future is For Audiophiles - Interesting Demographics.

I had a conversation in Chicago with a representative of a prominent old vacuum tube component company wherein I pointed out that at the show most all the attendees were men with "a touch of gray".  I (what's left of it is gray) asked him (also gray) how this boded for the future of his sales of their 90K amps, etc. Instead of carefully considering a few ideas to reach the younger guys with money he got uppity with me!  I further explained that it was no longer the 70s, 80s or even the early 90s and copping an attitude may have worked when their room was full of excited listeners lined up to buy their fussy tube gear but the fact remained that the universe of available buyers was shrinking rapidly. 

My point: No flexibility, no creativity, and no real plan equals death. Copping an attitude won't solve this reality. 

What's my not-in-the-biz idea?  Make a fantastic sounding integrated piece that drives a set of bookshelf sized speakers (that actually sound good on a book shelf) that costs under 5K.  That would sell IMO.  With all that lovely cash continue to build and sell had made bespoke components that us addicted guys will buy. If the first guy falls in love with music he will matriculate to the high end stuff in time. 

Just my 2 cents. I also prefer French Vanilla ice-cream and you may be a chocolate chunk guy. Just different dudes with different opinions. 

I'm guessing the demographics of audiophiles can be further filtered down to affluent old white dudes.

You mean there will be storage lockers not filled with old speakers in them soon?

The novelty isn't there. Most of the 50 yo and older group still came up in the time when good 2 channel gear was stepping out of the tube era where stereophonic recording was still a novelty. A stereo was prized possession of many young persons. So was a good collection of albums. A tape deck in the stack was an eventual addition so that your vinyl music could be portable. Tech has changed all that. Earbuds, streaming, wireless speakers have all changed the experience of recorded music, mainly due to the quantity and quality available in mobile and portable equipment. My first system, the only means I had to hear recordings for many years, was in no way portable. I had to sit in front of it and listen. Having a home system just isn't the priority as a means of enjoyment of music for younger people now. Two-channel listening is more likely to be introduced to them via earbuds and headphones, not via stacks of rack-width gear and loudspeakers. They have to be introduced to stationary listening. Vinyl is a novelty, not the necessary default it was decades ago.

Then there is the economic issue. Audiophile gear has become excessively expensive, and I am not referring to the stratospheric prices of extremely rare gear, just ordinary stuff. There are many more demands on the budgets of younger people now than there used to be, and necessities have become much more expensive in relative terms. Clunky, specific-purpose listening gear is going to have a limited appeal anyway, but going forward, it will be increasingly more so. It is a pity some commenters disparage "lifestyle" products when those are the products most likely to find an acceptable place in homes in the future.

I like what Devon Turnbull of OJAS is doing. He’s the guy making avantgarde horn systems and electronics and partnering with art galleries to produce functional art-audio installations. He’s successfully connecting with a younger crowd who appreciate art, aesthetics, creativity, and functional minimalism. He’s ‘selling’ an experience, versus flogging expensive ‘stuff’. It’s an interesting concept and a novel approach. He’s young (relatively), cool, and talented. Versus the typical audio manufacturer who’s stereotypically older, bald and boring.

He won’t save the industry but it will never die completely so long as people keep finding creative ways in which to keep us alive.

Also, a nod to Linn Audio - they were an audiophile manufacturer for decades then made a conscious switch to ‘lifestyle products’. Again, a strong emphasis on aesthetics blended with practical and functional design. While it’s still audiophile at heart it attracts a different audience, younger, more interested in convenience, aesthetics. I think Linn and a few others saw the writing on the wall. 
Maybe it won’t be a death it will just be a morphing into another form.