How could High End audio be improved?

People don't have to buy Home Theater so they can hear dinosaur feet walking around their living room, they don't have to buy Bose or some crappy rack system, and kids don't have to buy recordings from a genre that has not produced a single memorable song in over 20 years. In feudal days the aristocracy determined what artists and fine craftsmen would produce. Now, the tyranny of the wealthy patron has been replaced by the tyranny of the consumer. OK, so maybe the audio consumer did not demand the digital player -- that was forced down our throats. But audio mediocrity is basically consumer driven.
The main problem for the high end designer-manufacturer is that their retailers are being undercut by the internet -- primarily Audiogon and EBay. It was possible for high end manufacturers to enjoy respectable margins when they could protect their authorized dealers from price competition. But now, you can buy pretty much anything you want at deep discount. At first glance this would appear to be a wonderful development for the sophisticated consumer -- those of us who do our own research and can bypass the retailer (or the unsophisticated buyer with an audiophile friend). But is it really? How long can the high end designer-manufacturers and retailers last under these conditions? Could savvy buyers force high end manufacturers either out of business or into less service-oriented marketing?

Products that actually PERFORM. The general public is very aware that you get what you pay for, and also aware of diminishing returns. I don't see hard core hobbiest as the real problem, a lot of us have a rediculas wealth of knowledge that would allow us to get use out of rediculasly good components, but that has no real impact on the general public as far as getting an interest in high end audio. I really beleive that the public is ready and willing to hear and buy superior products, but they have to be convinced, and the only way they will hear it is if it is available. We tend to make it worse by treating affordable high end as junk, when we are trying to convince non-believers that there is really something to it. The vast majority of us didn't start out with the most expensive component of any kind, we 'got' the bug because we heard, got proof, that buying a product geared towards true quality of reproduction was a better buy than the separate market we call 'mass market'. Where are the products that are intended to compete directly with the mass market? Where are the reviews? If they exist, are they accessable to the general public?
My solution would be to actually have them set up and performing, so they can be heard. (I don't mean just there, they should be performing to they're potential). We all know it is possible to put together an analog rig that is far superior for the money that would compell the average guy to start playing his/her records, I would suggest actually doing it, so it could be heard in the showroom and be ready, and PERFORMING, for the consumer.

Sean and Joe both have good points. I am not sure there is a problem. Hi End is what it is. I am personally excited by the multitude of choices and sometimes overwhelmed. Very few people are in to high end and almost all of them have a different opinion about whats good and whats not. Look at all the debate here about breakin, outlets, cryo, to tube or not to tube, Levison, Krell,Pass, CJ on and on. Its really hard to find any two people with the same system and everyone likes what they have. I love my stuff but others might thumb their nose at my cable or amps or pre/pro. As far as HT is concerned contemporary processors handle all standards and are upgradeable. In two channel there are no standard issues. The great thing is the competition and variety. If someone is going to spend thousands of dollars on hi end gear they should thoroughly research the products and listen to them before buying. I know some folks who are capable of writing a big check and don't know what they have or if its a good deal, but they like it. In the end that is really all that counts. Are you happy with your stuff. For most of the people who participate in these threads this is a passion which will never end. Personally I still buy and sell gear regularly just to try something else out. Audiogon and Ebay have made Hi End truly more open to everyone in that one now has a rather large selection to pick from at reasonable prices regardless of whether a particular dealer carries your product.

We must be in a down economy. It used to be a $64,000 question. Or is that adjusted for inflation?

Great thread - particularly some of Sean's comments about the insular aspects of this hobby, involving both the dealers AND the consumers. Some of that can be a real put-off.

Personally, I ran away from my first dealer experience with my tail between my legs the same way that Sean described. I've never been back, even though I've driven past it twice a day every day for the last 4 years. I've got about $17k into my various systems now, some of that would have been theirs had they been a little more in-touch.

I've been scared off by my share of know-it-all hobbyists, as well. The best tutors have been there and back, but don't pause at every point for recognition of that fact. Thankfully, that describes very few here.

I think the pricing, and the haute-sh*t attitude are both very intimidating, and most people can't get past it. They'd rather go down to Sears or Service Merch and pick up a decent Sony or Denon and call it a day, rather than feel like an Alien abductee being probed by a dealer in a dark listening room surrounded by strange kilobuck components and an eerie sense that someone is looking at their watch and clothing with a critical eye and totalling up dollar signs in their head.

Warning: This is a post takes a negative look at hi-fi.

1)Component reviews are unreliable and can't be completely trusted.
2) Spec's don't tell the whole story.
3) Dealer showrooms are set up bad- component synergy, room acoustics, etc.
4) Customer can't bring everything home to try nor can they hear everything that is available.

So it is impossible to really know:
1) What is the BEST stereo for your money.
2) What BEST suits your individual taste.
3) Would you better off spending more money or less money.

So you spend your $10,000, bring it home and hope it sounds good. If you're not satisfied that it sound as good as it should, just spend more money until it does.

Is this why there are arguments about what is the best component? Trying to convince others or yourself that what you bought really is the best?

It does not seem possible to get the perfect system so you can either:
1) accept it and walk away feeling sort of insecure about your purchase.
2) devote a good part of your life to figuring out why not.

I don't see a resolution to any of these problems happening any time soon. Maybe some philosophy here would help. Where's ASA when you need him?