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...
