What's going on with the audio market?

I would be interested to hear from any producers and or retailers of audio equipment that may have already posted or are watching this thread. I’m curious as to how much walk-in (if you have a storefront) vs. online sales (ratio only) as well as if you know the demographic or your buyers?

additionally, you’ll most likely always have the niche diehard audiophiles attention but what are you doing to reach the mainstream consumer?

Most of my friends have never heard of Pass Labs, Rogue, VPI but they certainly know McIntosh and Marantz (hell, even Crutchfield has gone all in on McIntosh.)

how do you underpin your value prop to newbies, how do you simplify the complex?

seems as though VPI has tried this with the Traveler TT and Rogue with the Sphinx. Peachtree is another that comes to mind as well as Sprout.

These are not high end items however they can serve as a gateway...

"...they can serve as a gateway..." 


...to hell...

I believe it is difficult to assess the direction of high-end audio from sales on Audiogon and other used on-line markets, but attendance at Axpona was reported well up from previous years, as was the show in Munich. Reports of increased attendance by vendors and observers.  Maybe the Russian, Asian, and wealthy European  markets will keep the Hi-fi world alive. 

Check out some of the uber-high-end...must be some mega-wealth buying these stuff.
https://www.audionirvana.org/forum/title-to-be-added/audio-shows/munich-2016/13663-some-shots-from-m...

Jfant...you may want to keep your ignorance of what drives world markets and fiscal policies to yourself.  Your Fox-y source of information is showing.

@infection ...hilarious..

I would have loved that when I was 16 in 1991.
So what did you have at 28?

Thanks.
Let's see, so late in 1987 I discovered a small company called Reel to Real Designs through a small ad in the back of Audio magazine. They had a speaker out called the Legacy 1's that I bought in early 1988. The company has grown much bigger over the years, and now calls themselves Legacy Audio. The Legacy 1's were their top of the line at the time, and sold for a whopping $1600 (a lot of dough at that time). Now I believe they are called the Legacy Classics HD, and are almost bottom of the line.
Bill Duddleston was working out of his garage at the time. Good old days.

I paired them with a PS Audio PS-200CX amplifier and a PS Audio 4.6 preamp with the separate power supply. I had a VPI HW-19 Jr turntable with a Dynavector 10X4 cartridge. By now, I had a CD player too, as perfect sound forever had been released upon the unsuspecting public. I had a Sony, but I can't recall the model number. It was much better than my first CD player, a Fischer, in 1985?

Been chasing the rabbit down the rabbit-hole ever since. ;^)