Audio for the Young - Noho Sound

Looks like a cool shop. I saw a less ambitious cool shop in Paris last month lots of turntables, some cool looking speakers, lots of cool looking retro MCM consoles and bluetooth devices. A few small form amps from folks like Rega and Micromega. Lots of young hipstery looking dudes. It was nice to see and nicer to see here in the states!

I think they’re trying to convince the young that a "stereo" is a necessary part of your existence, the way it was for kids when I was young. It was something you had to have. I’m starting to see more and more traditional stereo systems on TV - one commercial, I think for insurance, has a couple with a pair of the old JBLs with the white woofers in their apartment. The people who put this stuff together are supposedly in touch with the latest trends. To me, banking on the under-30 crowd for high end is risky business, but it is NYC and there are a lot of trust-fund babies running around.  As I said above, these guys have been selling audio in NYC for a lot of years, so I would think they would know the market.  I guess. 

That was a GEICO commercial and the speakers were JBL 4312's (I have a pair!). Also seen on a rack were a turntable, integrated amp and LPs! 

IMO, this seems to be sort of a "bait and switch" situation. The younger crowd likes music but uses it more as a distraction. Mostly with portable equipment. Leading them in with musical events won't work unless you have a plan to change their burnt in mindset. Lead a Millennial into a Highend stereo store and try your best to convince them they need big chunky, in the living room only, stereo components to feed their music habit and then watch their eyes glaze over.....We need their support over time to help this hobby survive, but I believe there isn't any answer yet.

Audiophiles have ALWAYS been a tiny minority of hobbyists relative to the general population, and audio "salons" generally do exactly zero to change that fact. Zero. Using actual live music to draw people in? Heresy I say! Once you expose a bunch of so called "young" people to music you risk that, as with the general population for decades, a small number of them actually decide they enjoy music through a nice system instead of, "Siri, play Mahler." Live music as bait...have they no shame? Audio specialty stores gave up from the start on interesting people in the music, and generally are perfectly content with holding on to that tiny piece of anachronistic elitism as it pulls them right down the drain.