The market evolves as does the hobby. I keep my eye on a few things concerning the HEA market.
One is, are more HEA stores opening or folding? Many of the stores after the Mom & Pop exodus still had relatively young owners that hung in there. These guys are at retirement ages now, or beyond.
Two, I'm keeping my eye on show attendance. Again that could very well be the same age issue. Most of this generation have made their end game trophy purchases.
Three, gaming! I don't see the next generation moving away from gaming and going HEA.
Four, the price tag. HEA shot itself in the foot big time! Maybe there are a few on forums like this hanging onto "price is sound" religiosity, but that's fading faster then the debate over it. Every year I have a couple of companies asking me if I'm interested in distributing their products to the US market. There's one I have fallen in love with, one. The rest of them I tell them they're going to have to drop their pricing dramatically. IMO, there are simply way too many great budget products out there for the expensive guys to fight off.
For now, some here are still able to put up a defense for the expensive stuff, but watch how fast that fades as soon as the first couple lower priced super stars knock them off their mountain.
Five, the spec-tech is history. Radio Shack engineers are no longer the majority. People are now buying stereos because of the sound and convenience not how they measure with some amateur test bench junkie. Ever notice how loud amateur experts get lol? It seems the older they get the less they know how to do. I don't see the next generation giving a rats hind end for home brew experts in audio. This loudness wars thing for example, what a joke. If that's all the higher the IQ is, don't expect "all the young dudes" to be around to listen.
And "6" time. One thing I noticed on the TAS forum (now gone) and the Stereophile forum (all but gone) and here is how time is king. Every year that goes by technology grows, and old folks get grumpier when not satisfied and or relevant. This my friends is a fact, if your someone who comes up here braggadocios, augmentative or full of suspicion, you are officially an audio zero. And if you have friends here the same way, congratulations your ready for the home. Music and audio is a blast and brings happiness like no other hobby. Someone walking around grumpy or always trying to make discord are not true audiophiles, they're internet trolls. Nothing more than unhappy people trying to make others unhappy.
We live in an age where most young folks have headsets on, smile that's a good thing. We have got more opportunity to enjoy the hobby we have then ever before. We can buy new products and old, and every price range and quality of sound. The only way you can be unhappy is if you haven't yet found your sound. Bottom line life is good and if you are spreading bad still, after all these years, well there's really not much anyone can do for you.
If HEA creeps to a craw, let it. That's called moving forward.
MG