Our Responsibility

This thread has the potential to grow legs and meander and stumble, wandering far afield of the OP’s intent. Like locomotor ataxia and the involuntary movements of the dead, the barn door is now open for the know-it-alls, alluded to in the link, to exit.

All the best,
Nonoise

Every hobby becomes YOUR hobby because something about it speaks to you in a way that gives you happiness and satisfaction.  The implication here is that if you never had the chance to hear a good system....or you did but someone did it in a way that was condescending, then it may not become YOUR hobby.

Usually, it up to an "industry trade association" to be supporting the manufacturers and stores in promoting that industry.  The closest the audio industry seems to come to is the various major shows around the country.

Darko suggested that "they/we/someone" needs to come up with a great system for less than $500 to help interest young people.  KEF, Audioengine, Klipsch and a few others are doing the best they can to make great sounding products at affordable prices available....but that doesn't answer the fundamental question....how to get people interested in the first place.

As a hobbyist, I think the best we can do is to gently encourage friends, relatives, associates to listen to our systems and if they seem mildly interested...point them in the direction of good sounding budget systems....and if they actually buy one and get the bug...then upgrades down the road will probably happen to them as has happened to most of us.

And....if you live in an area where one of the major audio shows occurs, bring a non audio friend and they might be really surprised by what they hear and decide that they should get their own system...and you can help them with guidance so that can get something that sound reasonably good with the budget they want to start with.

teajay, your point is duly noted. Now that you have said your piece, I trust we won't be hearing it again.  :)

I think this is a fascinating question, and clearly one that triggers passion.  One thing I would add is that quality has a staying power second to none.  The main reason we get to enjoy Shakespeare’s plays is that they are damn good, and generation after generation will discover them anew with passing time.  Time has a way of winnowing out what might be retained and what might fall by the wayside.  They kept getting printed because they had quality, and even though they went through long periods when they weren’t popular, they were rediscovered and bing, some group of artists and artisans puts one on.  It’s like it’s brand new again.  Think of all the stuff, ideas, arts, that have stuck around.  They have ups and downs, but if it has a quality that gets recognized, it’ll have legs.  My point is that quality will always get recognized, and once that’s done, it will be with us for awhile.  
So I don’t fear for the demise of our hobby, the satisfaction and thrill we get when we absolutely love how our system sounds this fine summer evening is us experiencing quality performance of art.  I think that appreciation isn’t going away. It may be that because of the ebbs and flows of the audiophile hobby, the snake oil will be left by the wayside, and quality will be available to whoever comes by to have a look.  It’s a truth about the human experience, we, as a whole, are always interested in quality.  In arts, in politics, in experience, whatever.  Quality never goes away for long.

Dave