Who remembers audio from the time when ...

artemus - I think Boomers process recorded music in a fundamentally different way than young people. When we played records in the 50's & 60's (as well as hearing our $20 transistor radios), we understood that the sound was heavily distorted and compromised. We used our imaginations (imagine that!) to rework the base-data and reconstruct into an internal analog which we considered the "real thing". This is sort of like listening to "The Lone Ranger" on the radio instead of watching on T.V. -a totally immersive imagination experience.

For youngsters, music is cleaned up to the point where a lot less imagination is required and they accept the signal as "real". Since their $50 earbuds give them 90% of the high-end experience, they aren't as interested is dropping $30,000 for the remaining 10%.

Boomers, however, possess their internal "super processors" and engage a lot more closely to the performance and receive much more pleasure.

I vividly recall taking a bus to downtown New Haven (CT) in order to purchase a copy of Kind of Blue, shortly after its release. I was too young to drive but not too young to appreciate Miles Davis. I can still see in my mind's eye the facade of Cutler’s Record Shop on Broadway in New Haven, as the bus came to a stop. I was laser-focused on buying that one single LP, which almost certainly was in mono. The mission was accomplished.

Dweller, that is an interesting theory. The standard however has remained the same, live music. I also think young people appreciate  a fine hi fi. It is just not high on their list of priorities. My kids are always giving me the low down on new music. I have already given them the low down on old music. They and their friends love music just as much as I do. One plays piano the other piano and violin. I think the major difference is that audio electronics is not their hobby.
As an Infant my mother could not get me to shut up at night. In desperation she stuck a radio in my crib. It worked. Believe it or not I can still see that radio. My father had 8 mm movies (now CDs) of me conducting with my diapers falling. When I was 4 years old I was awakened at 2 AM with a large brown box sitting on the foot of my bed.
(it was my birthday). It was a Zenith portable record player complete with a black cobra tonearm with little white eyes and that tube smell. This was 1959. My father put together his first system in 1961 around Bozak B302's. The highlight being an Ampex reel to reel. I used the Zenith until I could convince my father that I could manipulate his system just fine. I was probably 8 or 9 at the time. When I was 12 my father bought an Ariens snow blower. The deal was I could do as many drive ways as I wanted as long as I did ours first. At 10 dollars a driveway with a good New England Winter I could make as much as $500! Pretty soon I had my own system and I was moved to the finished basement of our house.
I attended my first Rock and Roll concert at 16, The Allman Brother's Band at Boston's Tea Party. Music was never the same. Both our systems sounded hopelessly colored and under powered. I guess I have been chasing that first concert my entire life. The closer I get the harder and more expensive it gets to make improvements. But that is our hobby isn't it? We are all chasing that illusive sound but for some it is a jazz band, other's a classical orchestra, and some of us everything. But the hobby is about sound, not music. You do not have to have a mega buck system to appreciate music, a telephone and decent ear buds will do it.
The kids are just as involved with music but not necessarily the sound.

@dweller Can you tell me where you got those $50 earbuds?

50 years ago in Late September/Early to Late October the following albums were released within the span of about 4 weeks:

The Band - The Band
The Beatles - Abbey Road
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Led Zepplin 2
Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
Pink Floyd - Ummagumma
The Kinks - Arthur
Spirit - Clear
Free - debut album

I doubt we’ll see a confluence of such commercial aspirations and artistic expression as during those heady days again.