Where are the young audiophiles?

There may be few, but I do know a couple of early 20's audiophiles that are very much into vintage gear.  One in particular, refurbishes tube amps, idler turntables, and reel to reel tape decks.  He is a big fan of older Klipsch gear and actually has a single Klipshorn.  He also has a big vintage JBL stereo speakers and a pair of homemade Altec 604 speakers.  With the 604's, he has been trying various crossover designs, but is still not satisfied and will be experimenting with augmenting the system with a midrange compression driver and horn.  He also has refurbished two Thorens 124 tables and is waiting on a Garrard 401 that he found for a good price.  He may be young, but, he has done far more than I've done as far as hands-on activity.  Now, if only he can figure out how to refurbish the eight or so Otari MX 5050 tape machines he bought from a defunct books-on-tape company.

Being a 30 year retail A/V veteran, there has been a trend away from 2 ch audio for the most part across the board for at least 15 years, 99% of my customers purchase sound bars. Why? Smart tv's can be the source of all entertainment: only 2 wires are required: power and hdmi arc & the tv remote can control the system. If they want a little more advancement, they will move up to Sonos: Still a soundbar but now they have a wireless multi-room option. Only a few dedicated enthusiasts purchase 5.1 or greater systems & 2 ch music only systems are almost non existent. The average customer perceives 2 ch stereo as waste of resources that can be spent elsewhere. The average 2 ch music customer or owner is older from an age when hanging out and listening to tunes on an affordable system was a primary form of entertainment & there was a stereo only store on every city block. So that leaves the current 2 ch crowd in 60 & above age group with the means to afford this very expensive hobby.

sufmuz said:
"I think over forty is the age when you appreciate quality things more and better SQ is one of them....you just feel that time is running and you don’t want to miss something good... so youngsters will catch up later....now they have other priorities in their mind."
 
Being 66 and looking back, I think that there is a lot of truth in what he said. I’ve been a music and audio guy for over 45 years, but I value the experience even more now because I know that time is finite.

There happy with ear buds.

The market is evolving away from brick and mortar, with direct to consumer, active speakers, and lifestyle type components.

The latter two is a response to the younger generation being less interested in audio as a serious hobby, but a group nonetheless with some bucks and a desire for nice sounding units. The industry is smart to see the shift, as these sales can compensate for the lower demand powered by us passionate hobbyists.