Where are the young audiophiles?

When I was young, living in Hamburg NJ, a small rural community, I was the only audiophile that I knew personally.

When I lived in NYC (for 45 years), I knew of two other audiophiles.

Today, in my neck of the woods here in Newburgh NY in the Hudson Valley, I know of two other audiophiles.

Anecdotal evidence for what it is worth. 

My daughter, aged 38, a professional musician, is finally interested in audio and vinyl, but because it’s hip. She’s consulting me on what to buy, and all the things she picks are because “the rad DJs use it!” 🙄

All about demographics and disposable income. And a lot has to do with the fact that a phone and earbuds is perfectly OK to most of them. As they get older and have more money to spend, some of those might decide to see if they can get the music they love to sound 'better'. And then, a lot of people don't like 'audiophile' sound - they'd rather have teeth-rattling bass with lots of volume than something more accurate.

The neighborhood hifi stores aren't going to close....they already have. You have a Best Buy Magnolia in a good demographic region and maybe some home theater focused stores. The Best Buy stuff is expensive and since it is corporate, there are no deals there.

As an example, in the 80's and early 90's there were probably 20 mid to high end audio stores in and immediately around Philadelphia. Now there are 2 in Philly and 3 or 4 outside. That's a 75% reduction. At those stores, it was possible to speak with someone who knew what they were talking about usually and get a system for what seemed like peanuts today, but if you account for inflation, aside from the ultra high end, the prices are about the same or less, and if you know what you are doing, can actually get a very nice used system for much less with the internet's help. 

Back then, the better stores sold audiophile records which supplemented their sales and kept people coming in the door. Now they're Apple stores.

I'm 51 and didn't really start with this stuff until my early 30s. I remember very clearly thinking to myself now that you have some extra cash what is it you really like to do? The answer was listening to music, so I found a dearly nearby and grabbed a nice little starter system. About a year later I found Audiogon the rest is history.


I do think the "next generation" is out there as said above there aren't a lot of them but there aren't a lot of us either.

As a relatively young (mid 30s) audiophile, I can tell you guys the snobbery (“my first $50K system...”) doesn’t help to encourage young folk to enter the hobby.

I have about $20K worth of gear in my current chain (and about $10K of other gear in a closet that I can swap out when the urge strikes) that was assembled over years of trial and error and extensive in-home auditions. The funny thing is, my system comes within a stone’s throw of some six-figure systems I’ve experienced (and bettering them in some areas). The reality is that many of you old guards are not getting the performance you think you’re buying. I’ve seen a lot of expensive gear crammed up against walls in untreated rooms. Many buying “high-end” five and six-figure components would benefit from trading some of their money for greater knowledge/experience.