Is the idea of audiophile listening a dying concept as boomers die off?

The three best years for modern era high end audio sales in terms of units sold and revenue were 2021, 2022 and 2023. 

The three best years for modern era high end audio sales in terms of units sold and revenue were 2021, 2022 and 2023.

This is a relevant metric, but it could indicate that a fairly rarefied segment of the population with resources is buying the equipment, not the average person.

Most of my friends are highly educated and have reasonably good resources (they can afford good audio but they don’t spend on it), and when I ask them to listen, 99% say they never do that. They listen on earbuds or Sonos or in the car.

I’m a member of the Colorado Audio Society and have gone to several meetings where there were a large number of people there. There are virtually no members under 50 in the group and maybe none under 40. It looks like the kind of audience you’d see at a classical music concert.

I’ve not been to a headphones convention but I know that skews younger. Since those folks have college debt and high rent prices to contend with, I’m not sure that many are buying multi-thousand dollar headphones.

Have you seen this blog post?

Median age of audiophiles is within the 50-60’s cohort these days. This means that we’re past the Baby Boomer peak and well into the Gen X demographic that the audiophile companies and magazines need to be appealing to as this generation matures.

@hilde45

People under 50 that can afford the pricier items have demanding jobs and families. I would count myself in that group and have 0 time to go to Audiophile group outing. I am happy if I can listen 2-3 hours a week. The luxury of time + money usually does not exist until later in life. It doesn’t mean that there are not a lot of mid age people interested or participating in the hobby.

Let's put it this way: my kids (now 26) were exposed to high end audio from the time when they were born.  Interest in my setting them up with an audio system when they got their first apartment: zero.  Not enough room, and why would they want that if they can stream anything they want from phone or computer?  On the other hand, my stepdaughter, who's now 40, is still using my hand-me-down Maggie SMGa's and Rega Planar 3; for her, vinyl was (and is) trendy.