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

I don't believe the demand for high quality audio equipment will go to zero, but like horse racing, another passion of mine, it seems to have less appeal for younger generations. Some of this relates to financial matters obviously, but I think it goes beyond that. Music is more portable than its ever been even though portable music is generally far below high quality. That appeals to the younger folks as it suits their lifestyle and their incredible dependence on cell phones. Not much interest in what we would call critical listening, or in making the investment most of us have made.

My daughters-both in their 30s-love music and I have the iTunes receipts to prove it. They cannot understand, however, my affinity for sitting still for 2--3 hours at a time listening to music. They are perfectly content with Spotify and AirPods

Maybe this will change as technology improves. Eventually, portable music will be delivered at a quality that is unavailable now-might make a difference. 

Music and gear to record and reproduce it will always be a huge market. No need for concern. 

Audiophiles are born by hearing music on a system of someone who has better equipment than he has. We are certainly no longer in the era of audio stores on every street corner, but so long as there's a saving remnant there's no reason why things might not turn around. It's the height of foolishness to think that the latest turn is the last one. One phenomenon that bucks the trend is the renaissance in headphones caused by computer gaming and portable devices. Sort of like dinosaurs evolving into birds but it is a move in a particular direction.

@OP - Yes. Check the demographic at hi fi shows - male and old!

Greed is the answer.  They seem to have  forgotten that you can't have an affordable flourishing market for Prorsche, Ferrari and Lexus, unless you have a flourishing market for VW, Fiat and Toyota.  Otherwise, it's all on borrowed time.

As The Frogman always says, The Unwashed Rule.

Cheers