YouTube Indicates What the Future is For Audiophiles - Interesting Demographics.

I like what Devon Turnbull of OJAS is doing. He’s the guy making avantgarde horn systems and electronics and partnering with art galleries to produce functional art-audio installations. He’s successfully connecting with a younger crowd who appreciate art, aesthetics, creativity, and functional minimalism. He’s ‘selling’ an experience, versus flogging expensive ‘stuff’. It’s an interesting concept and a novel approach. He’s young (relatively), cool, and talented. Versus the typical audio manufacturer who’s stereotypically older, bald and boring.

He won’t save the industry but it will never die completely so long as people keep finding creative ways in which to keep us alive.

Also, a nod to Linn Audio - they were an audiophile manufacturer for decades then made a conscious switch to ‘lifestyle products’. Again, a strong emphasis on aesthetics blended with practical and functional design. While it’s still audiophile at heart it attracts a different audience, younger, more interested in convenience, aesthetics. I think Linn and a few others saw the writing on the wall. 
Maybe it won’t be a death it will just be a morphing into another form. 
 

When we were young, our stereo systems were “the” thing. There was no internet, no video games and rock & roll was exploding. So, it became part of who we were…and are.

Our kids grew up with social media and video games. The technology exploded in their young lives and the quality keeps getting better, just as it has in audio. I suspect young people will be playing incredibly advanced video games well into old age. Sitting in front of a pair of speakers in a dark room will go the way of the dodo bird. Not only don’t they want it, the industry has priced itself so far out of reason, I suspect the high end audio hobby has maybe 20 years left before it fades away for good.

Look at cheap audio man channel, or Andrew Robinson, and the story changes. ChiFi, Head-Fi, Emotive etc. You will not even get me to look at a Krell video (own a Pass). Also in my direct circle, a 30ish woman into her Klipsch speakers, a sub 30 guy building his own speakers, an early 20 guy into headphones - girlfriend into vinyl, mid twenty girl into 78s and gramophone. I only know one oldsters who is into  hifi, and he owns a hi-end store.

Also some like me are coming late to the audiophile game, after 50. Always loved music, but financial priorities were elsewhere. 

This discussion is gathering a lot of interest, most of it from nostalgia. The youth of today, like the youth of any period, is listening to what is played at the time on whatever equipment is available at the time at a cost they can afford. Whatever music comes out nowadays, it is mainly meant for your phone/ computer which can be hooked up to all kinds of real inexpensive electronics to distribute the music at the touch of your finger. Things are evolving so fast that no youth is interested in equipment that came out 5 years ago. It's called progress. Us old folks think that things are moving too fast, but we have seen nothing yet with AI trying to take over. Enjoy your audiophile hobby but don't fool yourself thinking you can change the direction of it. Like us, it's dying. Only the billionaires will keep the Uber end of it alive, buying crazy expensive stuff that nobody really needs. I just checked out the latest most expensive sales on discogs this month, over 8k for old LPs and about as much for 45s, and they will often sound worse than their digital remasters. With streaming, I no longer make these stupid purchases since I'm no billionaire. Same for equipment, with newer electronics you don't need to spend 10x more on anything to get great sound. The audiophile world is only sustained by olf folks living in the past or young billionaires who don't have to care about their money. Ok multi millionaires too. Nowadays a millionaire still has to watch his money.

To kennymacc’s wish: other than a small % of people under about 35 now who think that owning a turntable & a few “vinyls” as many of that age group call them, or tapes & CD’s, most couldn’t be bothered & probably never will be. 
 

I’m our crazy, sped up world, many people’s attention spans are dwindling & thus the huge popularity of Tik Tok & Instagram. It’s 10 seconds & on the next thing. Streaming is the only way most listen to music & quite honestly,  I listen streaming about 75% of the time now albeit on high end stuff mostly because I’m getting lazy but also really enjoying a lot of great re -mastered recordings that sound much better than the originals. 
 

Forgetting about the quality & intent of the actual recording quality, a lot of the new music coming out today isn’t great & is mostly forgotten within a  year w/ very few good follow up songs after the initial but quickly fleeting fame it conjures. With that in mind, why would many want to buy the album or CD version if it even exists. Of course there are exceptions to this in every musical genre but fewer & fewer.