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

Just a wondering thought. Since we all agree this industry is being supported by a bunch of long in the tooth guys, not all of this gear being marketed will ever be sold. So, what happens to it? I mean like how many Klipsch, Fyne Audio, Tannoy, Spendor, or even high end stuff like Wilson Audio speakers are sitting out there and won’t be sold? And other gear too, preamps, amps, turntables, etc. Do they just keep them forever collecting dust in a warehouse? Do they destroy them, ship them to underserved poor countries, cannibalize them for parts? Just curious what happens to all this stock of "stuff", not even counting all the stuff that will be sold for peanuts at estate sales when we kick the bucket, or God forbid, end up in a landfill. [Edit: Just now saw SNS’s similar post]

I do want to note that at least from watching some other YouTube videos, there is a decent market among younger people (20 to 40) buying used gear. This seems to be prevalent in the U.K. The issue with this of course is that someone buying used isn’t really supporting the manufacturer and that sale isn’t ever reflected in the market, just like those who buy used LPs and CDs, which doesn’t help the artist or label.

BTW, I see Crutchfield has the Bluesound Node as of today for $349. Guess WiiM is hurting their sales or maybe Bluesound have something else coming soon.

It’s also fitting that the music dies with us since we were exposed to the greatest music ever recorded from the 60’s to the 80’s. Don’t you think?

No.

@jcoltrane1 I do think there is good music written and recorded today too. A Paul McCartney and Linda Ronstadt are born every week (statistically ), we just don't necessarily know about them. The music industry is not helping for sure, but the same way the Beatles had to play in small clubs to become what they have, we have to keep going to small clubs to help musicians grow and make it. 

It's interesting to read different perspectives on musical decades and genres that fuel this hobby. I'm not sure if this focus takes away from appreciating what's currently being released, though. There's a vast world of subgenres, starving artists, and non-mainstream music out there that often goes undiscovered by the masses. Fortunately, streaming services with their vast catalogs and algorithms help bridge the gap, IMO. 

As for the data, it seems like a meta-analysis would be useful. A few years ago the average age of members on this forum was 61. A poll on reddit's r/audiophile showed that 354 members were under 40, while 254 were over 50. Another poll from the same subreddit reveled that out of 516 participants, a strong majority were also members of ASR, while few belonged to Audiogon or other forums. 

What does this all mean? I'm not entirely sure since these samples are fairly compartmentalized. But it's interesting to note that companies like Schiit are offering products like the Yggdrasil "Less is More" and the Yggdrasil "More is Better" (measures better) to appeal to different customer preferences. 

I don't think the younger generation of this hobby is as robust as previous ones, but they're out there - often in forums like Head-Fi (presuming), ASR, and reddit. It'll be interesting to see where they take the hobby. At 43, I just hope I'm not left with sterile-sounding options and $1,000 EL34 matched tube sets. 

I'm not sure one can conclude that audiophiles are a dying breed and hi-fi in general is going the way of the dodo based on YouTube metrics of two videos. However, if your premise is based upon the old-school idea of what constitutes an audiophile  (the middle-aged or older, predominately white male, sitting in his home listening room furnished with one chair in front of a stack of separate audio components and tower speakers) then yes. Perhaps that audiophile version ought to go the way of the 8-track player. 

Young people certainly enjoy listening to music and doing so with their friends in social settings but they're most certainly not listening to music the way most audiophiles listen to music.  People in their 20s and early 30s have grown up listening to music on Bluetooth speakers and AirPods. That is the starting point for young audiophiles.  Most of them don't sit and listen to an entire album and most don't have the discretionary income either. If anything, we need less hi-fi and more mid-fi. There will always be the high-end market for those who have the means and time to build a singular system to listen to their 1st pressing copy of Steely Dan's Aja but the vast majority of people want a system that is easy to set up, use, and sounds good. That means an all-in-one solution with some wireless speakers perhaps or a SONOS system. 

I've found that when talking to younger people interested in the hobby, it begins with talking about the music first. Then find out listening preferences (streaming predominately followed by vinyl). Do they listen strictly with headphones/earbuds or do they have a home stereo setup? Is it a laptop streaming to Bluetooth speakers?

I had a young coworker who was into vinyl and I recommended stepping up his headphones to wired headphones/monitors and a decent desktop headphone amp. From there he's gone on to slowly upgrading his speakers and turntable. But again, in tiny affordable increments.

I don't think we have to lament the loss of the ossified version of the audiophile, instead we should celebrate that people listen to music and do so in whatever way they choose. The hi-fi industry is responding accordingly with streaming-enabled powered speakers that completely skip the need for an audio rack. And perhaps, over time these people will go deeper down the rabbit hole that is hi-fi and become avid hobbists as their leisure time and pocket books allow.