How can we expect younger audiophiles with mortgages to pay, families to raise and education to provide for to afford the price of entry into an analogue system with such a potential maintenance impost?
That is rather like saying no one can enjoy the pleasure of driving a car unless they own a Ferrari or Porsche. Or that life's not worth living if one can't eat at a five star restaurant weekly. Or that it isn't worth having art work hang in your house unless you can afford real Renoirs or Mary Cassatts.
When you develop an appreciation for something at a young age, a good part of the adventure is searching for the biggest bang for your buck.
Magazines, manufacturers, retailers and a consumer society in general push people toward more expensive products in every area of life - food, art, clothing, cars, home and so on. They are promoting high-end digital just as hard as vinyl. Some people are more susceptible to upgraditis than others, but that hardly means that you can't get good sound on a budget.