High End Audio-Gaining Higher Ground?

High End gear is audio gear that is built to sound better than mass market audio gear. Mass market gear is the stuff you can buy at Walmart, RadioShack, Best Buy (except for their Magnolia stuff), etc.

There is no hard line between mass market and high end gear. There is a grey area where people will disagree about which category a given component belongs in.

Ask virtually any young person to name a high end audio manufacturer and most will answer "Bose" nuff said. I do agree with with Elizabeth for the most part but high end audio won't completely vanish but just become increasingly more and more of a niche hobby as the middle class muppets continue to be fleeced

I've had reasonably decent audio/video equipment since I was about 30 years old, which is when the first of my four children was born. Three of them are now grown and on their own. I don't know why, but none of them has ever shown any interest in audio equipment at all. Also, they don't have much discretionary income, so it is just as well.

I would echo the remarks of Response 34. Talent has run out or is in hiding in pop music. Compare today's artists with Paul Simon, Chicago, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac. As a youth, why would I build a quality system to listen to Katie Perry? The only way the Grammy's can get any ratings is to get the old timers back to perform.

Also with Darkstar 1, dedicated audio stores were a magnet for youth and an informal education. Now too many competing devices.

There are many good bands out there today but it seems for the most part we're shielded from it for some reason. Perhaps not enough advertising money in it for that demographic? I'm fortunate to live in an area that has a member funded radio station (wfuv) which exposed me to many excellent bands and artists I would have otherwise never heard of. I've long ago had it with the classic rock stations. There is also another station in Westchester county which is privately owned that is very good as well
I tend to think these type of stations are few and far between limiting us to what advertisers and promoters want us to hear