Can high end audio survive after the baby boomers are gone

taters · Jul 13, 2012

It seems that the baby boomers are the last generation really into high-end audio. I belong to the biggest audio club in North America. You rarely see anyone under 40. The average age is between 55-60.

From all the young people I have met or been exposed to not one is into high-end audio. In fact they really don't care about sound quality at all. For them it is all about convenience.

Wardsweb · Jul 13, 2012

While the numbers may shrink, the audiophile will live on. My local club has several 20 somethings discovering better audio and rolling gear like crazy looking for their nirvana. They seem to do a mix of new and old. From HD tracks and killer computer systems to tubes and Khorns. They are like audio sponges soaking up all they can from us "old guys". It's fun to watch, teach and learn at the same time. Even my daughter and her husband have joined the vinyl train.

treitz3 · Jul 13, 2012

Amen, Wardsweb! Have you planted your seed today?

I'll explain later if you do not know what I'm talking about....

Phelonious Ponk · Jul 13, 2012

taters said:
It seems that the baby boomers are the last generation really into high-end audio. I belong to the biggest audio club in North America. You rarely see anyone under 40. The average age is between 55-60.

From all the young people I have met or been exposed to not one is into high-end audio. In fact they really don't care about sound quality at all. For them it is all about convenience.

I'm not sure that's much of a change, taters. There was a brief period there in the 70s when hifi reached the masses. Other than that it has always been a hobby almost exclusively for men of a certain age. Will a new generation embrace the hobby as the grow out of earbuds and into dens? Maybe. Lots of other distractions these days with home theater and computers, but maybe.

Tim

docvale · Jul 13, 2012

I am relatively young (32), I have been following the audiophile scene for a while now (since I was 19) and I've spent so far in audio components probably more than my all close friends pulled together (despite little money compared to the members of this forum).
But I don't see anything strange.

In order to enjoy the hi-end at its best, you need a (possibly dedicated) listening room, time and, also, some money.
It is not a hobby for teenagers*. I guess that even very young guys, who are now just into their iPods, growing up might get interested into this world.

*= when I was a teenager (early '90s), there were no smartphones, iPods, super-goodlooking laptops, plasma TVs, hi-rez video... that time, kids like me liked to own an audio system (even if a consumer product from Pioneer, Kenwood or Technics). Now, other things became higher "priorities". Also, guys (even older than teenagers) do not meet any more to listen to the newest release from their favorite band: they meet to watch movies together.
Video has become the main home entertainment attraction, IMHO

cjfrbw · Jul 13, 2012

Not to worry. The main issue is middle aged men, who have raised thier families and WAF has given them a bit of a longer leash.

They will be coming down the pipeline, it is just a matter of how well off they will be when they get there. There is a lot of pent up audiophilia in career men who don't have time for it.

JackD201 · Jul 13, 2012

I see a lot of relatively young people here in South East Asia into 2-channel audio aged from the mid-twenties on up. While the cost of brand new high end is restrictive, the DIY and the used market isn't.

Asamel · Jul 13, 2012

There seem to be a fair number of young people getting into vinyl these days. I think that there's a fair chance that some of these guys/gals may become interested in coming years. That is if they can ever get ahead financially to afford it.

Mike Lavigne · Jul 13, 2012

in the US (and Western Europe) baby boomers are more numerous than later generations among audiophiles and the high end (for whatever reason). But in Asia in particular and the rest of the world in general there are plenty of younger audiophiles. i see young techies who have immigrated from other countries to work in the US are more likely to be Audiophiles than young techies from the US.

it may have to do with the primarily suburban spread out culture here in the US verses the more urban high density culture in many other parts of the world.....but that is just a guess. being an audiophile is simply a better fit for certain life styles. i'm sure it's not that simple.

this is just how it looks to me and maybe my observations are wrong.

puroagave · Jul 14, 2012

we may finally succeed in eradicating audiohilia nervosa once and for all...maybe its natural sellection at work, that last time i was at an audio society meeting it resembled a casting call for the next 40-yr old virgin

all kiddin' aside the future audiophile will morph into something else more in tune with the lastest technology - technology evolved so slowly when i entered audiophilandia in the mid-80s as compared to today. there will always be those looking for the best be it fine cars, wine, food, wrist watches and high-end gear for music reproduction

Mosin · Jul 14, 2012

If vinyl is any indicator, the answer is yes.

See the May 1 entry.

https://www.facebook.com/fionaapple

I attended a Fiona Apple concert last evening, and I was probably the oldest person there who wasn't an usher. The crowd consist of mostly twenty to forty year-olds.

Later, I spent considerable time talking to a twenty something girl about Frank Zappa records. She was the expert on the subject, not me.

audioguy · Jul 14, 2012

The same demographic exists when we attend the Symphony, the exception being the Christmas performances. A very small percentage under the age of 40+++++++++++ are in the audience on a regular basis.

I agree with an earlier poster. I started in this hobby in the mid 60's when TV had barely started. There were not a lot of choices -- I think the percentage of true audiophiles will continue to shrink --- but probably not to zero!!

Revel Salon 2 · Jul 14, 2012

I'm 47 now...been an audio nuts to some extend for the last 30 years....when Sansui was 'in'

dallasjustice · Jul 15, 2012

I am 39. I speak for nobody but myself.

The music will always be the driving force behind high end audio. We don't all have the same taste in music and we are each trying to reproduce the music we adore the most. If younger folks think they can reproduce their favorite music in a far more enjoyable way, they will buy the gear. The only obstacle I see at shows and with the promotional magazines is the music repetitiously used to describe gear. I don't need to read another review of how Peter Gabriel's rendition of "Boy in the Bubble" sounds in a particular sytem. Wouldn't it be cool to read an audio reviewer's comments about what Dave Navarro's guitar solo sounds like in "Ted, Just admit it . . .", Jane Addiction, or how realistic are the percussive gun shots in "Guns of Brixton", The Clash? Audio shows are no better either, IMO.

I think part of the problem is that there's a belief that there's a small subset of music that is kosher audiophile music. IMO, music is music. In my case, I listen to all manner of music and almost weekly hear live music of all kinds.

Gregadd · Jul 16, 2012

The problem is that here are a lot of powerful people who think the baby-boom era was a big mistake.Lletting a Harry Pearson dictactate what people should buy,eg. If they allow the consumer to make thier own hoices. maybe it might survive. Discrtionary income for the middle calss may be a thing of the past. It may be that only the 1%might able to afford a pair of Magico Q7.
OTOH good things usually happen when engineers are forced to meet a price point.

Thomas.Dennehy · Jul 16, 2012

0.26% (zero point two six percent) of Adele's 21 album sales in the first half of 2012 were on vinyl. (10.7K out of 3.9M) So there is a glimmer of hope.

Bill Hart · Jul 16, 2012

I think the very concept of "high end' and mass market acceptance or adoption is inherently contradictory, almost by definition. Long before the potential market was fragmented by home theatre, computers, gaming and earbud listening over iPods, the 'high end' was a small, rarified segment that simply didn't translate to a larger market, partly because of price, partly because of the time and effort involved in selecting and maintaining a system and partly because the 'high end' is not just music enthusiasts, but requires a real interest in the how and why of home music reproduction. Sure, there are affluent, but passive enthusiasts who would buy a good system and live with it for a lifetime- I'm thinking of the 'old' McIntosh business model.
I also think the kids today that are 'into' vinyl may appreciate its sound, but i'm not sure whether that will translate into a continuing interest in pursuing the gear necessary to achieve what vinyl can really deliver.
The promise of hi-rez digital is there as a gateway too, but while equipment prices are reasonable for DACs, and associated computer-based systems, I'm just not sure many are going to go to the trouble.
I think the 'high end' will continue, but as others have said, as a sort of 1% activity- not something that's going to gain broader acceptance. In part because it defines itself by delivering something that 99% of the consumer products on the market cannot. (I'm not ignoring the 'beer budget' stuff that is great, but who is usually aware of this? Other audiophlles, not the masses).

Thomas.Dennehy · Aug 8, 2012

In all seriousness, manufacturing electronics targeting only consumers who listen to physical media in dedicated listening rooms may not be a business model that is sustainable long-term. The mobile generation simply doesn't listen to music this way, and there is no indication that their habits will change after they start nesting.

Reminds me of the line from Other People's Money. "The automobile came along and killed the market for buggy whips. And you know who was the last company to go under? The one that made the best damn buggy whips money could buy."

Cheers!

GaryProtein · Aug 8, 2012

It is a sad situation when music used to demonstrate systems at shows and dealers is electric guitars, semi-electronic music and highly processed recordings of voice or musical instruments with added reverb and recordings of sounds that may include musical sounds but do not exist in real life. None of those things have a REAL sound of its own. They are all cybersound. The test of a system is in listening to real acoustic music that takes place in real space. Recordings of Madonna, Billy Joel or Heart and certainly not of 99% of today's popular music just won't cut it.

Acoustic music in a real space has a real sound. Nothing else does.

The test of a system is for it to sound like the "real thing". NOT BETTER than the real thing, not worse than the real thing, but just like the real thing.

trponhunter · Aug 8, 2012

there will be a day of reckoning for many traditional high end manufacturers. The market is definately shrinking for traditional high priced, high end. So much of the current sales are just re cycling the same old group - there is not much push from a totally new group of buyers, and this will eventually be felt.

Can high end audio survive after the baby boomers are gone

New Member

Well-Known Member

Super Moderator

New Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

WBF Founding Member

Well-Known Member

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member

Member Sponsor

[Industry Expert]

WBF Founding Member

New Member

Member Sponsor

WBF Founding Member

New Member

Well-Known Member

New Member

VIP/Donor

New Member

Similar threads