I built my first pair of speakers (Jensen 12 inch triaxials) at age 19 (and still use them today). I saved lawn cutting money for a used (high end trade in) Sansui receiver and played many many albums on a Phillips straight arm turntable(the silver one with the cool green light on/off switch - forget the model), all before I was 20. I was not alone amongst my friends who almost all had their versions of audiophile bliss in their rooms at home, and in their cars. I have to agree with Firecracker_77 on this one, and a few isolated cases don't change the fact of it.
Future of this hobby?
I took some time off work, and I read the Jan edition of Stereophile cover to cover today. In the Letters to Editor section people were writing in about what will happen to this hobby as the target audience ages and the younger generation doesn't jump on board. I am 28, and I fear that the concern is definitely real. My friends, fiance, and people my age are in love with their Ipods. That is great that they are into listening to music in whatever manner they choose. My friends and fiance all agree that my stereo sounds good but also feel that stereos bought at discount retail stores fill the same need and have no interest in spending the extra cash.
Also, I went to a couple of Chicago Audio Society meetings to see if I could make some friends that shared my interest. I felt a little out of place though when I was the only person in the 20-30 demographic out of a population of forty people. Further, there may have been one or two people in their late 30s and probably half of the people were over 50.
The only conclusion I can reach on this subject is that lesser products are meeting the needs of people my age, and I don't forsee the younger generations waking up one day and deciding to sell the MP3 players so that they can buy high-end turntables. In 20-30 years as much of the current audiophile population ages and some move into assisted living or other arrangements where these elaborate and space consuming set-ups are no longer wanted or needed, the few remaining young people that actually care will be able to take ownership of kick-ass systems at steep discounts. I along with any kids that I have will have our cash ready in anticipation of that day.
Also, I went to a couple of Chicago Audio Society meetings to see if I could make some friends that shared my interest. I felt a little out of place though when I was the only person in the 20-30 demographic out of a population of forty people. Further, there may have been one or two people in their late 30s and probably half of the people were over 50.
The only conclusion I can reach on this subject is that lesser products are meeting the needs of people my age, and I don't forsee the younger generations waking up one day and deciding to sell the MP3 players so that they can buy high-end turntables. In 20-30 years as much of the current audiophile population ages and some move into assisted living or other arrangements where these elaborate and space consuming set-ups are no longer wanted or needed, the few remaining young people that actually care will be able to take ownership of kick-ass systems at steep discounts. I along with any kids that I have will have our cash ready in anticipation of that day.