Why do all audio forums on the internet seem "dead" ?

Some excellent insights in the above posts. If I had to summarize, I’d say that the primary cause is that the middle-class was gutted during the last (2008) economic crisis, and continue to struggle. So the amount of time and disposable income available to ’regular’ audiophiles has been dwindling for years. As a related aside, I am certain that this dynamic will become worse, as there is another major crisis unfolding as I write this.

Secondarily, there are plenty of people, like myself, who are actively engaged with forums while building or tweaking systems, but only occasional participants once those processes end. While I do enjoy both, I invariably reach a stage at which I see no purpose in further tweaking, and then spend years of satisfaction with a system.

As a fifty-something man with a broad appreciation for vintage (I have a serious vintage watch collection), I do enjoy owning some vintage components as well. I currently have an Accuphase E-303 integrated amp, and while it is obviously not as good as my first generation Jeff Rowland Concentra, it is a superb machine, and with good associated gear, produces really excellent sound.

@constitutionalist

Your above post is breathtakingly ignorant.

This comment

There is NO discussion in regard to vaccines, you either get one or you are banned from the forum.

suggests clearly that you have an agenda, and no interest in facts. There are a number of active threads on the SHF about vaccines. One, entitled "If you've had it, what was your reaction to your second covid vaccine shot?", has over 1500 replies. Another, entitled "Getting my Covid shot in 6 days" has 93 responses and counting.

There are warnings not to get political on the topic, but that is absolutely within the right of any forum owner, and also understandable, if you have any clue about the tremendous burden of moderating comments on "hot-button" topics. The same warning applies broadly, which is typical of most forums.

I have no idea what your issue is with LGBT, but that Hoffman may be sympathetic to that community's rights should be irrelevant to anyone who is interested in talking about audio. No one who doesn't want to has to take part in the two – TWO – LBGT-focussed threads that I can find, one of which, incidentally, is solely about music.

Your assertion that the LGBT is somehow central to Hoffman making money through the site is also dubious. Can you provide a shred of evidence to support it? Same question for your $400,000 in earnings claim.

I won't be holding my breath.

I have absolutely no agenda, I simply want free speech to prevail.

You don't understand how the market works. There are no free-speech guarantees on any private forums, including this one.

You made numerous false claims in your initial post, so why should readers believe what else you have to say about a forum against which you apparently have an agenda?