What's going on with the audio market?

"There will always be plenty of good sounding gear to buy. More so than ever.   Because technology and things in general move forward.   Its not as hard these days to get top notch sound as it was years ago.   Only a few still scrape and claw at every last possibility at any price. Most people are just listening to their music and loving it.   Including old timers like me that live and learn.   I've bought into some hype and maybe even a tad of BS in years past but am better these days.

So the days of living with old ways of the past for the industry may well be very limited but the ones that continue to truly innovate and adapt will continue to fill the market with good products that can keep most everyone happy one way or another.

Consumers will be fine, including those seeking the best possible sound."

I agree. 

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Until I die.......or until I can no longer hear!

At this point I am looking more at a designated listening room than equipment. From there my next upgrade will be speakers and then perhaps an additional amp for bi-amping. I think there are ebbs and flows to this hobby and maybe we're just in an ebb. 

Yup.  It's music here not politics.  I still enjoy the new music coming out and some of the new gear is great.  I hope this hobby doesn't kill itself by overpricing gear.

Here is my 2 cents from a manufacturer.

1. Sales are good.
2. Dealers have to retool for many reasons that I will list separately. Dealers that don't retool, are closing down or having a hard time selling.
3. There seems to be a seasonality to sales, along with economic swings with are counterintuitive.

Dealers need retooling.
1. The older buyers are downsizing.
2. The new products are better, faster and cheaper.
3. There is a lot going on in the Audio industry that even manfacturers are finding hard to keep up with.
4. There are many new entrants from around the world. These products are excellent.
5. Asia likes large, bulky bling products. Europe likes sleek designs. US likes both. 
6. The trophy buyers are shrinking fast. Dealers selling trophy systems for the highest profit, other then NYC, are being challenged.
7. Newer, younger buyers are looking for value, performance and use. For example I am chided by the older users for the LED VU meters and liked by the younger users for the LED VU meters.
8. The internet!
9. Headphone users are the next generation of Audiophiles. This is a huge market of Audiophiles growing up.

The above is not all of equal weight and seen only through my lens. So I am sure there are other views also. The economy is good, so there is a lot of confidence in the buyers and a lot of purchases that stretch budgets. That is good news. I suspect that there is also pent up demand that is a little confused with so many products now coming out, and seem to be changing fast. Computer, Vinyl, Tape.

Also note that when the economy is good, there is more of other activities, hence less time for Audio. I see business owners spending more time expanding and less time with Audio. Employees working harder with more cash but less time for Audio.

Interesting perspective merrillaudio, that is a different view from where I see it.
I have to question your point number 2, as I see "better" as subjective, faster I can agree with, though this isn't necessarily always a good thing, but cheaper? I don't see this.

 I have seen companies go in two directions, cheaper, and more expensive. It's the middle ground that seems to be disappearing.
Companies like Wilson, ARC, VAC, Vitus, Nordost, Tara Labs, etc., are making gear more and more expensive every year. So I have a hard time seeing that new products are cheaper. Maybe cheaper to manufacture, but the list price still goes up.