What's going on with the audio market?


Recent retail sales reports are very bad and I am hearing that sales for audio equipment have been nonexistent over the past few months.  I also see more dealers putting items up for sale here and on other outlets.  Even items that have traditionally sold quickly here are expiring without being sold. 

To what would you attribute the slowdown?  Have you changed your buying habits for audio equipment and, if so, why? 
theothergreg
"The high end market started to fade in the DC metro area I’d say about 1985 when Excaliber in Alexandria shut it’s doors, followed by Myer Emco, Audio Associates, Paragon of Sound (in MD), a few in Maryland suburbs the names of which escape me. AFAIK there are only two left, Deja Vu and Gifted Listener Audio, both in VA. Did I miss any?"
  
geoffkait, JS Audio, Command Performance and Well Pleased A/V are 3 you missed. I worked at Excalibur from the start, miss it.
I used to need audio to relax and refresh.  I have discovered something else that does a better job of this, so I don't "need" it.  In addition, this something else also works when I sleep.  I wake up totally refreshed(at age 64).  If I do something now, my time and money are better spent on this "something else".
I forgot to mention that living in Colorado gives you legal access to the least expensive, most effective audio tweak I've ever become familiar with. My county is 70% public lands and still remains sparsely populated with just 150,000 people in an area of 3350 square miles.
My property taxes for this year are $487. No audio stores other than Best Buy but I have no reason to care about that. Clean air and incomparable scenery. Ideal location for solar panels. Maybe relocation would make this topic moot for some of you. Worked for me.

Grannyring - Thanks for the up vote.