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.
firecracker_77
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Tvad,

That could be a great business idea! There is a small niche market that would appreciate a nursing home for audiophiles. Instead of sitting in a common room playing backgammon and watching tv, there could be a big group of people gathered listening to a pair of 10 foot tall speakers from the comfort of their wheelchairs.
The advent of the transistor did not kill the hobby. Tubes still rule the top.

The Sony Walkman and Discman did not kill this hobby.

The CD/DVD is not kill vinyl. Neither did analog tape, which is about dead itself.

This has always been a 35 year and older hobby. Young people have other priorities. The young also don't have the income to fund this hobby.

Look back 25 years and later. All there was then was the receiver for the most part. Most of the early high end companies trace back to no later than the mid 80s.

Who ever thought of cables 20 years ago?

This hobby is actually still young.
Firecracker,,Just think of all the great deals youll be able to find when all us older Audiophiles start to pass on and our kids sell our stuff for pennies on the dollar!I like Sugarbries reply!Tvad,LOL ,,maybe someone will come out with a line of "Audiophile hearing aids! "