Is Audiophilia a Dying Hobby or Just in Need of a Tune-Up?

Audiophilia is facing a crisis. With most enthusiasts over 55 and younger generations uninterested in high-end audio, the hobby risks fading into obscurity. Blame it on space, budget constraints, or the elitist image of the community—something needs to change.

40% of Audiophiles May Be Gone Soon, and No One Is Replacing Them

Can we make audiophilia relevant and inviting for the next generation, or is this truly the end of an era?

 

If you feel audiophilia is dying? Plant a seed. Give them a goal.

A forest will not grow without many seeds. I have planted many. Have you?

Tom

 

I really don't belong on this forum (based on my gear and depths so many of you plumb that hold no interest to me) but some of you might take a sliver of hope with this story.

My son, now 27 and living on his own, even though he grew up in a house with a couple decent analog and digital systems, would listen to his phone (Spotify and YT) using cheap ear buds with only one in his ear. After he moved out, I gave him a Bose Colorsound bluetooth speaker that I didn't care for. All of a sudden, he was at least listening to a speaker instead of one channel. On his visit home this past Thanksgiving, I was trying to get him to understand what he was missing and had two pieces of gear I wanted to give him - a Marantz PM5005 which I'd replaced with a PM6007 as they were being heavily discounted. I also had a pair of the legendary Minimus 7s which, while small, work pretty well in a small apartment and are neighbor friendly. I showed him how to stream with a hardwired iPad and demonstrated said system. Pointed out the basic hookups and give him some decent speaker wire and a 3.5mm to RCA cable. He's not going to do records or CDs but he has a huge library on Spotify with an account that gives him better audio and no commercials. The story ends with him having his eyes opened to the possibility of true stereo, even at this entry level. He could become a powered speaker guy but the PM5005 is quite decent for an entry level IA. He's also hooked up his TV and is thrilled. One day, he'll have to decide what to do with my gear, albums, CDs, and tapes. He listens to much of the same music I do but I doubt he'll fuss with turntables, CDs, or tape decks. But the amps I own are a few notches up as are the speakers. I think he's got the bug but which way it turns is anyone's guess. But the main point is, he gets it now.

One of the problems too many audiophiles have is a reputation for snobbery and unfriendliness. If that doesn't change, if we aren't more welcoming and continuing telling younger people (or each other) if they don't get this or that then their systems are crap, well we're responsible for the demise of the form of audio reproduction we all like. One can put together a decent streaming system for less than a thousand dollars if they have a phone and/or iPad and a vinyl/CD system for another thousand. Not including software of course. That's the way I see things having a 27 year old and 25 year old.

 

It seems reasonable to me to conclude that hifi is almost "designed" to deter adherents until they reach their 40s. During our teens, 20s, 30s, and even into our 40s I'd guess most of us could be described as one or more of the following: (i) too poor; (ii) too active; (iii) too social; (iv) too married; (v) too parental to invest time, money, and privacy in enjoying two-channel stereo.
I agree with CSG that helping younger people discover that there can be more satisfaction in well-reproduced music than in ultra lo-fi is a great step. I bought my 29-year old daughter the highly-praised Minirig MRBT 4 Bluetooth speaker ($200) because she used to listen to her iPhone's speaker in her kitchen and when doing chores, and it's completely changed her behavior in that area. The key is that it fit into her life instead of demanding a piece of it.
I suspect that if audio companies want to acquire customers during this period of their lives, they might want to focus on affordable products that deliver an engaging quality of sound in a shared, unfocused environment, without demanding a technical background from the owner or a radical compromise of their physical space. I thought that Devialet might be heading there at one time...

 

Bunch of guys in Detroit, Tokyo and Stuttgart have similar worries as young people are no longer interested in getting their drivers license. Ride sharing is their mode of transportation. Times change, evolution?

Neither of my kids drive (aged 27 and 24). They use public transport or walk, and the occasional Uber.

 

Here's a footnote to all the insightful comments. When I was in high school in the late '70s, there were three stereo stores in town (New Haven) within walking distance, with others not too far away. Later, the chains showed up, like Tweeter Etc. There were also multiple record stores. My weekends were spent turning knobs, flipping through albums, and dreaming. The experience was immediate and real. Gone are the days.

But I certainly agree that there's a generational shift at work. My son (22), a college music major, has a headphone system. It sounds fantastic!

 

It is dying, as it should. Younger generations experience music differently than many of the older generation. Music will still be appreciated, just by a smaller subset of people.

The amount of music consumption and music appreciation has increased dramatically in the last 40 years, as a result of global economic development and expansion of the middle classes and greater leisure incomes.

The amount of people who think it's necessary to own a hifi system that costs 3 x national average earnings or more to appreciate music is, thankfully, shrinking, and hopefully will disappear altogether, because it is an abominable conceit.

The situation with physical music media CD and LP is serious but not hopeless.

My elder son is hugely knowledgeable about music, goes to lots of gigs, has an impressive record collection and an audio system that cost him less than $1,000. I have an absurdly expensive audio system by most people's standards (modest by WBF standards). He has no aspirations in that regard. The only time I ever heard him get the least bit excited about hifi was when he tried a pair of Audeze headphones in a store.

 

Here’s some data to consider:

In 1978, with a population of 225 million people, 341 million vinyl records were sold in the US and 726 million total units sold for all music formats for a 1978 total revenue of $19 billion (adjusted for inflation.) (RIAA data)

In 2023, with a population of 336 million people, 43 million vinyl records were sold in the US and 249 million total units were sold for all music formats for a total 2023 revenue of $17 billion. (RIAA data).

In 1978–3.22 music units were sold for every person in the US. In 2023–0.74 music units were sold for every person in the US. That works out to music purchases per person decreasing by 4.35X over the past 45 years in the US.

I think this is wildly inaccurate. It does not contain streaming revenues. It does not contain quantity of streams. It is possible with streaming, far more music is being absorbed by the public than in the past. Its just not purchased.

It would be interesting to see what concert attendance is overall. Probably very hard to quantify. Not sales via ticket master. How many people go to a bar, or club or symphony.

 

The music isn't what it used to be. Pop & rock have continued to devolve in terms of quality musical structure as well as lyrics.

Many different genres these days that didn't exist in previous decades. Many virtuoso musicians showing up here and there, their 15 minutes of fame comes and goes as it's replaced by someone better or interest is lost in their particular format altogether.

As side from the music in general not being quality as in decades past, the cost of quality hifi prevents many from pursuing a hobby at home in musical listening. Most young people that I know/encounter are more concerned with having enough money just to get by day to day.
Other issues that preoccupy their time is job, dating, being able to afford a decent place to live, car, food, taxes, ECT..
There's many distractions and cost restraints that keep young people from pursuing this and other hobbies. A lot young people today have a very dim outlook on their future whereas my generation considered the future to be wide open and the possibilities endless.

The whole world, indeed the cultures & goals, of young people today( 35 and younger) are all very different from the time that I was growing up in the 1960's-1970's.

Just my opinions.

 

Neither of my kids drive (aged 27 and 24). They use public transport or walk, and the occasional Uber.

My kids 26, 24 and 21 could not wait to get their licenses but it is TX, all 3 are musicians and got the audiophile bug from me.

 

Music will still be appreciated, just by a smaller subset of people.

Why would it be appreciated less? One doesn't need a system to appreciate music, and specifically the music they like. The statement seems to imply that only those listening to a certain genre of music and/or means of listening to it appreciate music

 

I really don't belong on this forum (based on my gear and depths so many of you plumb that hold no interest to me) but some of you might take a sliver of hope with this story.

My son, now 27 and living on his own, even though he grew up in a house with a couple decent analog and digital systems, would listen to his phone (Spotify and YT) using cheap ear buds with only one in his ear. After he moved out, I gave him a Bose Colorsound bluetooth speaker that I didn't care for. All of a sudden, he was at least listening to a speaker instead of one channel. On his visit home this past Thanksgiving, I was trying to get him to understand what he was missing and had two pieces of gear I wanted to give him - a Marantz PM5005 which I'd replaced with a PM6007 as they were being heavily discounted. I also had a pair of the legendary Minimus 7s which, while small, work pretty well in a small apartment and are neighbor friendly. I showed him how to stream with a hardwired iPad and demonstrated said system. Pointed out the basic hookups and give him some decent speaker wire and a 3.5mm to RCA cable. He's not going to do records or CDs but he has a huge library on Spotify with an account that gives him better audio and no commercials. The story ends with him having his eyes opened to the possibility of true stereo, even at this entry level. He could become a powered speaker guy but the PM5005 is quite decent for an entry level IA. He's also hooked up his TV and is thrilled. One day, he'll have to decide what to do with my gear, albums, CDs, and tapes. He listens to much of the same music I do but I doubt he'll fuss with turntables, CDs, or tape decks. But the amps I own are a few notches up as are the speakers. I think he's got the bug but which way it turns is anyone's guess. But the main point is, he gets it now.

One of the problems too many audiophiles have is a reputation for snobbery and unfriendliness. If that doesn't change, if we aren't more welcoming and continuing telling younger people (or each other) if they don't get this or that then their systems are crap, well we're responsible for the demise of the form of audio reproduction we all like. One can put together a decent streaming system for less than a thousand dollars if they have a phone and/or iPad and a vinyl/CD system for another thousand. Not including software of course. That's the way I see things having a 27 year old and 25 year old.

I have three children, aged 22 to 32. They all love music, as all kids do, and use bluetooth speakers and headphones as many kids do as well.

The thing is, none of my friends (including some who are musicians) - aside for a few I have l met through audio forums - are audiophiles either....

 

I think this is wildly inaccurate. It does not contain streaming revenues. It does not contain quantity of streams. It is possible with streaming, far more music is being absorbed by the public than in the past. Its just not purchased.

Hi Rex,
The RIAA data I quoted includes everything you stated it doesn’t include. Specifically, it includes all forms of paid subscriptions, on demand streaming (ad supported), other ad supported streaming, sound exchange distributions, limited tier paid subscriptions and of course, much more. You find everything it includes on their website. RIAA are the folks that specifically track music sales revenue for record labels.

 

Though that is just the specific decreased sales of vinyl albums over 45 years on their own (sadly)… from the later analogue era as it all moved across into the digital era.

Though that doesn’t indicate ultimately about the purchases and consumption of music over that period or the amount of music produced or listened to. Those figures would be interesting and possibly more reflective of trends in music listening. The data is all valuable though for sure.

The RIAA data I cited is not just for vinyl record sales. It is for all music format sales. You find exactly what it covers on the RIAA website.

 

The RIAA data I cited is not just for vinyl record sales. It is for all music format sales. You find exactly what it covers on the RIAA website.

My bad Al, I misread your post. New Year’s resolution… I must play more music.

 

Audio as a hobby is kind of like the hobby of restoring old radios from the 1930s, its dying off with the people who once did it. But audio was the thing to do in the 1950s. Too many other things for kids to do now which don't have the costs and baggage of big speakers and expensive gear, and I don't blame them. If I were a kid now, I wouldn't touch audio as a hobby - in fact, I'd probably not have a 'hobby' at all.

 

I have three children, aged 22 to 32. They all love music, as all kids do, and use bluetooth speakers and headphones as many kids do as well.

The thing is, none of my friends (including some who are musicians) - aside for a few I have l met through audio forums - are audiophiles either....

While I don't have a huge circle of friends, I don't know of a single one that has an audio system other than a bluetooth speaker and phone.

 

Audio as a hobby is kind of like the hobby of restoring old radios from the 1930s, its dying off with the people who once did it. But audio was the thing to do in the 1950s. Too many other things for kids to do now which don't have the costs and baggage of big speakers and expensive gear, and I don't blame them. If I were a kid now, I wouldn't touch audio as a hobby - in fact, I'd probably not have a 'hobby' at all.

I'm 58, and when I was a kid I don't remember any of my friends tinkering with audio. This was obviously before "digital" (and computers at home, cell phones, etc...). Perhaps it was more popular in the 1950s.

By the way, here is a list of top hobbies in the US in 2024:

 

I'm 58, and when I was a kid I don't remember any of my friends tinkering with audio. This was obviously before "digital" (and computers at home, cell phones, etc...). Perhaps it was more popular in the 1950s.

By the way, here is a list of top hobbies in the US in 2024:

View attachment 141493

Audio isn't anywhere on there unless it fits into "tech/computers".

When I was really young in about 1958, I used to go over to play with the kids of this guy down the street. He had a system much like I have to this day - Altec Lansing A7s, tape recorders and lots of tubes everywhere. His high end system of the day impressed me tremendously. Nowadays when relatives bring kids over and they look at my system they aren't interested at all. To them, it's just something their weird uncle Robert does. Times and sensibilities change. It ain't cool to have a stereo anymore, like this guy.

 

Hi Rex,
The RIAA data I quoted includes everything you stated it doesn’t include. Specifically, it includes all forms of paid subscriptions, on demand streaming (ad supported), other ad supported streaming, sound exchange distributions, limited tier paid subscriptions and of course, much more. You find everything it includes on their website. RIAA are the folks that specifically track music sales revenue for record labels.

I miss that Al.
You know another way people absorb a lot of content is through youtube videos.
But I wouldn't doubt that overall, music isn't as widely absorbed as it may have been in the past. There is so much else that more addictively absorpture attention. Just TV was probably an impact on people's free attention. Add to that computers/social media and video games. Young people's time is very divided among sources seeking their attention to generate revenue.

 

When I was young, I built model, airplanes, and model cars, played a lot of sports, and learned to play games like backgammon and hearts. I also listen to records on my parents system, and I had a full stereo in my college school dorm room.