Wayne Parham Messages: 18756 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
I would have said the same thing about hotrod cars in the 1990s. Building motors and modifying cars to increase performance was really popular in the 1950s and 1960s. But by the 1980s it wasn't so popular and the hobby seemed nearly dead in the 1990s. But I've seen a huge resurgence in the 2000s and 2010s.
Same with hifi. It even tracks the same years. Seems like the "golden years" were the 1950s and 1960s but by the 1980s, high-end audio seemed dead. Some blamed the rush to digital and the convenience of portable devices. But looking around me, I see vinyl coming back in a big way. I see lots of people interested in quality sound for hifi and home theater.
And they come in all age groups too. I've been to dozens of trade shows and I can tell you for sure the millennials are highly represented. It's not just baby-boomers and gen-Xers in the market for good sound. It's everyone that can afford it.
I think that's really the limiting factor: Cost. It isn't so much an age thing as it is a money thing. And here again, it's just like hotrod cars. Kids love fast cars, but they can't afford to build 'em the way a 30-something with a good job can. An affluent 40-year-old or 50-year-old can afford a Porsche and a high-end sound system for their nice home. A twenty-something straight out of college really can't. But wait a few years until they land that good job and they're able to enjoy some of these things.