The Audiophile Hobby Is DOOMED! 10 Reasons Why Kids Don’t Care

🎧 The audiophile community is seeing a concerning trend: It appears younger enthusiasts are becoming increasingly rare. In this deep dive, we explore the key factors behind this shift in the high-fidelity audio world and track where these potential audiophiles are focusing their interests instead.
From the rising costs of quality audio gear to the dominance of streaming services and wireless technology, we uncover the complex reasons why younger generations aren't embracing traditional audiophile culture. Plus, discover the surprising new spaces where audio appreciation is thriving in unexpected ways.

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#audiophile #hifi #audiotech #vinylcollector #soundquality #musicproduction #audiogear #stereoequipment #analogaudio #digitalaudio

[hkrainman]

As an American living in Asia, I am going to tell you something most American hate to hear ‐
Chi-Fi is saving Hifi!

[Douglas_Blake]

Here's the big disconnect in this hobby...

When you say "Budget Price" ... an audiophile hears "$10, 000" but your average music lover hears "$200".

[nukadog]

I recently wrote a blog about how hobbies used to be inviting, and how the well-heeled would often pass down iconic equipment to less advantaged folks in the hobby, but now everyone attempts to monetize the gear they've chosen to divest from. While I can't afford what I once could, I do hand down my gear to my family and friends. Better they get the exposure and find the joy than I get 25% or less for my used gear. Hobbies are not investing opportunities (unless they specifically are); it's no fun to be the only kid on the playground with a ball...

[Sinister_Collections]

I'm a junior in highschool and I love learning about Hi-Fi because I genuinely love music more than the other's at my school, so getting the best experience is definitely important

[JP-sbeb]

Headphones and other headsets are the best way to ruin your hearing quickly: doctors are alarmed to see so many young people under 30 have the hearing of a person over 70...

[ratrip]

"Audiophiles don’t use their equipment to listen to your music. Audiophiles use your music to listen to their equipment.
― Alan Parsons"

That is the biggest problem with music these days and audiophiles. Audiophiles are all about the equipment and most importantly, it is never enough. To gain entry to the Church of Audiophilia, you have to massively pay to play. You can only ever say anything about music when you at least have spent 10K, otherwise you are just an unsophisticated, gutter dwelling peasant. It also is never about music. It is always about sound. The most pure, most authentic representation of the sound. As the recording artist intended it. And then audiophiles come running with plastic discs and sharpened rocks or stretching, magnetic tape. Both deeply flawed physical media. Lets not start about the myths, snake oil and woo of things like valve dampers, cable elevators, braided cabling, etc.

The youngsters have flawless digital media and they play that distortionless on their APTX stereo Bluetooth equipment which didn't break the bank. No wonder they are rolling their eyes at "grandpa" yapping about high fidelity and his Frankenstein setup that cost way too much and takes away way too much time from actually enjoying the music itself.

When a kid does want to start collecting vinyl, and they mention a Crosley or Victrola suitcase player, the audiophile vultures descend and berate the kid for even considering such a "vile option". Better to save up and get at least a $ 500 setup (even if it is second hand), because suitcase players "will destroy your records." Yep, pay to play and with the $ 500 setup, the kid will still be considered an unsophisticated, gutter dwelling peasant if they don't want to continually spend more on equipment.

The audiophile community is dying because its members are the most insufferable elitists one can encounter. They can't help themselves lording their "sacred knowledge" and they excessive spending habits over anyone they deem a lesser god.

[AndyBHome]

I think it actually boils down to something rather simple and singular. I believe that a lot of the fascination with HiFi in it's heyday was that it was at the cutting edge of technology. It competed with 35mm cameras and it was actively changing. Nothing was really as good as anyone would have liked it to be. Everyone was chasing quality that was somewhat elusive. Audio is no longer actively improving much and it's just not cutting edge technology. People aren't as excited by being able to listen to music loudly and clearly for the first time in their lives like they were in the '50s. Decent audio is taken for granted so it's no longer a pursuit that inspires fascination and devotion. I think that's the number one reason the hobby is stagnant and I think it's the majority of influence on how much people care. It hurts me to say this, but I really don't think there's much anyone can do to counteract that effect. Until listening to music as an activity starts to hold more fascination for more people, a new generation of people, high quality audio isn't going to grow.

There are of course other factors. I think people are a little less interested in having physical things and are adopting an attitude toward things being temporary, so they focus on services, subscriptions, knowledge, methods, brands, etc., and not so much on obtaining specific objects to serve a purpose. The focus on portability and solitary activities are also having their impact. But I think the lack of technological newness in audio is why people have turned to other things and most other factors are really just symptoms of that shift in focus.

[gwine]

For Christmas, I gave my 18-year-old grandson my older Onkyo receiver along with a new pair of speakers and a Bluetooth adapter. He still hasn't even connected it. I, recently, saw a poll where 80% of the respondents said that they only listen using some form of headphone, the majority being Bluetooth earbuds.

[socksumi]

The audio hobby has been a fringe thing for decades. it's not dead or dying, it's just an small hobby for a fringe group and that's the way it will remain.

[Leo_ofRedKeep]

People want to listen to music, not to "the sound of the sound".
I grew up with a small record player in the 70s. My parents had a bigger record player from 1960. Then there were small radios and a bad sounding TV set. All mono, boxy sounding things. Hi-fi was a different world. It sounded good, loud without harshness, clear. But my first Walkman sounded the same. Even better, I could turn it up without being told to turn it down. Good headphones made a further difference but that's all I ever needed.
I love music, mostly classical, and I'm perfectly happy with YouTube sound quality through good headphones.

[MusicDie]

The reason why the current youth isn't interested in hi-fi is that Auto-Tune and other processing has killed the very elements that make live music so interesting to listen The true live music experience is no longer accessible for a lot of these people, hence they have no interest in trying to recreate it with a good audio system.

[TomSherwood-zl]

OH and I forgot. Back in the 70s-80s for me, there were stereo shops all around. Outlets specializing in midrange to high end stereo gear. Not snobby shops full of just esoteric top end millionaire gear. You could start with a basic decent sounding receiver and work up to a much better one or separates or whatever and same with speakers and peripherals. A mecca for audio nuts young and old. I don't think anything like that exists now except home theatre in big box stores may approach that. Black plastic Chinese goodies for you.

[JessicaSeverin]

I honestly think the biggest difference is that us older generation grew up with nice sounding speakers and crappy headphones. The younger generation grew up with some really great sounding headphones. I've tried to convince some of my 30ish work colleagues into getting speakers but they would much rather buy some $600-800 headphones and a DAC/amp (like a schiit stack) for their desktop. I think that's why there are so many reviews and variety of DACs these days. The younger generation are trying to be audiophiles and upgrade/tweak their sound system but they are just focused on headphone systems not speaker systems. I think the small living spaces plays a huge part of that too. It's more a private listening experience now rather than filling the room with sound. I love my electrostatic speakers though and glad I bought them in the 1990s and slowly built a system around them.

[MarkMiller-iq]

He makes valid points. It's a dwindling breed of music lovers/audiophiles that set aside blocks of time for music listening only. Many of them are old geezers who have been doing this since the 60s and 70s, when video had not yet been melded to audio and portable music wasn't the sophisticated medium it is today. The cost of good equipment, and not just the super high end, is another factor. Many of the Millennials haven't worked long enough to save the sort of money required to buy this stuff. But there's hope. My 14-year-old grandson loves classical music. When he comes over, he sits and listens to a piece I put on the turntable or into the CD player, doing nothing else but listening. He had never seen vinyl before I showed him what listening to recorded was like before streaming and everything else that's come into vogue over the decades.

[mikemoniz]

Now that I am in my 60's, I understand my fathers point of view. I just don't treat it the same. For him it was " get off my lawn" and "you don't know what good music is". And all that attitude drove me away. Now that I'm yelling to "get off my lawn" and "you don't know what good music is", I shrug my shoulders and realize I've become my father in this matter. I also realize that the world is now they're oyster, make what you want of it. I'll kick back and eat my Pop-Tart and know that they missed out on the golden years of music. Even if it is coming from an old, scratchy record.

[Laissez_Faire]

This is why I still prefer Spotify over other streaming services. I wanna listen to music and discover new music.

[mondoenterprises]

I have a buddy 4 hours away and his wife. Their daughter took all their gear to her apartment in NYC. So I drove down with a car packed with speakers, receiver, cd player, turntable, wire, and a box of cds. They were both thrilled to play music again. His wife still had her new wave 80s record collection and we played records and reminisced about the 80's. It was a nice way to recconect. Next I'll wait for a divorced friend who's lost his collection and give him a surprise maybe. lol

[WoodstockG]

The kids don't understand how good recordings could sound because the shit they listen to is just pumped out with pitch correction software. They seldom are exposed to old recordings to understand the difference.

[EuphoricImpact]

Generally speaking...in my world, most audiophiles suck. Though I am one, admittedly, I hate what the label seems to stand for today.

I am surrounded by two types of young people.

1) Those that appreciate (or love) art. That is about 35% of those I have had an interaction with.

2) Those who do not.

My mindset is different because I do not see this as a hobby. I actually hate referring to anything regarding music appreciation as a hobby. I am a former professional musician and former music educator.

It is super easy for me to introduce equipment to young people, help them to comprehend what they are listening to beyond a superficial level, and keep the elitist mindset out of the interaction.

If a person loves music, then it is simply about meeting them where they are at. The remainder will work itself out.

Equipment is fun and super cool, but to me, it is not a status symbol nor the most important factor. Music gear to me is mainly a tool (in some cases, it can be an art form) that delivers.

I enjoyed the video.

[bigcat]

I've been an audiophile for over thirty years, but because of the cost, I cant upgrade anything . My monthly payments on a 3 bedroom house on a 1300 square feet property is a third of the cost of a SVS PB1000 and a 5th of the PRO version here in South Africa